Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-The Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan announced today their investments to help the Canadian Light Source (CLS) with its operating platform.

Through the Canada-Saskatchewan Western Economic Partnership Agreement (WEPA), Western Economic Diversification Canada is investing $4 million over the next four years, bringing its total commitment since budget 2008 to $5 million. This plus a $44 million contribution from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), announced in the fall of 2009, brings the total Government of Canada investment to CLS to almost $49 million.

“Excellence in science and technology helps to grow our economy, and today’s announcement will promote the innovation that creates skilled jobs across Canada,” said the Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification.

Ottawa- The Honourable Lynne Yelich, Member of Parliament for Blackstrap and Minister of State (Western Economic Diversification), was pleased to meet 14-year old Rui Song, a student at Walter Murray Collegiate Institute in Saskatoon today at the 2010 National Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge Awards Ceremony at the National Research Council, in Ottawa.

Rui won the prestigious $5,000 award after first winning the Saskatchewan stream of the Challenge. Ms. Song’s project, called “Racing to Find a Marker: Development of Molecular Markers for Races of Colletotrichum truncatum, was based on her attempt to find an early way to distinguish between two strains of a crop-killing fungus, one strain of which can wipe out half a farmer's lentil harvest if left unrecognized and untreated. 

Rui, a grade 9 student from Walter Murray Collegiate Institute, is the youngest-ever finalist in the event's 17-year history. She was one of fourteen finalist teams invited to Ottawa from across the country for the awards ceremony. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, Labour Minister Lisa Raitt and MP Mike Lake were also on hand to congratulate the award finalists.

“We are all very proud of Rui’s remarkable achievement on such a complex matter”, stated Minister Yelich. “Her future in a science-based field is extremely bright.”