N.S. government outlines priority areas for research funding
Nova Scotia's advanced education minister has outlined the sectors he wants the provincial Crown corporation responsible for research to prioritize, and he wants proof his government is getting bang for its buck.
A document from the department of Advanced Education Minister Brendan Maguire breaks the priorities for Research Nova Scotia into three categories: natural resources, climate change and clean energy; life sciences and health sciences; and construction and transportation.
According to the agency's website, "the connection between research supported and economic benefit will need to be tangible and demonstrable."
"Researchers and Research N.S. will need to show how the research they are conducting and funding is contributing to measurable changes in these [economic] outcomes in their reporting."
Research Nova Scotia gets an annual transfer of about $4.6 million from the province. In the past five years, however, it's received an additional $50 million to help secure additional funding partners. Research funding commitments from the Crown corporation have ranged from $10 million to $20 million a year, according to officials.
Changes connected to Bill 12
Maguire was not made available for an interview, but the directive from his department provides greater detail about changes first laid out in Bill 12, omnibus legislation the Progressive Conservative government introduced and passed during the recent winter session of the legislature.
Although the bulk of the attention the bill received related to changes to universities, the legislation also included amendments to the Research Nova Scotia Corporation Act that give the minister of advanced education discretion to determine the province's key research priorities for the Crown agency.
"This ensures that research priorities will now be directly communicated from the minister to Research Nova Scotia, guiding funding decisions," according to a government information sheet dated May 1.
The act requires Research Nova Scotia officials to "develop and implement a strategic plan for how the priorities will be advanced through research."
"For further clarity, all activities and funding provided by the corporation must align to the research priorities, as provided by the minister."
The minister's directive also includes objectives and examples of research areas for each of the three priority sectors.
Natural resources, climate change and clean energy:
The objectives include ensuring "growth in sustainable and responsible development" of natural resources; strengthening exploration, mining, midstream processing of critical minerals and clean technologies; addressing the province's climate change needs and advancing clean energy solutions.
Examples of research include resilient and efficient supply chains; sustainable mining practices and resource management; exploration, extraction, processing and recycling of critical minerals, including lithium and uranium; renewable energy technologies; carbon capture and storage; environmental science; oceans technology; and electrification and energy storage.
Life sciences and health sciences:
The objectives include improving health outcomes for humans, plants and animals, advancing the delivery of health care through research and learning by doing, and developing new methods to create materials, foods and other products using bioprocesses.
Examples of research include medical technology, animal and plant health and innovation, biomaterials and bioproducts, artificial intelligence in health-care settings, oceans technology and food security and self-sufficiency.
Construction and transportation:
The objectives are to improve infrastructure to support population growth and increase the efficiency of movement of people and products.
Research examples include sustainable and resilient construction technology, materials science, cellular and internet networks, innovative building materials, and urban and rural transportation solutions.
'Overarching outcomes'
The document setting out the provincial research priorities also outlines "overarching outcomes" the government expects to achieve through its funding. There are seven key outcomes that fit into two groupings:
Provincial productivity: "Increase technology development, uptake and use; increase knowledge and innovation diffusion into industry; and increased investment in tradable sectors and expansion of exports."
Provincial economic growth: "Enhance commercialization of research, including retention and deployment of Nova Scotia intellectual property in the province; increase the number of highly-qualified personnel employed in Nova Scotia; increase investment in research and development in key sectors; and increase to [the] provincial GDP."
According to the document, achieving these outcomes will require leveraging funding from other sources, such as the federal government, the private sector and through philanthropy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
13 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Infrastructure Bank CEO says it's ready to play a role in national-interest projects
CALGARY – The chief executive of the Canada Infrastructure Bank says the Crown corporation is looking forward to playing a role in Ottawa's ambitions to push ahead major projects deemed in the national interest. 'I think we're on the precipice of a really important time for our country,' said Ehren Cory. 'We're just one tool in the tool kit of that. We are far from the only part of the solution, but we're looking forward to playing our part in meeting the challenge that we face as a country.' U.S. President Donald Trump's on-again-off-again tariffs have forced Canada to rethink its relationship with its biggest trading partner and seek out ways to get resources and other goods to global markets. Key themes in this spring's federal election campaign were the creation of 'trade corridors' and other ways to remove the regulatory, legal and political logjams that have for several years prevented big projects from being built. The Liberal government has promised to put a two-year cap on the approval process for key projects. Prime Minister Mark Carney met with premiers in Saskatoon this week to talk over some of the nation-building projects on their wish lists. The infrastructure bank has already been involved in the planning around two contenders Carney rattled off to reporters after the meeting — the Pathways Alliance oilsands carbon capture and storage project in Alberta, and the Grays Bay Port and Road in the central Arctic. Cory said the bank has not yet received any updated direction from its owner, the federal government, since the April 28 election delivered the Liberals back to power with a minority government. 'They set out priorities,' he said. 'We go find deals.' The infrastructure bank, created in 2017 with $35 billion in capital, invests in revenue-generating projects that are deemed to be in the public good, but would have trouble getting off the ground with private-sector money alone. To date, it has made $5 billion in clean power investments and put $1 billion toward Indigenous-led projects. In the coming week, it is set to close its 100th deal. The bank operates at arm's-length from the federal government, which sets out broad priorities. As its stands, its priority sectors include public transit, clean power, green infrastructure, broadband and trade and transportation. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Cory said it's not up to the bank to decide whether new oil pipelines, for example, would be investments worth pursuing. But if they are, he said, the bank is 'a potential tool to doing more of them because they have the classic hallmarks of infrastructure projects.' Like many big infrastructure projects, pipelines require huge upfront investment, have long payback periods and tend to have a lot of uncertainty getting off the ground. 'And that's very hard for the private sector alone to manage and absorb,' Cory said. 'That's the kind of shock absorber that the (infrastructure bank) can be.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2025.
