Gary Goodyear wrote in the National Post on February 25, 2009:

“…Our government is committed to basic, discovery-oriented research. Compared to other nations, Canada is extremely good at supporting university-based research. We invest more in higher-education research and development than any other country in the Group of Seven as a proportion of GDP. We are second only to Sweden in the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development and well ahead of the United States (which ranks 17th).

“Where Canada lags behind other countries, however, is in the area of commercialization — getting innovations from the lab to the marketplace where Canadians and people around the world can benefit from our newest discoveries.

“That’s why two years ago Prime Minister Stephen Harper launched our government’s Science and Technology Strategy. We want to help Canadians turn their ideas into innovations, get discoveries into the marketplace and make better use of our talented researchers.

“We’ve put in place a strong foundation of support for science and technology over the last few years and backed up that support with significant new investments. Since 2006, our government has provided $1.3-billion to the Canada Foundation for Innovation to develop, recruit and retain the best researchers in the world…

“We recognize the importance of Genome Canada and its work, so we’ve provided Genome with stable, predictable, long-term funding. I look forward to continuing to work with that organization as a funding partner.

“This year, we’re adding $200-million to the NRC’s Industrial Research Assistance Program to help small and medium-sized businesses innovate and conduct their own research. We have also embarked on an unprecedented $2-billion program to repair, refurbish and expand research facilities at colleges and universities across Canada.

“In total, our government committed $5.1-billion to new investments for science and technology in our Economic Action Plan…”