The Short Report: August 21, 2024

GOVERNMENT FUNDING      

 Finance Canada announced up to $137 million from the Canada Growth Fund for Svante to accelerate the company’s development and construction of commercial-scale carbon capture and removal projects. Headquartered in Burnaby, B.C., Svante manufactures filters and carbon capture machines (See illustration at right) capable of trapping and removing carbon dioxide from heavy-emitting industries, such as cement, steel, hydrogen and oil and gas. The Canada Growth Fund is building on the nearly $197 million Svante is investing in its new carbon capture and removal filter manufacturing facility under construction in Burnaby. Upon completion, the Burnaby facility will be able to produce enough filters to capture 10 million tonnes of CO₂ annually. The new manufacturing facility will be co-located with the company’s global headquarters and R&D centre The Canada Growth Fund investment consists of $68.5 million provided immediately, with the remaining $68.5 million available for Svante to draw upon for future carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) projects. The federal government is also supporting the use of CCUS technology through its investment tax credits, available to access now. For companies like Svante, the investment tax credits are aimed at helping to grow their customer base by offsetting the cost of implementing clean technologies such as CCUS. The $15-billion Canada Growth Fund is managed by the Public Sector Pension Investment Board. Finance Canada

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) announced a $39.2-million investment in the CanCode national digital skills training program, targeting 1.6 million training opportunities for youth and teachers. Now in its fourth phase, the program is looking for applications by September 16, 2024 from not-for-profit organizations, for projects offering students from kindergarten through grade 12 the opportunity to learn digital skills, such as coding and AI knowledge. This iteration of the program also aims to offer learning opportunities to 1.5 million students and train 100,000 teachers to incorporate new digital skills and technologies into their classrooms. CanCode aligns with Canada’s Digital Charter, a made-in-Canada, principles-based approach to building trust in the digital world. The first principle of the Charter is focused on ensuring that all Canadians have equal opportunity to participate in the digital world and the necessary tools to do so, including access, connectivity, literacy and skills. Since its launch in 2017, CanCode has invested more than $229.2 million in organizations that have helped more than 9 million students and has equipped over 450,000 teachers with the tools they need to help their students learn digital skills. ISED

The Government of Ontario is contributing up to $26.7 million over three years through the Women’s Economic Security Program to support 25 local programs across the province that provide career training opportunities for women. The program helps women gain the skills, knowledge and experience they need to find a job, start a business and achieve financial independence. The funding includes an investment of up to $771,650 for OASIS Centre des Femmes’ Entrepreneurship Launchpad program that provides entrepreneurship training for women in Toronto and Brampton. The Women’s Economic Security Program offers training in four streams: the skilled trades, entrepreneurship, information technology and general employment. To help remove barriers to participating, the training programs also include additional supports such as providing meals throughout the training day, transportation to and from training, and support finding child care. Women interested in the program can visit Ontario.ca/women Govt. of Ontario

The Government of Saskatchewan has committed $600 million in a pool of funding to help support new critical minerals incentive programs over the next five years. The Critical Minerals Processing Investment Incentive (CMPII) and the Saskatchewan Critical Minerals Innovation Incentive (SCMII) target 11 critical minerals found in the province and runs until 2029. The CMPII supports value-added processing projects, while the SCMII supports commercial innovation projects. Helium and lithium are top of mind for near-term growth potential for the province, although copper, zinc, magnesium, nickel and rare earth elements are also in view. The critical minerals incentives are based on the established and successful Oil and Gas Processing Investment Incentive (OGPII) and the Saskatchewan Petroleum Innovation Incentive (SPII). The OGPII and Critical Minerals Processing Incentive will share the same $500 million funding pool and be available until March 2029. For innovation-related projects, the SPII and the Critical Minerals Innovation Incentive will share the same funding pool of $100 million and will receive applications until March 2029. Western Standard

Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan) announced more than $16 million to support the Saskatchewan Research Council’s (SRC) rare earth processing facility in Saskatoon – the first of its kind in Canada. This funding builds on earlier support of nearly $13.5 million from PrairiesCan and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) for SRC to establish its rare earth processing facility and develop new rare earth mineral processing technologies. The new funding includes $15.96 million through PrairiesCan to enable SRC to acquire bastnaesite (a type of ore containing rare earth elements) from Canadian sources and create new domestic capacity for bastnaesite processing, which will be integrated into SRC’s facility. SRC will process bastnaesite ore acquired from Vital Metals Ltd.’s Canadian operations to produce a mixed rare earth product, which will be further processed using SRC’s solvent extraction and metal smelting technology to produce rare earth metals. SRC will also collaborate with a local educational institution to develop and deliver a training program for Indigenous students to operate bastnaesite processing equipment. The investment of $209,330 from NRCan, under the Critical Minerals Geoscience Data Initiative, will help SRC create a publicly available database of mineral characteristics, which will expand the understanding of critical mineral deposits in Canada and reduce mining waste. The new data will help make better predictions about the types of deposits that can be identified by sensor-based sorting, reducing the costs of developing critical mineral deposits into mines and the energy consumption and waste associated with these mines. PrairiesCan

Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan) announced more than $8.8 million for two projects at the University of British Columbia (UBC). UBC is receiving $5 million to establish the Biodevice Foundry and strengthen B.C.'s position as a leader in life sciences. The Biodevice Foundry will provide growing companies with lab space, specialized equipment and training programs to develop and test their products. These products may include artificial organs and joints, or life-saving drug therapies. UBC is also receiving more than $3.8 million to establish a world-class Food and Beverage Innovation Centre. The Centre will bring food science experts and businesses together to develop innovative packaging, processing techniques and products, helping B.C. food and beverage processors become more competitive in global markets. The Centre will also provide training for future food scientists and others working in the industry. PacificCan

The Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) announced a federal investment of nearly $8 million in three southern Ontario agri-food producers, organizations and businesses. The funding recipients are:

