CFI Invests $27.7 Million to Boost Canada’s Role in International Science

April 24, 2003

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QUÉBEC, April 24, 2003—Today, Dr. David Strangway, President and CEO of the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) was joined by Industry Minister Allan Rock, to announce a $27.7 million CFI investment that will provide Canadian and international researchers with a world-class facility to undertake environmental and marine sciences projects in the Arctic.

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The funds will be used to retrofit an existing icebreaker—supplied by the Canadian Coastguard—with state-of-the-art research equipment to study the environmental, social, and economic impacts of global warming on Canada’s northern regions.

“This research will help tackle issues that transcend national boundaries and will help consolidate Canada’s lead in Arctic oceanography,” said Minister Rock. “This new ship will also provide a unique training opportunity by enabling Canada’s young researchers to work side by side with some of the world’s best environment and marine scientists.”

“This ship is one of nine large-scale international research projects that are at the core of our investment strategy to provide Canadian researchers and graduate students with a strong and vibrant environment under a number of multinational research initiatives,” said Dr. Strangway.

The funds are awarded to a consortium of 15 universities led by the Université Laval under the CFI’s International Joint Ventures Fund. This fund is aimed at creating infrastructure in Canada that would support internationally outstanding research being undertaken in Canada, and to enable Canadian researchers to collaborate with the best in the world.

The new icebreaker’s first international research mission will be to study the ecosystem impacts of melting ice in the Western Arctic. Funding of almost $10 million for this multi-year, multi-university project—with its administrative centre located at Université Laval—was also announced today by Minister Rock on behalf of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council. The vessel will sail in August and spend the winter in the Beaufort Sea.

“This type of partnership clearly fits with Canada’s Innovation Strategy by pooling the resources of two key national agencies to increase our capacity to understand the impact of global warming on the Arctic and other Northern communities,” added Dr. Rey Pagtakhan, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State (Science, Research and Development).

“In this era of globalization, university research—now more than ever—transcends borders. L’Université Laval will act as an international catalyst allowing these researchers to maximize their contributions to this project,” said Université Laval’s Rector, Dr. Michel Pigeon.

The CFI is an independent, not-for-profit corporation established by the Government of Canada in 1997 to strengthen the capacity for innovation in Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals, and other non-profit institutions.

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