Newfoundland's precipitous fall back into deficit has allowed the province to fund an eclectic range of S&T initiatives in its most recent Budget. Combatting depressed oil and gas prices and double-digit unemployment, the government still found nearly $40 million to plow into R&D projects ranging from commercialization to agrifood and wildlife. The province will run a whopping $750-million deficit for FY09-10.

The single largest S&T-related initiative is $25 million to fund the recently established Newfoundland and Labrador Research and Development Council. The money will provide the Council with operational funding and resources to support industrial and academic R&D. Details will be announced later this year.

Ocean technology receives $3.5 million including multi-beam sonar mapping equipment and $0.6 million for a new program in ocean mapping at Memorial Univ's Marine Institute.

Other S&T investments :

* $3.2 million for the province's Commercialization Program;

* $2.4 million for wildlife research projects;

* $2 million for the Innovation Enhancement Program

* $1.5 million to expand the Core Storage and Research Centre for the oil and gas sector; and;

* $0.3 million to develop and implement a forest science innovation program.

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