Harper government good for science?
On his blog, Inkless Wells, Maclean’s columnist Paul Wells lauded the government’s major CFI funding announcement last week. Wells suggests that the government deserves kudos for stepping up with such a huge infusion of cash.
Certainly, I applaud the government’s CFI investments. There is a dizzying array of fields being funded, and this money will certainly help build state-of-the-art research facilities – facilities that will help attract and retain top, world-class researchers. Money will certainly need to be dedicated to funding projects that use them, and hopefully the government will reconsider its plan to cut research funding in its next two budgets.
Nonetheless, the CFI investments represent a windfall for universities and research institutes who were looking for major investments to remain world class. The positive effects can be felt throughout academe, and will serve as a real shot in the arm for Canadian science. I encourage the government to continue making such a public show of support for science.
As I agree with you that funding is always good news, I have concerns about the CFI. University labs are full of underutilized equipments that sit there either because of the lack of operating money to maintain them. Sometimes, they were bought to perform analyses that could have been performed outside at a much lower cost, but requiring non-existing operation money. All of this is highly questionable.
Big announcements are flashy, and politicians love that, operating grants are not.