montreal

An alliance of Quebec organizations called Science pour Tous (Science for All) is proposing that high-technology companies should set aside 1 per cent of the public funds they receive to promote public understanding and appreciation of science.

The alliance was formed last November by seven organizations, alarmed at the growing shortage of trained scientific and technological personnel. A manifesto signed by 43 prominent educators, scientists and other public figures says that science and technology are not treated with due importance by Quebec institutions. It calls on scientists to share with the public “their questions, their discoveries, their sense of wonder, and even their distress”.

A meeting of l'Association de la Recherche Industriel du Quebec heard that businesses are searching desperately for graduates in information technology, biotechnology and aeronautics. The province has recently produced fewer science graduates, but employment opportunities in these areas have increased by 91 per cent during the past 10 years, compared to 14 per cent in other sectors.

Despite this, the provincial education minister has reduced the number of hours devoted to the sciences in secondary schools and the federal government has announced the abolition next year of a programme called Science Culture Canada. This programme has provided up to C$2.5 million (US$1.7 million) a year to non-profit groups that stimulate interest in science and technology among young people.

“With several hundred thousand dollars invested in Quebec, this programme has aided enormously in the promotion of science among young people,” says Michel Gauquelin, vice-president of Science pour Tous and director general of the popular science magazine Quebec Science.

The programme was a victim of 1995 federal budget cuts, and is to hold its last competition for funds in April — despite the recommendation in a 1993 study by a consulting firm that it should be continued. The initial response to Science pour Tous from the Quebec government's ministry of culture and communication has been positive, says Gauquelin.