Industry committee  The construction industry is another example. The NRC is the research institute for the construction industry in Canada. The construction industries are not very high R and D spenders—they don't spend a lot.

Industry committee  Sir, you gave examples of some of the research activities that we carry out. Generally speaking, the NRC's research programs are developed further to an analysis of industry requirements. We consult with industry officials and with our university colleagues with a view to forging partnerships.

Industry committee  The NRC recruits the best people, as do Canadian universities and companies, the people who can help us meet our goals. As for a Mr. Feynman who might be washing cars on the weekend, the only chance he would have of being discovered is if he ultimately washed a car belonging to someone who realized that he was in the presence of a great thinker, or perhaps a Nobel Prize laureate.

Industry committee  Yes, fate, under the circumstances that you have described to me.

Industry committee  Sir, that is not a question that I can answer. However, I can tell you that every year, the NRC welcomes between 1,200 and 1,500 graduate, doctoral or post-doctoral students. They come to work for the NRC because of the stimulating environment it offers them in which to carry out their research.

Industry committee  If you are looking for a more general answer, I would say that through the Canadian government's research chair initiative which has been under way for a number of years, our Canadian universities have been able to recruit Canadians who had been working abroad and who were sufficiently drawn by the Canada Research Chairs Program to leave their job abroad and return to Canada.

Industry committee  No, because again, there are, no doubt, other players in Canada who have a more clearly defined mandate to provide support to these sectors.

Industry committee  The answer is no. The NRC does not have any specific activities that target the textile industry or the other sectors that you mentioned. When we developed our last strategic plan, we used three main criteria to identify nine key economic sectors in Canada. Firstly, the sector must be important to Canada.

Industry committee  We are working to develop better manufacturing technologies for the automobile, aeronautics and aerospace, construction and electronics sectors. Our activities do not, however, target the textiles industry. This does not mean, though, that if a textile company came to the NRC for help with a particular problem, we would not be able to use our technologies and expertise to lend them some assistance.

Industry committee  The textiles sector was not identified as one of our priority sectors.

Industry committee  It was not identified as a priority sector either.

Industry committee  I do not believe that Canada suffers from a surfeit of players in the field of science, technology and innovation. I think there is room for even more researchers. Of course, the higher the number of players, the greater the effort that must be made to develop partnerships with them to avoid unnecessary duplication.

Industry committee  Thank you for that question. Several of the NRC's programs target the manufacturing sector. You mentioned the aerospace industry. This is a major manufacturing sector in Canada. Without question, the NRC is Canada's primary research institute and it assists Canada's aerospace industry in various ways.

Industry committee  Thank you for your question. Unfortunately, the NRC is not working anymore in the area of nuclear physics or nuclear energy, not since 1952. All our work capacity was transferred to AECL. I know that nuclear energy is coming back under more public scrutiny. There's more interest because nuclear energy has no greenhouse gas emissions.

Industry committee  It would be a bit difficult for me, because I'm not really an actor in this field, but I would imagine that some Canadian universities may be working in the area of nuclear energies and the nuclear fission reaction. AECL could also be pretty much involved. We also have to realize that nuclear energy is still a global energy, so the American trades are also contributing quite significantly to move the field forward.