2011 Federal Budget: The CIC and CCR Ask for Help

The CIC is a member of the Canadian Consortium for Research (CCR), the lobbying body which advocates for research and post-secondary education at the federal level.

CCR has recently raised concerns that the upcoming federal budget might be in jeopardy for basic research. This is based on the following:

• Neither CCR nor many other research organizations (including the Granting Councils) were invited to appear before the House of Commons Finance Committee this year as part of the 2011 Budget consultations (for CCR, this is the first time this has happened for many years);
• Strenuous efforts by CCR to obtain meetings with key decision makers in the late fall were mostly unsuccessful;
• Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty has made comments which suggest that the 2011 Budget may be a tough one.

Given this situation, the CIC and CCR feel that it is very important that the voice of the research community be heard. In December, CCR therefore undertook a letter writing campaign to all members of Parliament. More importantly, the CIC and CCR are now alerting their members to the situation and asking them to e-mail their concerns to Minister Flaherty and Minister of State for Science and Technology, Gary Goodyear. The success of the recent letter writing campaign regarding the Ontario Engineering Act is highly suggestive of the effect this action may have.

Although the issue is in its preliminary stages, cutbacks in the 2011 federal budget for basic research will have serious implications across the country.

Further details will be provided as the situation unfolds.