Atlantic Canada business leaders examine the region's weak innovation performance

Canada's lagging innovation performance is not a problem of the federal government but of the business and intellectual communities and the situation is most pronounced in Atlantic Canada, says Nova Scotia business titan John Risley. The president and CEO of Clearwater Fine Foods Inc was joined in the opening session of the Canadian Science Policy Conference (CSPC) by Frank McKenna, who reinforced Risley's concerns over the immense challenges facing the region's fledgling innovative economy.

Risley said the region's academic sector displays a "tepid commitment" to the economy, resulting in a business sector that doesn't appreciate "the horsepower resident in the intellectual community".

"Where there are exceptions, it comes from people doing well by their R&D investing. You get good returns if you go about this game in an intelligent fashion," said Risley, who has built a globally competitive seafood company strongly grounded in R&D. "It's a problem of the business and intellectual communities and the business community is the biggest problem."

The latest Statistics Canada data on regional distribution of R&D show that of the $30.7 billion spent nationally, the four Atlantic provinces account for just $1.2 billion. Of that amount, business accounts for $252 million or 21% of the regional total. Nationally, business R&D accounts for 52% of the total, which is far below the OECD average of 66%.

McKenna, a former New Brunswick premier, former ambassador to the US and deputy chair of the TD Bank, pointed to poor training in math, science and literacy in the region as exacerbating weak business R&D performance.

STEM skills lacking

"In Atlantic Canada we don't have a lot to brag about. Our math and science scores are dead last and kids are going to university lacking literacy and numeracy skills," said McKenna. "Canadian business use of R&D is near the bottom. Poor productivity gains lead to a reduction in quality of life."

McKenna said university presidents are isolated at the top of their academic perches and urged them to "move "down to the valley where the people are". He added that Atlantic Canada needs to build scale in areas where it can achieve competitive advantage and develop clusters of innovation expertise along the lines of Waterloo and Saskatoon in Canada and Silicon Valley or MIT in the US.

Risley and McKenna agreed that there is no sense of urgency among the business community and Canadians in general don't get excited about science like they do in other countries.

"The science agenda does not engage Canadians ... You can't succeed until we get behind the science agenda. We don't need any more reports," he said. "I despair the number of times we have these conversations but nothing gets done."

Both Risley and McKenna said Atlantic Canada's success in attracting its fair share of skilled immigrants is crucial in a region of stagnant or falling populations. There was also consensus for the government's role in encouraging collaboration and providing test beds for innovation.

Risley also argued that the scientific community needs to limit itself to providing science rather than political advice, particularly in contentious areas such as genetically modified foods, the oil sands and fracking.

"The scientific community feels it has to be the polar opposite to sell its view," he said. "I don't need to be scared to be attentive."

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