• Bioenterprise Canada, a Guelph-headquartered, not-for-profit organization dedicated to building and growing innovative companies focused on agricultural technology, is receiving a nearly $6-million investment. With this support, Bioenterprise Canada will be delivering the Sustainable Growth and Adoption Program to which food and agri-tech businesses in southern Ontario can apply for funding. This funding will help businesses to accelerate their development, while also supporting businesses and organizations to adopt and integrate new clean technologies practices and process enhancements into their operations. Visit the Bioenterprise Canada websitefor details and to apply.
• Located in Palmerston, Mapleview Agri Ltd. manufactures and distributes milk replacer products to feed calves, sheep and kid goats. To meet growing global demand, the company is expanding into a new energy-efficient facility that will house an integrated lab space and new, fully automated systems. With a FedDev Ontario investment of $1.5 million, the company will adopt specialized equipment to increase production capacity and enhance automation, quality control and efficiencies.  
• Farm Health Guardian Ltd., based in Guelph, is a digital biosecurity and animal disease prevention software provider. The company has developed a farm biosecurity software system that reduces the risk and spread of animal disease, protecting farmers and food companies. The software is expected to reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring consumer access to a safe and secure food supply. Through an investment of $350,000, the company will be able to support the commercialization of its software system in Canada. FedDev Ontario

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) announced nearly $6.6 million for Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC) through the AgriScience Program - Clusters Component, an initiative under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership. The Bioproducts Cluster, led by BIC, will develop specialized technologies that turn renewable resources, such as agricultural residues, into useful bioenergy, biofuels and biomaterials like ethanol and biodegradable plastics. The research activities aim to support the transition to a renewables-based economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This will be achieved by improving biomass production, developing new bioproducts from Canadian crops, and turning by-products into value-added bioproducts. By 2030, the global bioeconomy is projected to reach $10.5 trillion annually, with Canada's estimated share up to $240 billion. AAFC

The Government of Alberta is providing $5 million to help Calgary-based E3 Lithium commercialize a new technology that extracts lithium naturally found in saltwater and turns it into lithium products that can be sold to battery producers and automotive companies. The investment, delivered through Emissions Reduction Alberta, comes from the industry-funded Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction program. When industry explores and extracts oil and natural gas, it creates saltwater known as oilfield brine. E3 Lithium’s process takes this brine – typically considered waste that a company reinjects underground – and transforms it into a type of lithium, a valuable resource. This process doesn’t require any additional freshwater, and it also reduces environmental impacts and saves thousands of dollars compared with traditional extraction methods. In 2023, E3 Lithium opened Alberta’s first lithium extraction facility near Olds in southern Alberta, where it ran a pilot program to test different extraction methods. This new funding will help E3 Lithium study how its technology will perform on a small scale, helping to mitigate risks and provide important data on how much lithium can be produced annually for a future, full-scale commercial facility estimated to begin construction in 2026. Govt. of Alberta

The Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FeDev Ontario) announced a total of $3.3 million in repayable investments in two southern Ontario clean tech companies. The investments include $2.2 million in Next Hydrogen Corporation, a Mississauga-based clean tech company that manufactures innovative electrolyzers that use water and electricity to produce clean hydrogen for use as a renewable energy source. Next Hydrogen Corporation is implementing new manufacturing processes to increase production of its electrolyzer modules for large-scale, green hydrogen producers. With this investment, the company will be able to strengthen its clean energy production, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address increased demand from clients, including those in the transportation and industrial sectors. Pulp Moulded Products Inc., a Newmarket-based clean tech manufacturer specializing in recyclable and compostable molded fibre packaging for the food and beverage, automotive and electronics markets, will scale its operations through the addition of new pressing and manufacturing lines. Through a $1.3-million repayable investment, the company will be able to support the increased demand from clients looking to reduce single-use plastic packaging in favour of more sustainable, eco-friendly alternatives. FedDev Ontario

The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) announced a federal investment of nearly $3.2 million for two data-related projects at Dartmouth, N.S.-based COVE, a marine tech innovation hub. A non-repayable contribution of $586,807 through ACOA’s Regional Economic Growth through Innovation program will help COVE design, implement and launch phase two of its Digital Harbour Initiative. Digital Harbour uses an integrated system of sensors to collect and analyze marine data to help users make important operational, logistical, security and lifesaving decisions in real time. Phase two will develop the necessary digital infrastructure to collect data on a larger scale. An additional $2,609,840 in federal support, through Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) and ACOA, will support the launch of a vessel tracking challenge in partnership with COVE. This two-year challenge will give small to medium-size businesses access to DRDC underwater acoustic sensors in the Halifax Harbour to help them develop innovative solutions to detect, classify and track vessels under a variety of conditions. ACOA

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) awarded nearly $2.3 million to Canadian researchers to work on 12 international research projects that will improve our understanding of democracy, governance and trust. The awards will be distributed through the Trans-Atlantic Platform (T-AP) call on Democracy, Governance and Trust (DGT), which supports international research on how to deepen and widen our knowledge and understanding of opportunities, challenges and crises relevant to democracy, governance and trust. SSHRC’s co-funding for 12 of the 18 research projects in the call will explore topics that shape democracies. These include: independent journalism in an age of disinformation; trust and accountability in the non-profit charity sector; enhancing citizen participation with Open Democracy; and understanding impacts of Big Tech and artificial intelligence. The Fonds de recherche du Québec is also a T-AP DGT partner. By working with international partners and across borders, researchers can test out theories in diverse social, political, cultural and economic contexts, compare approaches and findings, and improve understanding of how to strengthen our democracies. SSHRC

The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) announced a $2-million, non-repayable contribution over three years to Ottawa-based QUEST Canada to establish a Net-Zero Communities Accelerator (NCA) program in Atlantic Canada. QUEST Canada is a national non-governmental organization that supports communities in Canada on their pathway to net-zero. This contribution supports QUEST Canada’s NCA program by equipping 15 communities across the region – including Indigenous communities – with the tools and knowledge to develop and sustain community energy and emissions-reduction plans. Building on a successful pilot in New Brunswick, this pan-Atlantic project will expand QUEST Canada’s positive impact across the region over the next three years. ACOA

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) announced more than $1.1 million from the Next Generation (NGen) Manufacturing Canada global innovation cluster for a new project as part of NGen’s initiative to support 15 advanced manufacturing projects. This new venture focuses on developing an innovative fully autonomous, end-to-end production system enabled by artificial intelligence and robotics, designed to automate routine manual functions in the assembly process. The project, led by Markham, Ont.-based Petra Hygienic Systems International Limited, Calgary-based Mastrin Digital Solutions, Ltd., and SIDAC Automated Systems Inc. in North York, Ont., aims to revolutionize the case packing process for finished goods. By integrating proprietary mechanical solutions, advanced robotics and AI, the new system will automate repetitive tasks with high flexibility and efficiency, eliminating the need for manual changeovers. This cutting-edge solution is tailored to meet the needs of small and mid-sized business contract manufacturers, offering them the versatility and automation they require in today’s competitive market. PSPC’s announcement is part of a broader NGen funding initiative, which invested $21.4 million to support 15 advanced manufacturing projects across Canada with a total value of nearly $59 million. PCPC

