The Short Report: December 4, 2024

GOVERNMENT FUNDING

Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced $38 million, through the Atlantic Fisheries Fund, for 72 projects in New Brunswick’s fishing and seafood sector. The projects will help harvesters and processors modernize and test new equipment as well as improve productivity and increase ecologically friendly practices. Specifically, the funding will support new infrastructure, innovation and scientific partnerships in:

• Processing: 31 projects to advance the development and adoption of processing technologies and product quality to improve competitiveness and add value for the industry.

• Aquaculture: 21 projects to enable the adoption of new technology and processes to support sustainable development of the oyster, salmon and arctic char aquaculture sectors.

• Harvesting: 16 projects to procure new equipment and develop technologies to improve onboard handling techniques, data collection and monitoring to maintain product quality and sustainable fisheries.

• Multisector: Four projects crossing over multiple sectors to help companies in the adoption and development of new technologies and support the industry. Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Natural Resources Canada announced $12.5 million for six projects to accelerate the development of clean technologies that can significantly mitigate emissions from industrial activities in British Columbia. Projects funded under the Energy Innovation Program’s (EIP) Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage Research, Development and Demonstration Call are:

• $5 million for Squamish, B.C.-based Carbon Engineering ULC, to support the development of new alternative energy solutions for powering direct air capture systems, which pull carbon dioxide from the air.

[Editor’s Note: Carbon Engineering was bought by U.S.-based Occidental Petroleum last year for US$1.1 billion, making the Canadian company a wholly owned subsidiary of Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, an Occidental company investing in a range of new emissions-reduction technologies. Occidental’s annual gross profit for 2023 was US$16.97 billion].

• Over $1.8 million for Vancouver-based Arca Climate Technologies Inc., to advance DAC technology that aims to develop new methods to utilize unused rock from mining operations to capture and permanently store CO₂in an accelerated geochemical process called carbon mineralization.  
• Nearly $1.6 million for RtoC2 at the University of British Columbia, to capitalize on a synergistic relationship wherein byproducts from the pulp and paper industry can be used to remove the CO₂produced by the industry itself.

Projects funded under the EIP’s Clean Fuels and Industrial Fuel Switching Call are:

• More than $2.5 million for British Columbia Biocarbon Ltd. in McBride, B.C., for work to confirm the feasibility of converting municipal waste into bio-coal for the cement industry. By optimizing the feedstock mix and scaling production, the company plans to test a 100-tonne sample at Heidelberg’s Delta, B.C., cement plant.
• $80,500 for Burnaby-based Parkland Refining (BC) Ltd., which has been testing various pre-treatment methods for processing fast pyrolysis biocrudes and developing a way to track biogenic carbon and determine the carbon intensities of co-processed fuels. Expected results include creating a method to use existing infrastructure for producing low-carbon fuels.
• $710,000 for Vancouver-based Highbury Energy Inc., which is using its made-in Canada advanced gasification technology to conduct a comprehensive techno-economic analysis and front-end engineering design study to seamlessly provide an alternative fuel source for a lime kiln with medium-BTU renewable fuel gas from wood residues at Cariboo Pulp and Paper in Quesnel, B.C. NRCan

Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan) announced a federal investment of over $10 million for eight projects in agriculture, ag manufacturing, value-added agriculture and agri-food sectors in Saskatchewan. This includes non-repayable investments supporting agricultural manufacturing and repayable investments to help expand farming operations, the output of value-added agricultural products, and manufacturing capacity for agricultural equipment.

Examples include:

• Simpson Seeds Inc. is receiving over $1.9 million to procure and commission equipment for a new lentil flour processing facility in Moose Jaw, Sask.
• Agricultural Manufacturers of Canada is receiving over $1.1 million to provide business services and assistance to the agricultural manufacturing sector and agriculture sector through the Careers in Ag initiative.
• Drake Meat Processors Inc. is receiving $3.5 million to procure, install and commission equipment for a new meat processing facility in Saskatoon to expand the market in Western Canada.

PrairiesCan said these investments are expected to create additional revenue of over $110 million for businesses in the sector, including additional export sales of over $70 million, helping to strengthen the future of Saskatchewan’s agriculture and agri-food sector and support jobs for years to come. PrairiesCan

The BC Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy (CICE), which receives provincial government funding, is investing $7.7 million in 13 projects. CICE is investing $3.5 million in six of the 74 companies that applied for the 2024 wildfire tech call for innovation in June. The initiative was launched to source and fund projects working to commercialize technology that can help communities adapt to, prevent, and mitigate the impact of wildfires. Companies receiving funding from CICE under this stream are CRWN.ai, FireSwarm Solutions, Nova (Hummingbird Drones Inc.), Skyward Wildfire Technologies, Voxelis Canada Corporation, and Wildfire Robotics. CICE is also investing $4.2 million in seven B.C. climate tech companies, selected from 79 applicants to its July 2024 open call for innovation. The projects span three key areas: low-carbon hydrogen, low-carbon fuels and energy storage. Companies receiving funding under this stream are Edison Motors, NORAM Electrolysis Systems, AlgaFilm Technologies, NanosTech Environmental, Ekona Power, Quantum Technology Corp., and Unilia (Canada) Fuel Cells. To date, CICE has invested $39 million in 59 clean energy and climate technology projects valued at over $196 million through its calls for innovation. CICE

The Regina-based Protein Industries Canada global innovation cluster is investing $6.7 million in a $23.9-million project with industry partners Ontario-based Alinova Canada Inc., Marusan Ai Co. in Japan, Burnaby, B.C.-based Earth’s Own Foods and Cambridge, Ont.-based Flamaglo Foods to bring more soy processing home to Canada, while strengthening international market opportunities for soy products. The industry partners are contributing the remaining funding. Alinova Canada, a joint venture between DJ Hendrick International Inc. (DJHII) and Marusan Ai Co., will lead the partners in developing and commercializing a new soy powder. A pilot-scale facility will be built in Ontario, a region of high soy production in Canada. Both the operation of the new facility and its ideal location will allow the partners to more efficiently focus on product development work and market testing. As the pilot-scale facility is being built, Earth’s Own Foods and Flamaglo Foods will test small batches of the new soymilk powder in products destined for grocery store shelves across Canada. Once the facility is built, Alinova Canada and Marusan Ai will work to fully expand the processing capacity of the soymilk powder and test its commercial viability in the Japanese market. Protein Industries Canada

Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED) announced a $5-million investment, under CED’s Quebec Economic Development Program, to boost social economy enterprises that come together to share their equipment and technology in order to increase their sustainability, productivity, growth or capacity to commercialize and innovate. This new funding will enable social economy enterprises to optimize resource use, reduce costs, improve environmental efficiency, counter the labour shortage, access expertise and make substantial savings, CED said. Specific funding recipients weren’t identified. CED

The Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) announced a $4-million investment in the new Centre for Collaborative Chemistry (C3) at McMaster University. The funding will increase the adoption of advanced equipment to fast-track Canadian drug discovery. Once operational, C3 will provide an environment to accelerate the development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. With this investment, C3 will also leverage the regional life sciences ecosystem to provide small and medium-sized enterprises with access to highly qualified personnel as well as training, mentorship and collaboration opportunities to develop and commercialize meaningful and effective health care solutions. FedDev Ontario

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) announced over $2 million through the Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities program to support ADK Holdings Ltd.’s geothermal energy development project. The project, owned by Acho Dene Koe First Nation’s economic development corporation, will:

• Engage the community of Echaot’l Koe (Fort Liard) and support Acho Dene Koe First Nation in determining the best strategies for developing the geothermal resources of the First Nation’s traditional territory in the Northwest Territories.
• Identify specific opportunities for geothermal resource development.
• Support the potential transition of Indigenous communities to renewable energy, which will reduce diesel use for heating, create jobs and enable economic development in the Fort Liard region. NRCan

Innovate BC, a provincial Crown corporation, has awarded $1.5 million – through its Ignite program – to five B.C. projects focused on research and development in life sciences, food sciences, or cleantech. Each project will receive $300,000 in funding. The projects include:

• Ideon Technologies and the University of British Columbia (UBC), to develop a new application of cosmic-ray muon tomography for mapping and modelling block-caves to more safely and efficiently mine critical minerals.
• Peqish Group Food and Hospitality Inc. and UBC, to create chia plant-based fat substitutes to reduce saturated and unsaturated fats in food.
• Rockburst Technologies and UBC, to develop a carbon dioxide-based ore-pulverization method that reduces emissions in extracting valuable minerals.
• Viridis Research Inc. and Simon Fraser University (SFU), to develop a first-of-its-kind water treatment technology that eliminates, by way of full mineralization, dyes, toxic chemicals, surfactants and microplastics from textile wastewater.
• Geno10X Biosciences, Gene Bio Medical, and SFU researchers, for their work on an artificial intelligence-driven platform for rapid, non-invasive urine testing to help predict the risk of developing diseases such as cervical and anal cancer.

