The Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan - Western Innovation Forum Speech

Good morning everyone.

Ladies and gentlemen, friends and colleagues, it is pleasure to be back home in Vancouver for this year’s Western Innovation forum. I’ve had an interesting few days, starting in Kitchener-Waterloo, then to Mali and Senegal, and seeing the outcome of yesterday’s US election. I’ll just say it’s good to be back home.

Thank you for allowing me the privilege of addressing you this morning. Innovators play a critical role in the Canadian Armed Forces.

For those of you not in uniform, that might seem like a bit of a surprise, but the Canadian Armed Forces rely on your ideas, your technological expertise, and your ability to bring an idea to life. During my time in Afghanistan, I was able to do my job because of innovation and advanced technology.

The armour, the weapons, the communications equipment, and the intelligence tools that I relied upon were created by innovators like you.   

Today I will talk to you about innovation in multiple contexts: In the current security environment context; in the procurement context; and particularly in the collaborative context, because collaboration is key - with other government departments, with other countries, and with private industry. 

I will also touch on how innovation is fused to the military’s core, and how DND is collaborating across the board to create a new defence policy.

Let’s start with today’s security environment. We know that it is changing rapidly. We know it is complex and rife with emerging threats. We know that new threats have emerged both on the domestic and international fronts. 

The challenges our women and men in uniform face are more complex than ever before. Our adversaries are staying abreast of new technologies and using innovation against us. 

This means that the evolution of technology will require innovators like you to be key partners for the delivery of defence capabilities.  Because innovation is part of the fabric of defence and security forces.

It used to be that new defence technologies came from defence labs – like the jet engine, GPS, and wireless technologies. These days, it’s the other way around. 

Innovation is coming from the civilian commercial sector and being used in defence applications – like data mining, smart phones, and robotics.

To continue to operate within today’s new reality and meet the military’s needs, we must always be broadening our approach to research and development.  We must continue to widen the net of collaboration with industry, the private sector, and other government departments. 

The needs of our women and men in uniform can only be met by developing a technologically-advanced and innovation-driven Canadian defence industry.

The defence sector is a key part of the Canadian economy. According to CADSI, it accounted for approximately 63,000 Canadian jobs, and contributed $6.7 billion to our economy in 2014.

In order to reach its full potential, the Canadian defence and security economy needs research and development investments, and partnerships with the private sector and academia.

And at the Department of National Defence, we need a vibrant and innovative defence and security sector to deliver the right equipment and services to the Canadian Armed Forces. 

That vibrancy and innovation comes from investing in the right talent. It means recruiting diverse perspectives and unleashing the creativity of young people to bolster our innovation sectors.

Industry is also well placed to offer us practical advice on how to simplify and improve defence procurement and achieve tangible results.

This brings me to “deliverology.”  Deliverology is the starting point for anything our government does. Before we tackle any problem, we define the problem, we identify the goal we are trying to accomplish, and then we determine how we can track our progress along the way. 

By constantly measuring our progress, our objectives, and our purposes, we can readjust or recalibrate our efforts to ensure we stay on track.

The principles of deliverology apply to improving defence procurement. Fixing our broken procurement system is a priority for me, it’s a priority for my colleague, Minister Foote, and it’s a priority for the Government of Canada.  

We must leverage the purchase of defence equipment to create jobs and economic growth. And we must do so in such a way that delivers the right equipment to the Canadian Armed Forces in a timely manner.

Officials and DND and at Public Services and Procurement Canada are continuing to work together to develop innovative contracting methods.  Ones that encourage participation of non-traditional defence contractors, because we need those “outside the box” ideas to address the challenges of tomorrow.

Defence Research and Development Canada, or DRDC for short, is one vehicle we can use in this regard.

Some of DRDC’s visionary work belongs in science fiction movies, but is, in fact, a reality. They help military members do their jobs safely and effectively every day.

Here are a few examples.

