Top neuroscientist leaving for UK on Canada's 'diminished' value of knowledge

One of Canada's top scientific minds is leaving the country -- and says the federal government's attitude toward science is partially to blame for his departure. 

Dr. Robert Brownstone is saying goodbye to Halifax to take up a position as chair of neurosurgery at University College London. 

He tells As It Happens co-host Carol Off, "They really appreciate the value of knowledge in London. They're interested and excited about creating new knowledge."

Dr. Brownstone has been given sizable grants to do his work -- amounting to $1.7 million dollars last year. But that's not enough to keep him in Canada.

He says, because of cuts to scientific research, "Everything is not all smooth here with science...It's worrisome."

In 2013, the government reset the National Research Council to a more business-friendly model - one that favours practical applications for industries. Dr. Brownstone says the decision has had a "huge" impact. 

"Discovery science is essential in order to further not only our knowledge about what's happening out there, but it makes the world a better place. An example that I like to give is that of James Clerk Maxwell. He was a 19th century Scottish physicist, the father of electro-magnetic theory...We're talking on the telephone today, we have satellite communication, we have television. Much of what we do is based on Maxwell's equations. He discovered that out of curiosity about how the world works."

At one point in the interview, Dr. Brownstone looks to the future of scientific research in Canada, "I'm concerned we're going to lose the culture of knowledge and the culture of the importance of knowledge."