Article Type: News Briefs

The Short Report, April 28, 2020: Alarming drop in donations for health charities; Health Canada approves COVID-19 clinical trial; and more

Health charities are seeing an “alarming” drop in donations, which they warn will compromise the health of Canadians living with chronic disease. HealthPartners, a collaboration of 16 Canadian charities, released the findings in its report, The Impact of COVID-19 on our Most Vulnerable Canadians. In response to declining donations, the report says health charities have…

The Short Report, April 22, 2020: Ottawa extends graduate research scholarships and post-doctoral fellowships; McGill prepares to decarbonize its investment pool; and more

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today announced $9 billion in financial aid for post-secondary students, who will be eligible for up to $1750 a month from May through August, to compensate for the lack of summer jobs. Students can also earn money from the federal government for volunteering. Trudeau also raised the maximum weekly amount that can…

The Short Report, April 15, 2020: Regulators move fast to approve AI-powered x-rays for COVID-19; American lawmakers look askance at Huawei PPE donations; and more

The Fonds de recherche du Québec – santé (FRQS), the Quebec government’s health sciences research arm, will provide $2 million to help create the Centre de Recherche en Biologie Structurale (CRBS) at McGill University. The centre aims to advance understanding of the fundamental biological mechanisms of disease, which could help address medical challenges like targeting treatments to specific…

The Short Report, April 1, 2020: EU will integrate COVID-19 stimulus with green transition; researchers team up to share resources and materials in fight against COVID-19; and more

The European Union will adapt its economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic in support of the continent-wide Green Deal adopted in December. Europe wants to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 through a growth strategy that will “transform its economy and society to put it on a more sustainable path.” In a new statement, EU’s leaders…

The Short Report, March 25, 2020: Tech CEOs implore Ottawa to protect their industry, the NGEN supercluster commits $50M to scaling up production of supplies to fight COVID-19, and more

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research launched a new COVID-19 funding opportunity for operating grants called the “COVID-19 Clinical Epidemiology Research Rapid Response.” The application deadline is this Friday, March 27, and successful applicants will be notified of the decision on April 1. The competition description emphasizes the viruses “many unknown epidemiological parameters, particularly with respect…

The Short Report, March 4, 2019: Kirsty Duncan moves for a standing committee on science and research; Alberta cuts post-secondary education funding; Canadian miners make an action plan

The Short Report: New Parliamentary standing committee proposed for science and research; new Protein Industries Supercluster projects; Alberta cuts post-secondary education funding while Ontario increases it; boosting competitiveness of Canada’s mining sector; creating research internships for students; Canadian science for the Moon; developing small nuclear reactor technology; and more.

The Short Report, February 12, 2020: Canada takes a step toward joining Horizon Europe; NSERC funding for basic research takes a dive; Google pursues rapid Canadian expansion

Microsoft is partnering with Invest Ottawa and the Bayview Yards business accelerator to offer technical and business resources to entrepreneurs. Called Microsoft for Startups, the program gives innovative Ottawa companies access to its cloud services, enterprise sales team and partner ecosystem. – Ottawa Matters Canada Infrastructure Bank CEO Pierre Lavallée signalled the bank is considering an investment…

The Short Report, January 28, 2020: Late-stage growth investing; AI for the steel supply chain; quantum computing with lasers

At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Innovation minister Navdeep Bains and Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga announced a joint investment to establish the new global Intelligence and Cyber Centre in Vancouver, B.C. MasterCard is investing $510 million, of which  $420 million is eligible under the Strategic Innovation Fund, while Ottawa is investing $49 million…