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The future of science in Canada
Apr. 3rd, 2009 05:53 pmI put off writing this post for awhile, but seeing as my last shred of optimism died today, you all get to hear about why science in Canada is currently sucking and is only going to get worse.
Over the past few months, the state of science in Canada has taken 3 critical hits, from which it will be very, very hard to recover from, and they all stem from the government.
1) The current stated goals of the Harper government in regards to the funding of science. This can be broken down into 2 sub-categories, each of which are equally ire-riling.
-- A) Government funding to colleges and universities so they can build buildings. There is no money to pay people to work in the buildings or fill it up with equipment, but plenty of cash is going out to put those buildings up. This is a major problem, because the universities will gladly take the money from the government (because they're not stupid, and that is all the money they're getting any time soon), but the money to furnish and staff up these buildings will come directly from the students. That's right, tuition rates are going to increase, especially as the normal funding agencies are handing out less cash (item #2).
-- B) An emphasize on commerciable science. This means that the government is only going to actively support research that will eventually (read: quickly) lead to a marketable product. The ground floor, base research, otherwise known as 'discovery science' is going to be frowned upon. This point, right here, is where you can tell that Harper has no idea of how academia and research works. It's rarely a straight A to B or idea/problem to grand solution, but when those big achievements are made, they're based on years of solid 'discovery' research. You may not understand why someone is studying specific protein or gene in zebrafish, but down the road, that research may lead someone else to figure out how that one gene fits into a network that is responsible for Parkinson's and can then be modified to treat the disease, as an example.
2) The latest budget (late January) came down with barely any money for science research. Funding agencies such as NSERC and CHIR received the bare minimum, while Genome Canada got none. This means that there's significantly less money to fund any kind of research, and they're going to be more stingy with it. Universities are already feeling the pinch on this. Or, rather, university professors are starting to feel the pinch. (I'll explain this more at the end.)
3) The absolute moment when every single scientist in Canada knew we were doomed... our Federal Science Minister Gary Goodyear, when asked "Do you believe in evolution?" answered "I am a Christian, and I don't think anybody asking a question about my religion is appropriate." Granted, the question asked was worded very, very poorly, but his response is just embarrassing. Though really, what more can you expect from a Creationist chiropractor. (I'm not kidding. Really not kidding.)
So, why am I bitching about this today? Because Genome Canada has finally (frickin' finally, those slow assed wankers) said that they won't be funding this big project at work. This leaves me without my extra part-time contract work (which is what kept me solvent on a grad student's budget) and no job prospect for when I'm done my Masters (they were going to hire me back on). Not only am I screwed, but about a dozen other people there will be out of work in the next few months because there is No. Money. At all.
But this is not only hitting at work (which is grant funded research) but at school (which is also grant funded research - partly). My supervisor has said that this will probably be the last year that grad students are allocated funds for out of town conferences, so we should go while we can, which is why I get to go to Iowa City in June and lament the fact that I missed last year's conference which was in Barcelona. (Just for the record, Iowa City is like, 18 gazillion steps down from Barcelona. I'm still pissed about this.)
What all this is leading to, is that science in Canada is suffering just as much as any other industry. (Mostly because we have idiots in office, but that's another topic.) Where the US is throwing money at research left and right, trying to get their science machine working at full capacity again, Canada is slowly grinding to a halt.
So, unless we get someone who actually cares in office with the next election (which should happen in the next 6-10 months), I and many, many others will be looking for work in the States. And when politicians start complaining about the Brain Drain (again), all we'll do is point to this time and say 'It's your own damn fault.'
Over the past few months, the state of science in Canada has taken 3 critical hits, from which it will be very, very hard to recover from, and they all stem from the government.
1) The current stated goals of the Harper government in regards to the funding of science. This can be broken down into 2 sub-categories, each of which are equally ire-riling.
-- A) Government funding to colleges and universities so they can build buildings. There is no money to pay people to work in the buildings or fill it up with equipment, but plenty of cash is going out to put those buildings up. This is a major problem, because the universities will gladly take the money from the government (because they're not stupid, and that is all the money they're getting any time soon), but the money to furnish and staff up these buildings will come directly from the students. That's right, tuition rates are going to increase, especially as the normal funding agencies are handing out less cash (item #2).
-- B) An emphasize on commerciable science. This means that the government is only going to actively support research that will eventually (read: quickly) lead to a marketable product. The ground floor, base research, otherwise known as 'discovery science' is going to be frowned upon. This point, right here, is where you can tell that Harper has no idea of how academia and research works. It's rarely a straight A to B or idea/problem to grand solution, but when those big achievements are made, they're based on years of solid 'discovery' research. You may not understand why someone is studying specific protein or gene in zebrafish, but down the road, that research may lead someone else to figure out how that one gene fits into a network that is responsible for Parkinson's and can then be modified to treat the disease, as an example.
2) The latest budget (late January) came down with barely any money for science research. Funding agencies such as NSERC and CHIR received the bare minimum, while Genome Canada got none. This means that there's significantly less money to fund any kind of research, and they're going to be more stingy with it. Universities are already feeling the pinch on this. Or, rather, university professors are starting to feel the pinch. (I'll explain this more at the end.)
3) The absolute moment when every single scientist in Canada knew we were doomed... our Federal Science Minister Gary Goodyear, when asked "Do you believe in evolution?" answered "I am a Christian, and I don't think anybody asking a question about my religion is appropriate." Granted, the question asked was worded very, very poorly, but his response is just embarrassing. Though really, what more can you expect from a Creationist chiropractor. (I'm not kidding. Really not kidding.)
So, why am I bitching about this today? Because Genome Canada has finally (frickin' finally, those slow assed wankers) said that they won't be funding this big project at work. This leaves me without my extra part-time contract work (which is what kept me solvent on a grad student's budget) and no job prospect for when I'm done my Masters (they were going to hire me back on). Not only am I screwed, but about a dozen other people there will be out of work in the next few months because there is No. Money. At all.
But this is not only hitting at work (which is grant funded research) but at school (which is also grant funded research - partly). My supervisor has said that this will probably be the last year that grad students are allocated funds for out of town conferences, so we should go while we can, which is why I get to go to Iowa City in June and lament the fact that I missed last year's conference which was in Barcelona. (Just for the record, Iowa City is like, 18 gazillion steps down from Barcelona. I'm still pissed about this.)
What all this is leading to, is that science in Canada is suffering just as much as any other industry. (Mostly because we have idiots in office, but that's another topic.) Where the US is throwing money at research left and right, trying to get their science machine working at full capacity again, Canada is slowly grinding to a halt.
So, unless we get someone who actually cares in office with the next election (which should happen in the next 6-10 months), I and many, many others will be looking for work in the States. And when politicians start complaining about the Brain Drain (again), all we'll do is point to this time and say 'It's your own damn fault.'