Since its inception in 2016, Innovate BC has funded 53 projects for a total value of $13.5 million. Innovate BC

Researchers at eligible Canadian postsecondary institutions are invited to apply for Destination Horizon Grants support to build capacity, foster existing partnerships and further develop networks and/or consortia with European Union and other “associated countries” researchers. The ultimate goal is to apply to Horizon Europe – Pillar II calls for proposals. Horizon Europe is the EU’s key funding program for research and innovation, with a budget of €95.5 billion. Destination Horizon Grants, valued at up to $15,000 for one year, are not intended to support implementation of Horizon Europe projects. Instead, the grants support activities between researchers that facilitate:

• disciplinary and/or interdisciplinary exchanges.
• scholarly exchanges.
• intersectoral exchanges between academic researchers and practitioners from the public, private and/or not-for-profit sectors.
• international research collaboration and scholarly exchanges between researchers affiliated with Canadian postsecondary institutions and researchers, students and non-academic partners from the EU and other associated countries. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

RESEARCH, TECH NEWS & COLLABORATION

Three Canadian postsecondary institutions made the list of the Times Higher Education's (THE) inaugural rankings in interdisciplinary science in higher education. Nearly 750 postsecondary institutions from 92 countries appeared in the debut rankings, which THE said demonstrates the global appetite for interdisciplinary research. The three Canadian universities were: Dalhousie University (#129), University of Manitoba (#351-400), and St. Francis Xavier University (#401-500). “Universities must opt in and submit data to be ranked, so this [small number] reflects a low participation rate from institutions in Canada,” THE said. The top institutions overall were the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (#1), Stanford University (#2), and the National University of Singapore (#3). The U.S. dominates the top 10 with seven universities. Netherlands’ Wageningen University & Research, in 7^th place, is top in Europe. Times Higher Education

The University of Toronto signed a multi-year agreement with Siemens Canada that seeks to transform the energy grid and boost Canada’s ability to provide clean energy to communities. The partnership will bring together U of T’s cutting-edge research, commercialization and policy expertise with Siemens’s industry-leading experience in sustainable energy management and intelligent infrastructure, with the aim of advancing Ontario’s energy transition goals and contributing to Canada’s target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. The partnership expands on U of T’s existing ties with Siemens, which is a partner in U of T’s Grid Modernization Centre, which brings together companies and U of T researchers to advance decarbonization of the electric grid while supporting innovation in clean energy technologies, policy advocacy and financing. The centre is led by Climate Positive Energy, a U of T institutional strategic initiative that leverages research expertise across the university to support efforts to curb carbon emissions, reimagine energy systems and facilitate an equitable transition to a clean energy future in Canada and globally. University of Toronto

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) announced the selection of the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation-Ignace area as the site for Canada’s deep geological repository (DGR) for high-level nuclear waste. This follows over a decade of engagement between the industry-led NWMO and potential host communities and votes by Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation and the Township of Ignace, Ont. in favour of pursuing next steps to host the DGR. This site selection represents progress in the NWMO’s implementation of the adaptive phased management approach,  chosen in 2007 as the country's plan for safe, long-term nuclear waste management, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) said. This approach includes implementing a DGR located in an area with suitable geology and a willing and informed host community. The approach follows international best practices and is supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency as the safest and most sustainable method, NRCan said. However, the vote by the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation offered consent only to continue in the site characterization process; “the yes vote does not signify approval of the project,” the Nation said. The NWMO’s site selection process “has allowed the NWMO to manufacture something they are calling consent, without actually gaining consent,” Charles Faust, a volunteer with We the Nuclear Free North and spokesperson for Nuclear Free Thunder Bay, said in a statement. Now that a site has been selected, NRCan said the DGR project will undergo a comprehensive and “world-class” regulatory review process, which will include licensing under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and an integrated impact assessment under the federal Impact Assessment Act. The DGR is expected to cost about $26 billion over the approximately 175-year life cycle of the project. NRCan

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ (CNL) plan to build a disposal site for low-level radioactive nuclear waste about one kilometre from the Ottawa River is being challenged in federal court. The project would allow CNL to permanently bury one million cubic metres of radioactive waste beneath a shallow mound about 190 kilometres northwest of Ottawa, as a solution to radioactive waste accumulated since the 1940s as well as waste from future operations. The mound would be known as the Near-Surface Disposal Facility, or NSDF. On November 19 and 20 Justice Whyte Nowak heard arguments from citizen groups on why the decision by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) allowing the project should be sent back for redetermination. The judicial review was brought by Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County and Area, Ralliement contre la pollution radioactive, and the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility. The groups’ application says the CNSC’s decision is unreasonable in three key ways. Nicholas Pope, the lawyer representing the groups, argued the commission used the wrong radiation dose limit for exposures once the mound was abandoned. Another key point states CNL didn’t provide all the legally required information, including the origin of packaged radioactive waste destined for the facility. Lastly, the applicants argued the CNSC didn’t meaningfully grapple with the project's cumulative effects, inadequate waste verification and impact on species at risk. In July, Kebaowek First Nation appeared in federal court to argue that CNL – the private consortium responsible for managing the Chalk River nuclear site – did not secure the First Nation’s free, prior and informed consent during the licensing process. The outcome is pending. Canada’s National Observer

Toronto-based Canadian Space Mining Corporation (CSMC) announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and licensing term sheet with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories to explore commercialization of the SLOWPOKE-2 reactor technology. This marks a significant step forward in the CSMC’s mission to establish itself as a global leader in micro-reactor technology, the company said. The SLOWPOKE-2 is an iconic Canadian-designed small reactor with a proven track record of reliable, long-term operations. The MOU outlines several key areas of cooperation, including collaborative research and development initiatives and, subject to ongoing negotiations and mutual agreement, licensing of the intellectual property for the reactor with the goal of developing a viable energy solution for future lunar operations, as well as applications in remote locations including Canada’s Arctic region. BusinessWire

The Government of Ontario has asked Ontario Power Corporation (OPG) to begin discussions with Indigenous, community and municipal leaders on existing OPG sites in Port Hope, Haldimand County and St. Clair Township to determine community support for all types of new energy generation, including nuclear, to meet Ontario’s soaring demand for electricity. According to Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator, the province’s demand for electricity is forecast to increase by 75 percent by 2050, the equivalent of adding four-and-a-half cities the size of Toronto to the grid. While the province is already on track to meet demands through 2035 with major projects already announced, including Canada’s first small modular reactor and the largest competitive energy procurement in Ontario’s history, the province will need 16,000 additional megawatts (of generation, in addition to new transmission to meet demand in 2050. As Ontario’s largest energy generator, OPG owns properties across the province. Three of these sites – Wesleyville in Port Hope, Nanticoke in Haldimand County and Lambton in St. Clair – are already zoned for electricity generation, have proximity to transmission, and are located in southern Ontario, within regions experiencing significant growth. The early community engagement includes how communities would be supported and the potential benefits, including:

• Equity participation for Indigenous communities in generation projects.
• The creation of a new fund with up to $50 million for municipal host communities across the three sites to support community infrastructure investments and attraction of co-located industry.
• Additional municipal property taxes related to new generation stations and co-located companies.
• Associated jobs and economic development for municipalities and Indigenous communities from new generation, co-located industries and supply chain spending. Govt. of Ontario

Construction of the new Bekevar Wind Energy Facility north of Moose Mountain Provincial Park in southeast Saskatchewan is complete, SaskPower said. Owned and operated by Bekevar Wind LP, a limited partnership between Innagreen Investments and Awasis Nehiyawewin Energy Development Limited Partnership (a wholly-owned Cowessess First Nation entity), the wind facility will provide up to 200 megawatts (MW) of emissions-free power to the grid. SaskPower will purchase power generated at the facility through a 25-year agreement. At 200 MW, the facility can generate the equivalent amount of power needed for up to 100,000 homes. SaskPower plans to add up to 3,000 MW of wind and solar generation by 2035, with 1,000 MW of wind and solar generation currently in various stages of development. For all current and future wind and solar competitions, SaskPower has included a requirement that proposals must have at least 10 per cent Indigenous ownership. SaskPower

Canadian electric vehicle sales reached another new high in the third quarter of this year, according to data released by automotive insights authority S&P Mobility. Over the quarter, battery-electric and plug-in hybrid EVs collectively reached a record 16.5 percent of the new vehicle market in Canada, accounting for approximately one in six new vehicles – a 14.4-percent increase over Q2. In Quebec and B.C., EV market share is closer to 35 percent and 25 percent, respectively. And with federal EV rebate claims in Q4 also starting off with a new monthly record, the case for extending rebates in order to not damage growing consumer momentum is even stronger, argues Clean Energy Canada’s Joanna Kyriazis in a new X post. S&P Mobility

St-Jérôme, Que.-based electric bus manufacturer Lion Electric is temporarily laying off 400 employees and shutting down production at its Illinois plant after getting a two-week reprieve from its lenders. The company said in a statement that it has secured an extension to December 16 for a loan and a credit agreement with a syndicate of lenders. The company says its 300 remaining employees will focus on bus manufacturing, sales and delivery. Lion Electric has already carried out three other rounds of layoffs in 2024, involving nearly 520 jobs. The company posted a net loss of US$33.9 million in the third quarter of 2024, according to results published on November 6. The two-week extension will give Lion Electric time to consider its options, including a sale of the business or a decision to seek creditor protection, the company says. CTV News

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) plans to begin sharing intelligence next year about pervasive foreign threats with entities outside the federal government – such as companies, universities, public utilities, Indigenous governments and diaspora groups – after a landmark bill passed this summer. René Ouellette, director-general of academic outreach and stakeholder engagement at CSIS, said during the Vancouver International Security Summit that his agency initially estimated it would take Parliament about a year to pass a bill ushering in this “sea change” in how CSIS shares secret information. But, he noted, Bill C-70′s rapid progress into law in June has kickstarted the effort to “work on implementation and build up the policy architecture beneath it,” which CSIS is now doing. Until the amendments to the act governing CSIS, Ouellette said that his agency could only collect intelligence and share it with the federal government because the regulations were borne of the Cold War, in 1984, when foreign espionage and sabotage almost exclusively targeted the various arms of government.  The conference heard that China and Russia are waging a hybrid war against Canada by disrupting and stealing from public agencies, such as water utilities, as well as from the private companies that oversee three-quarters of the country’s critical infrastructure. The Globe and Mail

