All-party aerospace caucus to reboot at industry summit
Parliamentarians will revive the all-party aerospace caucus a this week’s Canadian Aerospace Summit in Canada in hopes of raising awareness of the industry’s importance to the Canadian economy. Conservative MP Joe Daniel (Don Valley East, Ont.) decided to take on the chair in October after being approached by fellow Tory and former caucus chair […]
SDTC looks to green Canada’s aerospace sector
Three years of targeted investments by Sustainable Development and Technology Canada are starting to pay off in the form of viable green innovations in aerospace fuels and materials. SDTC, the $1-billion green innovation fund established by a 2001 act of Parliament, has been investing $9-million annually in green aerospace projects since 2009. “Innovation takes […]
NDP leadership to foster a robust aerospace sector
Montreal is one of the three aerospace capitals of the world, along with Seattle and Toulouse. As a Member of Parliament from the Island of Montreal, I understand just how critical the health of our aerospace sector is for the long-term vitality of the Quebec and Canadian economies. This summer, I toured the facilities […]
Feds want to pave way forward, help make Canada’s world-class aerospace industries stronger
PARLIAMENT HILL—In the Nov. 19 issue of The Hill Times, I discussed the need for Canada to foster innovation to help drive the prosperity of our industry. In fact, we are at a critical juncture where finding novel, efficient, and productive ways of doing business is a necessary condition for growth and success. In […]
Air Canada, WestJet, more profitable in 2012 than expected: experts
Recent profits at Air Canada and WestJet have exceeded investors’ expectations and despite the global economic uncertainty, the companies seem poised to perform well in 2013 too, say experts. “They certainly beat our expectations,” said Walter Spracklin, a market analyst with RBC who follows the aviation and air travel industry. The two airlines recently […]
Innovation
We need to bring people together to turn research into innovation, innovation into enterprise
OTTAWA—In September, Site Selection, a prestigious American trade publication aimed at business executives who determine the location for new production facilities, ranked Hamilton as the top Canadian city for companies interested in launching new industrial development projects or expanding existing ones. When commenting on the ranking, Hamilton Mayor Bob Bratina pointed out how his […]
Don’t trade off science policy for innovation policy
OTTAWA—Innovation is a word that is used a lot—too often perhaps—but it is rarely succinctly defined. In a recent document issued by the Institute for Science, Society and Policy, Canada’s Future as an Innovative Society: A Decalogue of Policy Criteria, we define this concept as follows (with thanks to Peter Nicholson): “Innovation occurs whenever […]
Canadians clearly deserve better from their science advisory apparatus
OTTAWA—“It is not enough for scientists to have responsibility as citizens. They have a much greater one than that and different in kind. For scientists have a moral imperative to say what they know. It is going to make them unpopular. It may do worse than make them unpopular. That doesn’t matter.”—C.P. Snow. By […]
Innovation in Health IT will improve health, fuel growth
It may sound like a magic elixir that boosts productivity while also improving care, but when it comes to our health system, we’ve all seen the results of innovation. Recent advances have led to improvements in childhood cancer survival and minimally invasive surgery, to name just two examples with global impact. Here in Canada, […]
