Thank you, Mr. Chair. Committee members, good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I'm joined by Kalie Hatt Kilburn, director general of policy, advocacy and coordination.
First, I would like to say a few words about ACOA's work in the Atlantic provinces.
Headquartered in Moncton, ACOA has an office in each capital, 23 field offices throughout the region, and an office in Ottawa.
ACOA works with a variety of partners to help businesses grow, innovate, and export so they can create quality jobs in vibrant communities. We do this in three key ways: supporting business with a focus on innovation; supporting infrastructure to enable economic growth and to build on the strength of our communities; and representing the region's interests in policy development and coordinating with partners.
In undertaking these efforts, ACOA is supported by three core programs. The business development program helps businesses improve their competitiveness with an emphasis on strengthening innovation, improving productivity, and boosting international business development. The Atlantic innovation fund encourages partnerships among private sector firms, universities, colleges, and research institutes to develop and commercialize products and services. The innovative communities fund invests in strategic projects that build on the strengths of Atlantic Canada's communities. It provides assistance to support sustainable economic growth.
ACOA's programming is aligned with the government's commitments on innovation, high-growth firms, clean technology, and inclusive economic development. The agency is working to achieve commitments outlined in budget 2016.
ACOA also works to support the priorities established through the Atlantic growth strategy, which will see new projects announced as the provincial and federal governments move forward with initiatives around common priorities.
Now I’d like to provide you with some information specific to New Brunswick.
It is the only officially bilingual province in Canada, with just over a third of its 750,000 residents reporting French as their first official language. It has a highly dispersed population, with nearly half of its residents in rural communities while the other half live in and around Fredericton, Saint John and Moncton.
New Brunswick has an aging population and a shrinking labour force, with 89,000 fewer people under age 45, in fact, than it had in 2000. This has challenged businesses to access the skilled labour they need to grow.
It is within this dynamic and complex environment that ACOA operates every day.
The province's abundant resources have long supported traditional industries and value-added manufacturers in forestry, fisheries, and agriculture. Indeed, the province is home to global companies in these fields including McCain Foods and J.D. Irving Ltd.
As New Brunswick is one of the most export-intensive provinces in the country, ACOA is placing an important focus on supporting the global competitiveness of New Brunswick's exporters by helping them to innovate, improve productivity, and expand into new markets.
ACOA investments in research and development are helping to identify new products for global markets, including new and novel uses for our abundant natural resources.
For example, ACOA's support has enabled the Coastal Zones Research Institute to work with a fish-processing company to develop a value-added product from shrimp-processing waste—an oil that can be used as a feed supplement. And the company is working with its partners to take this new product to market.
In recent years, the province's knowledge sectors have become important growth contributors. New Brunswick has a strong track record for developing globally competitive technologies that have attracted the investment of international farms like IBM, Siemens, and Salesforce.com.
Radian6 is often noted as a New Brunswick success story. ACOA was instrumental in supporting the early growth of this social media monitoring company, which sold to Salesforce.com for a very significant sum, garnering international attention. The resulting wealth injected new venture capital into the start-up ecosystem while also retaining the company as an important employer in the region.
New Brunswick's startup ecosystem is emerging as an important strength for the province. Anchored by dynamic incubators, accelerators, and research institutions, including the University of New Brunswick, which was recently recognized by Startup Canada as the country's most entrepreneurial university. ACOA is an important supporter of this ecosystem and of the services it provides to promising new companies.
A recent success in the start-up ecosystem area is Eigen Innovations, which received ACOA's support to develop software offering real-time solutions for industrial manufacturers. Founded in 2012, the company has received international acclaim, placing third in the prestigious Cisco Innovation Grand Challenge for companies leading in the development of disruptive technologies.
As countries work to minimize their carbon footprint, clean energy is emerging as a significant growth opportunity. New Brunswick is attracting international attention for its leadership in the development of a smart energy grid. ACOA is a key partner in this effort. The agency's $2-million investment to establish a smart grid research lab at the University of New Brunswick has allowed the university to partner with Siemens Canada and NB Power to create a Smart Grid Innovation Network. Working with this network, companies have the potential to become part of an international smart grid supply chain, bringing local innovation to the world.
As we work throughout the region, ACOA hears that, aside from its investments, what matters as well is the interaction clients have with our staff, who work closely with them to find solutions to the challenges they face. This engagement is facilitated by the agency's place-based approach to economic development, which builds our in-depth understanding of local businesses and communities, their strengths, opportunities, and challenges. We then use this knowledge to adapt our support to best suit these realities.
First and foremost, ACOA has passionate, dedicated employees who live in the communities they serve and who are committed to helping the region realize its economic potential.
Thank you for your time, Mr. Chair. I would be pleased to take questions.