The Short Report - February 22, 2023: Protecting Canadian research; a newly-dubbed innovation agency, plans to modernize the EPA, and more.

GOVERNMENT FUNDING & RESEARCH POLICY 

The Government of Canada is restricting funding for research with foreign entities that could pose a national security risk. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada has announced that “Grant applications that involve conducting research in a sensitive research area will not be funded if any of the researchers working on the project are affiliated with a university, research institute or laboratory connected to military, national defence or state security entities of foreign state actors that pose a risk to our national security." The policy applies to the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Canada's federal research granting councils: the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. ISED

Read more: Research Risk: we'll know it when we see it

The Government of Canada has released the blueprint for the Canada Innovation Corporation (CIC), the new innovation agency promised in Budget 2022.  CIC will operate as a crown corporation and will absorb the National Research Council's Industrial Research Assistance Program; it will operate with an initial budget of $2.6 billion over four years and is currently being established as a subsidiary of the Canada Development Investment Corporation to begin the recruitment of senior leadership and establish operations. Dept. of Finance

Read more: New innovation agency's success hinges on its private sector leadership, experts say

Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Phillippe Champagne has announced investments totalling $68.2 million in 17 Canadian clean technology companies through Sustainable Development Technology Canada. The funding supports a wide range of sectors including energy exploration, agriculture, transportation, waste management and energy conservation. Some of the companies funded include Montreal-based BrainBox AI ($6.5 million), Calgary-based Carbonova ($2 million), and Burnaby, B.C.-based Nano One ($10 million). ISED

The Alberta Hydrogen Centre of Excellence (HCOE) is awarding $20 million to 18 projects advancing hydrogen innovation through its first funding competition. One of the projects involves studying the logistics, technology requirements and considerations to develop 100 per cent pure hydrogen communities while other projects will examine the  use of pipelines for hydrogen transmission and look at converting heavy-duty long-haul trucks to dual-fuel machines. In all, projects will examine everything from production, transmission, distribution, and storage, to end-uses of hydrogen. The HCOE will fund up to 50 percent of eligible costs for the successful projects, or up to 75 percent of eligible costs for projects led by post-secondary institutions or those with a significant Indigenous component.  Alberta Innovates

RELATED: Preparing for hydrogen

The British Columbia Institute of Technology will receive more than $9 million through the Aerospace Regional Recovery Initiative and over $5 million through the Regional Innovation Ecosystems Program to establish new training programs in the aerospace and life sciences sectors. The $9-million investment will help launch a training program for gas turbine maintenance, repair and overhaul in the aerospace sector and is the first of its kind in North America. The $5-million investment ($2 million of which will come from the Government of British Columbia) will fund creation of a National Biomanufacturing Training Centre to provide training, professional development and talent for biotech companies in B.C. and across Western Canada. PacifiCan | BCIT

Kirkland, QC-based regenerative medicine company Chitogenx, in partnership with Polytechnique Montreal, has obtained a nearly $3.5-million grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and advanced materials research and innovation hub Prima Québec. The 4-year grant will help Chitogenx develop new biomaterials for regenerative medicine and accelerate the readiness of the company's flagship soft tissue repair technology platform. Chitogenx

The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency is investing nearly $2 million through the Regional Economic Growth through Innovation program for projects with Charlottetown-based antibody technology company Somru BioScience. The funding will help launch a research services division in Charlottetown in response to increased market demand in the biologics and biosimilar drug market and provide advanced equipment and expansion to offer bioanalytical services to pharmaceutical development companies in North America and Europe. The announcement follows the federal government's recently announced  $25 million to increase capacity through a new BioAccelerator in Prince Edward Island. ACOA

The Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN) is investing more than $2.5 million in projects valued at over $5 million across the food value chain through its Food Innovation Challenge and Innovation Booster programs. The recipients include Theory Mesh (Winnipeg; receives $1.28 million to create a traceable and transparent supply chain for beef and dairy with partners CubicFarm Systems  and EcoDairy); Liven Protein (Toronto; receives nearly $1 million to upcycle food industry side-streams into animal-free collagen ingredients); BioShur (Montreal; receives $50,000 to scaleup biobased, backyard compostable,  and bioactive packaging), and Smallfood (Dartmouth, NS; receives $99,000 to assess the storage and shelf-life stability of a novel protein- and DHA-rich food ingredient). CFIN

Environment and Climate Change Canada has announced plans to modernize The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, which hasn't been updated since its inception in 1999. Ottawa plans to update the act through Bill S-5 an enshrine the right to a healthy environment for all Canadians, as well as developing the implementation framework for the right to a healthy environment, the plan for chemicals management priorities, and the regulations to define the criteria for identifying high-risk substances. ECCC

