Feds takes innovation strategy to the farm
Agriculture Canada is taking the government’s emphasis on innovation to the farm field with multi-year funding for innovative agricultural research and development. Agriculture Canada is in the midst of a program aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from farming. Established in 2010, the five-year, $27-million Agricultural Greenhouse Gases Program (AGGP) is funding research that could […]
Cuts to CFIA put food supply at pre-listeriosis outbreak risk: PSAC
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz insists that cuts to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in the federal government’s 2012 budget won’t compromise food safety, but the Public Service Alliance of Canada says that job cuts at the agency will roll back improvements to food inspection that were made in response to the 2008 listeriosis outbreak. “We’re […]
Future uncertain for now voluntary Canadian Wheat Board, say critics
Western farmers will find out what the end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s grain marketing monopoly will mean for grain prices and profit margins when Bill C-18 takes effect this August, and the result could decide the fate of many family farms and a now voluntary CWB. The Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act, which […]
International markets call on Canadian farmers to do ‘more and more to feed a hungry world’: Ritz
With more than four years at the Cabinet table as minister of Agriculture and Agri-food, Gerry Ritz is a Cabinet minister who can say with certainty that he’s had a huge impact on the file. Agriculture may not draw a lot of media attention, but in this year alone the federal government has secured access […]
PM, Finance and Industry to make innovation a top policy priority in 2012
The federal government has been signaling its willingness to take bold steps to foster innovation in Canada, but industry insiders say there needs to be a commitment across partisan lines if the country is to reap the long term benefits of such policies. Innovation has been a trending topic in official government statements after […]
On the ‘rightful place’ for innovation and science policy in our governments
GATINEAU—When U.S. President Barack Obama came to power three years ago, one of his priorities was to re-establish the “rightful place” of science in his administration. This has meant restoring science as a tool for crafting smart policies to strengthen the nation; getting the best available evidence to decision-makers; hiring highly-qualified public servants to […]
We need to find ways to fund new programs without endangering essential core of education
OTTAWA—The printing press, motorized vehicles, telephones, and computer are but a few of the inventions that have changed the world. They have affected social organization and created economic development, to a great extent improving the quality of our lives. As our global economy falters, it is not surprising that each nation looks to the creative […]
High-growth entrepreneurship is the key to Canada’s future economic success
OTTAWA—As Canada struggles with the fallout from the Great Recession, governments at all levels are grappling with how to ensure the kind of economic growth that will create meaningful jobs and future prosperity. Igniting Canada’s entrepreneurial spirit is the answer. But all forms of entrepreneurship are not equal; ‘high-growth’ entrepreneurship contributes disproportionately to innovation, […]
Helping companies bridge Canada’s innovation gap
One of the ongoing challenges for Canadian research and development policy is finding the best way to stimulate and leverage Canada’s corporate R&D investments. One proven innovative tool involves firms pursuing partnerships with universities or colleges to harness their research expertise. These partnerships can be enriching collaborative experiences if both parties feel that they […]
Time for innovation in Canada’s trade gateways and corridors
TORONTO—Canada’s national transportation policies, ever more linked to global trade and supply chain management, are currently facing two issues. The first is truly transformative: the staggering changes in global transportation supply chains, with ever bigger ships and aircraft, fewer but more strategic port developments, shifting traffic corridors through the Panama and Suez Canal and […]
