Good morning ladies and gentlemen, friends and guests. Thank you for the warm welcome. C'est un grand plaisir d'être avec vous aujourd'hui.
I must say as I look out across this room, recognizing a number of you, the credentials here today are truly impressive.
Business and academic leaders; innovators, entrepreneurs and industry experts – no one knows better than you about the importance of innovation, commercialization and partnerships if we are to be globally competitive. No one knows better than you that collectively, we must up our game in each of these areas to create jobs, improve our lagging productivity and ensure the economic prosperity of this country.
Gone are the days when companies had vast research divisions, and worked independently to push one or two products out into the market.
Also gone are the days when our companies were not concerned about competition south of the border, let alone overseas. Today, we are faced with unprecedented global competition and technology that changes, improves or becomes obsolete over night.
What should not be gone is our shared resolve to grasp and adapt to these realities, seize emerging opportunities and markets, build on existing strengths and natural resources and recognize that there is strength in numbers.
We are stronger, better, much more productive and definitely more successful when we partner – each bringing our unique talents, expertise and assets to the table. This partnership includes every level of government, industry and academia.
I know some of you were here yesterday for my esteemed colleague, the Honourable Michelle Rempel's remarks, and I am sure you heard a similar message from her as well.
For our government's part, we are confident that we have set the right macro-economic conditions and provided the necessary targeted investments from across federal departments and agencies to retain, attract and grow Canadian businesses.
In fact, since 2006, our Government has lowered taxes, made Canada the first tariff-free zone for manufacturers in the G-20, eliminated unnecessary regulatory burdens and improved conditions for business investment. These steps have established a solid foundation that has allowed Canadian businesses to create jobs and drive economic growth.
We have effectively balanced fiscal restraint with priority and targeted spending. We have extended the temporary accelerated capital cost allowance for machinery and equipment, ensured fair and transparent government procurement and provided important and timely job training.
We have re-oriented the National Research Council of Canada or NRC into a research technology organization mandated to provide Canadian industry with access to the strategic R&D, technical services and specialized scientific infrastructure it needs to succeed. We have done this in recognition that Canada's ability to gain a competitive advantage in the modern economy increasingly depends on our ability to translate knowledge and ideas into commercial products that will generate wealth and improve the lives of Canadians. Earlier this week, we announced the Concierge Service—a single access point where any SME looking to innovate and grow can find professional and timely advice. This new service will be administered through the NRC's Industrial Research Assistance Program—or IRAP for short.
In the same vein, we have opened the door to new markets with millions of new customers. All regions and sectors across Canada stand to benefit from the groundbreaking Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement that has been reached in principle, between Canada and the European Union (EU).
Not only has our Government set the right macro-economic conditions for Canadian businesses to succeed, we have also invested directly in game-changing projects and growing companies where the return on our investment has and will be of direct benefit to taxpayers and the country.
In our first four years, FedDev invested over $1.1 billion, resulting in partnerships with more than 5,300 organizations and over $1.5 billion in additional leveraged investments from almost exclusively non-government sources to support businesses, manufacturers, organizations and communities in southern Ontario.
We have made impacts with projects like the Connected Health and Wellness Platform (CHWP). Our $15.5-million investment helped develop the CHWP in collaboration with a total of 19 companies and not-for-profit partners to create a cloud-based software and wellness management platform to allow patients, their family, friends and professional care teams to collaboratively manage health and wellness through innovative healthcare services.
We have invested in projects such as BioAmber, Sarnia's new bio-based succinic acid plant, the first and only commercial-scale production plant of its kind in the world. Our $12-million contribution is supporting BioAmber to convert renewable feedstocks into sustainable chemicals that are cost-competitive replacements for petroleum-derived chemicals. BioAmber envisions that the project will help change the chemical industry and have positive environmental benefits.
