Evidence of meeting #22 for Industry, Science and Technology in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was measurement.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:40 a.m.
Chief Financial Officer, Comptrollership and Administration Sector, Department of Industry Canada
Yes. In the budget that's just going through now, there was $126 million that was committed over five years, and you have a portion of it, the $25.7 million, being asked for in these supplementary estimates.
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Conservative
9:40 a.m.
Chief Financial Officer, Comptrollership and Administration Sector, Department of Industry Canada
No. This would be Bill C-9.
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Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
So even though Bill C-9 has not passed, you're able to put something in the supplementaries (A) to make that happen?
9:40 a.m.
Chief Financial Officer, Comptrollership and Administration Sector, Department of Industry Canada
We have two items in supplementaries (A) that are related to Bill C-9: clusters and TRIUMF.
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Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
And has that facility been around for a long time and are we getting results from it?
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Deputy Minister, Department of Industry
TRIUMF has been around for decades.
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Deputy Minister, Department of Industry
It is a well-known international research facility that has established... May I read to you for the record...?
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Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Absolutely, as long as it's not more than five minutes long.
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Deputy Minister, Department of Industry
The $126 million over five years received through budget 2010 is in addition to TRIUMF's existing A-base funding, which is $19 million a year. This enables scientists at TRIUMF to undertake many important research initiatives, including life-science-based research initiatives. No other facility in Canada can match the capabilities offered by the TRIUMF facility, the research taking place at the TRIUMF-related foundation for new technologies in physical and life sciences, and the facilities that contribute to advanced materials research in Canada.
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Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Okay. So it's been around a while. That's why I wanted to know, because I don't know anything about it personally.
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Conservative
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Deputy Minister, Department of Industry
If ever you're out in the west coast, I'll mention to the president of the NRC... It is truly a--
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A voice
UBC.
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Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Because I'm on the budget committee and we're looking for places to visit in the fall for the finance committee. That may be one of them.
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Deputy Minister, Department of Industry
I believe that Mr. Rajotte, your committee's chair, would be intimately familiar with this.
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Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
I appreciate that.
On the money for the Space Agency that's transferred from NRC, from a practical point of view, why do we give the money to the NRC to transfer to the Space Agency? Why doesn't it go directly to the Space Agency? I don't understand why there has to be a transfer between organizations.
9:40 a.m.
Chief Financial Officer, Comptrollership and Administration Sector, Department of Industry Canada
As you've seen in our last...and also with supplementary estimates (C), departments get together to promote different things together. For this particular one, the Space Agency is transferring from the NRC the $35,000 for a grant to allow students to get involved in science.
9:40 a.m.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
I understand what it's for. I just don't know why we don't... Not in this book, but in the other ones, there are hundreds of transfers. It drives me crazy. So why didn't we just fund--
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Deputy Minister, Department of Industry
The reason is...[Technical Difficulty--Editor]
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A voice
The microphones aren't working for some reason.