Canadian universities and researchers studying advanced and developing technologies, including artificial intelligence, will soon be ineligible for federal grants. As the government alleges associated with foreign institutions, could qualify as a threat to national security.
Recently the federal government named more than 100 institutions in China, Russia and Iran which it says represent the highest risk to Canada’s national security. The government says the listed institutions are linked to those countries’ militaries and state security agencies.
The federal government also released what it called a list of “sensitive” research areas — including quantum technologies, a space and satellite technology, advanced weapons, aerospace, robotics, medical and health-care technology and space and satellite technology.
Researchers are in search of federal grants to study in any of those fields will need to confirm that they aren’t working with or receiving money from any of the foreign organizations and institutions mentioned by Ottawa as threats to national security.
Sometime during spring, the new policy is set to come into effect but the government said, immediately it can take research affiliations into account, if it sees a risk.
The announcement comes at a time of sharp concern about foreign actors stealing Canadian research and intellectual property. Last month, the head of Canada’s spy agency in a speech warned that no one should underestimate China’s efforts to steal Canadian research and meddle in its domestic affairs.
Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Health Minister Mark Holland said, while Canadian-led research is defined by its excellence and collaborative nature, 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.
3 Federal government officials briefing reporters on the new policy said they still don’t have a complete picture of the extent of the issue.
The officials, who were speaking on background and not for attribution, said they don’t have accurate information on how many Canadian research entities have worked with the Chinese, Russian and presently Iranian institutions listed as threats to national security.
It’s about the level of risk, not necessarily about the level of activity, said of the government sources.
The new policy applies only to grant applications to federal granting councils — the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
But one of the officers speaking to reporters said, that they hope by listing sensitive research areas and calling out problematic institutions, Canada can send a message to researchers and provincial governments not to work together.
The government said the list of institutions was collected through open source and classified sources and can be updated if new concerns arise.
