Manitoba tops up research funding following pleas from scientists
Manitoba's NDP government is topping up its annual funding for Research Manitoba following complaints from scientists about inadequate support for the agency responsible for providing the bulk of research funding in Manitoba.
The province will increase its annual funding for Research Manitoba from $14 million to $19 million, Innovation and New Technology Minister Mike Moroz announced Wednesday in a press release.
Oversight of the agency is also moving over to his ministry from advanced education, he said.
The increase in research funding comes two months after dozens of Manitoba scientists, researchers and academics penned an open letter to the government, noting funding to Research Manitoba had not increased significantly since the former Progressive Conservative government cut the agency's budget.
That letter was inspired by comments made in March by Premier Wab Kinew, who mused about attracting disaffected U.S. scientists to Manitoba.
Dylan MacKay, a University of Manitoba food scientist who was among the signatories of the April letter, said Wednesday he was pleasantly surprised the provincial government listened to him and his peers.
More funding for Research Manitoba will translate directly into more actual research and make the province more competitive, both nationally and internationally, MacKay said.
Provincial funding for Research Manitoba bottomed out at $12 million in 2023, according to the agency's most recent annual report.
In 2023-24, the agency allocated nearly $7 million to health research, slightly more than $5 million to natural science and engineering research, and just over $500,000 for the social sciences and humanities, according to the report. That supported 195 researchers and 267 students at a total of 154 organizations, the report stated.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Prime minister, Alberta premier opt to skip Stanley Cup final Game 5
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's office says she and Prime Minister Mark Carney won't be watching the Edmonton Oilers battle the Florida Panthers on home ice Saturday. Smith extended an invitation last week for Carney to join her for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final at Rogers Place. The premier's press secretary, Sam Blackett, says the upcoming G7 leaders' summit in Kananaskis, Alta., and their demanding schedules make seeing the game together impossible. The premier has no plans to attend Stanley Cup Final games. During the Oilers playoff run last year, Smith supported the team at several games. The Panthers lead the series 2-1, after routing the Oilers in Game 3 earlier this week by a score of 6-1.
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Ottawa extends refugee jobs pilot program on day it was due to expire
Ottawa has extended a pilot program that matches skilled refugees with job vacancies in Canada on the day it was due to lapse, after an outcry from employers, including universities, about its imminent expiry. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has extended its Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot, which was founded in 2018 as a route to permanent residence, until the end of the year, saying it is helping employers in critical sectors meet labour market shortages. Since 2019, 970 people have come to Canada through the pilot program, which offers a route to permanent residence for refugees with skills Canadian employers want. The decision to extend the program until Dec. 31 was welcomed by employers. Earlier this week, after The Globe and Mail disclosed how the pilot program was about to expire, universities wrote to Immigration Minister Lena Diab urging her to extend the program. The former immigration minister Marc Miller had said the pilot would be made permanent last year, but only days before it was due to expire employers were distraught about hearing no word from the government about its future. Carleton University, based in Ottawa, has hired a refugee from the civil war in Sudan as a visiting professor, to help with research into artificial intelligence, through the pilot pathway. Abeer, who fled to Somalia, holds a PhD in wireless communications and network engineering. She has researched the impact of AI and machine-learning-based algorithms on wireless communication systems. The Globe and Mail is not publishing her full name owing to fears for the safety of family members in her home country. She is still waiting for biometric checks and the university said it was keen for her to arrive soon to help with a research project being run by a Carleton professor. Carney's aim to cut immigration marred by undercounting of temporary migrants, economists warn Norah Vollmer, manager of faculty affairs at Carleton, said the university is 'very pleased to hear that the EMPP is extended.' She hoped the pilot program would be put 'on a permanent footing' and that processing times for applications to come here from refugees who have been offered jobs would be sped up. IRCC said in a statement announcing the pilot's continuation that the program had helped fill job vacancies, including in construction. More than 30 per cent of refugees accepted to come here through the pilot are working in health care. From 2019 to the end of March 2025, 970 people have been admitted to Canada, under the program, it said. It said it would cap applications for refugees offered jobs at 950 this year. Groups mount legal challenge against Ottawa over refugee treaty with U.S. 'The extension will allow more workers in essential sectors such as health care to benefit from the pilot's pathway to permanent residence and continue to contribute to our economy,' it said. Dana Wagner, co-founder of TalentLift, a non-profit international recruitment company that matches displaced people with employers, said the renewal was 'fantastic' but said the cap at 950 was 'very low' with 'no word about a permanent program.' 'It will be important to quickly move from a pilot to a permanent program as the Liberals have pledged,' she said. 'We want to see predictability, fast processing times that work for employers, and room to grow – this is a demand-driven program, and levels should reflect Canada's skills demand and the potential of talented individuals in refugee situations to meet it.'
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Government, union representing public servants to restart contract talks
Two years ago, more than 120,000 federal public servants went on strike after negotiations broke down. Now, the union representing those workers is going back to the bargaining table with the government with the goal of securing greater job security and remote work options for its members. The Public Service Alliance of Canada says next week's initial meetings offer its first opportunity to present priorities identified by members, such as better wages, greater job security and stronger provisions for remote work. Those issues were all front and centre during the 2023 strike, which saw public servants spend almost two weeks on picket lines across the country. Sharon DeSousa, national president of PSAC, said contract discussions can take anywhere from weeks to years. She said the union's bargaining teams are 'ready to set the tone' and get a good contract, adding that striking is always the 'last resort.' The union said the initial talks are the government's first chance to show it's ready to make meaningful improvements to public servants' working conditions. 'We're about improving the working conditions and we're hoping that the government is interested as well,' DeSousa said. 'These are the same workers who protect our coasts, assist businesses and farmers, and deliver vital social programs and respond to emergencies like wildfires. 'We're hoping that we're able to sit down and deal with the main issues at hand.' Rola Salem, a spokesperson for the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, said in an email that the government looks forward to a 'productive round of collective bargaining' with the Public Service Alliance of Canada. 'We are committed to negotiating in good faith and to reaching agreements that are fair to employees and reasonable for Canadians,' she said. David McLaughlin, a former provincial official in Manitoba and president and CEO of the Institute on Governance, said the union's requests seem to be a 'continuation' of the last round of bargaining. 'I would not expect that the current government would have a radically different view of how to treat those issues,' McLaughlin said. 'I'd be very surprised if they reverse their position on remote work. They're trying to hold the line, as they did last time.' McLaughlin said he expects the government will put some more money toward wages. He added that job security likely will be the biggest issue at the table for both the union and the government, which has committed to 'capping' the size of the public service.
