Science and Research Committee on Nov. 5th, 2025

[Kurt Holman, Conservative, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to all the witnesses here tonight.

My question is for Mr. Miller.

In an op-ed titled “Talent could be Canada's missing link in nation-building”, published in iPolitics on October 16, you state, “Years of sudden policy shifts and constrained funding have eroded public confidence, driven up costs, and made it harder for universities to deliver the skilled graduates Canada needs.”

During this study, I have often heard that many Canadian academics end up seeking opportunities south of the border due to a lack of innovation and investment happening here in Canada. Is this a concern, especially given existing barriers to delivering the skilled graduates Canada needs?

[Gabriel Miller]

It's been a long-term concern, I think, that Canada has not been as effective, as sustained or as substantial in its investments in future talent as we think Canada needs to be. We believe yesterday's budget indicated that the government sees the need to shore up our development and retention of talent and to make strategic moves to improve it, so that's encouraging.

However, to really be first-rate, we need a long-term commitment to this and to stay steady in our policy commitments.

[Kurt Holman, Conservative, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Miller.

How can Canada combat the brain drain that we see when our homegrown Canadian talent leaves to seek better opportunities elsewhere?

[Gabriel Miller]

There are two aspects to this. One is that we need to be able to provide really outstanding opportunities for the best and brightest here to learn and do research. We are taking some steps in that direction that I think are encouraging. Then, as this committee is looking at, there need to be opportunities for them to step out and commercialize and apply what they've developed inside the university. Clearly, there are areas where we need to strengthen that pipeline. There's enormous value being created within the universities, and we believe we can get more value out of that for Canada if we make some strategic investments in the pipeline that bridges it to the economy.

[Kurt Holman, Conservative, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Miller.

Again—

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

The time is up.

We will now proceed to MP Noormohamed for two minutes.

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for being here.

I'll start with you, Mr. Miller.

One thing I spend a lot of my time worrying about is how we access early-stage capital for a lot of innovation coming out of universities. Obviously, some of the initiatives in this budget will help with that, but with your experience, what would you say is the one thing that would help unlock more early-stage capital for some of the innovation coming out of Canada's research institutions, particularly our universities, where you often have great ideas that don't see the light of day?

In addition to that, what are some of the supports, outside of financial supports, that you see innovators in research universities needing to be able to thrive? Is it mentorship? Is it partnership with the sector? What are those things?

[Gabriel Miller]

Let me focus on just one aspect of this.

Obviously, there are specific challenges in Canada, especially in comparison to the United States, in being able to mobilize the capital and really scale things up. There's a chicken-and-egg situation here, because the desire is to attract capital from where it is, and that often leads to the IP and the talent leaving Canada.

I'm struck by the anecdote from Brock University. I visited Brock a little while ago, and what's so striking about that relationship with the wine industry is how close it is and how seamless and ongoing it is. There is a lesson for the whole sector and the economy, which is that attracting capital, scaling up and commercializing all hinge on those connections being made and being continuous.

One thing we need to continue to focus on is supporting the programs and initiatives that bring university research into contact with commercial entities outside of the university, which can then benefit from it and carry on in an ongoing dialogue that's mutually beneficial to both sides.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

The time is up.

We will now end this panel with MP Blanchette-Joncas for two minutes.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Ms. De Marcellis-Warin, CIRANO has established itself as an important actor in analyzing economic and social data, and enhancing their value. This field plays an essential role in helping governments make informed decisions. That said, this type of innovation, focused on collective benefits, doesn't always lead to direct commercial benefits, so it's not often recognized.

How can this type of public innovation be better supported in a federal system that still tends to measure results on the basis of market potential?

[Nathalie De Marcellis-Warin]

I thank the member for the question.

You raise a very good point. We're talking about social and economic innovation here. CIRANO even makes public policy recommendations.

It would obviously be important to recognize, in the research continuum as a whole, that the economy and the social sciences also introduce innovation into our systems. However, you're right in saying that it's difficult to evaluate and measure. That said, the benefits could be considerable.

We know that when we recommend public policies in health, education or the environment, the introduction of those policies will bring economic benefits. It's social innovation, but it's not commercialized.

It will be important to promote other forms of innovation, such as organizational innovation, process innovation, economic innovation and social innovation. Obviously, innovation doesn't always mean technology.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Thank you.

Isn't Quebec's model of greater integration between public research, business and society an example to follow, with organizations such as CIRANO, Axelys and Synchronex?

[Nathalie De Marcellis-Warin]

Yes, absolutely.

Actually, CIRANO is an interuniversity research, liaison and transfer centre whose mission is to combine knowledge with decision-making. We've specified that in our mission statement, just like other centres that have the same mission.

We conduct applied research on social issues and challenges for all three levels of government. We always make sure to link in all stakeholders and to transfer knowledge. We write briefing notes and mobilize knowledge.

An important element of our mission is not to stop at applied research. The same applies to the other organizations you named. We have to go further, and understand the government's needs, tackle social issues, and recognize how important expertise is to research.

Research in economics and social sciences is very important for society.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Thank you, Ms. De Marcellis-Warin, and congratulations on the work you do.

[Nathalie De Marcellis-Warin]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you.

With that, this panel comes to an end.

I have to make an important announcement. I would like to wish MP Jaczek a very happy 75th birthday.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[Kelly DeRidder, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Shall we sing?

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Do we have unanimous consent for that?