Situational awareness is critical for the military.  DRDC’s All-Domain Situational Awareness program addresses the heart of this requirement.  It will improve our awareness in our aerospace domain, as well as above and below the ice surface in Canada’s North.

DRDC has also been instrumental in the operational use of RADARSAT-2 for advanced ship detection in the approaches to Canada and elsewhere around the world.  Both initiatives indeed bring new meaning to the word “visionary.”

There is another initiative that was, in my military life, literally close to my heart.  It is the redesigned personnel protection armour plates. They developed various types of armour plates that are tailored to specific operational conditions, and it is something that our soldiers rely on heavily for critical protection.

DRDC’s experts are also delving into the field of brain injury detection.  Our scientists are working to identify markers in a person’s blood that would allow for early detection of these delayed injuries, which would improve our diagnosis and treatment of wounded soldiers.

I have seen first-hand how lethal and devastating the effects of landmines and IEDs can be on LAVs and their occupants in theatre. Our scientists have developed the Belly Armour Kit to help counter this threat. 

It drastically improves the effectiveness of the LAV’s underbody armour and significantly increases the likelihood of survival for the LAV occupants. It is a real life saver.

And one initiative that I think really exemplifies our coordinated and collaborative approach is the Canada/U.S. Enhanced Resiliency Experiment.  It helps our two countries’ mutual emergency management officials and responders communicate during an emergency situation.

The list of innovative and leading edge projects goes on – all in the spirit of collaboration and all in support of our men and women in uniform. So congratulations to DRDC for their hard work.

While Canadian innovators continue to do fantastic work, Canada has fallen further behind its global competitors on key business innovation metrics. According to the Conference Board of Canada, our country remains near the bottom of its peer group on innovation (13th among the 16 peer countries).

Canada ranks 26^th amongst international competitors for business innovation, but we know that at the same time Canada has incredible talent. Those two things aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, just last year, 24 Canadians received international awards in research excellence.

Canada’s current innovation ranking can change – it has to change – and that’s where the Government’s Innovation Agenda comes in. Launched in January, it aims to strengthen research and commercialization while promoting partnerships with businesses. That way, the knowledge and discoveries generated in the lab make their way to the market more easily.

The Innovation Agenda will stimulate Canadian innovation. It is a strong commitment to a collaborative approach to science, technology, and innovation.

From DND’s perspective, we continue our work with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada to ensure our innovation activities dovetail with Canada’s Innovation Agenda.

We work so closely that sometimes people confuse me for Minister Nav Bains. I remind them I’m the better looking of the two of us.

Under our Sustainment Initiative, we are bringing major government and industry players involved in sustainment and support services together.  This initiative will look for new ways to maximize equipment performance, value for money, flexibility, and economic benefits for Canadians.

As a group, and on a project-by-project basis, they will determine what kind of life-cycle maintenance is required.  They will find ways to align financial and strategic interests of all those involved in this important business.

DND will further coordinate with Public Safety Canada toward their mandate to create a safer and more secure Canada.

Through DRDC, we are working closely with allies and industry partners to build a state-of-the-art, automated cyber defence technology to respond more effectively to increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.

Cyber terrorism is a real threat that requires around-the-clock vigilance, and our scientists and researchers are helping us in that fight. 

Innovation at National Defence is taking place within the Department as well on the battlefield. We launched an innovative, extensive, and unprecedented consultation process across Canada earlier this year to help inform a revamped Defence Policy.

Many of you took part in the discussions through the spring and summer, and the debate that took place exceeded our expectations. Thank you for your ideas, and for your participation. We will publish Canada’s new defence policy early next year.

While I can’t prejudge the results of the review, I can tell you that cooperative relationships, like the ones we share with industry, will remain central to Canada’s defence approach. 

Ladies and gentlemen, we need to continue fostering a culture of innovation through collaboration. 

A strong and sustainable science and technology industry is absolutely critical to the future success of our military and our economy.

Through your innovation, you will directly contribute to strengthening the safety and security of Canadians. I thank you for that and I look forward to working with you.

Thank you.