Changes to NSF submission process: another reason to move to Canada?

NSF has made radical changes to their submission process, in order to cut down on the number of full proposals requiring external review. For summary and discussion of the changes see Jabberwocky Ecology and The Spandrel Shop.

Early response to the changes seems to be largely negative, but of course we won't know the full consequences for several years. But that won't stop me from asking again: At what point does the Canadian NSERC Discovery Grant system start to look good to US investigators tired of having their careers depend on a lottery ticket? See here and here for previous Oikos blog posts on the strengths of the Canadian system relative to the US system. And see here and here for discussion of an alternative way to ensure that there are enough reviewers for all the grant applications NSF receives (short version: oblige submitters to review).