Air Canada will roll out facial recognition technology at the gate, making it the first Canadian airline to deploy the software in a bid to streamline the boarding process. Starting December 3, customers who board most domestic Air Canada flights at Vancouver International Airport will be able to walk onto the plane without presenting any physical pieces of identification, such as a passport or driver's licence. Participants in the program, which is voluntary, can upload a photo of their face and a scan of their passport to the airline's app. Launched as a pilot project in February 2023, the digital ID option is already available at Air Canada's Maple Leaf lounges in Toronto, Calgary and San Francisco. The airline said it plans to unveil it at other Canadian airport gates "in the near future." Canadian carriers have been slow to adopt biometric processes, with face-matching technology already deployed by a number of U.S. airlines, overseas airports and government security agencies. As it becomes more widely used, the software, which analyzes the unique physical identifiers of a traveller's face, has raised concerns over privacy, ethics and misidentification. Air Canada, The Canadian Press

Canada’s Competition Bureau is taking legal action against Google for anti-competitive conduct in online advertising technology services in Canada. Following an investigation, the Bureau has filed an application with the Competition Tribunal that seeks to remedy Google’s conduct for the benefit of Canadians. This case is about online web advertising, which consists of ads shown to users when they visit websites. Many publishers count on digital ad revenue to support their activities and reach. Digital advertising inventory is often purchased and sold through automated auctions using sophisticated platforms. These individual platforms are known as ad tech tools, while the entire suite of tools used throughout the buy and sell process is collectively known as the ad tech stack. The Bureau’s investigation found that, in Canada, Google is the largest provider across the ad tech stack for web advertising and has abused its dominant position through conduct intended to ensure that it would maintain and entrench its market power. Google’s conduct locks market participants into using its own ad tech tools, prevents rivals from being able to compete on the merits of their offerings, and otherwise distorts the competitive process, the Bureau said. The Bureau’s position is that by implementing this anticompetitive conduct, Google has been able to entrench its dominance, prevent rivals from competing, inhibit innovation, inflate advertising costs and reduce publishers’ revenues. The Bureau’s application with the Competition Tribunal seeks an order that, among other things:

• requires Google to sell two of its ad tech tools.
• directs Google to pay a penalty to promote compliance with the Competition Act.
• prohibits Google from continuing to engage in anticompetitive practices.

The U.S. Department of Justice brought a similar case against Google in 2023, which reached closing arguments last week. The European Commission, in a separate case against Meta, earlier this month fined the U.S.-based tech giant €797.72 million (US$840 million) for breaching European Union antitrust rules by tying Meta’s online classified ads service Facebook Marketplace to its personal social network Facebook and by imposing unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads service providers. Competition Bureau Canada

Protein Industries Canada, a Regina-based, federally funded global innovation cluster, announced a new $5.4-million project in collaboration with Croptimistic Technology, TheoryMesh and C-Merak Innovations, aimed at transforming the agri-food value chain through the integration of artificial intelligence technologies. Protein Industries Canada will invest $2.4 million, with the partners investing the remainder. This initiative seeks to enhance food production efficiency, improve food quality and support sustainability goals from farm to food processor by improving existing precision agriculture tools to enhance data collection and integration at the sub-field level. Together, the three industry partners will develop and utilize AI-integrated technologies to consistently collect sub-field-level data and management practices from producers. This data will then be used to predict process settings within the mill to generate high yields and less byproduct or waste material, while at the same time supplying ingredient processors and food manufacturers with the information necessary to support sustainability claims on food products. Protein Industries Canada

The Government of Alberta released the Draft Quantification Protocol for CO₂ Capture and Permanent Geologic Sequestration for public comment. The Draft Protocol is the updated quantification protocol for generating emission offsets from the capture and permanent geological sequestration of carbon dioxide under Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction Regulation. The protocol establishes the methodology and requirements for measuring, monitoring, quantifying and verifying the removal of CO₂ emissions by a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, including the baseline sources, sinks and reservoirs of CO₂ that factor into the quantitative analysis. The Draft Protocol establishes a 20-year offset crediting period for CCS projects, with the possibility of ongoing five-year extensions. The protocol also incorporates a flexibility mechanism that allows project developers to limit the liability associated with CO₂ credit reversals (for example, by an accidental or intentional release or removal of sequestered CO₂) by opting for an increased discount factor on their emission offset credits. Dentons

Finland acquired a new national supercomputer, data management system and cloud computing capacity to ensure competitive resources for Finnish researchers. The CSC – IT Center for Science and information technology company Eviden signed contracts to deliver the new infrastructure. The new supercomputer, called Roihu, will triple Finland’s national supercomputers’ resources and enable future scientific breakthroughs. Roihu offers significantly more GPU (graphics processing units, necessary for training AI models) capacity than CSC’s current supercomputers, Mahti and Puhti. Researchers can use Roihu to analyze audio and video materials, compute atomistic molecular dynamic simulations, screen potential drug compounds from extensive libraries, simulate glaciers and calculate climate scenarios, and more. Roihu will be located in CSC’s Kajaani data center and will be in researchers’ use by the end of 2025. At the same time, CSC will renew its data management system Allas and acquire more cloud computing capacity. The value of the whole purchase is almost 30 million euros including maintenance costs. Investing in high-performance computing has been very profitable, according to a study by Taloustutkimus, which found an investment of one euro in CSC’s high-performance computing services has generated a benefit to society of 25 to 37 euros during 2018 to 2023. Science|Business

A study in the U.K. – which is preparing to go natural gas-free – found that air source heat pumps are capable of providing energy-efficient warmth for new homes into the future for less than £2 a day (about Cdn$3.55 per day or approximately Cdn$106.50 per month). Funded under the UK Research and Innovation’s Greater Manchester Innovation Accelerator Programme, the Future Homes study is the largest research project ever carried out on electrical heating systems under controlled conditions. Researchers at the Energy House 2.0 research facility at the University of Salford, working with housebuilders Bellway and Barratt Redrow and construction solutions manufacturer Saint-Gobain in the U.K. and Ireland, spent 12 months testing 14 different heating systems to see which ones will heat consumers’ homes the best at the lowest cost. The systems tested at Energy House 2.0 covered a range of technologies including infrared heat panels, air source heat pumps, underfloor heating, skirting board heating and traditional radiators. The research looked at two different heating patterns – 24-hour constant heating and a pattern of a house being heated between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. and 11 p.m., which is currently used in the standard energy model and is the typical way that people live in their homes in the U.K. Tests were conducted at both a typical winter temperature of 5 °C and an “extreme” winter temperature of -5 °C within Energy House 2.0’s climate chamber. The findings will help new buyers, existing homeowners, renters and landlords to understand the most efficient ways to heat homes when gas-fired boilers begin to be phased out in new homes in 2025. Existing homes have until 2035 to replace gas boilers. pro-manchester

The European Commission, Spain, Lithuania and Austria announced new financial support for the development of renewable hydrogen via the Commission’s Innovation Fund. The three EU member states will participate in the Auctions-as-a-Service plan as part of the second European Hydrogen Bank auction, which will be launched on December 3. In addition to the €1.2 billion from the Innovation Fund, the three EU member states will deploy over €700 million in national funds to support renewable hydrogen production projects located in their countries. The total funding mobilized by the “IF24” renewable hydrogen auction will therefore be around €2 billion. Spain is allocating between €280 and €400 million using funds from its Recovery and Resilience Plan. Lithuania is dedicating around €36 million from its Modernisation Fund budget. Austria is committing €400 million from its national budget, with hydrogen producers eligible for a maximum grant of €200 million per project. European Commission

VC, PRIVATE INVESTMENT & ACQUISITIONS

Toronto-founded and California-headquartered Tenstorrent Inc., an AI-computing hardware company, raised more than US$693 million in a Series D funding round led by Samsung Securities and AFW Partners. Others joining the round included XTX Markets, Corner Capital, MESH, Export Development Canada, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, LG Electronics, Hyundai Motor Group, Fidelity, Baillie Gifford, and Bezos Expeditions. Tenstorrent said it would use this funding to build out its open-source AI software stacks, ramp up hiring, expand its global development and design centres, and build systems and clouds for AI developers as it gears up to compete with Nvidia and other players in the AI chip space. The Series D announcement comes shortly after Tenstorrent quietly relocated its headquarters from Toronto to Santa Clara, California. The company has retained its Toronto office, where it employs 140 people. Tenstorrent has two main strands of business. It builds and sells computers for AI based on chips that use its Tensix cores. The company also licenses AI and RISC-V intellectual property to customers that want to own and customize their silicon computing hardware. eeNews

Belgium firm Theodorus has exited Europe and relocated to Canada to pursue North American life sciences companies from its new Montreal headquarters. Under the name Seido Capital, the venture capital firm will focus exclusively on early-stage life sciences startups in Canada and the U.S. with its fifth fund. Seido said it has targeted Canada for the strength of the country’s academic institutions, its proximity to the large U.S. market, and a lack of capital allocated to Canadian life sciences startups relative to the returns they have generated. The now Canadian-headquartered VC firm has secured $45 million in initial commitments for its Fund V. Canadian life sciences companies raised $939 million in VC funding in the third quarter of 2024, according to the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association. BetaKit

Toronto- and New York-based software startup Boosted.ai has raised $20.9 million in a bridge funding round to expand Alfa, its AI platform. The round included funding from Fidelity Investments Canada ULC, alongside existing investors Ten Coves Capital, Spark Capital, Portage Ventures, Royal Bank of Canada, and HarbourVest Partners. The company intends to use this funding to scale its platform, enhance the Alfa product, expand its team, and meet growing demand for its services. The SaaS News

