Paul Dufour

Taking the (right?) fork in the road: Canada's two-track approach to domestic and international science and technology

Canadas approach to developing a strategic capability of integrating science and technology into its international trade and foreign relations agenda has remained largely stagnant, while its domestic strategy for S&T has flowered. Canada is not perceived by the global industry and investment community to have a strong industrial R&D capacity: this may be hindering ready access to emerging international technology. Nevertheless, the quality of Canadas academic and industrial research is widely regarded internationally as of the highest calibre. As long as international S&T issues remain somewhat peripheral and occasionally referenced in the national innovation or foreign policy reviews, Canadas links to international S&T activities will probably remain disassociated from the explicit drive to a coordinated strategy for national S&T. For this to change, structural change will have to take place as well as a significant alteration in the attitude of Canadas major sectors of innovation and research performance. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

Using science and technology as strategic instruments for Canada's foreign relations with Latin America

Hal Klepak also charts the growing interconnections between Canada and Latin America, focusing on security policy. Canadas decision to join the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1989, Klepak notes, was prompted by a lessening of Cold War tensions and a recognition of greater political stability in the region. He details Canadas greater involvement in inter‐American security matters through a variety of means — direct military involvement in UN missions, participation in multilateral for a and the development of bilateral relations. US domination of the inter‐American security system means that bilateral relations have become increasingly important, Klepak argues, as Latin American states view multilateral initiatives with some measure of suspicion and cynicism. Klepak explores the complexities of Canadas evolving role within the security concerns of the region.