Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty to lead new Ministry of Research and Innovation

Announcement takes S&T community by surprise

The Ontario government has announced the creation of a new Ministry of Research Innovation (MRI), marking the first time the province has established a Ministry solely devoted to S&T. Premier Dalton McGuinty has also taken the unprecedented step of naming himself as minister, giving the S&T portfolio its highest profile since the days of the Premier’s Council of the late 80s and early 90s. MRI will be split off from the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT) and is effective immediately.

The June 29 announcement of MRI was made alongside a Cabinet shuffle and brings the scope of the province’s emerging research, innovation and commercialization strategies into full focus for the first time. That said, the creation of MRI came with no details and many questions remain about how it will interact with other ministries, the premier’s office and the recently created Research Council of Ontario (R$, May 18/05).

While the MRI is being greeting with optimism by the S&T community, outright endorsement is being withheld until the details emerge on its structure, personalities and reporting structure.

“It’s too early to say if the government is on the right track. I would want to know who is running the thing and what powers the (Research) Council (of Ontario) has,” says Dr Martin Walmsley, a Toronto-based S&T consultant and a veteran of Ontario administrations in the 1980s and 1990s. “It’s beginning to look like the old Ontario Premier’s Council but I have no ideas yet of the structure. The Premier doesn’t run programs and there are management issues.”

What’s clear is which programs will be assembled within MRI. All programs currently under the authority of MEDT’s research and commercialization division will move to MRI, which are currently divided into three branches — commercialization, research and infrastructure and innovation partnerships. MRI will also repatriate the Ontario R&D Challenge Fund, which was moved out of government to the Innovation Institute of Ontario under the government of Mike Harris. The MRI will also likely recapitalize the Ontario Innovation Trust (OIT) which was also managed by IIO but set up as a trust similar to the Canada Foundation for Innovation without the enabling legislation.

The government has also recently released details of its new S&T programs, which provide a much better picture of how the McGuinty government plans to support provincial research, research infrastructure and commercialization initiatives. Many contend that the government’s strategy is now in full view.

“A lot has been written about what the strategy ought to be and there’s been a lot of policy thinking,” says one senior S&T manager. “The time has come to execute the plan and start spending money. Mistakes will be made but it’s time for all concerned to get their hands dirty. The government has now released descriptions of the new programs — that’s your roadmap. The new Ministry is a very positive thing. To date, the research and innovation agenda has taken a back seat to industrial attraction, gaming, the auto sector and the LCBO (provincial liquor board).”

Ontario’s S&T and innovation programs have been treated like political footballs in recent years. After a promising beginning under former premier David Peterson (1985-90), S&T was bolstered with a slew of new targeted programs and a $1-billion Technology Fund to be spent over 10 years. The government’s commitment to S&T waned somewhat under the NDP government of Bob Rae (1990-95) before the major overhaul engineered by the conservative government of Mike Harris.

A former official familiar with government S&T programming says the premier’s presence as the head of MRI sends out a very positive signal to the S&T community and Ontarians in general, but it does come with some risk.

“The spotlight is shining on research and innovation once again. It increases the opportunities and also the risk,” says the former official. “S&T is a lot more in play because it’s more visible ... It’s nice to see that prominence given but will it cycle back to education or economic development. That’s always been the tug-of-war.”

Joe Cordiano remains minister of MEDT and retains responsibility for the automotive sector and biotechnology promotion.

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