The Revenue Canada’s Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Tax Credit Program is a Federal and Ontario Government incentive program designed to subsidize the cost of developing and designing various applied technological processes, systems, and products.

The SR&ED program is a major source of industrial R&D funds in Canada. It is available to all Canadian-owned corporations that have spent money on qualifying technological activities in Canada in the areas of Manufacturing, IT, Printing, Chemical, Biotechnological, Food, Design, and other industries.
See http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/txcrdt/sred-rsde/bts-eng.html for an official reference.

The expenses reimbursed by SR&ED typically include wages (payroll) of the employees involved in experimental development, cost of the materials consumed in the process of experimental development, and certain other items.