Toronto-based Practice Better, which offers a practice management software platform for health and wellness professionals, announced it received an $18-million credit facility from CIBC Innovation Banking. Practice Better offers a suite of tools that integrate scheduling, telehealth, client engagement and billing, helping practitioners save time on administrative tasks and focus on delivering client-centric care. The company said this growth capital will be used to enhance Practice Better’s platform with transformative AI-driven features, expand its product development and scale its sales and marketing efforts to meet the increasing demand for digital health care solutions. Practice Better

Calgary-based health tech startup OraQ raised $2.6 million in a seed funding round led by AngelMD, an Alberta-based angel physician group. This investment will enable OraQ to expand its reach, refine its technology and bring its clinical decision support platform to more dental professionals across North America. The company’s platform utilizes artificial intelligence to analyze dental and medical records, assisting dentists in assessing patient risk more effectively. Founded by dentists-turned-tech entrepreneurs Dr. Amreesh Khanna, Dr. Mike Parchewsky and Wayne Madhlangobe, OraQ’s mission is to empower forward-thinking dental professionals to make the best decisions for their patients and their practices. Calgary.tech

Montreal-based Nurau raised $1.5 million in a seed funding round led by Investissement Québec, ACET Capital, and strategic investors. Nurau said this investment will fuel its mission to revolutionize frontline team management through AI-powered coaching. Nurau has developed eCoach, a natural language-processing AI tool, to support human resources workers when dealing with sensitive workplace situations. Specifically, the funding will be used to accelerate expansion into the U.S. market, strengthen the company’s presence in retail and manufacturing, enhance its coaching platform, and grow sales capabilities. Nurau

REPORTS & POLICIES

Canada needs to invest in a strong, sovereign defence industrial base for both national and economic security: Business Council of Canada report

The Government of Canada needs to invest in a strong and sovereign defence industrial base which will help broaden both national security and economic security, according to a new report by the Business Council of Canada (BCC).

The government’s “failure to adequately invest in Canada’s defence industrial base means far more than our country being unprepared for a more tumultuous world. Increasingly, it means our country is also isolated from vital partners,” says the report, Security & Prosperity: The Economic Case for a Defence Industrial Base Strategy.

Successive federal governments have failed to adequately invest in Canada’s defence industrial base, depriving our military of the capabilities it needs to contend with a far more dangerous world, as well as isolating Canada from its closest allies, such as the U.S., the report says.

Canada’s military rivals are investing heavily in their armed forces and the defence industrial bases that support them, to reshape the international order in ways that undermine Canadians’ national and economic security, according to the report.

“A strong and sovereign defence industrial base will not only allow the government to safeguard Canadians and support our allies, but also supercharge Canada’s economic security and prosperity through increased innovation and job creation.”

This report is the second in a series of recent major policy papers by the BCC urging the federal government to adopt an integrated approach to economic and national security that enhances Canadians’ safety, security and prosperity in a period of heightened geopolitical risk and uncertainty.

The first report in 2023, Economic Security is National Security, highlighted the threat that state-sponsored actors pose to the Canadian economy and, by extension, the lives and livelihoods of Canadians. It advocated for several important reforms, including the development of a new national security strategy as well as the modernization of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act.

For decades now, successive Canadian governments have overlooked, taken for granted, or simply ignored the principle that Canada’s national security is dependent on the vitality and resiliency of our economy, the new report says.

This lapse has also led to inadequate government support for the country’s defence industrial base – that is, the network of businesses, infrastructure and technologies that equip and support Canada’s military, according to the report.

“Simply put, the Government of Canada does not have the policies in place to build and secure the defence industrial base needed to effectively navigate a new and far more dangerous world.”

In the past decade, the report says, successive Canadian governments have made three fundamental commitments to their North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies:

1. Invest at least two percent of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product on defence.
2. Ensure at least 20 percent of Canada’s defence expenditures are made on the acquisition of new major equipment and related research and development.
3. Develop a national plan to strengthen Canada’s defence industrial capacity.

“The Government of Canada’s failure to uphold these three fundamental obligations has damaged Canada’s global standing and threatened the country’s diplomatic relationships with its closest allies,” the report says.

As of 2024, Canada’s investment-to-GDP ratio stands at 1.37 per cent – only two-thirds of NATO’s two percent target – and even further behind the alliance’s median investment-to-GDP ratio of 2.11 per cent.

Despite Canada’s storied history as a founder and steadfast contributor to the NATO alliance, investing an average of 3.09 per cent of GDP annually on defence during the Cold War, in 2024 Canada’s investment-to-GDP ratio of 1.37 percent meant that the country ranked 27^th out of NATO’s 32 member-states for overall spending.

The report points out that senior officials from the U.S. have repeatedly warned that Canada’s preferential access to the U.S. export market – a market which supported the livelihoods of more than three million Canadian workers in 2022 – could be jeopardized if the federal government fails to move with urgency to meet its NATO commitments.

Earlier this year, then-secretary general of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg argued that with the war in Ukraine, supply chain disruptions, production bottlenecks, limited workforce numbers and a lack of workers with specialist skills – not just in Ukraine but in allied countries like Canada – have significantly hampered Ukraine’s ability to expel Russian invaders from its territory.

The resulting cost has been immense. By 2026, Russia’s illegal war is expected to have cost the Ukrainian people $167 billion in lost economic output and $1.4 trillion in lost capital stock.

A stronger defence industrial base, more responsive to the defence requirements of Canada and its allies, would improve Canada’s ability to negotiate its admission into AUKUS Pillar II, the BCC report says.

“Joining this capability-sharing coalition would have immense economic benefits for Canadian businesses and entrepreneurs seeking to develop and commercialize advanced dual-use technologies [both civilian and military] including in the fields of cyber, space, cloud computing and artificial intelligence.”

Canada’s Defence Industrial Base Strategy should prioritize Canada’s ability to advance its national interests in the Canadian Arctic, the northern flank of the NATO alliance and a region of growing economic importance, the report says.

In particular, the federal government should prioritize the development of capabilities that address the security imperatives of the Canadian Arctic, including the monitoring of our vast, harsh and sparsely populated land and sea territory on a near-real-time basis, while being able to rapidly deploy and support Canada’s military.

The report says that in delivering new capabilities, special consideration should be given to the development of dual-use technologies and infrastructure, which may significantly defray the high costs of building such capabilities while materially improving the economic prosperity and security of Canadians – especially Indigenous peoples – living in the Arctic.

Examples of potentially relevant dual-use technologies include nuclear reactors, patrol aircraft, heavy icebreakers and low-Earth-orbit satellite constellations. Examples of potentially relevant dual-use infrastructure include major roads, harbours and airstrips.

The federal government must engage with Canada’s defence industrial base far earlier when it comes to procurement, the report says.

Too often the government does not engage with Canadian industry when the military’s needs and requirements are being identified and defined. “This regularly results in the Government of Canada adopting a procurement approach geared towards acquiring imported off-the-shelf products that do little to strengthen Canada’s defence industrial base.”

The government’s Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program, and its participation in NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) scheme, “are too small to accelerate Canadian defence innovation in any significant way,” the report says.

“Neither program sufficiently harnesses the brainpower of the commercial sector, which includes most of the world’s best scientists, engineers and technologists.”

At the same time, many of the Canadian companies that have much to offer Canada’s military don’t need the headache of dealing with a customer that takes years to close a sale and then even more time to start using their product and paying for it, according to the report.

In fiscal year 2020/2021, the federal government failed to spend more than $855 million, or 17 percent, of its allotted capital budget for new military equipment, primarily due to delays in the purchase of such equipment, the report notes.

Many companies offering dual-use products will simply not allocate scarce resources to supply the Canadian military when doing so will only yield three-to seven-percent margins compared with margins of 15-percent to 20-percent within the commercial sector, the report notes.

To address these twin challenges, the report says the federal government must help Canadian companies de-risk their investments in defence innovation by boosting support for high-risk, high-reward research.

In addition, the government must reform its procurement processes to ensure that Canada’s military fully leverages the ideas and expertise of non-traditional commercial partners.

The federal government should emulate the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit by establishing an independently run, professionally staffed venture capital fund with a footprint in each of Canada’s commercial innovation hubs, the report recommends.

This would enable Canada’s military to fund, access and deploy advanced dual-use technology in three to five strategically important portfolio areas, such as energy, artificial intelligence and aerospace.

The report urges the federal government to develop and implement a new Defence Industrial Base Strategy to achieve three strategic outcomes:

1. Build and secure a sovereign, but internationally linked, defence industrial base capable of providing Canada and its allies with the capabilities needed to respond to challenges presented by increased geopolitical confrontation, advance our national interests at home and abroad free from external threats, and support our allies and partners in times of need.
2. Honour Canada’s international defence obligations, including to invest in increased industrial capacity, by reprioritizing current government investments and making new investments so that:

• By 2029/2030, Canada meets the commitment it made to its NATO allies to annually invest at least two percent of GDP on defence with at least 20 percent of that sum being dedicated to the acquisition of new major equipment and related R&D
• By 2034/2035, Canada’s defence expenditure surpasses the NATO alliance’s current median investment ratios such that the country annually invests at least 2.5 percent of GDP in defence with at least 35 percent of that total being dedicated to the purchase of new major equipment and related R&D.
• After 2034/2035, Canada’s annual defence expenditure continues an upward trajectory to three percent of GDP, aligning Canada with key allies – like the U.S. – who have committed to a similar benchmark, as well as our country’s historical investment levels during a period of heightened geopolitical confrontation.

