Thank you, Mr. Chair.
It's a pleasure for me to be here to discuss with the committee the contributions of science and innovation to the agriculture and agri-food sector.
Scientists across Canada, and from across academic, private and public organizations, have made important contributions to agriculture. It's important we continue to harness the potential for innovation because agriculture and agrifood can provide solutions to national issues.
The health of Canadians is a priority, and we know that there is a link between nutrition and health. Another example of a contribution to a national priority is, of course, environmental sustainability, simply because most of the Canadian landscape is rural. Scientists also contribute to the energy sector, as we can derive energy directly from renewable biomass.
New knowledge, new ideas, and new scientific and market intelligence fuel innovation. They are also extending the range of products derived from the land beyond the conventional “food, feed, and fibre”.
While there's a good foundation and capacity for innovation in Canada, our ability to capture the benefits of innovation requires that we continue to be imaginative about how we work together, how we optimize the use of our resources, and how we manage our investments to ensure returns across the innovation value chain.
In 2005, AAFC launched a series of consultations across the country--11 regional consultations capped with a national symposium, which resulted in the release in May 2006, by Minister Strahl, of the science and innovation strategy.
Some of the key principles of that science and innovation strategy are that we need to focus our investments on national priorities by aligning our research efforts with priorities in the sector; we need to focus on excellence of the research done by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; we need to extend the science and innovation capacity to the bio-based economy, beyond food, feed, and fibre; and, especially, we need to find new partnership arrangements to deliver that science and innovation capacity.
The agriculture and agrifood sector has several priorities: we aim to focus our investment on national priorities; ensuring excellence in the science performed at AASC; extend science and innovation capacity to the bio-based economy; and, above all, create new partnership arrangements to deliver science to all Canadians.
AAFC is already implementing some of the key directions given in budget 2007 in relation to innovation. The federal budget outlined the need for using the innovation capacity, both inside and outside government, through new partnerships across the private, the academic, and the public sectors. Over the years, AAFC has developed many forms of partnerships, and we have continued to innovate in that respect.
I'll limit my remarks to this.
I'll introduce my colleagues.
I am accompanied by Ms. Suzanne Vinet, Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy Branch, and Mr. Gilles Saindon, Director General, Science Bureau, Research Branch.
