By Derek Abma, Canwest News Service
February 2, 2010
OTTAWA – Canada gets a D in innovation, according to the report card issued Tuesday, ranking the country 14th among 17 industiralized nations for its ability to turn knowledge into money-making products and services.
In a report from the Conference Board of Canada, this country ranked ahead only of Australia, Italy and Norway for innovation.
Switzerland, Ireland and the United States topped the list.
“Canada is well-supplied with educational institutions and carries out scientific research that is well-respected around the world,” said Gilles Rheaume, the Conference Board’s vice president of public policy.
“But with a few exception, Canada does not successfully commercialize its scientific and technological discoveries into world-leading products and services,” he said.
Of the 12 indicators used to compile these rankings, Canada was given a D in nine categories, two Cs and one B. Its highest grade was given for the number of scientific articles published relative to the population. Canada was eighth in that category.
Canada was ranked particularly poorly in the area of international trademarks per capita, finishing ahead only of Japan.
As well, it was dead last in the technology-exchange category, which measures “the flow of technological know-how and technological services into and out of a country as a share of GDP.” Denmark and the Netherlands, which were part of the overall study, were not graded in this category due to a lack of recent data.
Canada was noted for having much of its economy based on the trade of commodities, with little value added before export. “Canada sells raw materials to be processed elsewhere,” the report said.
The Conference Board said countries scoring higher than Canada in innovation spend more on science and technology, and also have public policies that drive innovation supply and demand.
It is also noted the most innovative countries tend to be leaders in one or more areas. It cited Switzerland’s dominant position in the development of pharmaceuticals, Ireland’s leadership in making technology a bigger part of its economy, and the U.S. for having top science and engineering facilities along with large capital markets.
The board said Canada was once at the leading edge of biotechnology but has fallen behind due to a complicated and slow regulatory process, and a reluctance of domestic companies to buy products developed in their home country.
The biofuels sector, however, was singled out as an industry Canada could take a leadership role in due to its “relative success story with respect to the interplay between innovation and regulation” and “leading-edge research and technology demonstration.” To build on this position, the board recommended regular reviews of renewable-fuel standards, harmonized regulations on such products between provinces, and resolving the conflict that exists between supporting the biofuels industry and “imposing stringent regulatory requirements.”
