Science centres have an impact on interest. The present challenge is that seven out of 10 youths decide from the age of 14 not to take any more science in their lives. They close the doors by not choosing science courses in high school. That's a little young to make that decision, first of all. Second, there is a 12% decline in college science enrolment in the Quebec City area. That's that many fewer people who will subsequently be going to university, and that subsequently makes for weaker sectors. Businesses that do spinoffs, as they say, are less numerous as well. It's a downward spiral. We have to work on finding solutions. Complaining and naming the problems is one thing. Science centres are a winning solution. There are centres across Canada. So it's not a new idea whose effectiveness has to be proven. There's a lot of proof on that point. I don't remember the exact number, but the top 20 cities in Canada, except ours, have one, because this has highly structural effects in the community.
On October 25th, 2006. See this statement in context.