Biotech companies downsizing, blame a lack of capital funding
Performance Plants Inc. was seen as the star of Kingston, Ont.-based budding knowledge-based economy. With 29 employees there and another six in New York State, the 15-year-old company spent years developing genetically modified crops that are more tolerant to drought. “Kingston firm sows the seeds of success,” read a headline in The Kingston Whig Standard […]
A grand innovative challenge with Africa: Africa research chairs
A grand challenge, according to the newly-launched Grand Challenges Canada, is a barrier that, if overcome, would help solve an urgent development-related problem in the developing world with the likelihood of global impact through widespread implementation. There have been a number of examples of this over the past decade, including the Gates Foundation Grand Challenges […]
It’s time to lay the bricks for a biotech future
Over the past few decades, biotechnology has emerged as a key sector in the Canadian economy. It is estimated that the “bio-economy” has an $84.7-billion share of Canada’s GDP, or 6.9 per cent of Canada’s overall economy. Through environmental applications to climate change, improved health outcomes, and feeding global populations with better crops, nutrients and […]
‘We’re the outlier of developed healthcare economies’ in Canada
Gordon McCauley is set to start the final study on his pharmaceutical company Allon Therapeutics Inc.’s drug to fight a rare brain disorder, before seeking regulatory approval. But although the company is based in Vancouver, B.C., he will seek to get his drug approved first in the United States. “We’re proud to be a Canadian […]
Politicians should deal with climate change, create a stronger economy
TORONTO—If we are looking for economic stimulus to drive innovation and create new jobs, then launching a transformative shift to a low-carbon economy may be our best hope. While the Harper government consistently portrays the environment and the economy as competing interests, in fact there is a positive, not negative, relationship between the two. Dealing […]
Are agriculture numbers telling us to do something differently?
“Men, women and families who produce primary food are barely surviving economically, and too often they are not surviving at all. There is no way of avoiding the conclusion that many are locked in a deep and continuing economic crisis.” The preceding statement was presented to federal and provincial ministers of agriculture in a 2005 […]
Improving competitiveness and food sovereignty go hand-in-hand
“Competitiveness” is often assumed to be about market liberalization and deregulation. In Quebec, the agricultural sector, in particular, but also the public, at large, is increasingly aware that liberalization and deregulation can backfire. That is why food sovereignty has become an unavoidable issue when improving competitiveness is on the agenda. Food sovereignty is a nation’s […]
Feds need a food strategy
After years of deteriorating farm income, mounting debt and ill-designed income stability programs, can life on Canadian farms get worse? It certainly appears so. The government is forecasting that the price of many farm commodities will decline in 2010. And despite a complete overhaul by the Conservative government, farm income programs are causing the same […]
Orphan crops can turn into winners, say IDRC experts
The food security of a billion people on the planet is threatened by climate change, increased demand, and volatile prices. In the face of these grave threats, the recent G8 and G20 meetings reaffirmed the need to take urgent action to assure food security for the world’s most vulnerable. One of the ways of achieving […]
Ritz says agriculture ‘backbone’ of Canadian economy
Agriculture is the “backbone” of Canada’s economy, says Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, whose top priority is to put farmers first after years of governments developing agriculture policy without input from farmers in the industry. “For far too long, policies were dictated by politicians to farmers in rural Canada. We’ve taken a different approach—we’re working with […]
