The federal government will soon release a list of “high risk” organizations suspected of stealing Canadian research and intellectual property, according to Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne.
Speaking to a House of Commons committee Monday, Champagne said the government is working with “security partners” to draft a list of entities it advises against getting research funding or grants. While he could not provide a specific date, Champagne promised the list “very soon.”
The threat of foreign states stealing Canadian research and development has increased in recent years, Champagne said, mirroring previous statements by Canada’s national security and intelligence community.
“It’s not only people trying to get our knowledge, it’s people trying to get our data and eventually our (intellectual property),” Champagne told the committee.
“(But) in a complex matter such as this involving national security, yes, we want to go quickly but we want to do it right. You have to combine these two factors.”
The federal government issued new national security guidelines for federal research granting councils – including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – in July 2021.
Under the guidelines, funding applications in “sensitive research areas” will not be approved if a person connected to the project is affiliated with an organization with ties to foreign militaries, national defence or state security entities.
Champagne told the committee that since the guidelines were released, those granting councils received 1,743 applications for funding. Just 36 applications were rejected on national security grounds.
The industry minister said Canada is not singling out any one country or company for increased national security scrutiny, although China has long been accused of stealing research and technology from Western democracies.
“We have decided to have a country and company agnostic…
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