Industry committee  I have it.

Industry committee  I'll let her deal with the last ones; Heather will deal with one or two. The rest we'll have to deal with off line. We talked a lot about industrial R and D, but also this applies to commercialization that emanates from university research. Concerning the person who told you about money for a prototype, which I would call a pilot plant—for a chemist, it's the same thing—there are small programs, Idea to Innovation and Proof of Principle, in two of the three granting councils.

Industry committee  Yes, we are.

Industry committee  Some of it's in Nova Scotia, actually, and some is in Saskatchewan. This is in terms of demonstration, in terms of research in different places in the country, I assume. This is quite new.

Industry committee  No. I was asked a question on that particular issue, but STIC is not pursuing particular research right now. That's the role of the corporate sector or granting agency or whatever. But I do agree, this is a high-priority issue for the country.

Industry committee  No, no, no.

Industry committee  This working group is actively considering a wide range of issues, including different industry sectors--small, medium, and large.

Industry committee  From an S and T perspective, yes, transportation. It's just like in South Africa, where mining is a big industry. I must say the South Africans have created some interesting policies on nurturing the mining industry to do research--again, to produce value-added products, not just getting the elements out of the ground.

Industry committee  First, I certainly agree with you, and the industry R and D working group is looking at all sectors, from manufacturing to small-sector industries--greenhouse, whatever--in terms of dealing with the issue of enhancing R and D in those sectors. But on a little cautionary note, right now the ICT industry is under duress in Canada.

Industry committee  If I could, I'll add a point on the state of the nation report, because the comment was made to me last week, after my presentation in Istanbul, that this is very courageous what we're doing. Nobody has done this well. None of the EU countries have done this well. There have been attempts.

Industry committee  This is a very competitive area right now. In Wisconsin there recently was a test of carbon capture and storage. In the budget, of course, I think $250 million was set aside for a demonstration plant and research, and that's great. In fact, at the meeting I was at in March, the academies of the G-8 plus 5 had to prepare two statements, one on a low-carbon society.

Industry committee  Right.

Industry committee  I think it's more complicated than that. For instance, in terms of granting councils and academic support, we talked about quality and supporting the best, and that means the best proposals irrespective of location. Some of that will benefit the immediate location and help build a cluster of innovation—for instance, the bio-farm industry in Montreal.

Industry committee  Thanks for the question. Research leading to creating new firms, for example, also results in tax being paid by the company to the government--provincial and federal governments. Therefore that's a benefit, a return. Research and innovation or science and technology as documented, especially in the OECD, has provided enormous benefit.

Industry committee  Let me add one thing to your point, and then I'll certainly address it. That is that one other role the deputy ministers have is to link to other deputy ministers across government and sensitize them to the issues STIC is addressing as well as possible future issues, just as the minister is responsible at his level across government.