MPs eye upcoming budget | Opposition says the federal government has no research strategy
GATINEAU, Que. — Opposition agriculture critics warned farmers from across Canada last week that a lack of government support for research is hurting the industry’s ability to compete in global markets.
New Democrat MP Malcolm Allan and Liberal Frank Valeriote predicted that the next federal budget, expected in March, will make it worse.
They were speaking to the annual meeting of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. The Conservative government did not send a representative.
“I believe the budget will do much more damage, as do researchers who talk to me,” said Valeriote, who represents the research-heavy riding of Guelph in Ontario.
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“Because of a lack of support for research and innovation, we’re reverting to being a nation of hewers of wood and haulers of water, exporting raw commodities. We also are still sending our researchers south.”
The budget is being billed as a spending and deficit-cutting document with spending reductions expected across government.
Allen said the research issue is key, and despite Conservative claims of support, there is no real strategic plan.
“Now is not the time to cut off the money to those programs,” he said in an interview.
“It will require tough choices, but if we are going to make innovation a key component going forward in agriculture, we need to continue to invest money in research and development, especially research that is going to last longer than five years.”
He said government is sometimes anything but helpful in offering solutions to industry problems.
“In government, sometimes we interfere too much and don’t let you do what you do,” he said.
But there are areas where industry needs government intervention, including long-term research funding.
“Government should do it because that’s a piece where government can intervene and actually do good.”
Allen told CFA delegates that private sector investment in research is short-term and oriented to quick commercial product turn around.
“That is exactly what I would expect them to do and there is nothing wrong with that.”
However, government has the ability and should have the interest in investing in long-term basic research.
While the Grain Growers of Canada lobby has used its access to government and agriculture minister Gerry Ritz to argue for a doubling of basic research funding over the next decade, Ritz and his government have shown little interest in returning to an emphasis on less-focused long-term research funding.
Valeriote said the real decline in research and development funding began after the Conservatives were elected in 2006, although he acknowledged that the 1995 Liberal anti-deficit budget took a large chunk out of Agriculture Canada research funding, which Grain Growers says has never been fully restored.