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I have brought a cake. Maybe we can cut it quickly during the break.

I will suspend the meeting.

I will take this time to thank the witnesses. I apologize for the delay. Sometimes these things happen. I apologize for that. Thanks a lot for appearing and providing your important input.

The meeting is suspended.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I call the meeting to order.

I would like to make a few comments for the benefit of the new witnesses.

Please wait until I recognize you by name before speaking. For those participating by video conference, click on the microphone icon to activate your microphone, and please mute your microphone when you are not speaking. For those on Zoom, at the bottom of your screen you can select the appropriate channel for interpretation: either floor, English or French.

I remind you that all comments should be made through the chair.

With that, I would like to welcome our witnesses for the second panel.

We are joined by Dr. Michael May, chief executive officer, OmniaBio; Dr. Steven Murphy, president and vice-chancellor, Ontario Tech University; and Vasiliki Bednar, managing director of The Canadian Shield Institute for public policy.

Welcome to the witnesses. All of you will have five minutes for opening remarks, and then we will proceed to the rounds of questioning.

We will start with Dr. May.

The floor is yours. You have five minutes.

[Michael H. May, Chief Executive Officer, OmniaBio Inc.]

Thank you, Madam Chair, for the opportunity to be here today.

I'm here as the interim CEO of OmniaBio, a CDMO that was spun out of the organization that I am CEO and founder of, the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine, or CCRM.

As I speak, I would like you to think of three themes.

First of all, there are many structures, programs and entities that we can leverage that exist. One of the needs is to create critical mass amongst those activities, not to spread things too widely and to focus on areas of excellence when attracting the private sector. The private sector is made up of large multinationals, anchor companies, scaling companies and emerging companies driven by entrepreneurs and by the investors who invest in all of those opportunities.

What is the private sector investor looking for? They are looking for talent, expertise and infrastructure. Therefore, we need to continue to invest in basic research in this country. They are looking to leverage and to de-risk opportunities.

Also, more and more, private sector investors are looking for ecosystems. There's not one solution to any of the challenges in attracting investment and building innovation. It's an ecosystem that we're looking for.

When we created CCRM in 2011 as a CECR, ecosystem building was the mandate. This is in the area of cell and gene therapy and advanced therapies. We put together specialized teams—academic, industry and investor networks—and specialized infrastructure to generate health and economic benefits from our strength in this field of research in the country. The challenge was that great research was happening in the country, but all of the companies were going to Boston.

The strategy was to create stickiness in an ecosystem. That was done in three ways.

The first way was to change how companies were being created, not just to rely on conventional tech transfer but to create a market-driven venture studio to create companies in a much more efficient and accelerated fashion.

The second way was to leverage our deep expertise in our team of about 300 people to invest in the early stages and to catalyze outside investment.

The third way was to build manufacturing expertise, which is where OmniaBio, the CDMO, was spun out from. That started the manufacturing capability by attracting GE HealthCare and building technology platforms. It then resulted in a partnership with a local hospital to do clinical-phase manufacturing and ultimately, on the back of generating revenue, with OmniaBio, which now has commercial manufacturing in Hamilton, Ontario.

This model of stickiness is now in demand all around the world. We're monetizing that by creating hubs around the world and by extending Canadian leadership in this area.

Our success is 300 employees, but 700 individuals have been trained. Many of them are entrepreneurs of companies, leveraging $30 million of government funding into $400 million and not relying on government funding anymore. There were about 22 companies created, which raised $1.5 billion and built significant manufacturing infrastructure.

These are some ideas for the committee to think about.

Continue to support grants that link together industry and academia to attract and connect industry to the expertise in our universities, which is where much IP is being generated.

There are many public-private partnerships out there, like the CCRM, which have shown that they are sustainable and that they can leverage funding. They can become sustainable and can engage the networks in the private sectors we are looking to attract.

Leverage the SR and ED program. The SR and ED program in the early stage along with Canadian-controlled private corporations, early-stage companies, get a massive benefit. Extending that benefit to foreign invested companies that have all of their activity in Canada, like OmniaBio, should be an option. If those companies are doing clinical trials in Canada or doing their manufacturing in Canada, that benefit—not just a tax credit but also a tax refund—should be extended. OmniaBio is a great example of that.

The budget talked about putting more money into venture capital and a focus on emerging funds. In the life science sector, we haven't had a new emerging fund in 30 years. We truly need to create emerging funds and we need to allow entities like these public-private partnerships to expand their investment activity, as has happened at CCRM, where about $10 million of our investment in early-stage companies has resulted in $1.5 billion of attracted capital. We need to train institutions to be emerging funds and to then support those emerging funds in earnest.

The final thing I would offer to the committee is that we create prominent, renowned academic positions. We should create something like a post-doc in technological entrepreneurship and celebrate that. Many of our Ph.D. graduates are entrepreneurs, and we should give them funding to create a company and to be celebrated for taking that risk the same way that we would offer funding to post-docs to do extended research. We should support them to create companies.

If we leveraged our existing infrastructure and created critical mass, and if we expanded our SR and ED program to attract more foreign investment and focus on areas of interest like AI and advanced therapies and the combination of the two, and we invested in research, then we would go a long way—

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I'm sorry for interrupting, but your time is up.

[Michael H. May]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you.

Now we will proceed to Dr. Murphy from Ontario Tech University.

You have five minutes, Dr. Murphy.