FedDev Ontario supports job creation, economic prosperity
Supporting angel investors is only one of the many ways my agency—the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario—or FedDev Ontario as we’re more commonly known, is supporting job creation and economic prosperity across the region. I am proud to say that, thanks to the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Canada has one of […]
Why Canada needs a Parliamentary science officer
Beginning with the elimination of Canada’s national science advisor in 2008, the Harper government has used every tool at its disposal to prevent, limit, and restrict public scientists from sharing their research findings with Canadians and policy-makers. Statistics Canada data reveals the Conservatives have slashed over $1-billion in S&T funding and laid off 4000 federal […]
Canada can be a global innovation leader
I met recently with Jonathan Bagger, the new director of TRIUMF, Canada’s national laboratory for nuclear and particle physics. TRIUMF is becoming an innovation driver in nuclear medicine and materials science. It collaborates extensively, with 18 member universities across Canada, and a range of international partnerships. Dr. Bagger, well-known in the world of physics, was […]
Canada could be a world leader in innovation
Innovation and productivity drive economic growth. They allow countries to lead in today’s fast-paced global economy. They can raise living standards for everyone (if distributed fairly!). Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman has said, “Productivity isn’t everything, but, in the long-run, it is almost everything.” For three decades, Canada has been lagging behind similar countries when […]
Focus on human dimension of innovation
Innovation is often defined in the context of those discoveries and systems necessary to sustain Canada’s competitive leadership in a global economy. We must realize however, that innovation is only as valuable as its capacity to reflect, to resonate with and to serve the human experience. Addressing the social, cultural, and ethical impacts of new […]
Is innovation an election issue?
Since 2006, at least a dozen major reports about innovation in Canada have come to three identical conclusions. First, future growth and prosperity depend upon innovation. Second, Canada is not very good at it. Third, what we are doing about it is not working. Such conclusions attract broad political and industry agreement. But it has […]
Driving innovation—are we there yet?
‘There has been no effective mobilization of advice and counsel from outside the public service and responsibility for the expansion of various activities has been borne by individual ministers without any evidence of their relation to national policy as a whole.’ (J. Grant Glassco, Commissioner, 1963) This salient observation on the country’s national science activities […]
Toronto tech conference an American Idol for innovators
Some of the country’s most innovative companies in digital media and information and communication technology were featured at the annual Canadian Innovation Exchange (CIX) in Toronto last month. The Nov. 18 event, which was attended by top innovative tech experts in Canada, is described as “a technology party for the industry” by founding co-chair Rick […]
Sex, lies and physician supply: why female doctors are not to blame
Among the many reasons offered for why many Canadians are increasingly facing difficulties finding a family physician to call their own is the fact that the workforce has become increasingly female. The argument usually goes something like this: female family practitioners work fewer hours, take time out to raise families and have shorter careers. […]
The importance of follow-up care after an emergency room visit
Television shows have popularized the theatrical entrance into the hospital emergency room: patients racing down hallways on gurneys with worried doctors and nurses running alongside—great drama. How most patients leave the emergency room isn’t quite as dramatic, but the facts tell a good news story. About 85 per cent of the more than 14 […]
