Editorial - 22-9

Canadian high-tech is languishing and the situation is getting worse by the day. And according to Canada's foremost serial entrepreneur and industry booster, a portion of the blame lies squarely at the feet of the federal government.

Mitel chairman Terry Matthew's says several key industry support programs have been eliminated by the current government which, combined with a venture capital industry focused on upstream investments, makes it tough for start-ups to secure R&D financing.

The program Matthew's singled out is the often-maligned Technology Partnerships Program (TPC) which the Conservative government killed in 2006. TPC focused on aerospace, defence, information technology, environmental and biotechnologies and also pooled funds with the Industrial Research Assistance Program to assist small companies.

When TPC was replaced by the Aerospace and Defence Strategic Initiative (SADI), it left the other industry sectors without public funding to bridge well-recognized gaps in financing.

The result is fewer start-ups and more failures and takeovers, stifling Canada's primary source of industrial innovation. When Matthew's says high-tech is facing a crisis of unprecedented proportions, government would do well to listen. His membership on the new Science, Technology and Innovation Council (STIC) will hopefully provide an effective conduit for delivering that message loud and clear.

As a small nation, Canadian companies have enough challenges to overcome without being stranded by their own government.