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) announced the launch of the Vehicle Theft Prevention Challenge through the Innovative Solutions Canada program. This funding opportunity will support the creation of anti‑theft technologies by challenging Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises to bring forward new solutions to prevent auto theft. Desired outcomes and considerations include that the proposed solution must be affordable, safe, easy to install and commercially viable. The maximum funding available for any Phase 1 Grant resulting from this challenge is $150,000. Applicants have until September 25, 2024, 2 p.m. Eastern Time to send their proposed solution. This challenge, sponsored by Transport Canada in collaboration with Public Safety Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, will be conducted in two phases and could result in multiple grants. In 2022, more than 105,000 vehicles were stolen across Canada – one vehicle stolen every five minutes, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada. Canada’s private auto insurers paid out $1.5 billion in theft claims in 2023 – up 254 percent since 2018. ISED

The Government of Nova Scotia is now taking applications for the Clean Fuels Fund, which helps industries, businesses and communities switch to low-carbon and renewable fuels. The fund helps replace traditional fuels with cleaner fuels for heating, transportation and industrial processes. Options include biofuels and biomass from forestry waste products, green hydrogen and renewable natural gas. In 2024-25, $3 million is available for eligible projects. Recipients can get 75 per cent of project costs covered if their costs are $500,000 or less; 50 per cent if their costs are more than $500,000. Eligible projects include:

• studies supporting the adoption of clean fuels.
• existing facilities and operations ready for implementation of clean fuel use.
• new infrastructure to facilitate clean fuel adoption.

The deadline for applications is 11:59 p.m. on October 8, 2024. Govt. of Nova Scotia

RESEARCH, TECH NEWS & COLLABORATION

Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Foundation provided $1.2 million to Environment Resources Management Association and Memorial University for a multi-year study aimed at improving the productivity of Atlantic salmon. For the project, titled "Exploits River Atlantic Salmon Collaborative Watershed Restoration Approach," the researchers will investigate bottlenecks that might limit freshwater productivity of wild Atlantic salmon in Newfoundland and research the effectiveness of potential ecosystem restorations or enhancements. Memorial University Gazette

Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced up to $1 million in funding over the next two years to support scientific research towards addressing knowledge gaps in understanding of MSX (multinucleate sphere unknown X) disease, recently detected in oysters in Prince Edward Island. MSX affects both wild and cultured oysters, preventing them from thriving due to decreased rates of growth and increased rates of oyster mortality. A science summit on MSX will be held in fall 2024, which will gather experts and partners to discuss what is known about MSX as well as priority areas for additional research. MSX was first detected in Canada in Bras d’Or Lake, Cape Breton, N.S. in 2002 and has continued to impact oyster populations in that area. The disease has since been detected in several other important oyster growing and harvesting areas. Fisheries and Oceans Canada

The Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) and Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding to promote and explore a collaborative and strategic approach to nuclear research and innovation within Canada. The MOU lays the framework for cooperation between the two organizations through various key components including knowledge sharing and identifying potential opportunities for cross-collaboration. In November 2023, the Saskatchewan government announced $80 million in funding to SRC to pursue licensing and operation of a microreactor. SRC will apply the research and knowledge gained from the deployment of the first microreactor to better understand the technology and help plan future deployments in Saskatchewan. Govt. of Saskatchewan

CIBC announced the launch of two new AI-driven tools, CIBC AI for team members, and GitHub CoPilot for its developer community. CIBC AI is a cutting-edge Generative AI platform designed to foster innovation and drive productivity improvements throughout the organization. This custom-built GenAI tool has been designed by CIBC from the ground up to support team members with a task-driven design approach by providing access to multiple powerful language models, allowing the bank's workforce to automate regular recurring tasks and focus their time on higher-value, client-centric activities. For example, team members can quickly summarize documents, generate post-meeting support materials or help draft emails and other text-based content. The pilot phase of CIBC AI launched in late July with an initial group of bank employees covering all lines of business across Canada, U.S. and the U.K. This pilot phase will provide the bank with significant data insights that it will use to support broader rollout plans. The bank also announced that it selected Microsoft’s GitHub CoPilot for a broad rollout to the bank's developers. GitHub CoPilot assists developers by providing code suggestions, automating repetitive tasks and enhancing overall coding efficiency. CIBC

Technology developed by InnoTech Alberta is among the 120 projects featured in the 2024 edition of the Global CCS Institute’s annual report on carbon capture and storage technologies that are available on the global market. Among the 120 projects featured in the 2024 edition (on page 86) is a promising technology developed by InnoTech Alberta, in conjunction with Alberta Innovates, called Amine Intensification Process (AIP). AIP is an enhancement of traditional amine-based carbon capture technology. An amine is an organic compound derived from ammonia. Key enhancements in AIP include: 

• Alternative absorption rower: The use of high-efficiency structured packing materials in the absorption tower significantly increases the mass transfer efficiency by 30 percent and reduces pressure drop by 20 percent. This improvement allows for a more compact and efficient CO₂ absorption column. 
• Microwave heating: Implementing microwave heating for regenerating solvents presents a breakthrough method that offers instantaneous and volumetric heating. This approach reduces the energy cost of carbon dioxide capture by releasing CO₂ at lower temperatures and more quickly than traditional methods. 
• Water-lean solvent: The adoption of organic solvents with lower specific heat and volatility, instead of water, cuts the energy requirements for CO₂ capture in half. This significantly reduces the heat duty of the reboiler and mitigates solvent degradation, leading to improved efficiency and cost savings. 

