Pharma industry pushes for a more European IP regime, Rx&D says Canada is losing out on pharma
Innovation in Canada’s pharmaceutical sector has all but stalled, according to Rx&D, which represents the country’s pharmaceutical researchers. The industry association attributes the slowdown to weak intellectual property laws that discourage companies from investing in Canada, but some stakeholders warn that stricter IP protection will have a negative impact on innovation in other sectors […]
Canada faces commercialization gap, not innovation gap: CATA
A leading national industry association representing Canada’s technology sectors is urging the federal government to rethink the country’s so-called “innovation gap” ahead of the 2012 budget. The Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance’s recent white paper, Canada as a Competitive Innovation Nation: What Needs To Be Done, formed the basis of the organization’s 2012 pre-budget submission […]
D-Wave Systems bucks trends for Canadian start-ups
When it comes to Canadian companies with global reach, many innovation experts are hard-pressed to come up with more than a handful of household names, but B.C.-based D-Wave Systems could be the next company to join a very short list. Asked to name some of the country’s most innovative globally competitive companies, industry insiders […]
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Quebec’s asbestos industry seeks government assistance to continue operations
Canada is not producing asbestos for the first time in 130 years, but don’t write off the industry just yet. LAB Chrysotile stopped production at their Thetford Mines, Que., operation last month while awaiting permission from the provincial government to allow them to dig under a nearby highway to reach a deposit of the […]
NRCan anticipates $500-billion in new investments in natural resources projects over next 10 years
Natural resources have helped Canada weather the last three years of economic uncertainty, but even with business booming, industry is telling the federal government that the sector can do more with reforms to the regulatory process. Canada has reaped the benefits of high commodity prices in recent years, with energy, mining, and forestry accounting […]
Hard-hit forestry sector sees its future in the bio-economy
The federal government’s failure to have a comprehensive forestry strategy leaves the country unprepared to effectively deal with the forestry sector’s needs, say opposition MPs. “I think we’re lacking behind the rest of the world primarily because we don’t have a strategy for forestry,” said NDP natural resources critic Claude Gravelle (Nickel Belt, Ont.). […]
‘Canada’s a bit like the U.S. right now, the narrative’s not there’
In his latest book, The Third Industrial Revolution: How Lateral Power is Transforming Energy, the Economy, and the World, economist, writer, and activist Jeremy Rifkin, 66, envisions a future where energy is produced at the individual level and shared across an infrastructure modelled after the internet. His vision is so convincing that EU members […]
Energy, environment: we need a national discussion
The Keystone XL pipeline decision splashed across major newspaper and Twitter feeds illustrates an increased appetite by the public to engage with energy issues. As heated debate swirls among pundits, environmental groups and energy stakeholders, it can be difficult for Canadians and policy makers alike to evaluate competing claims and interests. So where does […]
Keytstone Pipeline delay gives Canada change to stop and think
PARLIAMENT HILL—The campaign to prevent the expected rubber-stamp approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline by the Obama Administration was not given good odds of success. The proposed pipeline would bring bitumen crude from northern Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico where it would be processed and either sold in the U.S. or shipped abroad. […]