Friends, I can tell you, our efforts so far have put thousands of people in the region back to work while improving the economic climate for innovation, entrepreneurship and collaboration. As we emerge from a period marked with some economic challenges for many nations around the global, our Government has shown that Canada has been among the most stable economies in the world during this time of prudent fiscal choices. We are now ready to use the solid ground work that has been laid to prosper.
And, as any good investor, we are ready to continue to invest in those companies and organizations that will provide this country with the greatest return on our investment.
And that ladies and gentlemen brings me to some very exciting news. Today, I'm going to share with you—for the first time—our Agency's new vision.
As Minister of State for FedDev Ontario, I have had the opportunity to see first-hand the innovation and potential that exists across this region; the ideas, resources, technologies, products, services and the people.
Folks, with renewed funding of $920 million as a result of Economic Action Plan 2013, we are now taking the Agency's efforts to date to the next level. Beginning April 1st and over the next five years, we will focus on: building on our successes, co-investing in world-class innovation platforms, commercializing that innovation, creating an entrepreneurial environment with access to financing; and creating prosperity by boosting productivity and diversification.
And so, with that, drum roll please, I am announcing four new initiatives with a combined total of over $530 million in available funding.
Ladies and gentlemen, each initiative builds on what we've done so far, and responds to a specific challenge we are facing based on extensive research regarding the current economic landscape. Working with you, we will create an innovative and competitive southern Ontario.
Our first area of focus is creating and growing businesses.
A main part of creating and growing businesses is a focus on those businesses that may not yet be established. Experience tells us that entrepreneurs are crucial to our region's innovation, competitiveness and economic prosperity. I'm sure many of you would agree, and likely fall into that category yourselves.
The biggest and most influential businesses all needed help getting started at one time and many of the best ideas came from the minds of entrepreneurs in early phases.
However, lots of entrepreneurs face challenges accessing valuable expertise, business skills, and connections, and raising capital from within the investment community.
And that leads me to a familiar initiative. The Agency is re-launching the Investing in Business Innovation initiative, or IBI as you know it, which is designed to foster a more competitive southern Ontario economy by supporting entrepreneurs and building a portfolio of early-stage, globally-oriented businesses with the ability to become world leading innovators.
IBI aims to help new entrepreneurs get the tools they need to successfully manage start-up businesses, and early-stage enterprises to transform their ideas into globally-competitive products and services by increasing access to advice and private sector investment, as well as strengthening angel investment networks to help new companies grow and succeed.
In our first four years, IBI contributions have leveraged private-sector investments of $196 million in angel and venture capital in 86 high-growth start-ups in southern Ontario. And, during this time, the number of angel investors in southern Ontario has increased from 283 in 2010 to a projected 900 today.
So we are pleased to continue this initiative over the next five years, so entrepreneurs can continue accessing the investor expertise they need to develop and commercialize their technologies, and get access to critical early-stage capital.
Another important area of creating and growing businesses is the need to remain competitive locally and with other countries. In order to do this, southern Ontario businesses need the tools to grow, improve productivity, diversify markets and integrate into global value chains.
That is why we designed the Investing in Business Growth and Productivity initiative, or IBGP. It will support the growth of established southern Ontario businesses so that they can compete globally.
By helping businesses reach a greater scale and improve productivity, IBGP will enable businesses to compete in global markets, while accelerating economic growth and job creation here at home.
So I am thrilled to announce this initiative, which will assist existing southern Ontario businesses adopt new technologies that have the potential to improve productivity and expand their operations.
We know productivity is central to southern Ontario's long-term prosperity. Through IBGP, FedDev Ontario will also work with not-for-profit organizations to collaborate with businesses to reduce the productivity gap between Canada and other countries.
The second area of focus and perhaps of most interest to you today, is cultivating partnerships.
We have done some great work in this area, but we know that while Canada ranks high in innovation and scientific discovery, we are less effective in converting research, new ideas and technologies into products and services that are leading commercial markets.
We need to tackle this gap between innovation and commercialization in southern Ontario so that the region can compete on an international platform. I know this is something that you are discussing during the conference as well.
