In the 90s there was a severe brain drain out of Canada, I should know, I left Montreal in '97 to get a PhD at Columbia University. This trend was halted and even reversed in the earlier part of this decade.
But the stagnation in research funding that has plagued science in the US is being repeated north of the border. From the Globe & Mail:
Dr. Pack was recruited in 2005 from Harvard University [to the Montreal Neurological Institute], wooed with the new lab and state-of-the-art equipment (courtesy of the Canada Foundation for Innovation), a good salary (thanks to the Canada Research Chairs program), the promise of generous research grants (the Canadian Institutes for Health Research), and a five-year provincial tax holiday from the Quebec government.
When Dr. Pack submitted his grant application to CIHR, it received the highest score possible, deemed "outstanding," and ranked No. 1 among submissions.
So imagine his surprise when he learned that his grant was approved but the budget would be slashed by 44 per cent.
So what's going on here:
After years of investment in health research (long overdue), the federal government has allowed budgets to stagnate, leaving not nearly enough money for operating grants. (And investments from provincial granting agencies and foundations are not making up for the shortfall.)This week, the CIHR released the results of its operating grants competition.
Of the 2,017 applications received, only 331 received funding, a 16 per cent success rate. Further, all the successful applicants saw their budgets cut by an average of 26 per cent, and all requests for equipment funding were denied.
C'mon Canada, you can do better then that ...
The larger issue for the Canadian public is that our political leaders made a pledge at the beginning of the 21st century that promising research would be well funded. Now, our political leaders are reneging on that promise. After spending billions on infrastructure and attracting top talent, it is absurd to not invest in getting results.
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I doubt we'll do better than that anytime soon. We seem to be able to shoot ourselves in the foot whenever we have a well intentioned idea. I would love for nothing more than us poaching top researchers from around the world, but pissing them off with substandard grant money is going to drive them away big time.
well i've (unfortunately) seen several unfufilled promises here in Montreal, with guaranteed money disappearing due to oversights, lack of longterm planning, or (and this hurts the most) because it really wasn't there to begin with. Montreal is really trying to redevelop itself as a top science research destination... however the ultimate goal is far from being achieved, and could implode if money is further squandered or politics tie up future investments.
For more information read, "Canadian Scientists Are Refusing to Sit on Grants Panels."
This is a very serious situation.
There are many unhappy PIs roaming around the McIntyre building since the news of the budget cuts came down. Not quite panic level, but no one is happy!