December 18, 2017 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Innovative Solutions Canada is a $100-million program to fuel innovation and create middle-class jobs
December 14, 2017 – Ottawa
As the single-largest purchaser of Canadian goods and services, the Government of Canada will use procurement to help Canadian small businesses innovate and create employment opportunities for Canadians.
The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, together with the Honourable Bardish Chagger, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism, today announced the $100-million Innovative Solutions Canada program that invites Canadian small businesses to develop novel solutions to challenges proposed by federal departments and agencies.
Whether the challenge is developing a way to make armour more resistant to chemicals or improving wireless connectivity in connected vehicles, the federal department or agency will ask small businesses to innovate and propose a solution. The government will work with the winning business and act as its first customer, helping the companies take their idea to market and advance the next generation of solutions that can become viable commercial products.
Twenty federal departments and agencies will participate in the new program and identify problems spanning the military, economic and environmental sectors.
Innovative Solutions Canada is a key component of the Government of Canada's Innovation and Skills Plan, a multi-year strategy to create well-paying jobs for the middle class.
“Our government's new Innovative Solutions Canada program is a big winner on several fronts. We're being proactive and transforming our challenges into opportunities—opportunities for innovation, economic growth and small business success that will result in a vibrant innovation economy and more middle-class jobs for Canadians.”
– The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development
“We believe innovative Canadian small businesses are well positioned to help the government solve some of its more persistent challenges. Through Innovative Solutions Canada, we are asking entrepreneurs to develop new products and services that will help to solve these challenges, while also enabling these entrepreneurs as they work to expand to new markets and sell to new customers around the world. The benefits from this program are clear: the Government of Canada will be able to acquire new products and services that will improve our work, while hard-working small business owners will be able to grow their businesses and create more well-paying middle-class jobs.”
– The Honourable Bardish Chagger, Minister of Small Business and Tourism
“Our community of early-stage investors, incubators and accelerators provides much-needed coaching, connections and capital to Canada's early-stage companies seeking to grow and scale up. Many times, their ‘first customer' serves as critical validation that allows these companies to penetrate their markets locally and globally. The Innovative Solutions Canada program announced today will help Canadian companies gain early customer traction while also allowing Canadians to benefit from the adoption of homegrown innovative solutions.”
‑ Sandi Gilbert, Chair of the Board, National Angel Capital Organization (NACO Canada)
Program funding will come from the 20 departments and agencies participating in Innovative Solutions Canada. Each department will set aside 1 percent of its research and development expenditures for this initiative.
Innovative Solutions Canada is modelled on the U.S. Small Business Innovation Research program and is an essential component of the Government of Canada's efforts to help small businesses.
Innovative Solutions Canada will encourage submissions from businesses owned and led by women, Indigenous peoples, youth and other traditionally under-represented groups.
April 7, 2023 | Local, Other Defence
OTTAWA ? A new internal report by the Department of National Defence is casting a spotlight on a persistent problem undermining efforts to replace Canada's aging military equipment: a critical shortage of procurement experts.
January 15, 2019 | Local, Aerospace
JEAN-FRANÇOIS CODÈRE La Presse Le géant Airbus pourrait, s'il décroche deux importants contrats canadiens dont l'octroi doit se faire au cours des prochaines années, b'tir deux nouvelles usines d'assemblage au Québec, probablement à Mirabel, a laissé entendre ce matin Simon Jacques, chef d'Airbus Défense au Canada. Le premier de ces contrats doit être octroyé cette année par Télésat, un opérateur canadien de satellites de télécommunication. Celui-ci souhaite lancer quelques centaines de nouveaux satellites à orbite basse pour un réseau d'accès à l'Internet. Selon M. Jacques, l'usine qui fabriquerait ces satellites pourrait employer environ 200 personnes. L'entreprise affirme mener des discussions avec les gouvernements provincial et fédéral en vue de l'installer au Québec, si elle obtient le contrat. « Ce serait un game changer pour l'aérospatiale au Canada », estime M. Jacques. Avions de chasse L'autre contrat, plus important, est celui du remplacement des avions de chasse canadiens. Airbus est l'une des quatre entreprises, avec Boeing, Lockheed et SAAB, qui manifeste toujours son intérêt pour l'obtention de cet important contrat concernant 88 chasseurs, qui devront remplacer la flotte de F18 actuels. L'une des conditions de cet appel d'offres, qui doit normalement être lancé avant la prochaine campagne électorale fédérale, imposera du contenu canadien. Dans ce contexte, Airbus étudie l'option de construire une usine d'assemblage final au Canada, probablement au Québec, a aussi indiqué M. Jacques. Airbus a par ailleurs confirmé que la Société en commandite C Series, où elle est associée à Bombardier et au gouvernement du Québec, investit présentement 30 millions de dollars américains (40 millions de dollars) pour améliorer ses installations de Mirabel. Des dômes permettant d'héberger des avions en construction seront ajoutés au printemps. Ils sont déjà en construction. Un nouveau centre de livraison sera aussi ajouté au quatrième trimestre. https://www.lapresse.ca/affaires/economie/transports/201901/14/01-5210974-airbus-songe-a-batir-deux-nouvelles-usines-au-quebec.php
September 17, 2018 | Local, Security
CASEY BRUNELLE © 2018 FrontLine (Vol 15, No 4) The realities of modern frontline policing – from increasingly broad and demanding operational mandates and changing environmental constraints, to the constant pressure of real-time public scrutiny – have never been more challenging. Traditional crime prevention and response have long been coupled with the requirements of community-oriented public safety, counter-terrorism measures. Lately that has further included the implications of social media and the instantaneous reporting of officers' actions, in some cases spread worldwide before formal inquiries can even begin. Effective training solutions, more so than ever before, rely on a holistic and judgmental regime that can replicate to the best possible degree the tactical challenges of response, the fluidity of operational changes on the ground, and the importance of informed decision-making strategies that keeps the safety of the public at the forefront of all policing actions. In an era of hyper-connectivity, public scrutiny can sometimes lead to denouncements of police actions within minutes, through traditional and novel media alike, often riddled with accusations of institutionalized racism, systemic brutality, and discretionary justice. These shifts in technology and the underlying public culture are not exclusive to the United States; they are increasingly fluid game-changers throughout the West and law enforcement policymakers and frontline officers rarely go a day without considering their implications or witnessing their consequences for themselves. There is no doubt that this is will have a positive result in the long run, and simulated training is being seen as one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to ensure the right decision-making processes become ingrained. Increasingly, law enforcement agencies at the local, provincial, and national level are recognizing the utility of replicating these fluid challenges with advanced simulations and virtual and augmented reality technologies. From the use of wireless small arms platforms (such as BlueFire technology from Meggitt Training System) and simulators of cruisers for high-speed pursuits (such as the “souped up” version from General Electric), to customizable hardware that can be used to construct any building interiors at will (as in the flexibility offered by Mobile Police Training Structures), simulations technology has become one of the most effective and cost-efficient measures in ensuring that police are as equipped as possible to handle the evolving challenges of their profession. Full article: https://defence.frontline.online/article/2018/4/10362