Industry Committee on May 18th, 2017

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

Absolutely, we are, so that it is easier to engage with government, easier to find a program that can help companies grow and scale up, easier for companies to find programs that meet their specific needs or concerns, but also making sure that they get a timely response.

A lot of these companies have great ideas. As I mentioned, technology is changing very rapidly, the scope and speed of technology. They don't have the luxury of waiting months for a determination of whether they are eligible for something. That timely response is also very important for these companies as they make business decisions.

[Frank Baylis, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Excellent.

My last point is in regards to the venture capital catalyst initiative. That's an important investment. We've heard a lot through our different studies about that need. How do you see that injection of funds from the federal government having an impact on our start-ups and our growing companies?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

As you know, the previous government introduced a venture capital action plan program. We looked at that fund-to-fund model. We looked at what worked well and we looked at where we can make improvements.

This program is really designed, again, to be deployed by Business Development Canada. We've had record numbers over the last year, in terms of venture capital investments in Canada. On a per capita basis, we're behind the U.S. and actually, Israel, so it's a point of pride.

Again, we're looking at different models, fund-to-fund, potentially, with the view to continue to maintain and strengthen that position. The idea is to, again, make sure that companies that want to scale and grow up in Canada have access to financing. We focused a lot in our budget on talent, skills, and people, which I think is the most important.

The next key area that companies have identified is financing, so we want to make sure that this deals with some of those gaps that exist within that innovation ecosystem.

[The Chair, Liberal, Dan Ruimy]

Thank you very much.

For the last two-minute question, we have Mr. Masse.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Thank you very much, Chair.

I want to switch to an industry that probably is overlooked quite a bit, especially given the punch that we get out of it, and that's the video game, software, and entertainment industry. Value-added high tech is a third of the North American economy. It creates a lot of innovation, even for the health care sector as well.

I just wondered what can we look forward to this year and are there thoughts of expanding the industry? I've advocated for a national auto strategy, but we won't get into that debate right now. Are there thoughts about this particular industry because there are a lot of similarities, in terms of the growth of it, and especially now when we have a low Canadian dollar to our American counterparts, in an industry to attract international employment.

When they hire, for example, one of the software designers for a multi-million dollar project or even smaller ones, they need people who are almost like movie directors. They come in and they create other jobs domestically. There'll be some problems in the United States with that.

I sense an opportunity, for places like Windsor and others, where we can offer a competitive advantage, in terms of companies' low cost of doing business from property standpoints. We look at the emergence of Detroit, for example, but there are other mid-range cities that often get forgotten, like Saskatoon, Halifax, Regina, and Guelph, for example, that are outside of larger areas, so they can offer a good advantage.

I'd like to hear your thoughts about that industry. I'd love to see something like a film tax credit or something specific to that. At any rate, what can we look forward to in that industry, before we perhaps lose it to other policies in the United States?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

No, you're right. When it comes to the Windsor experience, it does have a low unemployment rate now at 4.8% and that is headed in the right direction, which is a point of pride. We have a discounted dollar, so that's another advantage. As you said, it's a low-cost jurisdiction.

I'm working very closely with Minister Joly. I was at the consumer electronics show, where we looked at AR and VR and the potential it has in Canada. I think you're absolutely right, in that areas like Windsor can definitely play a role in developing those skill sets in clusters. It's close to the border and it is an area where there is a lot of growth potential going forward.

This is an area that I think will benefit from being exposed to the strategic investment fund. If we have large companies that want to come here because...as you said, skills are a priority for our government and the fact we actually have the skills force and the labour force. We have a global skills strategy and we can get people from abroad, if we need to, with specialized skills to complement strong Canadian talent.

We have all the right ingredients. We have a discounted dollar. We have a low-cost jurisdiction. We have a reasonable footprint and I must confess, it's decent in Windsor, but it can be better. There are other jurisdictions that have really stepped up. This is an area I've looked at extensively, especially through AR and VR, where there is a lot of growth happening. I'll be working very closely with Minister Joly to bring those investments to Canada.