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council has launched an online hub highlighting actions, programs and policies related to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) for the research community and policymakers. The new webpage "helps the research community navigate NSERC policies relating to career interruptions and the review process as well as grants and awards that address barriers and biases experienced by underrepresented groups." It also contains resources to assist natural sciences and engineering researchers with integrating EDI considerations into their work. NSERC

COLLABORATION & INNOVATION

Montreal-based emission-sensor technology company GHGSat will be providing methane data generated from its tracking satellites to the International Energy Agency for use in its reports, starting with the Global Methane Tracker 2023. The measurements will be taken from individual industrial facilities to generate a picture of methane emissions from the energy sector. GHGSat

The Toronto-based Weston Family Foundation is contributing $10 million to support soil health projects across Canada. The funding will go toward projects involving Assiniboine Community College (ACC), Dalhousie University, Olds College, the University of Guelph, and the University of Saskatchewan. Projects include an ACC-led Net Positive Network for Western Canada, the Dal-led development of digital soil mapping tools, and USask’s establishment of Indigenous Soil Health Learning Circles. Funded projects | Weston Foundation | USask | ACC

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and Atomic Energy of Canada have signed memorandums of understanding with the University of Waterloo and Western University to advance research in the nuclear sector. The focus areas with UWaterloo include research in small modular and advanced reactors; additive manufacturing and advanced materials research; nuclear cogeneration and energy storage; infrastructure lifecycle and operational assessment, and cybersecurity and safety. Focus areas with Western will include imaging and radiopharmaceuticals; cybersecurity; high-performance computing and artificial intelligence; hydrogen; materials science and degradation; decommissioning and waste management; advanced and small modular reactors, fuels and power grids. Western U. | UWaterloo

The University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization has been accepted as the first international organization in the Research Alliance for Veterinary Science and Biodefense BSL-3 Network (RAV3N), a partnership of 18 U.S.-based large biocontainment facilities focused on veterinary infectious diseases. Headquartered at Texas A&M University’s Global Health Research Complex, RAV3N co-ordinates approaches for large-animal biocontainment infrastructure and the capacity to improve surveillance, diagnostics, and countermeasure developments against pathogens of veterinary importance, including African swine fever virus, bovine tuberculosis, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, and avian influenza. USask

VC FUNDING NEWS

Montreal-based 3D scanning technology company Prevu3D has closed a $13.5 million Series A funding round led by climate technology VC firm Cycle Capital (Montreal). The round also included funding from previous Prevu3D investors, Brightspark Ventures and Desjardins Capital. Prevu3D

Ottawa-based BluWave-ai completed a $9.5-million Series A financing round in December, with PowerON Energy Solutions, a subsidiary of Ontario Power Generation, making a strategic investment with existing and new private investors led by the Capital Angels Network (Ottawa). BluWave-ai has also received a $1.73-million grant through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, which was previously announced in November 2022. BluWave-ai

Saskatoon-based agriculture technology company Croptimistic Technology has raised $9.1 million in a Series B investment from Forage Capital Partners (Calgary), and has acquired agronomy services provider CropPro Consulting. The investment fund continued R&D of Croptimistic's soil mapping hardware and software system. Swat Maps

THE GRAPEVINE 

Dr. Shanthi Johnson has been appointed University of Windsor's vice-president, research and innovation, effective July 1. Johnson comes to UWindsor from the University of Alberta where she served as professor and dean of the School of Public Health. She has participated on councils and boards including the National Seniors Council, Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, and the CIHR Governing Council. windsoriteDOTca

Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development Mary Ng met with Canadian technology leaders and entrepreneurs at this year’s C100 annual summit in San Francisco. Ng highlighted Ottawa’s efforts to support entrepreneurs from under-represented groups, including women-led businesses through Canada’s Women Entrepreneurship Strategy and highlighted innovation economy programs such as the Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative and ElevateIP. Global Affairs Canada

Minister of Fisheries Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard Joyce Murray has announced that Ottawa will not be renewing licenses for fifteen open-net pen Atlantic salmon aquaculture sites in the Discovery Islands in British Columbia, a key migratory route for wild Pacific Salmon where passages bring migrating juvenile salmon into close contact with salmon farms. Consultations on salmon farm licences in the Discovery Islands ran from June 22, 2022 to December 23, 2022 and included bilateral and aggregate meetings with industry and First Nations. Fisheries and Oceans Canada