Speaking Points
The Honourable Gary Goodyear,
Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
April 15, 2014
Check Against Delivery
Hello. Bonjour. Thank you all for the opportunity to speak to you today. C'est un grand plaisir d'être avec vous aujourd'hui.
I would like to congratulate you on the second anniversary of the Southern Ontario Smart Computing Innovation Platform—or SOSCIP—project. I would like to recognize the lead industry partner, IBM for its invaluable role in this project. I know Pat Horgan is here as we had a chance to speak earlier. So thank you, to you and your team for partnering with the Government of Canada, academia and other industry partners on such an exciting project!
Our Government knows that partnerships are important to moving forward in today's economy and we are proud to support this collaborative research platform in southern Ontario.
This is why the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, or FedDev Ontario as we're commonly known, is pleased to have contributed up to $20 million to help with the implementation of this project, which has brought together seven universities with industry partners and leveraged an additional $190 million in investment into the southern Ontario economy.
The SOSCIP project is currently supporting a number of research projects with 30 SME partners, in important areas spanning from water management to intelligent urban design, to analyzing data critical to healthcare statistics.
Canada has what it takes to be an innovation leader. The SOSCIP project is an example of our world-leading post-secondary research capability. Add to that our incredibly skilled workforce, and the elements for success are all there.
One very important factor in terms of Canada being a leader in innovation is the economy and I am proud that our Government, under the stewardship of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the late Jim Flaherty – the best Finance Minister this country has ever had, has been successful in getting Canada's economy through rough waters, to the point where we are in a position of envy of other G-7 countries. We have made strategic investments that have had a return on taxpayers' dollars. And we have set the right macro-economic conditions to help our businesses.
Ladies and gentleman, I can tell you that at FedDev Ontario, we are focused on building upon the strengths found in our region, and our accomplishments to support a prosperous southern Ontario and by extension, a prosperous Canada.
Today's celebration of the SOSCIP project gives us a glimpse into the future: and the future looks like unprecedented data processing capabilities. It looks like real-time interpretations of neurological scans. It also looks like well-planned, decongested urban traffic routes, through the use of computer models that analyze overall travel demand in urban areas.
I am also very pleased to tell you that there are 280 high-quality jobs being created as a result of these projects, jobs both in innovative and research-related fields.
Job creation is a big part of why I am so proud that our investment has helped to bring this platform together.
We will keep working with strategic partners, many of you are here today, to maximize the research capability and potential in our region to help to turn ideas into goods and services that can be commercialized globally, which creates jobs for the region.
We will do this by continuing to invest in world-class research and innovation. To that end, last December I launched four funding initiatives called the Southern Ontario Prosperity Initiatives, which provide over $530 million over five years. The initiatives are aimed at retaining, attracting and growing businesses in southern Ontario to increase the region's global competitiveness.
Once again, please accept my sincere congratulations on this milestone. I also look forward to hearing about what other exciting areas of research you will be able to explore and advance in the future of this consortium.
Thank you. Merci.