[The Chair, Liberal, Dan Ruimy]

Thank you very much. On that note, I want to thank Minister Bains for attending today.

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

Thank you very much for having me and I look forward to the next opportunity to speak with members of the committee.

[The Chair, Liberal, Dan Ruimy]

It's always a pleasure. Thank you.

We have to vote on the main estimates. We obviously have quite a few here, so I'm going to ask for unanimous consent to deal with all the votes in one motion.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

I want them all read.

[The Chair, Liberal, Dan Ruimy]

The committee will now dispose of the main estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018 minus the interim estimates the House agreed to on March 21, 2017.

ATLANTIC CANADA OPPORTUNITIES AGENCY Vote 1—Operating expenditures..........$63,351,960 Vote 5—Grants and contributions..........$240,222,493

(Votes 1 and 5 agreed to on division)

CANADIAN NORTHERN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENCY Vote 1—Operating expenditures..........$13,199,586 Vote 5—Contributions..........$35,500,000

(Votes 1 and 5 agreed to on division)

CANADIAN SPACE AGENCY Vote 1—Operating expenditures..........$161,268,874 Vote 5—Capital expenditures...........$122,419,635 Vote 10—Grants and contributions..........$60,966,000

(Votes 1, 5, and 10 agreed to on division)

CANADIAN TOURISM COMMISSION Vote 1—Payments to the Commission..........$95,475,770

(Vote 1 agreed to on division)

COPYRIGHT BOARD Vote 1—Program expenditures..........$2,802,641

(Vote 1 agreed to on division)

DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRY Vote 1—Operating expenditures..........$356,511,722 Vote 5—Capital expenditures..........$11,234,609 Vote 10—Grants and contributions..........$2,038,304,873 Vote L15—Payments pursuant to sub-section 14(2) of the Department of Industry Act..........$300,000 Vote L20—Loans pursuant to paragraph 14(1)(a) of the Department of Industry Act..........$500,000

(Votes 1, 5, 10, L15, and L20 agreed to on division)

DEPARTMENT OF WESTERN DIVERSIFICATION Vote 1—Operating expenditures..........$34,394,598 Vote 5—Grants and contributions..........$161,523,000

(Votes 1 and 5 agreed to on division)

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF CANADA FOR THE REGIONS OF QUEBEC Vote 1—Operating expenditures..........$36,755,088 Vote 5—Grants and contributions..........$262,729,505

(Votes 1 and 5 agreed to on division)

FEDERAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENCY FOR SOUTHERN ONTARIO Vote 1—Operating expenditures..........$24,394,707 Vote 5—Grants and contributions..........$242,198,502

(Votes 1 and 5 agreed to on division)

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF CANADA Vote 1—Operating expenditures..........$349,138,111 Vote 5—Capital expenditures..........$90,392,058 Vote 10—Grants and contributions..........$353,335,834

(Votes 1, 5, and 10 agreed to on division)

NATURAL SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING RESEARCH COUNCIL Vote 1—Operating expenditures..........$44,692,641 Vote 5—Grants..........$1,156,971,837

(Votes 1 and 5 agreed to on division)

SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES RESEARCH COUNCIL Vote 1—Operating expenditures..........$24,768,257 Vote 5—Grants...........$751,814,696

(Votes 1 and 5 agreed to on division)

STANDARDS COUNCIL OF CANADA Vote 1—Payments to the Council..........$10,706,000

(Vote 1 agreed to on division)

STATISTICS CANADA Vote 1—Program expenditures..........$405,558,550

(Vote 1 agreed to on division)

Shall the Chair report these votes to the House?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed

[An hon. member]

On division.

[The Chair, Liberal, Dan Ruimy]

Shall we end the session, then?

Thank you very much for your promptness to our time. I thought that went really well. Thank you very much.

The meeting is adjourned.