Mr. Speaker, last Tuesday I was pleased to announce a $2.28 million investment by technology partnerships Canada in a Cambrian Systems Corporation project. The project will create up to 220 jobs directly in the Ottawa region and approximately 71 indirect jobs across Canada by 2001.
This repayable TPC investment means that the Government of Canada is partnering with Cambrian Systems Corporation of Kanata in the design, manufacturing and marketing of fibre optic communications transport equipment which will revolutionize information highway connectivity.
As the need grows for networks to carry more information, Cambrian will act as a catalyst in the development of a new system using individual colours of light to transmit information over fibre optics. Known as DWDM based photonics networking, this technology is expected to become an important means of communicating in the next millennium.
This investment by Industry Canada will ensure that this important communications system will reach the marketplace sooner, to the benefit of all Canadians.