Guelph Technology Economy Conference

The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario)

Guelph, Ontario
January 19, 2010

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Good afternoon.

It’s a pleasure to be here today in Guelph with such an engaged group of individuals. As you know, Prime Minister Harper was here this past September to announce funding and participate in the official opening of this facility, the Frank Hasenfratz Centre of Excellence in Manufacturing. This is a place that will foster process and product innovation, one of the main reasons why you are all gathered here today.

I am pleased to hear how successful this conference has been so far, and I look forward to seeing the outcomes of today’s discussions in the near future.

The topics you have all been discussing today – hiring and retaining talent, lean manufacturing, connecting to foreign markets and incorporating technology into your work – are all initiatives that will help organizations succeed in the global economy.

They are, indeed, some of the areas where our government is providing support through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario – or FedDev Ontario, as I like to call it.

FedDev Ontario was created as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan, as we recognized southern Ontario was in need of a development agency to mitigate the impact of the recession and provide for longer-term prosperity in this region.

Since the agency’s launch last August, we have been active in helping businesses and communities diversify, grow and seek new market opportunities.

We recognize that the vast majority of Ontario’s businesses are small- and medium-sized enterprises. These businesses employ nearly 2.9 million Ontarians and account for $250 billion in annual economic activity.

In fact, this region, as the home to some of the top technology companies in the world, thrives because of talented people, and a culture of collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurialism.

We want businesses to succeed and grow not simply because success will mean more – and better jobs - but because it will set the stage for the prosperity of our country tomorrow.

Commercialization is another area in which our government plays a key role in enabling the private sector to do what it does best – turn knowledge into innovation, and innovation into greater wealth and well-being for Canadians. This is particularly true for a number of local industry sectors such as healthcare, manufacturing, science, and the environment.

But our government recognizes the barriers facing small- and medium-sized enterprises throughout the region and we are acting quickly to support them.

For example, we have struck partnerships with organizations that have existing programs, such as the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters’ SMART program, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s Export Market Access Program and the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program.

We are leveraging these programs to quickly distribute much-needed funding and maximize the benefits for southern Ontarians.

Through the NRC program, we are assisting a broad range of small and medium-sized enterprises, from innovators in high-tech and health care to wine producers. They have several things in common, however. They are all small- and medium-sized enterprises, founded by people with an entrepreneurial spirit and dedicated to transforming new ideas into new solutions, products and services for Canadian and global consumers. They are job-creators. They are community builders.

They are organizations like the Guelph Chamber of Commerce, which has received up to $50,000 under this program. This contribution will support the establishment of connections between small- and medium-sized enterprises, local businesses and educational institutions, helping them to implement product or process improvements.

We have also been supporting innovation, research and commercialization through the Community Adjustment Fund and the Southern Ontario Development Program, one of our agency’s core programs.

Just last month, we launched the second intake of CAF and announced that an additional $127 million was available for next year for communities, small- and medium-sized businesses and not-for-profit organizations. Under the first intake of CAF, we committed $2.2 million toward projects in Guelph. 

And just yesterday, I announced our government intends to support 63 projects, with a total contribution of nearly $63 million under the general intake of the Southern Ontario Development program. This includes five projects in Guelph.

I’m pleased that entrepreneurs across southern Ontario who have decided to invest in the future of Ontario will receive support through this program, and more SODP project announcements are on the way.

Our government is committed to supporting initiatives like these across southern Ontario that offer significant improvements to local industries, businesses and communities – and we know that the time to invest is now.

Ladies and gentlemen, since its creation, FedDev Ontario has announced more than $300 million in stimulus funding for southern Ontario.

And nationally, more than 12,000 projects and 97 per cent of funds in Canada’s Economic Action Plan have been committed.

One year after implementing the plan, we have seen evidence that our government’s actions are having a positive impact on local economies, business forecasts and morale.

But we recognize that long-term change does not occur overnight. Just as it was this past year, our priority in the next Session of Parliament will continue to be rapid and effective implementation of Canada’s Economic Action Plan. We will continue to work in partnership with people, businesses and communities to strengthen our economy, and sustain our results.

Modernizing and improving publicly-shared infrastructure, as well as supporting innovative, green technologies and enhanced skilled trade programs are central to protecting existing jobs and stimulating the creation of new job opportunities.

At the same time, we must look ahead to future challenges.

The economy remains Canadians’ top priority and our top priority.  We are starting to see signs of a recovery in the economy – for example, more than 50,000 new jobs have been created in Ontario since last summer. However, our economy is still fragile.

As we enter Phase II of Canada’s Economic Action plan, our priority will be to continue the rapid implementation of the Economic Action Plan and roll out the remaining stimulus projects across the country.  At the same time, we are also looking ahead to future challenges, especially restoring balanced budgets once our economy is fully recovered and building a strong foundation for future economic growth.

Over the course of the next several weeks, Prime Minister Harper, the cabinet and I will be meeting with and hearing from Canadian families, homeowners, workers, business-owners and industries from across the country about how best to meet our goals for Phase II of Canada’s Economic Action Plan.

Already, close to 200 roundtables, town hall meetings, online consultations and other events are planned throughout the country, concluding with a new Throne Speech on March 3.

Our long-term economic competitiveness depends, as never before, on ideas, innovation and inventiveness. The impressive turnout at today’s conference just goes to show how engaged so many of southern Ontario’s community members and business leaders are in creating such an environment.

I look forward to continuing to work with you – and getting to know you better as individuals – as we work to transform southern Ontario’s economy.

Thank you for providing me with this opportunity to talk to you about our agency and the exciting work we have ahead of us. 

Thank you.