3. Strengthen Canada’s broader economic security and prosperity by enhancing productivity and innovation within advanced dual-use sectors vital to the creation of high-skilled jobs, as well as the country’s long-term economic resiliency and competitiveness.

At a time when national and economic security are increasingly intertwined, Canada will be unable to sustain a healthy and prosperous economy without a defence industrial base capable of providing itself and its allies with the capabilities needed to safeguard our country, our continent, and the international order upon which we rely, the report says.

“Now is the time for policymakers to recognize this vital linkage and come together with the private sector to protect Canadians from an increasingly dangerous world.” Business Council of Canada

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Canada’s military is not prepared or equipped to defend the Arctic: federal government review

Canada’s military has a “fragmented approach” to Arctic operations, lacks clear objectives and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in the region is limited and deteriorating, according to an internal federal government evaluation of the Department of National Defence/CAF’s Arctic operations.

Among the review’s findings are:

• Multiple lines of evidence show the CAF’s future role in the Arctic is not well defined because there is no clear guidance outlining the CAF’s responsibility to respond to emerging threats in the Arctic. 
• Canadian security and defence policy does not reflect the seriousness of increasingly severe climate impacts across the country, including future threats in the changing Arctic environment.
• It is unclear what constitutes sufficient Arctic presence. CAF Arctic operations and exercises demonstrate CAF visibility and transient presence. However, the CAF’s persistent presence in the Arctic has remained static during the 2018 to 2022 evaluation period, with approximately 2,021 reservists and 308 regular force personnel.
• Strategic guidance across individual CAF elements reveals a fragmented approach to Arctic operations, marked by outdated references and a lack of uniformity in their respective policies and objectives.
• A benchmarking exercise, conducted for the evaluation, examining the eight Arctic states shows that the U.S. and Sweden have defence-focused Arctic guidance documents. Specifically, the U.S. has an Arctic strategy to clarify their military/defence priorities in the Arctic. Canada has no comprehensive strategy for Arctic operations.
• Known CAF recruitment and retention issues are exacerbated in the Arctic due to region-specific challenges such as a high cost of living, prolonged wait times for northern benefits and the isolated nature of the region.
• There are issues with sensing/surveillance technology and equipment. The evaluation noted that there are only 46 active North Warning System radar sites across all of Canada’s North, which accounts for 40 percent of Canada’s land mass. Radar satellites have limitations due to the Earth’s curvature in the Arctic, and some collected information is sensitive and cannot be shared with internal or external partners without appropriate clearance.
• Planned summer operations in the Arctic do not accurately reflect the Canadian Armed Forces’ unplanned operational manoeuvrability requirements in the Arctic. For example, winter challenges include the absence of marine support and the need for equipment capable of withstanding extreme cold.
• There is no evidence that lessons learned from previous NANOOK operations in the Arctic are specifically incorporated into objectives for follow-on Arctic operations.
• The CAF’s northern infrastructure is located far apart and can only provide limited support for large or sustained deployments. The CAF’s infrastructure assessment tool (Facility Condition Index) shows that the condition of Arctic infrastructure is well below the CAF average and, without intervention, will soon move to the “rust out” stage. Evidence suggests the current airfield infrastructure is outdated.
• The CAF’s inability to construct and shield its own infrastructure negatively impacts its ability to shield, sustain, sense, act and command.

The review’s recommendations include:

• Address the gap in CAF strategic direction to develop clear Arctic operational objectives.
• Incorporate lessons learned from planned and unplanned operations into future operations.
• To have a fulsome understanding of the status of CAF Arctic infrastructure, a comprehensive inventory and analysis is needed to inform future requirements. Department of National Defence

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Supporters of Innovative Solutions Canada call on federal government to rescind the program’s funding cuts

Supporters of Canada’s Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC) program, including independent Senator Colin Deacon, want the federal government to rescind the funding cuts to the ISC program, according to an article by the State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI) in the U.S.

A report by Deacon’s office, Federal Programs for Business Innovation, shows the ISC program was cut despite delivering high returns on investment, SSTI’s article says.

​In fact, the Canadian government reported that every $1 invested in the ISC program produced a $3.10 increase in GDP and a $1.40 increase in tax revenue.

Federal Budget 2023 recommended reallocating $14.1 billion in federal spending, with each ministry tasked with identifying programs that did not address the government’s top priorities. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) identified ISC as one such program. ISC’s budget of $147.6 million in fiscal year 2023 was trimmed by $28.2 million in 2024-25 and $70 million annually thereafter. ISED has reallocated some of those dollars to target high-priority industries.

One other reason cited for the cut made by ISED is that many government departments have consistently failed to meet their spending obligations (one percent of R&D expenditures) mandated under the ISC program, resulting in significant shortfalls in funding for the program. ISC remains active and continues to support Canadian startups, although the reduced funding will limit the number of innovations advanced.

SSTI’s article says Deacon’s report proposes targeting ISC to align with business realities. This alignment would entail providing timely and flexible support and using lessons learned from successful international models.

For example, the U.S. Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program and South Korea’s KISED (Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development) emphasize tailored support, private sector collaboration, and simplified application processes to increase program accessibility.

The SSTI notes that Deacon’s report says that because Canada struggles to retain intellectual property and talent, the ISC program should incentivize commercialization within Canada to maximize economic benefits. This incentive could be achieved partly through greater use of government procurement from ISC-supported companies, providing early revenue and validation. ​

The biggest difference between SBIR and ISC is scope, according to the SSTI’s report. Total U.S. federal spending for SBIR in 2023 was US$6.3 billion, dwarfing ISC’s US$106-million budget even before it was cut.

SBIR has faced similar criticisms in the U.S. to those ISC faces in Canada, the SSTI’s report notes.

Some critics, such as U.S. Senator Rand Paul, describe the SBIR program as inefficient, with funds going toward administrative costs and overhead rather than directly supporting research and development.

Paul also argues that the program lacks focus and scatters resources across too many projects, hindering the development of truly groundbreaking innovations.

Any U.S. federal government agency with an external research budget greater than US$100 million is required to set aside 3.6 percent of that budget for SBIR.

ISC, with a much smaller one-percent requirement taken from a much smaller pool of overall federal R&D expenditures, faces challenges by design in greatly influencing the federal R&D direction toward commercialization, the SSTI’s article says.

As a result, ISC has a stronger focus on procurement, using government contracts to stimulate innovation and purchase innovative solutions.

SBIR, while it can lead to procurement opportunities, is primarily focused on funding innovation-driven R&D tied to the research missions of the participating agencies. SSTI

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Canada is lagging in innovation despite spending $8.7 billion on innovation-support programs: Senator’s report

Canada is ranked as a middling country for innovation despite the federal government emphasizing innovation as a priority and investing about $8.7 billion to support it, according to a report, Federal Programs for Business Innovation, by Nova Scotia independent Senator Colin Deacon’s office.

The report identified, based on federal statistics, more than 140 innovation-support programs, reporting to 28 departments or Crown corporations, which accounted for a total of $4.5 billion in support.

Additionally, in 2023, the Scientific Research and Experimental Development Tax Credit Program gave out $4.2 billion in tax credits to “encourage businesses to conduct research and development in Canada.”

Despite the billions in funding dedicated to promoting business innovation, Canada received a C grade on the Conference Board of Canada’s 2024 Innovation Report Card, ranking Canada 15^th  out of 20 countries, the Deacon report notes.

“This [federal government] has consistently emphasized innovation as a priority, yet results remain underwhelming considering our collective potential,” the report says.

Lead researcher on the report was Ryan Laberge, with collaboration from Benedicta Arthur and David Dlab.

Key findings of the report and suggestions for improvement include:

• The Canadian model for innovation is housed primarily under Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and the Regional Development Agencies – a highly centralized model.

Instead, if all departments were mandated to develop innovation programs, with an associated budget, they could allocate funding and structure them in a manner that fulfills their respective goals (such as supporting cleantech innovation, supporting equity-deserving groups, energy, agriculture, forestry, etc.), the report says.

Departments could be given a wider breadth of ownership over innovation programs and engage in “purposeful collaboration." They could be expected to go beyond just funding innovative businesses by actively engaging in procurement, regulatory sandboxes, implementing policy reforms and more.

• There are innovation programs in Canada that support companies at every stage of the funnel with different approaches and incentives. “However, it is counterproductive to create programs that support companies at one stage but then introduce consequential policy changes that negatively impact those same companies at other stages.”

An example is having programs that support tech startups while also increasing capital gains taxes on those same startups when they have a liquidity event, the report says.

An example of an international program with success is South Korea’s Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development (KISED). It provides commercialization funding, mentorship and education to companies ranging from its Pre-Startup Package for first time entrepreneurs to its Startup Scale-Up Package.

Differently from Canada, KISED has a large emphasis on education and mentorship, has smaller program budgets and scopes, and supports startups through several stages of the funnel with follow-up programs, even having a Second Chance Startup Package for entrepreneurs who have had a failed business.

The five-year survival rate of participating startups is nearly double that of non-participating ones. KISED works with private sector partners on their programs to provide expertise in innovation and startups.

• Innovation programs in Canada are often undersubscribed not due to a lack of demand, but because they contain burdensome and/or prescriptive requirements that unfairly prohibit participation.

This is likely because the programs are not designed to match the needs or administrative capacity of the intended applicants, the report says. An example of this is the Canadian Digital Adoption Program (CDAP), a $4-billion program that was cancelled two years early after spending less than 20 percent of its allocated budget.

While the exact reasons are unclear, the Institute for Research on Public Policy suggests that CDAP’s inability to deploy its funds was likely due to its lengthy and confusing application process, along with rigid spending criteria.

