Government of Canada intends to invest $20 Million in Innovative Solutions to Enhance Safety and Security in Canada

The Government of Canada is committed to developing innovative solutions to complex problems while fostering economic growth. Negotiations are underway between proponents of 26 projects and the Department of National Defence; all these partnership projects seek to make Canada and Canadians safer. Up to $20 million is available for the proponents under the Canadian Safety and Security Program (CSSP).  

These projects, selected under the May 2016 call for the proposal for the CSSP, will encourage partnerships between the Government of Canada, provincial and municipal governments, the private sector, industry, academia, and non-governmental organizations.

The CSSP is a federal program led by Defence Research and Development Canada, in partnership with Public Safety Canada. This collaborative model ensures that key organizations from government, industry, academia, and international organizations are brought together to work on the most pressing safety and security issues facing Canada.

In the past, funding from the CSSP has greatly aided public safety and security professionals, including first responders, to: acquire training that better enables them to respond to incidents such as railcar accidents involving flammable liquids like the one that occurred in Lac-Mégantic in 2013; to develop a forecasting software that predicts and measures the risks of smoke resulting from wildfires; and to support the research of technologies to improve cargo screening for drugs and dangerous materials as well as technologies to better identify suspicious activities in the Great Lakes region—all of which contribute to a safer Canada.