Overall, these improvements lead to a 75 percent reduction in energy requirements compared with conventional amine-based processes, offering substantial cost-saving opportunities and aligning with global sustainability goals. The AIP enables industries to lower their carbon footprints more effectively and economically, positioning them as leaders in environmental stewardship. Alberta Innovates

Imperial Oil Ltd., in an update on what will be Canada’s largest renewable diesel facility, said construction of the complex near Edmonton is going well and should be completed sometime next spring. The $720-million project at Imperial’s Strathcona refinery is expected to have a capacity of more than one billion litres of renewable diesel annually. The facility will use locally sourced vegetable oils and low-carbon hydrogen to produce a biomass-based fuel, helping to position Imperial for the energy transition by diversifying its petroleum-based portfolio, according to the company. Renewable diesel is chemically equivalent to petroleum diesel. This means it can be transported directly in petroleum pipelines or sold at retail stations without any infrastructure modifications or fuel blending. This makes it attractive for fuel refiners in the face of climate-driven regulation such as Canada’s clean fuel standard, which requires liquid fuel suppliers to gradually reduce the carbon intensity of the fuels they produce and sell in Canada. The first stand-alone renewable diesel complex in Canada, constructed by Tidewater Renewables in Prince George, B.C., was completed last year, and there are a handful of other proposed projects across the country. Global News

B.C.-based Salish Elements and the Xaxli’p Development Corporation (XDC) have agreed to collaborate on developing a 25-megawatt green hydrogen production project in Canada. Under an agreement in principle, the two parties will explore the construction and operation of the facility, and have established terms for a more detailed working agreement between XDC and Salish Elements. The Xaxli’p First Nation in B.C. encompasses 11 communities that form the St’at’imc Nation. Currently, the two parties are negotiating a land lease and other partnership details for constructing the facility. Salish Elements, an indigenous-owned company focused on green hydrogen supply and infrastructure development, plans to utilize renewable electricity across its operations. The company aims to become a small-scale producer of green hydrogen in the Lillooet area in southwest B.C. The plan is for a $110-million production facility that would supply 3,500 tonnes per year of hydrogen, with the goal to start operations in spring 2026. The green hydrogen would be produced through water electrolysis, in which hydrogen is captured after being spit from oxygen. BioEnergy Times

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) plans to implement an app that uses facial recognition technology to keep track of people who have been ordered to be deported from the country, The Canadian Press reported. The mobile reporting app would use biometrics to confirm a person's identity and record their location data when they use the app to check in. Documents obtained through access-to-information indicate that the CBSA has proposed such an app as far back as 2021. A spokesperson confirmed that an app called ReportIn, which uses technology from Amazon Web Services, will be launched this fall. CBSA spokesperson Maria Ladouceur said the agency "developed this smartphone app to allow foreign nationals and permanent residents subject to immigration enforcement conditions to report without coming in-person to a CBSA office." She said the agency "worked in close consultation" with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner on the app. "Enrolment in ReportIn will be voluntary, and users will need to consent to both using the app, and the use of their likeness to verify their identity," Ladouceur said. Experts are flagging numerous concerns, questioning the validity of user consent and potential secrecy around how the technology makes its decisions. Each year, about 2,000 people who have been ordered to leave the country fail to show up, meaning the CBSA "must spend considerable resources investigating, locating and in some cases detaining these clients," says a 2021 document. The agency pitched a smartphone app as an "ideal solution." The Canadian Press

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided that it can’t approve the drug midomafetamine (MDMA, known by the street names ecstasy and molly) in conjunction with therapy to treat adult patients with post-traumatic stress disorder, based on data submitted to date. It is the first such decision issued on a psychedelic drug application. California-based Lykos Therapeutics had sought FDA approval of midomafetamine. In June, an FDA advisory committee flagged concerns with Lykos’ application – from lack of data on the drug’s addictive potential to limitations in the structure of the clinical trial. The FDA requested that Lykos conduct an additional Phase 3 clinical trial to further study the safety and efficacy of midomafetamine. Lykos plans to request a meeting with the FDA to ask for reconsideration of the decision and to further discuss the agency's recommendations for a resubmission seeking regulatory approval for midomafetamine capsules. "While conducting another Phase 3 study would take several years, we still maintain that many of the requests that had been previously discussed with the FDA and raised at the Advisory Committee meeting can be addressed with existing data, post-approval requirements or through reference to the scientific literature,” said Amy Emerson, CEO of Lykos. “It’s a huge blow to the field,” Dr. Boris Heifets, an anesthesiologist at Stanford University whose lab studies psychedelics, told National Public Radio. The push to approve MDMA for post-traumatic stress disorder had bipartisan support from Congress, military veteran groups, prominent figures in mental health and psychedelics, and a few billionaires on social media. Lykos Therapeutics

A man with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) who had lost his ability to speak has been able to communicate with a Blackrock Neurotech text-to-speech brain implant, researchers said in one of two new studies showing the promise of brain-computer interfaces for restoring speech in paralyzed patients. The studies were published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine. They provide "compelling new evidence of rapid progress in clinically viable, practical applications" of such devices for re-establishing communication after paralysis, Dr. Edward Chang, a neurosurgeon at the University of California, San Francisco, who was not involved in the work, wrote in an editorial accompanying the studies. Blackrock Neurotech, Medtronic, Synchron and Elon Musk's Neuralink are among the companies working toward commercializing brain-computer interfaces. People with ALS, also called Lou Gehrig's disease, experience progressive degeneration of nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain. One patient was a 45-year-old man who had severe difficulty speaking and could be understood only by his care partner, with whom he communicated at an average rate of about seven words per minute. The rate of conversational English is approximately 160 words per minute. The researchers implanted four microelectrode arrays manufactured by Blackrock Neurotech that recorded neural activity in areas of the brain associated with language and speech, using 256 intracortical electrodes – many more than had been targeted in earlier studies. The decoder software could learn rare words and could be trained rapidly and recalibrated online, which has not been shown previously, according to Chang. By the second day of use, the patient was communicating using a 125,000-word vocabulary, according to the study. Decoded words were displayed on a screen and then vocalized with the use of text-to-speech software designed to sound like his pre-ALS voice. Within 16 cumulative hours of use, the neuro-prosthesis allowed a speech rate of 32 words per minute and incorrectly identified only 2.5 percent of attempted words, the researchers said. Reuters

