Editorial - 14-2

To lift an oft-quoted line from a long forgotten movie (Cool Hand Luke), "What we have here is a failure to communicate". The announcement of the Budget on February 28 was only the beginning of a bizarre chain of events (and non-events) that have confused even the most astute S&T watchers. If government officials were trying to send out a re-assuring message to those who keep the Canadian innovation engine firing, they failed miserably.

As this week's lead story details, leaders of some of Canada's largest and most respected S&T organizations were left scratching their heads trying to figure out what had happened to their particular proposals. Only after meeting with senior officials did they obtain some semblance of understanding, although Ottawa's handling of the S&T portfolio still defies easy logic.

What remains is a growing list of questions. If there was a strategy behind the deferred funding announcements for the National Research Council, TRIUMF and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, why not communicate it to the appropriate people? Was the government really spooked by the HRDC scandal? Is there a so-called shadow science budget, with equally ghost-like science advisors? What are S&T organizations supposed to tell their partners, collaborators and clients without concrete information and direction?

The marriage of policy and politics has always been a complex, intangible relationship, but clarity, openness and decisiveness are also critical components in any coherent S&T strategy that aims to be globally competitive. It's time for government to make it intentions known and explain recent decisions. It would go a long way towards smoothing over the rifts this communications debacle has produced.

Mark Henderson, Managing Editor