The previous government eliminated over 500 agricultural research positions between 2012 and 2015. Valuable research institutions and field research stations were closed in every region, impairing Canada's ability to respond to urgent challenges and opportunities. Budget 2017 should restore Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's research funding at least to pre-2012 levels, adjusted for inflation.
The NFU recognizes recent federal investments in research facilities, and we urge the government to also increase investment in the people who work in those buildings. Additional funding is required to rebuild scientific, technical, and support staff capacity in the face of generational turnover, past layoffs, and lack of hiring over the past decade.
Budget 2016 provided considerable support for agricultural economic research. The information generated from this investment needs to be kept in the public domain, not subject to intellectual property rights claims that would be a barrier to researchers using the data.
We would also recommend that budget 2017 add a public interest research surcharge to funds provided by corporations that participate with universities and the AAFC.