Author: Mark Henderson

Economic Strategy Tables set the bar for achieving global competitiveness in six key sectors

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The federally appointed Economic Strategy Tables (EST) have delivered their final report, which recommends a network of sector-specific Canadian Technology Adoption Centres. The collective report by all six tables contains “six signature initiatives” with the economic potential to add $318 billion or 15% to the GDP by 2030 compared to 2017 levels, and boost median household income by $13,000.

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Canadian Space Agency first to appoint an external science advisor

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Dr Sarah Gallagher has been appointed the first science advisor of the Canadian Space Agency – the first in a proposed network of external science advisors to key departments and agencies across the federal government. The two-year appointment will see Gallagher – an associate professor of physics and astronomy at Western Univ – report directly to CSA president Sylvain Laporte and establish a close working relationship with Dr Mona Nemer, Canada’s chief science advisor and the architect of the external advisory network.

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Five CECRs receive $78.9 million in new funding in competition geared towards existing centres

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The federal government has finally announced the results of last year’s competition for existing Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR), with five returning centres sharing $78.9 million over five years. The successful CECRs were chosen from a field of 25 letters of intent and 10 full applications, all of which were previously or are currently receiving funding through the program.

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CAPI report fleshes out targets and actions required to make Canada a globally competitive agriculture and agri-food superpower

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Last year’s Barton panel report on the agri-food sector continues to resonate with additional consultation and analysis of its recommended policies and actions aimed at sustainably boosting exports to $75 billion by 2025.

The Canadian Agri-food Policy Institute (CAPI) launched a series of workshops to determine what specific actions are required to achieve the sector’s export objectives with a subsequent report – Barton Forward: Optimizing Growth in the Canadian Agri-Food Sector – posing and answering four key questions:

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CCA report fuses research and industrial R&D data to expose weak linkages between home-grown S&T and wealth creation

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Canadian science and technology and industrial R&D are faced with a growing risk of becoming branch plants of research, innovation and competitiveness for other countries. While not new, this conclusion reached by an expert panel tasked to examine the issue that says the severity and urgency of the situation are increasing due to rapidly evolving global trends, the “start and sell” mentality of many tech entrepreneurs and the ecosystem damage inflicted between 2006 and 2015.

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