Citing national security concerns, the Canadian government announced restrictions on research funding on Tuesday to stop the transfer of cutting-edge technologies created by Canadian institutions with China, Iran, and Russia.
Additionally, it released a lengthy list of classified research that it does not like to be made public. These include studies on advanced weaponsry, robotics, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, quantum science, space and satellite technology, and human-machine integration.
“Canadian research is at the forefront of discovery,” Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said in a statement.
But, he added, “its openness can make it a target for foreign influence, increasing the potential risks for research and development efforts to be misappropriated to the detriment of national security.”
The declaration follows a warning from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service that China, for instance, was obtaining cutting-edge technologies for military and economic advantage through cooperative academic research partnerships.
According to Canadian media, scientists from 50 Canadian universities collaborated on collaborative scientific publications with scholars associated with China’s military.
Space technology, computers, and quantum cryptography were among the topics of recent cooperation.
Ottawa listed 103 entities including foreign universities (85 from China, 12 from Iran and six from Russia) that it believes pose risks to national security. Canadian researchers will no longer be eligible for federal funding for research done in partnership with them.
Champagne stated that although the new policy will take effect in the upcoming months, federal granting agencies might begin considering research affiliations as early as this month.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and other organizations may consider hundreds of applications for research funding if the ban is implemented.
