Canada Foundation for Innovation Invests $38.9 Million to ExpandWorld-Renowned Underground Science Facility (Forwarded)

Canada Foundation for Innovation
Ottawa, Canada

For more information:

Valérie Poulin
Coordinator, Media Relations
Canada Foundation for Innovation
(613) 996-3160
cell: (613) 447-1723

Mylène Dupéré
Press Secretary
Office of Allan Rock
Minister of Industry
(613) 995-9001

Daphne Guerrero
Communications Advisor
Office of Dr. Rey Pagtakhan
Minister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State
(Science, Research & Development)
(613) 995-1333

Christine Aquino
Press Secretary
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Secretary of State
(Rural Development) (FedNor)
(613) 759-1085

December 1, 2003

CFI Invests $38.9 Million to Expand World-Renowned Underground Science Facility

SUDBURY -- Today, Dr. David Strangway, President and CEO of the Canada
Foundation for Innovation (CFI) was joined by Andy Mitchell, Secretary of State
(Rural Development) (Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern
Ontario) on behalf of Allan Rock, Minister of Industry, to announce a $38.9
million investment towards the establishment of a new international facility for
underground science in Canada.

The investment will transform the existing Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO)
into a lasting world-class research facility. When the original SNO project was
conceived in 1984, it was set-up as a "sunset" project with a specific end date.
Its outstanding success in the last two decades convinced the partners that the
experiment should be transformed into a permanent facility.

"Supporting world-class research will lead to ground-breaking discoveries right
here in Sudbury and across Canada, and will help ensure that Canada is one of
the world's most innovative countries," said Industry Minister Allan Rock.
"Canada's researchers have made extraordinary contributions in science and
innovation and this initiative will help ensure our country's continued
leadership role in astrophysics."

"Today's announcement will enable significant breakthroughs by addressing
critical questions in particle astrophysics such as the origin and evolution of
the universe," said Dr. Strangway. "Projects like these provide a real
opportunity to build on Canada's expertise in this field, and to build new
partnerships with international researchers and facilities."

SNOLAB will conduct experiments that build on the success of the original SNO
project. The CFI's investment will cover the cost of excavation of a new
underground experimental cavern, surface support, new labs at Laurentian
University, experimental equipment as well as operational support for the next
five years.

"This CFI investment recognizes the outstanding contribution of researchers
whose work will be of direct benefit to Canadians and others around the world,"
said Dr. Rey Pagtakhan, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State
(Science, Research and Development). "This strategic investment in research will
help to make Canada one of the top five countries in research and development
performance by 2010."

This project will bring together a consortium of researchers from six Canadian
universities. The administrative centre will be located at Carleton University
where the project leader, Dr. David Sinclair, is a Professor of Physics (College
of Natural Sciences at Carleton University).

"This collaborative international project being undertaken here in Canada
confirms our reputation as a strong competitor in the commercialization of
knowledge, and the promotion of research and development," said Secretary of
State Mitchell. "FedNor provided a $95,000 investment in April 2002 that allowed
SNO to prepare a detailed, professional proposal to the Canada Foundation for
Innovation, which, in turn, has led to today's announcement."

In July 2003, FedNor provided an additional $500,000 to help SNO expand its
existing underground and surface facilities. This represents Phase I of the
multi-million dollar project to create the new International Facility for
Underground Science.

This announcement is the sixth of nine large-scale international research
projects being funded under the CFI's two International Funds -- the
International Joint Ventures Fund and the International Access Fund. The
International Joint Ventures Fund, which includes projects such as SNOLAB,
supports the establishment of a small number of very high profile research
infrastructure projects in Canada to take advantage of extraordinary research
opportunities with leading facilities in other countries that will bring
significant benefits to Canada.

The CFI is an independent corporation established by the Government of Canada in
1997 to strengthen the capacity of Canadian universities, colleges, research
hospitals, and other non-profit research organizations to carry out world-class
research and technology development.

View the related video,
http://www.innovation.ca/video/sno.wmv [20MB]