Federal granting councils face possible budget cuts
Government is sending 'the wrong signal' say critics
by Léo Charbonneau and Peggy Berkowitz
The federal research granting agencies could see the first cuts to their budgets since the federal government began to significantly reinvest in university research in 1998. According to Treasury Board figures released Nov. 4, which have yet to be approved by Parliament, the councils have to pay back a total of $94 million from their budgets for this fiscal year ending in March 2005.
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council is facing a cut of $41 million; the Canadian Institutes of Health Research could see its budget shaved by $36 million; and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council is looking at a reduction of $14 million.
The clawback is part of the government's attempt to cut $1 billion annually in spending. This expenditure review is separate from a $12 billion expenditure reallocation exercise that the government is also currently engaged in (see article "Research spending put under the microscope").
The cuts will likely not affect the delivery of programs for this year. That's because the three research councils have proposed that "lapsed" funds from the Canada Research Chairs program be used to cover this year's cuts. The Chairs program has approximately $100 million of committed funding that it won't be spending this year because universities have taken somewhat longer than anticipated in nominating chair recipients, explained Denis Croux, the program's director of operations.
The concern from the research councils is what will happen in the 2005-06 fiscal year and beyond. The projected surplus in the Chairs program for next year likely won't be sufficient to cover council shortfalls, and it almost certainly won't be enough for any subsequent years, said Mr. Croux.
Janet Halliwell, executive vice- president of SSHRC, said her council was taken by surprise when it learned that the cuts could be permanent and not a one-time reduction. "The full impact of the cuts is phased in over three years," she said.
If the cuts go ahead, "it will be a body blow to the community and to SSHRC," said Dr. Halliwell. "We're trying to see whatever room we have to maneuver. We are facing what is really quite a profound challenge."
Doug Owram, president of the Canadian Federation of the Humanities and Social Sciences, said he couldn't understand why the government would change course now on university research. "It sends all the wrong signals. They're going in the wrong direction and undermining in some ways their own investment."
What's more, the social sciences and humanities research community is already under served, added Dr. Owram. "There's no fat in SSHRC. In fact it's starving."
Members of the business community also reacted negatively to the news. At a research conference in November organized by Impact Group, Frank Maw, president of Motorola Canada, said "it's like building a race car and all of a sudden cutting off the gas supply." Hani Moustapha, manager of technology programs at Pratt & Whitney Canada, said that only universities are equipped to do basic research in Canada, adding: "Don't cut the granting council funding."
Steve Shugar, director of policy and international relations at NSERC, would not confirm that the proposed cuts at NSERC are permanent, although other sources indicated the council is in the same position as SSHRC. "Things are very unclear. The only thing we know almost for sure is what's happening for the current year," he said. "The government, up until now, has been extremely supportive of the whole university research and training effort, and I think it would be surprising if they did a total about face on it. We're optimistic."
Much the same note was sounded by Claire Morris, president of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. A cut to the budgets of the granting councils would be "unfortunate" and "would send the wrong signal," she said. However, "we are optimistic that a solution will be found, especially given the priority that the federal government attaches to university research." Ms. Morris noted that Finance Minister Ralph Goodale, in his economic update of Nov. 16, "stated clearly that Canada must keep up its momentum on innovation and research."
CIHR had no comment on the cuts. "We're waiting for the final results of the [expenditure] review before commenting," said CIHR spokeswoman Janet Weichel McKenzie.