The Government of Canada has invested significantly in building strong research capacity and expertise in PSIs through numerous federal organizations and programs. We need to further capitalize on the deep reserve of resources we have in the form of university-based and other publicly-funded research. More must be done to ensure businesses can pull this capacity and expertise out of PSIs in order to allow for a greater return on federal investments and better position industry to bring ideas to market.
That is why I am pleased to announce the Investing in Commercialization Partnerships initiative, or ICP. Through ICP, our Government aims to address the innovation and commercialization gap between the private sector and research institutions, post-secondary institutions and not-for-profit organizations so that the region can compete with the rest of the world. ICP will support groups that have formed business-led partnerships with a focus on developing globally-competitive products and services; or, innovation platforms that have potential for commercial value.
We have worked to address this need in the past, setting the stage with programs like the Technology Development Program and the Prosperity Initiative, through which we have helped link partners to bring forth game-changing technologies. We also helped build new collaborations among key players in southern Ontario who have been able to find a place on the world stage as a result.
Now, we are aiming to build on these successes and encourage businesses to capitalize on regional assets, and put to use the power of research and educational institutions and their communities.
This investment in commercializing research—lab to market—will put southern Ontario and Canada in leading positions in the world's knowledge economy.
And finally, I am thrilled to announce the last of the Southern Ontario Prosperity Initiatives. It focuses on something a little closer to home, building stronger communities.
While economic conditions across southern Ontario have improved, long-term challenges remain for some communities. Challenges like: unemployment rates above the Canadian and Ontario rates; difficulty attracting new investments; difficulty diversifying or transitioning their economies, and facing a lack of incentives to collaborate.
As I've already mentioned, FedDev Ontario is focused on helping communities across the region attract business and investments and, in turn, prosper by diversifying their economies and collaborating with neighbours.
That is why I am happy to announce the new Investing in Regional Diversification initiative, or IRD.
IRD will work to build stronger, more diverse economies in southern Ontario communities in the long-term by leveraging unique regional assets and local expertise, by creating opportunities for economic growth in communities across southern Ontario.
This initiative is designed to encourage not-for-profit organizations and private sector or community partners to collaborate and develop ways to help build stronger, resilient communities, and help diversify the region's economy.
Southern Ontario's communities and regions have diverse economic strengths, opportunities, gaps and challenges. Through this initiative, networks of community partners will be empowered to find the best ideas that will help make these communities stronger.
We believe that investing in strategic projects to diversify our communities will not only improve our region's economic prosperity, but will also attract more investment, create new jobs, accelerate business growth and help strengthen our economy now and for the future.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are excited to see more jobs, growth and prosperity for our families, businesses and communities created through the initiatives announced today—as well as through the Eastern Ontario Development Program I announced last week, and the Advanced Manufacturing Fund in Ontario, which we will share more about in the near future.
That is the goal of our Government. While economic conditions in the region have improved, long-term challenges still exist.
That is why in this new phase of programming, the Agency will be a champion for the region. We'll be a co-investor, working with others to stimulate the economy; a convenor, bringing together the right people to improve the economy; and a delivery agent, delivering national programs and strategic projects right where they are needed.
I cannot stress the importance of the following enough: A strong Canada depends on a prosperous southern Ontario that is home to economically diverse communities that attract investment; highly productive, innovative businesses, with the tools they need to succeed; and opportunities to expand and diversify markets at home and globally.
And, I will conclude as I started, a strong Canada depends on us working together and each doing our part. Governments must do their part to provide the right conditions and targeted investments. Academia must focus on commercializing research and developing curricula that supports productivity and innovation. And industry must step up to the plate as they have the potential to compete and win globally.
I know FedDev Ontario officials are here to walk you through the details of the new initiatives at the technical briefing. I'd also encourage you to stop by the Agency's booth to get some more information from our officials.
Thank you for your time. I look forward to seeing all of the possibilities that will come to light as a result of these new opportunities.
Thank you. Merci.
