Speaking Notes for The Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of National Defence - IDEaS Launch Event 

University of Calgary Student Centre
Calgary, Alberta
April 9, 2018

Please check against delivery

Good afternoon, and welcome.

I would like to thank the University of Calgary for hosting us today on this beautiful campus. I am pleased to be here for this exciting announcement about Canadian innovation and defence.

This university is no stranger to innovation and innovative research. You are a leader in sustainability, with more green buildings than any other campus in Canada. 1.7 million square feet and 11 buildings to be exact.

Our Defence policy makes it clear that being responsible stewards of the environment is a priority today, and for the years to come. UCalgary is setting a great example for the Canadian Armed Forces, and all Canadians who care for the wellbeing of our planet.

The green buildings on campus have proven beneficial for the city of Calgary. Through innovative features such as storm water management ponds, and green rooftops, the campus has helped manage large sums of storm water to protect the Bow River from flooding. They have also kept 14,500 tonnes of waste out of landfills.

The University has proven that innovation and environmental sustainability can be very complimentary.

UCalgary is also an institution that has produced some notable innovators who have made a real differences in their industries.

People like Garret Camp, the co-founder of Uber. James Gosling, inventor of the Java programming language. Chip Wilson, the founder of Lululemon.

These three UCalgary alumni turned their ideas into successful products and businesses. Their innovative solutions benefit many of us in our daily lives.

That innovative spirit is exactly what we need as we seek to develop technologies and programs to support, equip and train the Canadian Armed Forces in the decades ahead.

When I say “we,” I am not speaking as a politician, or as a Minister. I am speaking as a Canadian.

Every one of us has an interest in helping us maintain our military’s standing as a Force that is agile, flexible and responsive. A military that can and will keep us safe in an increasingly complex environment.

The Canadian Armed Forces must constantly adapt to changing and evolving threats. To do that, we need to enlist the ideas and enthusiasm of Canada’s best and brightest minds.

That is what brings me here today.

It is my great pleasure to announce the launch of the Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security program — or IDEaS for short.

The IDEaS program will help us find innovative solutions to defence and security challenges. Through this program, our Government will look beyond the traditional defence community and scientists, to all Canadians, to find the solutions we need to support, equip and train our service members.

We will invest in the most promising concepts. Our Government has committed $1.6 billion dollars to this program over the next 20 years — with $313 million dollars being invested over the first five years.

We are prepared to fund individuals and enterprises that apply with promising ideas.

We are looking to the everyday innovator, to our Government partners, to universities and academia, to small start-up companies, as well as established corporations and not-for-profit organizations.

Or anyone who has a solution to the challenges we need to address.

Through IDEaS, our Government will support innovators, big or small, in providing the CAF with creative solutions to today’s complex defence and security challenges.

We must address these challenges, and the threats and risks we face. Our security, and the well-being of our military members depends on it.

Take climate change for example. Its effects may not yet be apparent to everyone, but it is already creating new security threats. Melting ice caps in the Arctic are making that area more accessible. That means we need to step up our efforts to defend our sovereignty and protect against illegal trafficking in the area.

Climate change also brings about extreme weather patterns, and we need to think seriously about that, and find ways to allow our Forces to perform their best in these conditions.

With today’s announcement of the IDEaS program, we are ready to hit the ground running. I am excited to officially announce the first call for proposals to help us find solutions to some of the following challenges.

As I have just described, human performance in extreme conditions is one of the key challenges for defence. It is one of sixteen defence and security challenges currently identified under the IDEaS program.

Some of the other challenges relate to people and and their well-being. This includes better understanding PTSD so we can prevent, assess, address and treat those it affects.

It also includes recruitment. How can the CAF better represent the Canadians we serve?

Other challenges relate to anticipating threats. Whether on land, or in the water. In the air or in cyber space. How can we be persistent in our maritime surveillance? How can we better track and identify the source of cyberattacks?

I am sure UCalgary Professor Rei Safavi-Naini has some ideas on this. He knows this field very well and has developed new strategies to secure information to fight cyber crime.

We also have challenges that ask how we can adapt to a changing global security environment.

To better detect chemical, biological, or radiological hazards for example.

Innovators will help the CAF find the solutions to these challenges, and IDEaS will help those innovators by supporting them in a number of ways.

First, through the funding. As I mentioned, our Government is investing $1.6 billion dollars over the next 20 years in Canadian research and development in areas related to the future of defence and security.

Second, we will implement flexible new procurement methods. This will allow Defence to develop and test ideas, and follow through on the most promising ones.

We will also keep working with our industry and government partners to better engage potential contributors so that the best ideas are identified quicker.

We will establish networks and clusters around defence and security challenges. These clusters will bring academics, industry experts, government scientists and other innovation leaders together to the fullest extent possible.

We will help companies field-test products with the CAF. This help ensure that the new capabilities they develop will meet the needs of the military.

We will also give businesses the experience and exposure to pursue opportunities in global markets.

Lastly, we will encourage and stimulate innovation through contests and competitions.

Innovators will be able to present their most creative solutions to our challenges. We will support creativity, and new ideas through investment.

IDEaS supports innovation straight through, from concept to trials. It also enables National Defence to commit early to promising solutions.

To every innovator here with us today, I would like to underline that this is an opportunity for you to make a real difference in the lives of many.

Innovation, technology and research are critical to Canada’s safety and security. They help us mitigate threats, stay ahead of our enemies, and meet evolving security needs.

Through the years, we have seen how Canadian innovation and technology have enhanced the success of the Armed Forces.

We can look to the G-Suit, which was developed during the Second World War, to prevent allied pilots from blacking out. The suit has since been modernized and today they are used to train astronauts.

Or the Bombsniffer, which is a tool developed in the 80s that is still used today to help our CAF members find hidden explosives.

Or the international Search and Rescue satellite system which has helped save more than 14,000 Canadian lives since coming online in 1982.

These are just a few examples of a very direct connection between what innovators do, and Canadian military success on operations.

Ladies and gentlemen, our defence policy commits to keeping Canadians safe, both at home and abroad.

Innovation, science and technology are key to ensuring that Canada remains Strong at Home, Secure in North America, and Engaged in the World.

With today’s announcement, we are demonstrating our support to the growth and expansion of Canada’s innovation community for years to come.

I look forward to seeing what ideas Canada’s most innovative and creative minds come up with.  

Your solutions to our challenges will help save lives, and better protect military personnel.

Thank you.