Earning a front row seat for the North.

• Author: Robinson, David (American basketball player)
• Position: Economically Speaking

Read the following list of technology clusters supported by the National Research council of Canada. Then explain why Northern Ontario is in trouble.

* Ocean Technologies in St. John's;

* Life sciences in Halifax;

* Information technologies in Fredericton, Moncton, Saint John and Sydney;

* Aerospace, biopharmaceuticals,

* Industrial materials in Montreal;

* Aluminium technologies in Saguenay;

* IT, life sciences, photonics in Ottawa;

* Medical devices--Winnipeg;

* Agricultural biotech and nutraceuticals in Saskatoon;

* Nanotechnologies in Edmonton;

* Fuel cells in Vancouver;

* Astronomy in Victoria and Pen ticton.

NRC's research institutes have become central hubs for dynamic technology clusters in Montreal, Ottawa and Saskatoon. These cities have seen tremendous growth, and the NRC has helped make it happen.

The NRC Web site describes how it works: "Fuelled by innovation, the cluster becomes a hotbed of investment and technology transfer. Small companies spin off from the original R & D laboratory. Startups find the technical and financial support they need to establish a customer base for innovative products and services. The success of one company attracts another, and another, eventually building a critical mass of skilled people, expertise, capital and entrepreneurial drive. Such an environment helps create local jobs and fuels economic growth."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

So what is wrong with the list? There is no forestry cluster. There is no mining cluster. There is no Northern Ontario cluster. And it is no accident.

The National Research Council is in charge of promoting Canada's high-tech clusters. In 2000 it committed $110 million to the Atlantic region alone. In 2001 it received an additional $110 million to expand its cluster activities across Canada.

But according to Don Di Salle, a Sudbury boy who happens to be the director general of corporate services for the NRC, Northern Ontario is not in the game. Mining and forestry are the responsibility of Natural Resources Canada, not the NRC.

The problem may get worse before it gets better. For the last 10 years Arthur Carty was president of the NRC. Now, as Paul Martin's national science advisor, Carty has become the most powerful figure in Canadian science. Will Carty continue to ignore Northern Ontario industries, or will he recommend treating the forestry and mining clusters like...