• Newer innovative companies are often unable to meet certain application criteria for programs designed for them due to the stringent application requirements that tend to favour incumbents over startups and SMEs.

This issue is evident in federal information technology procurement, where contracts reveal that the top five vendors received 30 percent of the total available IT procurement funds.

One approach could be to simplify the government’s due diligence process by leveraging arm's-length private sector investment to de-risk government funding, the report suggests.

This already occurs in some government innovation programs including Export Development Canada’s Investment Matching Program, which matches venture capital or private equity investment from funds of at least $100 million in companies with at least $1 million in cumulative revenues (but less than $300 million), seeking to do or already doing business internationally.

• Government also could consider re-assessing some of its program requirements.

For example, instead of requiring extensive financial audits for procurement to determine a company’s financial capability, they could require a bond that would act as a guarantee until the contract is complete.

The objective is moving away from favouring professional procurement firms to giving innovators a chance to solve complex public problems in innovative ways by simplifying the application process while still limiting risk exposure.

• Decision-making should be devolved and accelerated.

Government programs need to adapt to the fast pace of business. Waiting several months to over a year for funding or procurement contracts can strain the limited resources of startups and SMEs.

• Technical specifications are another challenge for solutions-based innovation programs such as the Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security program and Impact Canada.

Overly specific technical specifications for solutions are cumbersome to create, prolonging the time it takes before programs can be launched, and tend to narrow the focus to existing products that the department wants to buy rather than the most innovative solution for the problem that they want to solve.

• Key performance indicators (KPI) are critical to evaluating the impact of a program but often do not provide the program-specific insights needed to attribute impact.

Common program KPIs like the number of new technologies created or jobs added do not always accurately reflect long-term benefits.

Current KPIs for innovation programs seem to fall short of measuring their true impact on the businesses that participate. For instance, using the "percentage of allocated budget used" as a KPI is not particularly effective. While underspending signals a major program failure, simply spending the budget does not show how these programs benefit businesses.

Instead, KPIs for innovative programs could focus on meaningful outcomes for participating companies, such as: their growth or survival rate compared with those that did not participate; the percentage increase in exports; equity investment raised; business investment per employee; and revenue generated from Canadian-owned IP.

There is also an ongoing debate on whether innovation programs should focus solely on fostering innovation or if they should also serve broader government objectives.

“The core purpose of innovation programs should be to drive innovation,” the report says. “If the government has other goals, such as addressing social issues, it may have to consider whether different programs may be more appropriate.”

• Even in areas of government priority, like sustainability and clean tech, procurement is not used as a tool to drive or support innovation in the private sector.

For example, in 2023, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the department responsible for leading Canada’s climate and sustainability targets, ignored sustainability criteria when procuring $8 million worth of laptops for the department.

Another example was the procurement of pharmaceutical refrigerators at the Department of National Defence. This could have been an opportunity for the government to procure from innovators who could provide sustainable and cost-efficient equipment for the federal government, rather than solely focusing on the lowest cost.

In 2021, procurement amounted to 14.6 percent of Canada’s GDP, or nearly $300 billion, a portion of which could have been allocated as a tool to stimulate innovation, both inside of government and beyond, the report says.

For example, in the cybersecurity sector, Canadian companies generate three times more revenue in other countries as they do with Canadian public sector clients. ISED’s ongoing consultation on legislating procurement targets is a necessary step towards improving support for innovation in Canada.

Finland, a top innovating country, developed its own innovative and sustainable procurement model, the Competence Centre for Sustainable and Innovative Public Procurement.

This arm’s-length government agency assists the central, regional and local governments with procurement by coordinating national activities, promoting the deployment and diffusion of sustainable and innovative solutions, producing information and developing measurement methods, and advising the different levels of government.

This allows government experts in procurement to work with different levels of government to help meet their innovative procurement needs.

• Canada hasn’t developed a comprehensive approach to creating and growing Canadian companies within Canada in a manner that maximizes the commercial value of their intellectual property.

The federal government should actively structure programs to incentivize Canadian startups to commercialize their products in a manner that maximizes their competitive advantages and ensures that Canada retains the greatest economic benefits, the report says.

Government funding provided to companies and academic institutions for research that leads to the creation of IP is not contingent on the commercialization of that IP by a Canadian company.

“Therefore, the government keeps financing research that does not benefit the Canadian economy because the IP is not commercialized or owned by Canadians.”

For example, the biggest Strategic Innovation Fund investments are tens of billions of dollars committed to commercializing foreign-owned battery IP for Volkswagen and others and research facilities for Finland’s Nokia.

None of the IP resulting from these investments will be owned by a Canadian business, the report notes. “If we are to prosper in a ‘global, knowledge-based economy,’ is it not important for us to own or control some of that knowledge?”

The Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax credit program and similar programs are used by foreign companies to conduct subsidized R&D in Canada to develop IP that they will commercialize elsewhere to develop products that they will sell back to Canadians at later date.

Germany’s Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is a leading applied research organization that focuses on research in future key technology areas and transfers its findings to industry with the goal of strengthening Germany as an industrial activity hub as well as benefiting society.

This model, although not government-led, is an excellent example of a program that only supports research that can be commercialized and will benefit the country and society, Sen. Deacon’s report says. Office of Senator Colin Deacon

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Alberta government to introduce Alberta Sovereignty Act motion to stop federal oil and gas emissions cap

The Government of Alberta says it will introduce an Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act motion to stop a federal cap on oil and gas emissions from infringing on the province’s distinct jurisdiction and killing jobs.

The resolution asks the legislative assembly for approval to take a series of swift, effective actions designed to protect Alberta if what the provincial government calls an “oil and gas production cap” ever becomes law.

“We will continue to defend our province from Ottawa’s senseless and direct attack. Our motion protects Albertans’ jobs and livelihoods, puts Ottawa back in their place, and ensures we can continue to support global energy security with Alberta oil and gas for decades to come,” Premier Danielle Smith said in a statement.

The motion proposes that the government launch an immediate constitutional challenge when, or if, the federal production cap becomes law. It also instructs the government to consider passing legislation, amending provincial regulations or taking whatever other steps are needed to:

• Ensure that no provincial entity participates in the enforcement or implementation of the federal cap.
• Ensure that all interest holder oil and gas production facilities and related infrastructure in Alberta (Interest Holder Facilities) are “essential infrastructure” subject to the protections granted under Alberta’s Critical Infrastructure Defence Act.
• Prohibit entry by any individual, including any federal official or contractor, onto any Interest Holder Facilities, excepting any interest holders, employees and contractors, and those specifically licensed to enter by the Government of Alberta.
• Declare all information that is directly or indirectly related to greenhouse gas, collected at Interest Holder Facilities, as proprietary information exclusively owned by the Government of Alberta, and mandate that all emissions data be reported and disclosed at the province’s discretion.
• Effectively sell conventional oil through the Conventional Oil Royalty-in-Kind program, and work collaboratively with industry to implement a Bitumen Royalty-in-Kind program for oilsands bitumen and develop a similar program for natural gas, if necessary.
• Work collaboratively and proactively with other provinces and territories, the United States and First Nations to double oil and gas pipeline capacity to tidewater and the U.S.

The Alberta government notes that The Conference Board of Canada forecasts that royalties in Alberta will drop by $2 billion to $4 billion in 2030-31 under the emissions cap.

Deloitte forecasts a $26-billion cut to Canada’s overall GDP in 2035, including a $16-billion decline in the GDP produced by oil and gas, according to the province. Deloitte also forecasts a five-per-cent decline in revenue for Alberta by 2035.

If the motion is passed, the Alberta government said it will immediately begin taking steps to be ready to protect the province if the federal regulations become law.

In a joint statement, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson disputed Smith's claims, saying they believe the emissions cap is constitutional and wouldn't lead to a production cut.

"The pollution cap will drive the industry to invest record profits back into the sector helping to fuel Canadian-made clean technologies and creating jobs in the process," the statement reads. "Production and jobs will increase under this policy while pollution goes down — that's a win-win-win."

Guilbeault and Wilkinson also said Smith is "manipulating and politicizing" emissions reporting.

In another development, the Alberta government also announced it is taking legal action for the second time against the federal government’s environmental assessment law.

The federal Impact Assessment Act, which was enacted in 2019, allowed federal regulators to consider numerous new potential environmental and social impacts when assessing oil and gas projects, mines, power plants and other major projects. However, a non-binding advisory ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2023 found that part of the legislation was unconstitutional.

Following the ruling, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government would make amendments to the act.

Smith said her government gave Ottawa a four-week deadline to make the necessary amendments, but said the federal government ultimately failed to address Alberta’s concerns.

Smith sent a letter to Trudeau in October informing him that the amendments the federal government made last June did not live up to the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling.

In her letter, she sent a list of proposed amendments, including eliminating federal encroachment into Alberta’s jurisdiction, allowing provincial environmental assessments to be considered equivalent to federal ones, and imposing concrete approval timelines aimed to give investors more certainty.

The Alberta government has filed its reference case in the new legal action at the Court of Appeal of Alberta.

A joint statement by Guilbeault and Wilkinson said Smith was choosing “divisive politics” and is jeopardizing 45 projects, including four in Alberta that are currently being assessed, representing billions of dollars and hundreds of potential jobs. Govt. of Alberta, Edmonton Journal

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Number of international students in Canada’s colleges and universities doubled during the past decade while enrolment by Canadian students declined: StatsCan

Enrolment by international students in Canada’s colleges and universities doubled during the past decade, according to Statistics Canada (StatsCan).

International students accounted for 21.2 percent of all college and university enrolments in 2022/2023.

