Editorial - 15-2

There will be more than a few interested bystanders listening to this week's Speech From the Throne to hear whether the government will provide any clues about its plans for new science, technology and research initiatives. The throne speech is an eagerly awaited source of future spending indications every year, but anticipation is particularly high for 2001.

The absence of a February Budget has thrown open the whole process of spending authority, and it's also laying bare the tensions within government over who ultimately decides which initiatives are successful and which fail. And for a government continuing to turn up the rhetoric on science, research and innovation, the decisions it makes in the coming year will be critical.

The worst-case scenario would see the S&T and research proposals currently before government languish until the next Budget, which could be delayed as much as one year. A more optimistic view would see the government indicate that it's prepared to make funding decisions throughout the year, considering proposals outside the Budget cycle on a case-by-case basis.

If the latter prevails, it could signal the first real indication of a policy shift away from Finance Canada, which has maintained a firm grip on the levers of decision-making since the cuts of Program Review in the mid-1990s. Providing new funding sooner than later can only be good news for those working to ensure that Canada's emerging engines of innovation aren't stalled for lack of fuel.