Canada's big science facilities lack a national plan, expert panel finds

Facilities the report covers

• SNOLAB, underground in Ontario
• Canadian Light Source, Saskatchewan
• Ocean Networks Canada, off B.C.
• CCGS Amundsen, Arctic research icebreaker

A panel of the Council of Canadian Academies, in a report commissioned by Ottawa, found that the country's major research facilities run on fragmented, short-term funding with no long-term plan. It calls for stronger national co-ordination and a central authority to guide planning.

"We're muddling through at best. We're not aiming for success."

— Janet King, chair of the expert panel

Why it matters

Canada joined the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope only in April 2024, when it had been under construction in South Africa and Australia for more than two years. Foreign partners see Canadian decision-making as "opaque and unco-ordinated," the report says.