Editorial Where Does CANMET Go From Here?

These are changing times for the industry’s federal research labor atory — the Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology (canmet).

The industry is demanding more tangible results from the centre’s research work and the government is toying with the idea of joint government-industry management and funding. What’s more, the researchers themselves have had to defend their efforts.

In a task force report on federal policies and programs for technolo gy development, the Ministry of State for Science and Technology made a number of recommendations regarding canmet. One was that a board of directors, made up of people in the industry, be established to define and review missions, set priorities and ensure that these goals are financed. But it will be up to the government, industry, universities and labor unions to decide exactly how these committees are to be appointed so that past inefficiencies are not repeated.

The non-fuels section of canmet has an annual budget of $40 million. According to one industry executive, the way the labs work now, “canmet consults with us, but then goes off and does exactly what it wants to do.” This regrettable habit must stop if the organization is to build a reputation of research excellence. The labs’ track record of bringing new technologies into the marketplace is far from exemplary. It is, in fact, poor, according to Peter Richardson who was commissioned to do a study of canmet for the ministry. But despite Mr Richardson’s criticism, the organization is not likely to die.

A standing parliamentary committee on energy, mines and resources has evaluated the recommendations of the task force and made its second report to the House of Commons, Dec 16.

The committee agreed with most of the recommendations — except for one which called for the privatization of canmet and a 25% reduction in government financing, which would then have to be picked up by the mining industry. Obviously these are votes of confidence for the continuation of canmet as a viable research institute. But what the centre works on and how it does this work will change.

The committee plans to meet with industry representatives this year before any decisions on policy changes are made. We hope the industry takes the bull by the horns to make canmet a more valuable and workable research organization — one of which the industry can be proud.