Mr. Chairman and honourable members, thank you very much for the opportunity to present on behalf of the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences.
As you've already heard, science and technology are of course vital to Canada. They are the backbone of our innovation economy, the drivers of the kinds of innovation we need to propel our economy to the future and to drive competitiveness.
Furthermore, this is certainly recognized by the government. It has invested regularly in its budgets in science and technology, and we certainly congratulate the government for that.
But there is still a gap. There is a gap in the S and T strategy in the area of the environment, in particular, in research on weather and climate. We need investments to close that gap.
Until recently that gap was filled by the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences, the main funding body for university-government-industry partnerships that deal with areas as important as air quality; extreme weather or violent weather; marine predictions, including sea surges and the like; weather predictions; and climate sciences.
We need this for a host of areas. This work provides the strategic policy-relevant work needed both by the public and private sectors.
I might just mention that there are about 460 scientists across Canada in universities who have benefited from foundation funding and 140 government scientists from about seven federal departments. They are participating because they need this science, they don't have the in-house capacity, or it provides additional critical mass, including sharing of infrastructure and access to the intellectual resources of technicians, scientists, and students. Of every dollar the foundation has provided—and to date that's been over $117 million over 10 years—50¢ has gone to training of young people. That's a considerable investment.
But we have been unable to fund any new work for the last four and a half years. That means there's been no work on emerging Canadian priorities or the work that the industries you're hearing about today need to advance their businesses.
The foundation's coffers are bare, and unless there's renewed support for the foundation, its support will stop next year. I might just add that there is no alternative funding body.
I would also mention that we're supporting work on Arctic conditions; on ozone conditions; on drought; and on the speed of melting of our glaciers and the implications for the hydro industry; regional modelling; and on a whole host of areas relevant to the Canadian economy, including water security, and so on.
So an investment is necessary to meet today's and tomorrow's needs; for our public safety; for our investment decisions and economic development; and to meet our need for skilled young people.
What we're recommending is renewed support for this work through an established body such as the foundation.
We haven't put a dollar figure on it in our brief. I think that can be dealt with at a later time, but we really want a commitment to continued support for weather and climate work.
Why is it necessary? I would challenge you to think of a single sector in the Canadian economy that does not require information on weather. Weather-dependent industries account for about $300 billion of the Canadian economy every year. It's also needed to support federal policies for northern development and for international agreements. And our weather is changing; we need to be able to better predict events and to adapt. Also, we need to further our people advantage, the training of our people.
Finally, I'll just conclude by saying that the foundation, through focused research, its intersectoral research involving different partners on specific areas of national priority, is meeting policy and operational needs and training people. This will help us today and in the future, and we recommend a renewal of support for this vital sector.
Thank you.