Canadian government cuts spending

The NRC is getting its budget cut it seems.

The Harper government is slashing more than 20 per cent of the National Research Council of Canada’s budget. The NRC, which promotes leading-edge technological research and is headquartered on Montreal Road, will cut 25 science jobs across the country, the Citizen has learned.
“The loss of institutional knowledge will be huge,” said Gary Corbett, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPPS), the scientists’ union. “You can’t just drain knowledge from the public sector. It will be devastating to Canada in future years, but the government doesn’t seem to care.” The NRC’s total budget stood at $881,137,581 in the last fiscal year; in 2011-12, it will be reduced to $690,836,000.

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The question for that arises from cutting science funding whether in Canada and the UK currently or Australia in the late 1990s for some fields is not about the cuts per se.

The question for me revolves around the idea that this indicates a failure of communication. Why do some governments not understand the value of investing in creating future potentials for a country's future.

Too much of the pro funding debate revolves around the idea that it will deliver X value or impact. Too little of the communication presents the concept that science is an options value invetment. We don't know what the future holds and we don't know what we will need. Science opens up those possibilies. An indvidual's country's investment allows it to tap in the world knowledge - it develops the people that will world on tomorrow's challenges.

We should stop with the promises and be honest about the value of science funding and try and communicate its value to a somebody who works on the dhop floor or works in retil six days a week and earns minimal wages.