The buzz created by a 2017 national science review has faded, prompting calls for a renewed focus on innovation. With Canada’s relatively small population of 38 million people spread across a vast land area of some 9.88 million square kilometres, the nation’s researchers have access to expansive natural resources. Varied landscapes, such as the Canadian […]
Canada
Chief Medical Officer Was Silenced in Canada’s Residential Schools
The discovery in recent months of more than 1,300 unmarked graves at the sites of former indigenous residential schools in Canada has brought an ugly chapter of the country’s history back into the spotlight. Residential school survivors are sharing their stories at events across the country as part of the first National Day for Truth […]
Emergency COVID-19 grants need careful follow-up
Building on the research that was done may help prepare for future pandemics. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research and its partners have so far handed out more than 550 grants worth over $250 million for research related to COVID-19. Some will undoubtedly lead to significant breakthroughs that will help us deal with this pandemic […]
Was COVID-19 research funding well spent?
Some academics argue it should have been part of regular funding programs, or more focused. A full month before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic in March 2020, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research launched a $55 million emergency funding competition to help the scientific community learn all it could about the […]
Canada’s new science budget gets lukewarm reception from researchers
The relatively modest research investments outlined in Canada’s new federal budget could make it difficult for the nation to recruit and retain scientific talent, Canadian science advocates fear. Read more in Science.
Canada’s ecosystem hotspots: Rockies, Hudson Bay among areas flagged for protection
Ottawa has big ambitions but little research when it comes to setting aside the most valuable areas for conservation. Never fear, the mapping scientists are here. In 2017 conservation scientist Aerin Jacob was invited to join an expert team charged with advising the Canadian government on ways to meet its conservation targets. The team was […]
Canada Research Chairs and Genome Canada celebrate 20-year anniversaries
The vital role these two programs continue to play in Canada’s research landscape highlights the vision of those who pushed to create them two decades ago. Although it was overshadowed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, two important institutions of the Canadian research landscape marked a significant milestone in 2020 – the Canada Research Chairs program […]
Taking stock: Canada’s research funders assess their response to COVID-19 so far
Money was disbursed quickly, researchers stepped up, but some adjustments had to be made along the way. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck Canada in early 2020, the country’s major federal research funding agencies knew they would have a big role to play in the response, and they moved quickly to coordinate their efforts through the […]
New Canadian law improves habitat protections and adds Indigenous consultation
All fish are created equal, or at least treated equally under Canada’s new fisheries law that came into effect last summer. Under the updated law, fish habitat has gained new protections in Canada. The new version of the law restores protections that were removed by the previous government in 2012 and brings in new requirements […]
Coupons for healthcare a sign of creeping privatization?
The online discount site Groupon, home to cut-price gym memberships and spa visits, may seem like a strange place to find deals on medical procedures, but some Toronto-area clinics are offering just that. One medical imaging clinic in Vaughn, Accurate Imaging Diagnostics, recently offered a hefty discount on a full body scan used to measure […]