National Observer
13 hours ago
- National Observer
Bill to fast-track projects gets instant pushback from climate groups and First Nations
The federal government's new bill to fast-track projects 'in the national interest' sparked immediate concerns from the Assembly of First Nations and Canada's largest network of labour unions, climate, environmental and faith groups and Indigenous organizations. If it becomes law, the federal government will essentially be able to approve certain projects before federal regulatory processes take place. Environmental and other concerns will no longer be able to stop these projects, but mechanisms will be put in place to mitigate any harms. 'Green-lighting major projects up front, before asking how they would affect communities, is nonsensical,' Alex Cool-Fergus, national policy manager at Climate Action Network Canada said in a press release. 'Bypassing democratic norms under the pretext of a 'crisis' is a tactic as old as time. This government must do better.' Bill C-5 has already prompted the Assembly of First Nations to call an emergency meeting. 'The Assembly of First Nations remains deeply concerned about the lack of time and appropriate process to carry out the Crown's consultation and consent obligations, especially given the potentially massive impact on the rights of First Nations,' AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said in a statement. At a press conference Friday afternoon, Prime Minister Mark Carney clarified that the federal government 'will not impose a project on a province.' 'Bypassing democratic norms under the pretext of a 'crisis' is a tactic as old as time," Alex Cool-Fergus, national policy manager at Climate Action Network Canada said of the federal government's new legislation to fast-track major projects. 'We need consensus behind these projects and we need the participation of Indigenous peoples,' Carney said at a press conference on Friday. This week, BC Premier David Eby said he will not support Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's vision of building a new oil pipeline to BC's north coast. Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre said caucus will discuss whether to support the legislation (which also enacts the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act, intended to reduce interprovincial trade barriers). Poilievre said it's 'troubling' Carney is giving provinces veto power when Eby has said no to 'the most promising pipeline.' Asked why provinces shouldn't be able to say no, Poilievre said they 'need to start saying 'Yes.'' The bill, tabled in the House of Commons by Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, would give Ottawa the authority to draw up a list of large projects it wants to prioritize and expedite their federal approval. When a project is deemed in the national interest and added to the list, it will be considered to be conditionally approved from the outset. The project will go through existing review processes such as the federal Impact Assessment Act, but the focus will be on 'how' instead of 'whether' it can be built. The bill sets out several criteria to evaluate whether a project is in the national interest. These criteria include whether a project strengthens Canada's autonomy, resilience and security; provides economic or other benefits to Canada; has a high likelihood of successful execution; advances the interests of Indigenous Peoples; and contributes to clean growth and to Canada's objectives with respect to climate change. In a background press briefing a government official said these are considerations, not a checklist, and other factors can also be considered. What it means for a project to 'contribute to clean growth and to Canada's objectives with respect to climate change' is not defined in the legislation. The cabinet and the governor in council, in consultation with provinces, territories and Indigenous Peoples, will have the discretion to define that, according to a government official. Consultation with Indigenous Peoples would happen before a project is listed. After that, staff in a new federal major projects office will help coordinate the federal review processes that determine what conditions the project must meet. This means public consultation and comment will take place after a project has already received a 'yes.' Projects will have to be at a certain state of readiness to be listed for fast-tracking, a government official explained on background. The process for how proponents can submit projects is separate from the legislation and will require consultation with Indigenous Peoples, provinces and territories. Details will be shared 'over the summer,' the official said. The federal government's goal to get projects through in no more than two years means the clock will start when a project gets listed (approved and designated for fast tracking) and end when the regulatory processes have been completed and conditions set. This goal is political, not legislated. 'Those two years are consulting with Indigenous Peoples understanding impacts on rights, specific measures to accommodate them, understanding specific interactions with the environment," a government official said, adding it takes two years to properly develop the conditions. Responding to the new legislation, Environmental Defence said projects that should be deemed in the national interest include things like a resilient electricity grid with new east-west interties and with access for solar, wind and storage; scaled-up public transportation; building millions of green, energy-efficient and affordable homes and more.
CBC
13 hours ago
- CBC
UW's School of Pharmacy receives $300K investment
The University of Waterloo's School of Pharmacy announced Friday a partnership with multinational biopharma company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) that will launch the Pharmacy Innovation in Immunization Research Collaborative (PIIRC). UW is receiving $300,000 in the partnership, which will be used in research, establishing a community immunization network and the creation of an advisory board, among several other goals. CBC K-W's John Dalusong attended the announcement event.
