Treasury Board (TB) president Vic Toews has received the final report of the Independent Expert Panel on Transferring Federal Non-Regulatory Laboratories (IPE) and will review its recommendations before releasing the document publicly in the spring. The report will include the names of five federal labs identified as the best "early candidates for transfer" as well as a number of new governance and management models for consideration.

The four-member IPE held six focused roundtables across the country last fall and received a large number of submissions as it successfully concluded its work in just four months. The report was submitted to meet the December 31/07 deadline.

Its mandate provided for considerable latitude on what type of labs should be considered for transfer, where they could be transferred to (academic, industry, alternative management arrangements) and exactly what assets can be included in the transaction. A federal lab can be transferred in whole or in part and can entail change of ownership and management of assets including intellectual property, building, equipment and personnel.

The IPE was chaired by Dr Arnold Naimark and included Dr Kevin Keough, Dr Kelvin Ogilvie and Dr Clive Willis.

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