Editorial - 28-17

So just what is the state of federally performed S&T? On the one hand, elected officials assert that record investments are being made. On the other hand, Statistics Canada and several prominent observers point to a long, slow decline in financial support. And anecdotal evidence suggests that science-based departments don't have the resources to fulfill their public good mandates or oversee and manage other components of the innovation ecosystem.

In an environment with so many conflicting assertions, there's a clear need for an unequivocal picture of federal S&T, unhindered by ideology, reputation or electoral cycles. The Office of the Auditor General (AG) is seeking to play such a role. The AG hasn't performed a science-focused audit since 1999 when it examined several agencies and programs that support science, research and innovation.

In Halifax last month, Julie Gelfand, the AG's Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, was part of a panel examining the need for science audits and which aspects of the federal science enterprise might be best for examination. The trick is finding a topic in which the government has made a written commitment against which an audit can be measured.

This is precisely why we have an AG in the first place — performing comprehensive audits of government operations and activities so that adjustments and improvements can be made. If the government truly considers its own scientists, laboratories and policy makers to be making valuable contributions science, technology and innovation, it should welcome the impartial scrutiny.