Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I'm very happy to be here. Actually, I was one of the first members to show up for the committee, so you can see my level of enthusiasm to comment and speak with colleagues on a very, very important topic, and I'm happy, Chair, to add time. I think my remarks are five minutes or thereabouts, but if they're longer, I'd be happy to accommodate Mr. Tochor and stay for even one or two more minutes, depending on the speed I can go through that.
Let me just say good afternoon, everyone.
Thank you for welcoming me to your committee, which I believe is one of the most important for our Parliament.
It's a pleasure to appear in front of this committee again, this time to give you, colleagues, an update on our latest research security policies.
Collaborations with researchers across Canada and around the world are essential to ensuring that Canada's world-class science and research remain at the cutting edge of research and innovation.
To preserve the collaborative and open approach to science and discovery, our government continues to protect Canadian research and intellectual property from theft, espionage and, of course, foreign interference.
Colleagues will recall that in July 2021, the government launched the “National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships”, which were developed with universities and associations that represent academic institutions across our nation.
Under the guidelines, applicants to certain granting agencies programs, such as the alliance program, which is managed by NSERC, must identify possible risk associated with the nature of their proposed research and private sector partner.
To be clear, where the proposed project or partnership presents unmitigable risks, the applicant will be denied funding.
Between July 2021 and March 2023, a total of 1,743 applications for funding were submitted under the guidelines. Of these applications, 36 were rejected due to national security risks and 110 were rejected for administrative reasons related to the guidelines. This means that approximately 92% of all applications submitted under the guidelines received funding with risk mitigation measures in place.
We want to make sure we continue to facilitate science and research. Therefore, our approach has to be proportional to the level of risk analyzed.
The diversity of Canada's research ecosystem is our greatest strength. It allows for new perspectives, increased creativity and innovation. By adopting a country-agnostic approach paired with a case-by-case risk assessment process, the government is mitigating the possibility of racial profiling within the research community while at the same time bolstering Canada's research security policies to account for the threats that originate from anywhere in the world.
Our government's commitment to research security has been further affirmed. Colleagues will recall that in budget 2022, we allocated $160 million to fully implement the guidelines by establishing a research security centre of expertise housed at the Department of Public Safety and providing direct funding to eligible post-secondary institutions to enhance their capacity to identify and mitigate risks.
I'm sure that colleagues would have heard at this committee that this was a demand by the community saying it's good to have guidelines, but you need to put resources where you want us to adhere to these guidelines and respect these guidelines. I think this is a concrete example of us following up on that.
To build on this momentum, colleagues will recall that on February 14, 2023, along with the Minister of Public Safety and Minister of Health, I directed Canada's research granting agencies and the Canada Foundation for Innovation to take an enhanced security posture. With my colleagues from Public Safety and Health, we have been working diligently to develop a robust implementation of the expanded research security measures, which were published earlier this year.
We have conducted a series of consultations, through the university working group to determine the best possible approach to protecting Canadian research and innovation, while maintaining an open and collaborative ecosystem for the benefit of all Canadian researchers.
In short, grant applications in sensitive research areas will not be funded if any researcher supported by the grant is either affiliated with or in receipt of funding or in-kind support from a research institution connected to military, national defence or foreign state security organizations posing a risk to Canada's national security.
The detailed parameters of the policy will be published soon to ensure that researchers have the guidance they need to prepare grant applications in a way that ensures the security of research on sensitive technologies.