VC, PRIVATE INVESTMENT & ACQUISITIONS

 Canada Pension Plan Investment Board announced a definitive agreement to invest approximately $1.2 billion in Tallgrass Energy. Based in Denver, Colorado, Tallgrass is a leading infrastructure company operating a network of more than 10,000 miles of pipeline assets across 14 states in the U.S. The company is currently engaged in several initiatives aligned with the global transition to a lower-carbon future, including the development of CO₂, hydrogen, renewable fuels and decarbonized power assets. CPP Investments’ Sustainable Energies group is active across the global energy system, with net assets totaling approximately $34.2 billion as at March 31, 2024, including investments in renewables, conventional energy, carbon capture and storage, distributed and energy services, and emerging and disruptive technologies. CPP Investments

Toronto-based Radical Ventures, the venture capital firm that helped to launch pioneering artificial intelligence startup Cohere, has raised nearly $800 million to create the largest fund of its kind for AI, the Financial Times reported. The firm’s third institutional fund will focus exclusively on growth-stage startups, according to people familiar with the plans. Radical’s investors include former Google chief Eric Schmidt’s family office, Stanford professor Fei-Fei Li, a computer scientist who has been dubbed the “godmother of AI”, and former Google Brain executive Geoffrey Hinton, as well as a number of Canadian pension funds, such as CPP Investments. CPP Investments said in public filings this week that it had committed $75 million to the new fund, bringing its total commitments to Radical to $204 million. Financial Times

Calgary,-based CruxOCM, which provides “co-pilot” software that automates the operations of industrial control rooms in the energy sector, raised $23.3 million in a round led by M12 (Microsoft’s Venture Fund). Participants included new investors ONEOK, Raven Indigenous Capital Partners and EIC Rose Rock Fund, and existing investors Angular Ventures, Bullpen Capital, Root Ventures, Industry Ventures, Cendana Capital, Pipeline Capital Partners, and Golden Ventures. CruxOCM said the investment will enable it to bring its co-pilot offering to more control rooms across the energy sector. FinSMEs

Toronto-based medical imaging startup MolecuLight Inc. announced the closing of a $11.7-million Series C financing round led by new investors Export Development Canada (EDC), Prosegur, and Azahar. Existing investors also participated in the round. MolecuLight offers point-of-care fluorescence imaging devices that provide clinicians with real-time visualization of bacteria florescence in wounds, enabling earlier detection and quantification leading to more effective treatment resulting in improved wound healing. MolecuLight said the new investment will fuel the company’s expansion in the U.S., Canada, and EU across all care settings, including hospital out-patient, independent wound care clinics, podiatrists, and long-term care centers. MolecuLight

Halifax, N.S.-based QuickFacts, an insurtech startup, raised $2 million to accelerate its software expansion across North America. The financing round was led by Sandpiper Ventures, and also included: Killick Capital, Canadian angel investor Paul Hill; InsurTech NY; Neil Mitchell, former managing director at Marsh Canada; Phil Gibson, senior executive at Allstate and Travelers U.S; Don Jacobi, previous owner of Jacobi Brien Insurance; East Valley Ventures; and other angel investors. QuickFacts offers a platform that consolidates insurance carrier information into a user-friendly, searchable database. This investment positions QuickFacts for a successful launch in Quebec and the U.S. market, following its recent expansion across the Canadian Western provinces, the company said. QuickFacts

Montreal-based WSP, a global engineering and consulting firm focused on the energy transition, announced an agreement to acquire Idaho-based Power Engineers, a consulting firm with a leading presence in the power and energy sector, for US$1.8 billion. That includes US$1.78 billion in cash and incentive awards of up to US$170 million to be paid to a significant number of employees over three years following the acquisition. The deal is backed by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, British Columbia Investment Management, and Singaporean sovereign fund GIC. The companies expect the deal to close in the early fourth quarter, subject to Power Engineers’ shareholder approval, regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.  WSP bought four consulting firms in four countries earlier this year, and another five companies between September 2022 and early 2024. WSP

Nashville, Tenn.-based Celero Commerce, a financial services company, acquired SONA, a Halifax, N.S.-based provider of electronic payments technology to businesses across Canada. Financial details weren’t disclosed. With the addition of SONA, Celero entered the Canadian market, and the company said it will process approximately US$26 billion in annual card volume across North America. Celero said the acquisition  provides a robust platform to bolster international growth through the company’s core distribution channels. SONA will continue to operate under its own brand as a Celero-owned company. Celero Commerce

Waterloo, Ont.-based cybersecurity firm eSentire is reportedly exploring a potential sale that could value the cybersecurity company at about $1 billion – more than seven times its annual revenue of US$150 million. ESentire – owned by investment firms Warburg Pincus, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and Georgian – is working with investment bank Evercore on a sale process that could attract interest from other private equity firms, sources told Reuters. Founded in 2001, eSentire is a maker of artificial intelligence-powered cybersecurity tools that help companies investigate and stop security threats before they disrupt operations. The firm counts more than 2,000 organizations in over 80 countries across several industries among its customers. Reuters

Toronto-based Sampler, a digital product sampling startup, has filed for bankruptcy, BetaKit reported. The startup filed an assignment of bankruptcy on June 27 and held its first meeting of creditors on July 22, according to documents BetaKit obtained from Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy. At the date of filing, Sampler had total liabilities of $12.9 million and total assets of more than $300,000. Sampler matches packaged goods companies with consumers who receive packages of free samples by mail. The online platform allowed Sampler to collect targeted marketing data on products consumers used. Sampler has raised about US$9.85 million since launching in 2013, according to PitchBook, from a suite of well-known investors including BDC Capital, MaRS IAF, StandUp Ventures and C100. BetaKit

Canadian startups raised $2.4 billion in venture capital across 143 deals in the second quarter of 2024, up 85 percent from the first quarter, according to a report by the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA). The first half of 2024 saw nearly $3.6 billion invested across 279 deals. Ontario, Quebec and Alberta accounted for 90 percent of all dollars invested in the first half of 2024, with nearly $3.3 billion invested across 212 deals. Alberta experienced a surge in investment activity in Q2, raising $290 million across 21 deals, which pushed B.C. to fourth place in terms of dollars invested for the first half of 2024. The average disclosed deal size bounced back to $13 million in the first half, slightly above the five-year average. Early-stage investments are on pace to match 2023 levels, with $1.6 billion invested across 79 deals. Total dollars invested in cleantech in 2024 – $589 million raised across 25 deals – are on pace to match the record activity of 2023. Venture debt reached $219 million from 20 transactions, reflecting a seven-percent-increase in dollars invested compared with the first half 2023. The first half of 2024 saw 25 exists totalling $3.6 billion, driven primarily by mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Ontario-based Fusion Pharmaceuticals was acquired by AstraZeneca for $3.3 billion, accounting for 90 percent of total M&A exist value in the first half of 2024. Kim Furlong, CEO of CVCA, noted in a message that the federal government’s increase in the capital gains inclusion rate creates a disadvantage for domestic investors compared with foreign capital. Furlong said when Parliament returns in the fall, CVCA “will be steadfast in our advocacy to change the federal government’s decision on increasing the inclusion rate for capital gains.” CVCA

