Mr. Speaker, in April 1999 a proposal was presented to the government to build a Canadian neutron facility for advanced materials research at Chalk River laboratories.
This facility is critical for Canadian industries and universities in developing the advanced materials needed to compete in the global economy. If Canada is to maintain its economic independence, we need to stay ahead of the competition by developing new materials and new industries.
All innovations depend on the discovery and development of new materials, whether they be for medical, mining, aerospace, optical or energy industries.
Working at Chalk River, Canadian Bert Brockhouse developed the method now used around the world to view the movement of atoms. For this outstanding achievement he shared the 1994 Nobel prize for physics.
To continue to have Canadian success stories such as this one, we as a nation must invest in primary scientific research. I am calling on the government to act now and provide the funding necessary to build the Canadian neutron facility at Chalk River.