Overall, the number of international students more than doubled from 2013/2014 (199,116) to 2022/2023 (468,087).

During the same decade, Canadian student college and university enrolments decreased by 5.7 percent, from 1,842,903 in 2013/2014 to 1,738,095 in 2022/2023.

There was an increase of 16 percent (+64,524) in 2022/2023 in international student enrolments compared with the previous year, with the majority of them being enrolled in colleges.

This steady annual increase brought international student college enrolment growth up nearly fourfold, from 54,738 in 2013/2014 to 205,242 in 2022/2023.

Fields of study such as business and administration (+20.1 percent; +24,843) and mathematics and computer and information sciences (+16.1 percent; +8,511) posted the largest increases for international students nationally in 2022/2023.

The increase in international student college enrolments observed in 2022/2023 was driven by students from India (+31.6 percent to 115,119 students). The number of international students with Indian citizenship studying in Canadian colleges accounted for 56.1 percent of all international student college enrolments.

Canadian student total enrolments declined by 2.7 percent to 1,738,095 in 2022/2023, continuing a trend that began in 2013/2014.

Both college (minus four percent to 594,606) and university (-2.1 percent to 1,143,489) enrolments declined in 2022/2023 compared with the previous year.

Canadian student enrolments decreased across all fields of study except for mathematics and computer and information sciences, which saw a five-percent increase to 96,834 students. The growth in enrolments in mathematics and computer and information sciences was observed at both colleges (+5.6 percent to 36,405) and universities (+4.6 percent to 60,432).

Enrolments in colleges and universities increased to 2.2 million students in the 2022/2023 academic year, up 0.6 percent from the previous year.

This was prior to the federal government’s changes capping international student numbers and restricting graduate student work permits.

The number of international student enrolments increased for both colleges (+46,989; +29.7 percent) and universities (+17,538; +7.1 percent).

In contrast, there were fewer Canadian students in both colleges (-25,002; minus four percent) and universities (-24,021; -2.1 percent).

Overall, college enrolments rose 2.7 percent in 2022/2023, while university enrolments were down 0.5 percent, the first decline in a decade.

In 2022, 617,301 students graduated with a certificate, diploma or degree from a Canadian public postsecondary institution, down 2.7 percent (-17,328) from one year earlier and following a 7.5-percent increase in 2021.

The total number of graduates decreased for universities (-2.6 percent) and colleges (-2.9 percent) in 2022.

This decrease was driven by Canadian college (-6.9 percent) and university (-3.3 percent) graduates. The decreases in graduates were observed across the country except in the territories and New Brunswick.

The overall decline was driven by fewer college and university graduates in Quebec (-5.4 percent to 154,932) and British Columbia (-5.9 percent to 72,039).

The two previous graduation years were atypical; the number of graduates was steady in 2020 (+0.6 percent) and then experienced an unusually sharp rise in 2021 (+7.5 percent). However, when comparing 2022 with 2019 (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic), the number of graduates increased by 5.2 percent, representing an average increase of 1.7 percent per year, suggesting a return to the typical growth trend observed within the decade prior to 2019.

Following a 16.7-percent increase in 2021, the number of health care program graduates dropped by 1.7 percent in 2022, declining primarily among college graduates (-4.2 percent; -1,743).

However, compared with the pre-pandemic levels of 2019, the number of health care program graduates in 2022 increased by 8.1 percent (+5,697). This growth is consistent with an increasing demand for health care and social assistance specialists, as tracked by the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey since at least 2015.

In contrast to most programs, the number of graduates in mathematics and computer and information science programs increased by nine percent (+3,621) in 2022, driven by a 10.4-percent increase in computer and information sciences graduates, reaching 35,679. This growth continued a decade-long trend for these programs, which saw an average annual increase of 11.9 percent over the past 10 years.

When it comes to full-time teaching staff at universities for 2023/24, there were 48,960 full-time teachers at Canadian universities. Close to half (48.5 percent; 23,745) were professors at one of the 15 leading research universities that are members of U15 Canada.

In 2023/2024, the median salary of full-time teachers at Canadian universities – all academic ranks combined – was $151,700, up 3.9 percent from $146,000 in 2022/2023 and 11.9 percent higher than $135,600 recorded five years earlier. These increases were driven by wage gains that were negotiated and accepted over this period.

In 2022/2023, U15 Canada member universities received 71 percent ($3.4 billion) of the $4.8 billion in funding granted to Canadian universities by the federal government. 

Universities that receive federal funding have a greater ability to attract professors and researchers from Canada and abroad, since they can offer a more competitive salary, StatsCan noted.

When accounting for all academic ranks, the median salary of professors at a U15 Canada member university in 2023/2024 was $164,750, compared with $139,550 for professors at universities that are not members of U15 Canada.

In 2023/2024, women professors had a slightly lower income than their male counterparts. This was observed among professors at both U15 Canada member universities and other universities.

In 2023/2024, full professors who are women ($178,950) earned 95.8 percent of the median salary of full professors who are men ($186,775) at all universities. StatsCan (Students), StatsCan (Faculty)

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Universities grappling with revenue losses, budget deficits after federal changes to international student programs

The University of Calgary is estimating an $11-million loss in revenue this year due to a drop in international students, the CBC reported.

UCalgary’s international student enrolment fell from 6,998 last fall to 6,394 this year, a drop of nearly nine per cent.

Because international students often pay two to three times more in tuition than domestic students, the school said it will lose approximately $11 million in tuition revenue this year.

The university said the loss will grow over time as those students were anticipated to attend through multiple years.

"It's going to impact not only the quality of our scholarship, but the future of Alberta and the future that students have in this province," said Ermia Rezaei-Afsah, president of the University of Calgary Students’ Union. "There's just less money in the system, resulting in less innovation, less research coming out of our institutions, out of institutions across Canada."

UCalgary is projecting this revenue decline even as its domestic student tuition increased roughly five per cent, with 31,781 students this fall compared to 30,402 last year.

The university said the federal cap on international students will continue to have an impact on universities across Canada.

"The federal approach does create challenges. The current impact on enrolment is connected to the swift, sweeping and ongoing changes to federal measures and the impacts of geopolitics," UCalgary said in a statement.

"Canada is going to take a hit in terms of its ability to attract the most talented people in the world to come here and fill roles researching artificial intelligence, health treatments [and] measures that could improve our economy, improve manufacturing [and] support our natural resource industries," said Gabriel Miller, president and CEO of Universities Canada.

In Ontario, Mohawk College, which is projecting a $50-million deficit next year, said it expects to lay off between 200 and 400 employees starting in December, according to a story by The Hamilton Spectator.

Expected layoffs represent about eight to 16 percent of the college’s workforce of 1,200 full-time staff and about 1,250 part-timers, a number that can fluctuate throughout the year. CBC News

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Australia’s bill to ban social media for users under 16 uses “regulatory sledgehammer instead of a scalpel,” ITIF authors say

Australia’s legislation to ban social media for users under 16 years of age is misguided and fails to consider social media’s benefits for young people, according to an article by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) based in Washington, D.C.

“As is the case with similar legislation at the state level in the United States, blocking an entire age group from social media is the equivalent of using a regulatory sledgehammer instead of a scalpel to address complex and evolving online safety issues,” says the article by Ash Johnson and Alex Ambrose.

“This approach fails to consider the benefits of social media for young people and the pitfalls of online age-verification requirements,” they argue.

Johnson is a senior policy manager at ITIF, specializing in internet policy issues. Ambrose is a policy analyst at ITIF, focusing on augmented and virtual reality.

On November 28, the Australian parliament’s upper house, the Senate, passed the bill by 34 votes to 19, but the legislation won’t come into force for another 12 months. Australia’s social media ban would be the strictest in the world.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the responsibility for enforcing this age limit on social media will lie with the individual tech companies and platforms to “demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access” for underage users.

The legislation does have some platform exemptions for educational and informative content, such as YouTube Kids, but there will be no exemptions for children who have parental consent or who already have accounts, Johnson and Ambrose note.

The country’s eSafety Commissioner will have enforcement power, though it is unclear exactly how they will enforce the ban.

There are multiple problems with this approach, the ITIF article’s authors maintain.

Australia may require an ID-based age verification, a process that would involve handing over some form of government-issued identification to a platform to confirm the user is over 16.

This method would mean all users – not just teens – would have to give up their personal information to social media platforms via ID verification.

Though this method of age verification is the most accurate, it is also the most invasive, the authors note.

“Indeed, there are serious privacy and free speech implications behind requiring users to turn over personal information in order to use a tool that is increasingly vital to social and political activism and everyday communication and expression, as many users would likely not want to give up their personal information to access social media, particularly platforms like X, Reddit, and many others that enable users to maintain anonymity.”

As an alternative, Albanese expressed the possibility of introducing biometric scanning technology, such as facial recognition, to verify social media users’ ages and identities.

Biometric information includes data derived from a user’s physical characteristics, such as a facial scan or fingerprints, and behavioral characteristics, like voice recognition.

This process would be more privacy-protective if online services used age estimation – estimating a user’s age based on a facial scan – and were then required to delete those facial scans after users completed the verification process, Johnson and Ambrose say.

This process would also be more inclusive of children, who typically lack a government-issued ID. “However, it does not solve all the problems associated with banning social media for children.”

A total ban causes youth to lose out on the many benefits of social media, they contend. According to the American Psychological Association, which wrote in a May 2023 health advisory that “[u]sing social media is not inherently beneficial or harmful to young people,” some of the benefits of social media include social interaction, connection to peers in similar circumstances, promotion and reinforcement of positive attitudes and behaviors, and support for members of marginalized groups.