REPORTS & POLICIES

New “capstone” research funding organization should focus on a few missions, be inclusive and have a standalone budget

The federal government’s proposed  new capstone research funding organization (the “Capstone”) should focus on relatively few missions, be agile and inclusive, and have a standalone budget enabling it to support mission-driven research, Colleges & Institutes Canada (CICan) says.

The strategy, mandate and end user needs – especially of stakeholders who have had difficulty accessing the benefits of Canada’s research enterprise, such as SMEs and rural, remote and/or Indigenous communities – should inform the structure of the Capstone, CICan says in a response to federal consultations on creating the Capstone.

“A well-thought through strategic research agenda must guide the Capstone structure, not the other way around,” Ottawa-based CICan says.

To inform design and implementation of the Capstone’s mission-driven structure, CiCan recommends the Tri-council funding agencies, Canada Foundation for Innovation and Innovation, Science and Economic Development should endeavor to launch small mission-driven vehicles at the earliest opportunity.

“Not only would that show responsiveness to Canada’s urgent challenges, but it would also build capacity and expertise in the delivery of mission-driven research objectives.”

Budget 2024 committed to bringing the three federal research funding organizations within a single new capstone research funding organization, to provide better coordination across the federally funded research ecosystem. The granting councils will continue to exist within this new organization.

The new capstone organizations was recommended by the report (the “Bouchard report”) of the federal government’s Advisory Panel on the Federal Research Support System.

“The main focus for the new organization, and its guiding principle, should be the anchoring of research impact in tangible ways for Canada and Canadians,” CICan’s submission says.

Canada has struggled in ensuring that that the benefits of our federal research investments are able to be captured and retained within Canada to provide community and economic returns, CICan notes.

Canada’s performance both in terms of patent creation, trademark registration and industrial design registration ranks near the very bottom compared to other OECD peer countries, with most intellectual property generated in Canada benefiting wealth creation in the U.S. and elsewhere.

“Canadians rightly expect to see, feel, and benefit in their daily lives from the world class research enterprise in which they invest billions of dollars,” CICan’s submission says.

“They also expect Canada’s research enterprise to be able to respond to the challenges of the day – be they global challenges such as environmental sustainability or national priorities such building more affordable homes.”

CICan urges the federal government to ensure the role, impact and potential of Canada’s dynamic and collaborative college and applied research ecosystem is read into the Capstone’s mandate and mission, governance, strategic research priorities and implementation plan from inception.

Operating almost 180 research centres and 510 labs across Canada, with a vast diversity of expertise and clientele, colleges and institutes play a crucial role in advancing innovation, regional development and economic prosperity from coast-to-coast-to-coast, the submission says.

In 2021-2022, colleges and institutes leveraged $151 million in federal government investment for a total of $433 million in research activity.

CiCan’s specific recommendations are:

• The designers of the Capstone clearly identify the problems the Capstone will be designed to solve and the existing gaps the organization is intended to address.
• The Capstone should, as part of its mandate, support expanding the capacity to and ownership of the ability to conduct impact-oriented research to those who have historically been excluded from the research enterprise, including Indigenous communities and rural and remote communities.

The Capstone should organize annual consultative fora with members of the research community and other critical members of the policy, regulatory and innovation ecosystem to identify and define emergent problems and gaps that the capstone could address in future rounds of strategic research investment.

• As a component of the Capstone design process, an audit of key research stakeholders and their roles in the research ecosystem should be conducted to inform the role and capacity of different actors and to assist in the identification of gaps.
• The designers of the Capstone should be thoughtful and prescriptive on the role and alignment of different partners in driving specific processes of change and achieving the objectives of Capstone. This should then inform structural considerations, like governance (including Indigenous representation), of the Capstone and its programs. Following the launch of the Capstone, a review process to allow for changes in roles should be put in place to reflect evolution and greater or new capacity in the research ecosystem.
• To ensure impact, the Capstone should be inclusive and have the right representation and voices, knowledge and expertise from the pan-Canadian research, innovation and industry ecosystem at the board governance, technical advisory and specific challenge steering/oversight levels.

The Capstone will require significant and differential expertise that extends beyond the traditional research funders well versed in discovery-oriented university-defined programmatic approaches and is able to integrate both other federal research bodies and non-governmental research stakeholders, CICan's submission says.

A diversity of ideas, experience, knowledge, capacity and partners around the table really matters in a challenge-driven framework and will also help with galvanizing innovation and crowding in  additional investment across sectors.

In designing a unique-to-Canada capstone organization and its mission-driven research objective, the government should look at the lessons learned from other country models like the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the U.K.’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency, and the European Union’s challenge-driven approaches, the submission says.

 The government also should look at coordinated research funding organizations such as the UK Research and Innovation agency and the Federation de la Recherche du Quebec, which bring together programming and stakeholders across a broad spectrum of research disciplines, approaches, institutions and stakeholders to focus on sectoral and national challenges.

• The Capstone should equally have the right connectivity with the federal research funding ecosystem: other key federal (science-based) departments, regional development agencies, third party research funders (for example, Strategic Science Fund-supported organizations like Genome Canada and Mitacs) and National Research Council that fund science-based innovation and downstream applications. Intentionally coordinated efforts with other departments and agencies with innovation funding will be key in driving real downstream impact.

The Capstone offers the opportunity to complement Canadian Institutes of Health Research-funded research by cultivating new CIHR connections via mission-driven mechanisms with other ecosystem partners – such as colleges and institutes – where actionable insights, downstream applications and on-the-ground innovation thrive, the submission says.

