Canada's chief science advisor Dr. Mona Nemer allocated seven employees to investigate unidentified flying objects, generating tens of thousands of pages of research that a federal survey found most Canadians considered insignificant. The Department of Industry, which oversees Nemer's office, confirmed the staffing allocation but did not disclose a budget for the initiative, according to Blacklock’s Reporter."Seven employees were involved in the project," the Department of Industry stated. The department further noted that "there are 42,500 pages of records," adding that "a sample of 500 pages has revealed approximately ten percent of those records require consultations with other government departments. The Department of Industry expects consultations will be numerous and time consuming."Blacklock's, which sought the records through an Access to Information Act request, was informed that it would take seven years to publicly release all files related to the Sky Canada project..Nemer, a biochemist, testified in 2024 before the Commons science committee that she initiated Sky Canada. "It's about unidentified aerial phenomenon," she explained. "The reason we have taken this on is not because we believe one way or the other about extraterrestrials or anything like that. It's because we believe it's important that we have a scientific approach and transparency in how we assemble the information precisely to avoid any conspiracy theories and so on."When pressed by then-Conservative MP Larry Maguire (Brandon-Souris, MB) about the project's completion and public release, Nemer replied, "We haven’t taken it a step further." She elaborated, "We sent questionnaires and requests for information to several departments that we think have been involved over the years or that may be involved right now. I will say that at the working level we have received information from some. The enthusiasm and responses have been uneven.".A $34,369 opinion survey commissioned by Nemer revealed that most Canadians found the research to be of little consequence. "Unidentified aerial phenomenon is not an issue of high concern," according to the Study on Sky Canada: A Nationwide Survey for the Office of the Chief Science Advisor of Canada. The survey found that "just seven percent say they pay a lot of attention to the topic.""Support for actual public spending on unidentified aerial phenomenon investigation is not strong," the Nationwide Survey concluded, noting that "only 1 in 10 feel it is very important to dedicate funds to investigate reported sightings." The report also indicated a "limited degree of real alarm" among Canadians regarding UFOs. When asked about the source of unidentified aerial phenomena, ten percent attributed them to aliens. Other responses included "the weather" (5%), "foreign governments" (4%), drones, satellites, or weather balloons (4%), "my government" (3%), and "the military" (3%). Furthermore, only 10% strongly agreed with the statement, "This represents an issue for flight safety in Canada."
