Editorial - 18-9

The recent collapse of Liberal Party support in the federal election campaign has Canada’s S&T community nervous. In both the public and private sectors, the prospect of a Conservative government could mean a dramatically different way of conducting R&D and business. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, it’s the nature of the changes that are causing concern.

The Conservative Party under Stephen Harper is gunning for any instances of corporate welfare (business subsidies, business assistance) and is expressing a zealous determination to eliminate it wherever it is found. That means the end of programs like Technology Partnerships Canada (TPC) and the revamping of others that provide grants and even loans.

There’s no doubt TPC could be better run and freed from political influence, but its elimination could spell the beginning of the end for Canada’s aerospace industry — currently ranked third globally. And what of the small businesses supported in the early stages by the Industrial Research Assistance Program and others programs positioned throughout the government?

In a perfect world, subsidies may not be required, but all industrialized nations have some sort of build-in incentives for industry, paid for from the public purse. It helps companies mitigate risk and engage in R&D that makes them more globally competitive.

The objective of S&T and innovation policy is to create wealth and make Canada a better place in which to live and work. Pragmatism rather than ideology should be the hallmark of any government, Liberal or Conservative.