• The new organization should be internally innovative with appropriate and new capacities beyond traditional federal research program administration. The Capstone will need:

1.   dedicated human resource expertise (strategic impact and evaluation, industry and innovation network building and pathways to implementation expertise.
2.   operational nimbleness to work in real time – and at the speed of external partners such as businesses.
3.   funding mechanisms that are agile and responsive to emergent challenges and business/policy problems.

• The mission-driven research function of the Capstone should have a structure that is agile and horizontal with cross-cutting teams with the relevant expertise, relationships, mindset, culture and risk tolerance to build, execute and evaluate a mission portfolio. 
• The Capstone should have a sharp focus on relatively few missions to really mobilize the research and innovation community around moving the needle on Canada’s most pressing, urgent and persistent challenges.

Furthermore, missions cannot be designed according to one standard formula: a toolbox of different approaches – and timelines – will be key. The Capstone will need to be structured with agile capacity, expertise and mechanisms to drive the identification and alignment of different approaches, scales and partners depending on the specific problem (be it health, economic, environment or housing, etc.) to be solved.

• To achieve its mandate, the Capstone must have a standalone reasonable budget that enables it to support mission-driven research, research involving multiple disciplines and international research, preferably one that encourages a suite of different models and approaches to mission delivery and implementation for impact.

The best way the organization can support mission-driven research is by leveraging investments to fund targeted problems focused on clearly identified missions, the report says. Funding programs should consider research infrastructure requirements and the indirect costs of research.

CiCan says the creation of the Capstone is an important and positive step to improve and modernize Canada’s research and innovation ecosystem.

“It is crucial that the Capstone set up a structure that is representative and inclusive to colleges and institutes, so that our sector’s unique and distinct value-add is fully leveraged for greater impact of research investments,” CiCan says. “This will help anchor the returns of research for Canada and Canadians.” CiCan

******************************************************************************************************************************

Federal Budget 2025 needs “bold investments” in science and research, including funding to develop a national science strategy

Evidence for Democracy (E4D) is urging the federal government to make “bold investments” in science and research in Budget 2025, including committing funds to develop a national science strategy.

“Without a clear overarching strategy to connect research to long-term objectives, Canadian science will remain unable to lock eyes on a clear picture of why investments go where they go, where the gaps are, where science is heading, and to what ends,” E4D says in a pre-budget submission.

E4D is an Ottawa-based non-profit organization championing the integration of scientific evidence in government decision-making.

The organization’s submission recommends the government commit funds to develop a national science strategy to enhance coordination, and connect recent investments to strengthen the Canadian research and innovation system. 

Through comprehensive assessments of Canada’s science and technology areas, the government can identify areas of excellence, emerging opportunities, and gaps needing attention, E4D says. This must include accounting for the entire spectrum of science and research stakeholders, across the domains of fundamental research, applied and government science. 

The submission says the national strategy must support both mission-driven and fundamental research through:

• developing policies to support both applied research with immediate societal benefits and fundamental research that builds the foundation for future breakthroughs.
• determining the right balance between supporting mission-driven and fundamental research by engaging with the research community.  

The strategy must also set a target for Canada’s investment in research and development as a percentage of GDP, accounting for inflation, to both catch up to fellow G7 countries and recognize the need to increase funding for innovation, the submission says.

“Without a meaningful increase to gross domestic spending on R&D, Canada will continue to struggle in its innovation  performance and will no longer be able to attract and retain the talent to remain competitive in  the global knowledge economy.”

Canada is falling behind peer nations when it comes to R&D intensity (the nominal share of gross R&D expenditures as a  percentage of GDP), which was 1.86 in 2021, the submission notes. Canada ranks below average compared with other  G7 countries, and ranks 19^th in the OECD. 

“The long-standing problem of chronic underfunding in Canadian science and research will not be solved by scattered investments,” E4D says.

In Budget 2024, the federal government invested $1.8 billion over five years, with $748.3 million per year ongoing, for the Tri-Agencies to increase core research grant funding and support for Canadian researchers.

While significant, only 12 percent of this funding will be delivered in the coming year, leaving the bulk of this investment on the horizon, and contingent on future budget decisions, E4D’s submission notes.

“This uncertainty is concerning, especially as a recent Statistics Canada release noted that “federal [science and technology] expenditures in 2024/2025 are expected to decline $613 million to $15.8 billion.”

Also, Budget 2024’s investment does not provide coverage for operating costs,  including equipment operating costs and the institutional costs of research.  

To address these gaps, E4D calls on the government to follow through on recent investments in order to address the long-standing problem of chronic underfunding in Canadian science and research.

As per the report of the Advisory Panel on the Federal Research Support System, E4D recommends an increase of at least 10 percent annually to the granting councils'  total base budgets for their core grant programming.

The government also needs to maximize the potential of Budget 2024 investments by committing to complementary funding for indirect research costs through the Research Support Fund, the submission says.

Budget 2024 also announced $825 million over five years, with $199.8 million per year ongoing, to increase the value, and number, of all master’s and doctoral student scholarships.

While this  investment is significant, E4D’s submission points out that success is not felt by all graduate trainees and postdoctoral scholars. “Only individuals who receive a federal award will now receive a higher pay, meaning  that researchers working on the same project, with the same background and degrees, will experience pay discrepancies for the same work.”

E4D calls on the government to increase the value of investigator-driven grants, with the stipulation that salaries for graduate trainees and postdoctoral scholars must match those set by federal awards. 

The submission also points out that intramural science has long been under-resourced. Funding for federal science still hasn’t returned to 2010/2011 levels, and federal intramural S&T expenditures have  remained turbulent.

Between 2012 to 2014, $223 million in government funding for intramural science was eliminated.

The increase in funding in 2020 showed that the government recognized the importance of intramural science capacity in the pandemic response, but in 2021, again $554 million in funding for intramural science was eliminated.

Preliminary estimates from Statistics Canada suggest that intramural S&T spending rose by $165.76 million (in 2021 dollars) from 2023/2024 to 2024/2025.

“This is hopeful,” E4D's submission says, but when adjusted for inflation, this expenditure is still lagging behind by approximately $1.02 billion (in 2021 dollars) to 2010/2011 levels. 

