Speaking Points The Honourable Chris Alexander, Canadas Citizenship and Immigration Minister and Member of Parliament for Ajax-Pickering, on behalf of the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. Ajax, Ontario November 14, 2014 Check against delivery Good morning. Its a pleasure to speak to you. Im proud to be here on behalf of my colleague, Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, or FedDev Ontario as it is more commonly known, who wishes he could be with you all today. As many of you know, FedDev Ontario does some amazing work in support of Durham Region and in support of southern Ontario. I would like to thank Roger Anderson, Regional Chair for the Regional Municipality of Durham, and Dr. Tim McTiernan, President of UOIT, for their remarks. I know that events like this are not easy to put together so I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of the staff and volunteers who made this years Durham Economic Prosperity Conference possible. The theme of this years conference, Building Durhams Competitive Edge, really captures why we are all here today; to move Durham forward. And to do this, we need strong partnerships across businesses, government, academia and not-for-profits to find opportunities for growth; to come to agreements on economic action; to recognize where we stand in the global economy; and to forge real collaboration. Having all parties at the same table is so important for the prosperity of Durham Region and, indeed, for all of Canada. And long-term prosperity, jobs and growth remain the Government of Canadas top priorities. I am proud to say that Canada has one of the best job creation records in the G7, we are among the leaders in economic growth, and we have one of the most welcoming destinations for investment in the world. In this years Focus on Tax report, KPMG concluded that Canadas taxes are the most business-friendly in the world. The same report found Canadas total tax costs are 46 percent lower than the United States. In fact, last year, Canada leapt from sixth place to second place in Bloombergs ranking of the most attractive destinations in the world for business. We have a strong job growth record compared to other countries, with employment in Canada increasing by more than 1.1 million since 2006. Just last week, our Finance Minister Joe Oliver reported that Canadas private sector has created 194,000 jobs in the past 2 months. This is the best showing in over 3 decades, and a strong indication that our economic action plan for growth is getting results. From lowering taxes, to cutting red tape, to signing free trade agreements, our Government has been setting the right macro-economic conditions to ensure Canadian businesses succeed. Closer to home, our Government recognizes the importance of southern Ontario and the need to build on the strengths of this region. In fact, that is why Minister Goodyears Agency, FedDev Ontario, was created. And I must say, in just five years, our Government is proud of the results. FedDev Ontario has invested nearly $1.2 billion to support businesses, organizations and communities here in southern Ontario. This has resulted in partnerships with more than 5,300 organizations and more than $1.5 billion in additional leveraged investments from almost exclusively non-government sources. Here in the Durham Region, FedDev Ontario has invested more than $28 million in 59 projects in Durham Region, which is projected to leverage $32.5 million. Let me speak for a moment on the importance of clusters, a topic that I understand will be discussed at this conference and a topic that is important to this region. New technology has made it possible for people from around the world to share ideas in ways that that would have seemed unimaginable a few decades ago. Yet geography remains a key facet of innovation ecosystems. The co-location of businesses, research labs, academic institutions and key infrastructure in the same area gives rise to numerous benefits, from facilitating formal inter-firm collaborations to informal coffee shop interactions. While it may seem contrary in a world that has become increasingly virtual, physical space, proximity, and personal connections remain as important as ever. There are clear advantages for firms located in clusters, such as Torontos financial sector, Waterloos ICT cluster, or Durham Regions energy sector and emerging health and biosciences sector. Clusters are home to large, deep pools of specialized labour, giving firms access to the skills they need to grow. Academic institutions and research labs are a source of new ideas, and interactions between these institutions and firms generate positive spillovers. Clusters encourage the formation of new firms and firms in clusters tend to have higher productivity. And as clusters grow, they gain reputation internationally, attracting new talent and foreign investment. Real prosperity can come from this circle of innovation and development. So, how does FedDev Ontario support the development of these clusters or economic eco-systems? FedDev Ontario delivers four Southern Ontario Prosperity Initiatives. Together, they represent more than half a billion dollars in available funding over five years. One of these four initiatives is called Investing in Commercialization Partnerships, or ICP, and it directly supports the development of clusters. This funding was created so southern Ontario can improve at tapping the expertise of research institutions and moving knowledge from our renowned colleges and universities, a great example being UOIT, out to the marketplace. ICP supports business-led partnerships with a focus on developing globally-competitive products and services. It does this by supporting collaborations among a cross-section of companies and the regions public research institutions. These projects are expected to strengthen existing or emerging economic clusters or to develop innovation platforms that allow private sector companies to test, refine and develop applications and bring these to market. The second initiative is called Investing in Business Innovation. This will be of interest to early-stage companies and entrepreneurs. It helps them overcome the typical hurdles they face at this stage of business, particularly with respect to raising adequate capital in order to commercialize the next break-through product. The third initiative is called Investing in Business Growth and Productivity. This is designed to help businesses with exactly what its name indicates: growing and becoming more productive through activities such as adopting new technologies and processes, expanding markets and integrating into global value chains. More of our businesses need to invest in machinery and equipment to improve productivity, and scale up their operations to effectively compete in the global market. And finally, the fourth Prosperity Initiative was created to support smaller communities. The Investing in Regional Diversification initiative recognizes that southern Ontario remains home to many small communities with one or two main employers. This creates a unique challenge when an economic downturn hits so this funding is geared at helping to diversify a communitys economy. And just last December, FedDev Ontario launched the Advanced Manufacturing Fund—or the AMF. The AMF is intended to accelerate the commercialization of innovations and to encourage the adoption of new technologies that are first-in-Canada. And it also supports collaboration between the private sector, research institutions and post-secondary institutions with the goal of accelerating adoption and commercialization of new advanced manufacturing methods and products. Through AMF, a total of $200 million over five years is available across Ontario to help manufacturers. We are encouraging manufacturing firms and not-for-profit organizations to come forward. We are looking for large-scale, transformative projects that are innovative, market relevant and generate economic spillover benefits. Beyond this programming suite designed specifically for southern Ontario, the federal government continues to offer tax incentives that benefit small- and medium-sized businesses. A few examples are the Scientific Research and Experimental Development Program and, for our manufacturers, the Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance on Manufacturing and Processing Equipment. We have also ensured fair and transparent government procurement. In addition, national procurement strategies, such as the Defence Procurement Strategy, are providing an incentive for bidders to work with Canadian businesses to help create jobs and opportunities here in Canada. And we have opened the door to new markets with millions of potential new customers with free trade agreements as I mentioned earlier. Canada is now in a position where the conditions for business growth have never been better. You have a full schedule today with exceptional speakers and interesting discussions. We all know that economic prosperity isnt something that just happens. It takes leadership. It takes ideas and discussion; planning and partnership. Its not one big thing or one big project that makes the real difference. Its the sum of individuals and local activities such as the work you are doing here in Durham Region. This, together with the work of other organizations like yours throughout southern Ontario and across the country, is how we will create a truly prosperous region and a truly prosperous Canada. Thank you and merci.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 19:13:53 +0000
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