Government Operations Committee on Oct. 6th, 2011

[Pablo Sobrino]

I would like to say that this is a new program, a pilot project. We have to determine the right way to do things.

It's difficult to compare it to the American program. The U.S. government has specific needs and is asking industry for innovations to meet those needs.

We're doing innovative things in Canada. We're questioning the industry about its ideas because we don't know exactly what we want. So we're asking the industry to provide us with new ideas that we can implement in our departments. We are asking it to make the connection between itself and the departments that could use, or at least test, its ideas.

That's why this is a pilot project. We want to determine whether this is the right way to promote innovation. In addition, as Ms. Benzvy Miller said earlier, this program leaves the door open to new ideas. We don't know what innovations will assist us. We're working backwards in a way. A number of programs enable the government to commission ideas to meet its needs. However, this program is really designed to promote innovation among entrepreneurs and to provide them with government assistance.

That's why this is a pilot project. We're not sure it will work. However, people seem to be very satisfied with it because there are a lot of requests. We have to start somewhere, and this is where we're starting.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

I agree we have to start somewhere. However, I get the impression we've started a little late. We have to move forward and catch up. With regard to science and technology, we all agree that innovation is the way of the future in a world in which international competition is increasingly tough. We have major competitors, China and soon India, that can rely on hundreds of thousands of engineers and creators. If we don't promote innovation at home, in a country of 34 million inhabitants, we'll be in trouble.

I get the impression that, by supporting only 27 projects a year, we may be lagging behind where we should be. However, I like your approach of asking businesses to submit their ideas to us. I find that very promising. However, although it's a good start and we have to start somewhere, don't you think that $40 million a year for 27 projects is a drop of water in the ocean?

[Pablo Sobrino]

We're doing what we can with the money we've received.

[Shereen Benzvy Miller]

You're the ones who organize the budget; so organize it.

[The Chair, NDP, Pat Martin]

That pretty well wraps up your time, Alexandre. Thank you.

We'll see how much time we have, but the next speaker for the Conservatives is Mr. Bev Shipley.

[Bev Shipley, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you so much for coming. Well, I guess I'm the visitor. I've only been here once, and you've been here twice.

I have to tell you, this Canadian innovation commercialization program is exactly something many of us have thought about for a long while. It may be a pilot project and it may not be doing everything in terms of numbers we want, but I can tell you that if it wasn't a Conservative government in place it likely still wouldn't be in place, because we believe in entrepreneurial innovators. This gives them that opportunity in which the government is now going to become a partner to get something in place, which I actually want to talk about.

I'm actually on the international trade committee, and I can see the long way out for the opportunity for these small and medium-sized companies as they develop through the procurement. The government agrees and now this private or public company has a product they can actually take abroad. I think this is so exciting, because it gives our small and medium-sized businesses the opportunity in an area of procurement for government things that they didn't have.

I do have a question, and it's likely because I don't understand something. You have 375 applications and 27 were pre-qualified in that first round. Before we get to my question on something I might not understand, is there a balance of applications that are coming in through the four criteria?

[Shereen Benzvy Miller]

Yes. It's interesting, actually. We don't specify the distribution. There are no limits to how these get distributed across the various categories, so we didn't require them to be in one category or another. But in the first round, for instance, 100 were environmental; 38 were in the health category; 92 were in the safety and security field; and then 145 were in enabling technology. But I have to say that the enabling technology one is a kind of catch-all category to allow as many entrepreneurs to propose innovations as possible, so it wasn't surprising that category was the highest.

And in the second round that was the highest also, at 123. Environment was at 79 in the second round; 47 was for health, and 87 was for safety and security.

So it's a pretty good distribution across the four areas.

[Bev Shipley, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

My riding, not unlike the riding of my colleague across the way, Mr. LeBlanc, is a large riding but it's very rural. So when I look, for example, at nanotechnology and biotechnologies, agrifood, and then we move to genetically modified plants, improved disease detection--and I'm assuming that means human and animal--and biofuels, can you explain to me a little bit so that I understand how a company will come forward with something like that, get it approved if it gets pre-screened, and how that will actually end up then being part of something they're going to be able to use in the commercial world and in fact actually be able to trade it or use as something we're going to be able to use to market, not only in Canada, but to other countries?

[Shereen Benzvy Miller]

I think you're asking me how useful really is the feedback they're going to get from the Government of Canada.

There are two things about participating in the program that I think are useful. The first thing is that they will get specific feedback about that good or service from end-users. So they will have qualified experts who know what they're doing in their field testing their product and giving them constructive feedback on how they might improve it. So that's the first benefit.

But the second benefit--and that's the one that people like Terry Matthews were very keen on--is that when they do go to commercialize their goods or services internationally they will be able to say that their first buyer was the Canadian government and that the Canadian government liked it, or didn't like it like this and they changed that. They can actually use it to market their product or service.

[Bev Shipley, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Just one more, and then I'l wrap up, Mr. Chair.

You did talk about the question of how they help afterwards. They get the approval, and one of the things that is out there is the trade commissioner service that actually takes companies and helps them to market that in other places around the world. So I think there is connectivity in terms of communications as you move through this pilot for the successes of how we can actually then help them be marketers of a product that they have commercialized.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, NDP, Pat Martin]

Thank you, Mr. Shipley.

Is there a quick answer for Mr. Shipley?

[Pablo Sobrino]

Yes. Very simply, we're part of a continuum. We're filling a gap that was identified. It's what the former committee recommended back to the government, which was that there are inventors and there are mechanisms for commercializing, but it's that in-between stage. This is what this funds, that in-between before you become commercial.

[Bev Shipley, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

My thanks to both of you again. It's amazing. Thank you.

[The Chair, NDP, Pat Martin]

Let me also thank both the witnesses, Mr. Sobrino and Ms. Shereen Benzvy Miller, for coming back a second time. It was very useful and very helpful.

We only asked you to stay for an hour. We do have a delegation from Kenya, actually, coming to the committee next. So we'll thank you and excuse you.

I'll suspend the committee and we will reconvene in camera for our guests.

Thank you very much.

[Proceedings continue in camera]