OTTAWA, May 18, 2005 -- The Honourable David L. Emerson, Minister of Industry, today announced the creation of a panel of experts to advise the Government of Canada on how to ensure more new technologies and products make their way to the marketplace to benefit all Canadians. Minister Emerson has asked the panel of leading Canadians to report by this fall. The Government of Canada, through this panel, will identify new strategies to ensure Canada's commercialization performance improves in the years to come. The panel will advise on: what can be done to simplify and encourage the introduction of new processes and products into the marketplace while protecting the public interest; how to better harness the potential of new knowledge and technologies generated using public funds for developing practical applications and innovations for the benefit of industry and ordinary Canadians; and whether Canada has created the right environment for commercialization, including availability of risk capital, skills, infrastructure and security of intellectual property. "Basic research will always be a key national priority, but we need to do a better job of driving the best ideas to the marketplace -- both by pulling them from universities and research institutions and by making sure our policies encourage the private sector to help in this process," said Minister Emerson. "This group, with its experience and knowledge, will help position Canada as a leader in new ideas and technologies for the 21st century." The pace of commercialization of new ideas has an impact on the productivity and overall performance of the economy. "I will be watching the panel's work with great interest. Improving our commercialization performance is a key priority for me and for our department," said Minister Emerson. Minister Emerson has asked Germaine Gibara, Mike Lazaridis, Cindy Lum, John C. Risley, Joseph L. Rotman and Dr. Indira V. Samarasekera to join the panel. Joseph Rotman has agreed to chair the panel. Germaine Gibara is President and founder of Avvio Management Inc., a change and management consulting firm specializing in the financial and technological sectors. Mike Lazaridis is President and Co-CEO of Research In Motion (RIM), and has commercialized many technologies as new products, including the BlackBerry® wireless solution. Cindy Lum is currently the CEO and COO of the British Columbia Innovation Council, the British Columbia government's key agency responsible for developing and implementing technology transfer and commercialization strategies for the economic benefit of the province. John C. Risley is Chairman of Clearwater Seafoods Limited Partnership, a Halifax-based seafood harvesting, processing and distribution business he co-founded in 1976. Joseph L. Rotman has been using his business experience to assist the development of Canada's innovation and commercialization capacity with such groups as the Commercialization Advisory Council (Ontario), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and MaRS (Medical and Related Sciences Discovery District). Dr. Indira V. Samarasekera will become President of University of Alberta in July 2005, where she will have overall responsibility for fulfilling the vision and mission of the university and general responsibility for the business affairs of the university. The panel will be advising the government on an action plan for meeting its commercialization objectives. It will also make suggestions as to what government, business, and the academic sector can do to improve commercialization in every sector of the economy. Biographical notes are attached. - 30 - For further information, please contact: Christiane Fox Office of the Honourable David L. Emerson Minister of Industry (613) 995-9001 Media Relations Industry Canada (613) 943-2502 Biographical Notes Government of Canada Task Force on Commercialization Germaine Gibara Germaine Gibara is President and founder of Avvio Management Inc., a change and management consulting firm specializing in the financial and technological sectors. In this role, she has successfully completed and in most cases been involved in the execution of strategy mandates for major international and domestic companies. Prior to this, Ms. Gibara managed the new technology venture capital portfolio of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. As president of Alcan Automotive Structures, she recruited and managed an international, multifunctional team related to the commercialization of aluminum technologies in the auto industry. Alcan is a leading supplier to that industry. She has also run a prize-winning investor relations program on three continents for Alcan. Ms. Gibara currently sits on the board of directors of Sun Life Financial, Cogeco Cable, Agrium, the St. Lawrence Cement Group and the CPP Investment Board. Mike Lazaridis Mike Lazaridis is President and Co-CEO of Research In Motion (RIM), a company he founded while a student at the University of Waterloo. At RIM, he is responsible for product strategy, research and development, product development, and manufacturing. Since founding RIM he has received many patents in the field of wireless radio technology and software. His best-known product is the BlackBerry®, an end-to-end secure wireless platform supporting the communication and information needs of mobile professionals. Mr. Lazaridis is a member of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), founder and Chair of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, and principal benefactor of the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo. He has served as the University of Waterloo's Chancellor since May 2003. Cindy Lum Cindy Lum is currently Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of the British Columbia Innovation Council, the B.C. government's key agency responsible for developing and implementing technology transfer and commercialization strategies for the economic benefit of the province. Prior to this position, she was the Chief Executive Officer of the Innovation and Science Council of B.C. She is also on the B.C. Leading Edge Technology Centre Executive Committee, and Director for the University of British Columbia (UBC), Faculty of Science, Dean's Advisory Board. John C. Risley John C. Risley is Chairman of Clearwater Seafoods Limited Partnership (CSLP), a Halifax-based seafood harvesting, processing and distribution business that he co-founded in 1976. Clearwater operates eight processing plants throughout Atlantic Canada and a fleet of company owned fishing vessels. Its principal products are such shellfish species as lobsters, scallops, shrimps, crab and offshore clams. He is also President of Clearwater Fine Foods Inc, a family-owned company that owns approximately 45 percent of CSLP, and has a number of investments outside the fishing industry. Mr. Risley is Chair of the Canadian Youth Business Foundation and is Co-Chair of the Atlantic Canada Capital Campaign for the Nature Conservancy. Joseph L. Rotman Joseph L. Rotman launched his business career in 1962, and has been involved in establishing a number of private and public companies active in oil trading and petroleum distribution, oil and gas exploration, merchant banking, real estate and venture capital. He has increasingly applied his business experience to the advancement of Canadian life sciences research, the development of Canada's innovation and commercialization capacity, and related public policy at the federal and provincial levels, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, MaRS (Medical and Related Sciences Discovery District), Ontario Genomics Institute, and the Commercialization Advisory Council (Ontario). His family is the primary benefactor of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and the Rotman Research Institute at the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care. Dr. Indira V. Samarasekera Dr. Indira V. Samarasekera will become President of University of Alberta in July 2005, where she will have overall responsibility for fulfilling the vision and mission of the university and general responsibility for the business affairs of the university. She is currently Vice President Research for the University of British Columbia (UBC). She is responsible for providing leadership in the promotion, stimulation, and administration of research at UBC. She has worked to raise the level of research funding at UBC, as well as spearheaded a strategic approach to the research portfolio consistent with the University's academic mission. Dr. Samarasekera co-led an initiative to build a third Technology Enterprise Facility, in partnership with Discovery Parks Trust, to house UBC's technology spin-off businesses. She was Chair of the Inaugural Board of Genome B.C., and has served on the Board of the B.C. Provincial Health Services Authority.
