Mr. Speaker, today I speak in support of my community of Sarnia—Lambton where we have focused on expanding our economy to unleash the knowledge of our local workforce. This means we have had to find innovative projects for our community.
The Government of Canada has assisted in this effort with an investment of $15 million under the national centres of excellence program, seed money that helped create the Bioindustrial Innovation Centre.
This week we are seeing a world leading effort in action as the Bioindustrial Innovation Centre hosts the BIC international conference to discuss the risks to commercialization of biochemicals and bioproducts.
Sarnia's economic stakeholders are attempting to link our industrial know-how with opportunities connected to the Alberta oil sands. We have the skilled labour and the fabrication capabilities to play a vital role in this capacity.
It is time for stakeholders in Ontario to realize the full potential there is for co-operation with our friends in the Alberta energy sector.