In Australia, one teenager said social media is the only way they are able to communicate with their loved ones who live in other countries and a ban would “mean losing a direct line to the most important person to her.”

Instead, a more balanced approach would continue to allow children to benefit from social media while giving them and their parents more control over their online experience, Johnson and Ambrose say.

An alternative to age verification could be a child flag system, which would require device operating systems to create a “trustworthy child flag” for user accounts to signal to apps and websites that a user is underage and require apps and websites that serve age-restricted content to check for this signal from their users and block underage users from this content.

Rather than using ID checks or biometric verification to determine whether to activate this child flag option, this would be an opt-in process built into existing parental controls on devices. Parents could activate or disable the child flag option depending on their own values and the maturity of their children.

Additionally, devices could default to certain parental controls recommended for children, with different settings recommended for different age groups, much like movie and video game rating systems.

Because this approach does not require anyone to disclose or verify their identity, it does not create the privacy risks posed by forcing users to share their government IDs, Johnson and Ambrose say. It is also a low-impact approach, allowing adults to continue using the internet as they do today.

This would also alleviate some concerns Australians have expressed with the “potentially complicated, time-consuming and risky ramifications of requiring up to 40 different apps to enforce the legislation.”

By implementing this opt-in, largely voluntary system, users would not face the same disruptions caused by a blanket, age-gated ban.

“Enacting a complete social media ban for all users under 16 would send Australia backward in time, to an age when online communication and community-building were much more difficult,” the authors say.

“There are easier, less drastic measures Australia can take to give children and their parents important safety tools and, importantly, a choice in how best to protect themselves online.” ITIF

THE GRAPEVINE – News about people, institutions and communities

The Ottawa-based Public Policy Forum (PPF) named Inez Jabalpurwala as its next president and CEO, effective January 6, 2025. Jabalpurwala, who is currently the global director of VINEx, a brain health research organization, is a distinguished leader in public policy and non-profit management. She takes over from outgoing president and CEO Edward Greenspon, who over the past nine years helped build PPF’s reputation as one of Canada’s most respected and established think tanks, with research work currently underway across a range of topics, including life sciences and health security, health care, democracy, the energy transition, Canada-U.S. relations and economic growth in Atlantic Canada. Jabalpurwala co-led the development of a pan-Canadian action plan to address long COVID. Prior to establishing VINEx, she was the founding president and CEO of the Brain Canada Foundation from 2001 to 2020. Public Policy Forum

Dr. Paul F. Smith, PhD, managing director and chief operating officer of the Perimeter Institute, won the 2025 Montréal Medal from the Chemical Institute of Canada. The medal is presented as a mark of distinction and honour to a resident of Canada who has shown significant leadership in or has made an outstanding contribution to the profession of chemistry or chemical engineering in Canada. In partnership with the National Research Council of Canada, Smith helped create the Canadian Campus for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing, a partnership between government and industry for world-class research and development focused on commercialization of devices for the Internet of Everything and cleantech. Smith served as chair of the Chemical Institute of Canada from 2019-2020. Chemical Institute of Canada

Toronto-based legal software company Dye and Durham Limited announced that Matthew Proud, 43, is stepping down from his role as CEO of the company. Proud will remain in his role for approximately three months or until the board-led search for his successor is completed. Under Proud's leadership, Dye and Durham has grown from a small regional single-product company with an enterprise value of approximately $4 million, to a global legal technology leader worth over $2.56 billion in enterprise value. Over the past year, Dye and Durham has faced four governance challenges from investors dissatisfied about the company’s leverage, pace of acquisitions and board oversight over management. The company faces a Competition Bureau investigation into alleged trade-restricting practices. Dye and Durham Limited, The Globe and Mail

Smith Falls, Ont.-based cannabis company Canopy Growth Corporation announced Luc Mongeau as the next CEO, effective January 6, 2025. Mongeau is a current board member who joined the board as an observer in early 2023 and became a board member in February 2024. He succeeds David Klein, who’ll step down from the board in January and transition to a special advisor role until August 31, 2025. Mongeau most recently served as the CEO of North America’s leading e-commerce provider for residential and commercial furniture. Prior to that, he held the role of president for Weston Foods as well as president of Mars Petcare North America, the core business unit of the world’s largest pet care company. Canopy Growth

Santa Clara, Calif-based Intel Corporation announced that CEO Pat Gelsinger, who took the helm in 2021, retired from the company and stepped down from the board of directors, effective December 1, 2024. Intel named two senior leaders, David Zinsner and Michelle (MJ) Johnston Holthaus, as interim co-CEOs while the board of directors conducts a search for a new CEO. Zinsner is executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Holthaus has been appointed to the newly created position of CEO of Intel Products. Frank Yeary, independent chair of the board of Intel, will become interim executive chair during the period of transition. Intel Corporation

Northvolt AB appointed Markus Dangelmaier as CEO of Swedish-based Northvolt Ett AB, Northfolt’s only factory that’s producing battery cells. Last month saw the Swedish electric vehicle supplier file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. after a tumultuous couple of months that left it with $30 million in cash, enough to run operations for one week. The former head of the flagship plant, Mark Duchesne, left his position in early October. Dangelmaier most recently held the role of vice-president operations, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, for electronics company TE Connectivity and will take up his new role on January 2, 2025. The company said the new CEO will seek to build synergies between the Swedish plant and planned factories in Quebec and Germany. BNN Bloomberg

Netherlands-headquartered Stellantis – the parent company of Chrysler, Fiat and Jeep – announced that Carlos Tavares, the company’s CEO, has resigned effective immediately. Senior independent director Henri de Castries said the carmaker’s success has been rooted in a “perfect alignment” between the shareholders, board and the CEO. “However, in recent weeks different views have emerged which have resulted in the Board and the CEO coming to [this] decision,” de Castries said. A new interim executive committee, chaired by John Elkann, chair of the company’s board of directors, will be established and a new CEO appointed in the first half of 2025, Stellantis said. Stellantis

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) received $50 million from the Mastercard Foundation for the Inuit Nunangat University, bringing the institution one step closer to becoming a reality. The donation will help establish key startup elements, build capacity, advance academic plans, develop courses, improve digital connectivity and enhance community engagement. Natan Obed, president of ITK, said the goal is to create an institution where students can “be grounded in Inuit society and also have a full spectrum of educational opportunities that include learning more about our society and our practices.” ITK is seeking $50 million from the federal government in next year’s budget, with a total of $160 million needed to start the university. Inuit Nunangat University would be the first Inuit-governed and Inuit-owned university in Canada’s Arctic. Mastercard Foundation

The University of Guelph received $7 million in renewed funding from Kim and Stu Lang through The Angel Gabriel Foundation. The funding will support the Ontario Veterinary College’s (OVC) Kim and Stu Lang Community Healthcare Partnership Program (CHPP) and Remy’s Fund. Part of the funding will help OVC meet the growing demand for CHPP mobile clinics – which provide animal health care to underserved populations – by helping to secure human resources. A total of $2 million is designated for Remy’s Fund (named for the Langs’ beloved Yellow Labrador) which helps improve access to treatment for CHPP patients with an illness or injury that cannot be treated at the mobile clinic. University of Guelph

McGill University researchers have found that AI-powered apps offering medical diagnoses at the click of a button are often limited by biased data and a lack of regulation, leading to inaccurate and unsafe health advice. In a study, researchers presented symptom data from known medical cases to two popular, representative apps to see how well they diagnosed the conditions. While the apps sometimes gave correct diagnoses, they often failed to detect serious conditions, according to findings published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. This potentially resulted in delayed treatment. Because the apps rely on data from smartphone users, they tend to exclude lower-income individuals. Race and ethnicity are also underrepresented in the data, the researchers said. While apps often include disclaimers stating they do not provide medical advice, lead study author Ma’n H. Zawati, associate professor in McGill’s Department of Medicine, said that users' interpretations of these disclaimers – if read at all – do not always align. The second issue is the "black box" nature of AI systems, where the technology evolves with minimal human oversight. Zawati said lack of transparency means even an app’s developers may not fully understand how it reaches conclusions. "Without clear regulations, developers aren’t held accountable, making doctors reluctant to recommend these tools. For users, this means a potential misdiagnosis is just a click away,” Zawati said. McGill University

Researchers at the University of Waterloo’s Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA) are studying the potential risks of the reflected glare caused by solar panels at airports. Airports are typically surrounded by vast stretches of unobstructed land – ideal places to locate ground-mounted photovoltaic systems. Solar panels can also be integrated on airport building roofs and over parking lots. This technology could significantly reduce an airport's carbon emissions, meet its electricity needs around the clock in a cost-effective way, and provide reliable power during a grid blackout. But the glare from solar panels can pose challenges for air traffic controllers and, more critically, for pilots during takeoff and landing – the most critical times of a flight. The WISA researchers’ goal is to deal with this challenge by standardizing the process for safely employing solar panels at airports. To do this, they’re assessing when glare can occur, how intense and serious it can be, and what can be done to control it. The Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre, a pilot training school at the Region of Waterloo International Airport, installed a ground-mounted solar panel system which offers real-life facilities for testing the WISA researchers’ models. Employing virtual-reality technology, the researchers are successfully replicating on a screen the surrounding environment that air controllers and pilots would work with. Researchers then install solar panels in the model to determine how they would affect a real plane landing. The simulation models indicate that the use of anti-reflective coating or satinated glass (which is chemically treated to give it a misty-looking finish) on solar panels can reduce or in some cases eliminate glare. Adjusting panel orientation to avoid glare in landing corridors is another solution. This project is funded by a $240,000 grant through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario’s Aerospace Regional Recovery Initiative. University of Waterloo

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