Industry committee  They received multi-year funding in the previous budget. Multi-year does imply “multi-year”. They do have money against which they can plan for a number of years. So if one were to give them annual funding, then one could perhaps acknowledge the fact that in this year, they didn't receive it.

Industry committee  If you have specifics, perhaps they could be passed on and you could raise them with Mr. MacNaughton.

Industry committee  No, but I will take it under advisement. I believe that you will be meeting shortly with the chair.

Industry committee  I have two points. One is that the budget increased the ceiling. Second, in terms of red tape, if you have specific suggestions to improve administration, I'll book an appointment and come to see you at your office.

Industry committee  The minister's predecessor had two or three meetings, I seem to recall. In the fall there was the election, and subsequent to the election the minister has been quite involved meeting bilaterally with a number of these car companies as well as with people in the U.S. and so forth.

Industry committee  This is not within the purview of the Department of Industry. I can’t give you a precise answer, but on the whole, any government assistance that favours any company would be contrary to the fundamental principles set out in that agreement. If I may, I can contact one of my colleagues at the Department of Natural Resources and provide you with the information through the committee chair.

Industry committee  Thank you for having us. Again, if at any point in your deliberations you would like Iain and me to come back for a further exchange, please let us know.

Industry committee  On the issue of the tax credit, I would be remiss if I did not mention how much I'm sure officials in the Department of Finance would love to come and talk about tax policy. It's a purview that they understandably claim a fair degree of monopolistic oversight on, and they do not welcome comments from line departments in how they structure tax policy, because it has to be looked at as a whole.

Industry committee  That's a comment on the first one. On the big science projects, I think that is a real issue. We do...“struggle” is perhaps too strong a term. How do you deal with those fundamental investments that have been made, which are quite beneficial, and how do you structure an appropriate government instrument to deal with those on a one-off basis, as we did with the synchrotron or their other approaches?

Industry committee  No, I am sorry. Let me correct that. We work with ACOA, which has, I believe, a dedicated innovation fund that they work with, with provincial governments.

Industry committee  There are two or three points. One is that much of this expenditure through the granting councils or CFI is done as a result of peer review by third parties. It is not Iain or I or the minister who at the end of the day picks this university or that university to receive an award of one sort or another.

Industry committee  But it is not exclusively through ACOA. When the granting councils come and appear before you, you may wish to ask the president of NSERC, the president of CIHR, or the president of SSHRC. They are also investing in a number of universities in eastern Canada. I would not want to leave the impression that the government's involvement in the Atlantic community is just through the ACOA innovation fund; the other instruments are also involved.

Industry committee  No, no. It's fine.

Industry committee  The president of the council, Mr. Nicholson, coordinated the preparation of the study that provided us with a starting point. I would suggest that you get a copy of the study before he appears before the committee. You could then explore the question with him in greater depth.

Industry committee  I invite you to consult our strategy document. You will see that it is the reason why we committed to giving the council the mandate to determine once and for all whether economic or cultural factors are at work, or whether it is the absence of partnerships between the private sector and the universities and the resulting lack of communication.