The Lie continues

Ugh! I think that Nature should have not just printed this bullshit press release without a response from a few Canadian researchers. But on the positive side, when the Canadian Minister feels the need to write a letter to Nature convincing them that Canada supports science, well something is amiss.

Sir

You report researchers' concerns about the Canadian government's support for science in two recent News stories (Nature 457, 646; 2009 and Nature 458, 393; 2009). As Minister of State for Science and Technology, I can say that, despite the global economic situation, the government of Canada remains committed to innovation and discovery. We have increased funding to researchers, both in universities and in the private sector.

In the past three years, for example, we have significantly increased the budgets of federal granting councils, increased scholarships through the Canada Graduate Scholarships Program, and increased the Industrial Research Assistance Program for small and medium-sized businesses. The Budget 2009 announcements include Can$750 million (US$590 million) for the Canada Foundation for Innovation to attract and retain world-leading researchers, and a Can$2-billion infrastructure programme. The government has also put in place two five-year funding agreements with Genome Canada that are worth Can$240 million, to support large-scale, world-class research.

Your readers should therefore rest assured that the government of Canada will continue to fund research for the benefit of all scientists and Canadians.
Gary Goodyear, Minister of Science and Technology

The Canadian government intends on cutting the budgets of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Social Sciences (NSERC), and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) by $148 million CDN over three years. These three councils provided the dollars that go to basic research.

We might be looking at empty building syndrome in the years to come in Canada.