E4D calls on Ottawa to restore funding for intramural science to 2010/2011 levels, and ensure that science-based departments and agencies have the appropriate  resources to deliver on their mandates. “This spending is needed to counter the effects of  inflation, and enable government science to become more nimble and responsive to new challenges.” 

E4D also calls on the government to invest in efforts to better mobilize research to policy, including knowledge translation, commercialization and building data infrastructure. The organization recommends that government:

• Commit funds to reinstate the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s Science Communication Pilot program, which provided science communication skills training to STEM students, fellows, and faculty at Canadian postsecondary institutions, thus promoting knowledge translation.
• Expand and update the mandate of Canada’s Chief Science Advisor to reflect the changing landscape of science, including: ensuring adherence to Scientific Integrity Policies; supporting S&T foresight capacity; and leading a whole-of-government review of evidence-informed decision-making.
• Follow through on earlier commitments to establish the Canada Innovation Corporation, and principles laid out in the Roadmap for Open Science, and by the 2023 Advisory Committee on Canadian Scientific Data Governance.

E4D notes that a new Government of Canada Trust and Transparency Strategy recently was launched, outlining steps towards making a transparent, accountable and participatory culture of governance – one which reinforces public trust in democracy – a reality.

“We welcome this strategy: transparency is the first step on a path to fostering public trust and realizing the political commitment to evidence-informed decision-making,” the submission says.

E4D says recent findings from its “Eyes on Evidence” research series (2020-24) underscore the strategy’s importance. The organization’s assessments found that federal and provincial policies scored low on the transparency of evidence usage, meaning that it’s difficult for people outside the government to find the evidence behind policies.

Through polling, E4D learned that eight in 10 Canadians want to see the key evidence used in government decision-making so they can better understand and evaluate decisions.

E4D in its submission calls on the federal government to commit funds to appropriately follow through on its 2024 Government of Canada Trust and Transparency Strategy. Evidence for Democracy

******************************************************************************************************************************

More support for student and apprenticeship grants and work-integrated programs required in federal Budget 2025

Federal Budget 2025 needs investments to increase and maintain student grants and double funding for apprenticeship grants, says the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA).

Budget 2025 also needs an investment in the Student Work Placement program and indexing of graduate student awards to inflation, CASA says in a pre-budget submission.

CASA is a not-for-profit advocacy organization representing students at 25 student associations across the country – 365,000 students across Canada.

CASA’s specific recommendations are:

• Invest $1.07 billion annually to permanently set Canada Student Grant maximums at $4,200 per year and maintain weekly loan maximums at $300 per week.

In total, a Canadian post-secondary student can expect a total annual cost of living of $26,858.40, in addition to an average tuition cost (2022-2023) of $6,834 (undergraduate) or $7437 (graduate), the submission says. “These heavy financial burdens often present significant barriers to accessing post-secondary education for many young Canadians.”

• Narrow the Indigenous post-secondary education gap by raising Post-Secondary Student Support Program and equivalent Metis and Inuit programs to $750 million annually to reflect increasing Indigenous secondary school graduation rates. 

According to the 2021 Census, less than half (49 percent) of Indigenous Peoples aged 25 to 64 were able to complete a post-secondary qualification, compared to 68 percent of non-Indigenous people.

The lack of financial resources remains the most significant barrier hindering Indigenous students’ ability to pursue higher education opportunities, the submission says.

Despite being the fastest-growing population in Canada, with over 130,000 learners eligible to attend post-secondary and growing, only one in five eligible Indigenous students receive federal funding support today.

• Attract the next generation of tradespeople by doubling funding to the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant at a total of $265 million per year.

When the federal government created the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant in 2007, it rewarded those in a Red Seal trade by giving them a maximum of $2,000 over the second and third years of their apprenticeship.

However, that set maximum has not increased in over 17 years, decreasing the real value of this incentive by 31 percent at the very time Canada needs more skilled apprentices.

• Invest $207.6 million annually in the Student-Work Placement Program through the 2027-28 program year to create more work-integrated learning opportunities for post-secondary students

According to Abacus Data, student demand for work-integrated (WIL) learning is significant, but with room for growth: two in five post-secondary students indicate their program has a mandatory WIL component, with an additional quarter indicating their program offers optional WIL opportunities.

• Maintain competitive Canadian graduate student funding levels by indexing awards to inflation at a cost of $230 million over five years.

Budget 2024 resolved a longstanding erosion of compensation for top Canadian graduate and post-doctoral researchers, which has a strong effect on talent retention, CASA's submission says. However, these awards will continue to depreciate, slowly eating away at this multi-partisan achievement.

To prevent this situation from recurring and to sustainably support Canada’s research ecosystem in the long term, CASA recommends that Tri-Council bursary amounts be indexed annually and automatically using the Consumer Price Index.

• Retain more Canadian-trained students by revising the Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System score for a Canadian post-secondary credential to 80 credentials for 3-plus year degrees and 30 credentials for programs of at least one year.

This would support an immigration system geared towards high-skills individuals, well-suited for economic and social integration in Canadian society, CASA says.

“This focus on individuals with high earnings potential, in-demand skills, and proven success in Canada would better reflect the immigration factors that set up Canada’s economy for growth.” CASA

******************************************************************************************************************************

Federal immigration department takes over administration from industry of Start-Up Visa program meant to attract foreign entrepreneurs

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the federal department responsible for the Start-Up Visa (SUV) program, has taken over administration of the program from two industry partners.

IRCC decided, as of July 31, not to establish new contracts with the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) and the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) that support the Start-up Visa Program, NACO said in a statement.

The decision follows a pause by IRCC in the designation of new business incubators, angel investors and venture capital funds for the Start-up Visa Program, as well as an ongoing review of the program by the federal department, NACO said.

In a statement to NACO, IRCC said: “The current pause on the designation of new business incubators, angel investors, and venture capital funds has temporarily eliminated one of the key functions previously supported by industry associations. The Department is also conducting a review of the Program, which may impact the functions required of contracted organizations going forward. Consequently, the Department has decided to operate the Program without industry associations while we further evaluate our contracting needs.”

In April, IRCC capped each fund or incubator to 10 startups a year. The department said then it was pausing approving new ones, so it can deal with the applications backlog while reviewing the program.

The SUV program, launched in 2013, is a Canadian immigration program aimed at acceleratng the entry of foreign entrepreneurs and their companies to Canada.

The CVCA and NACO were previously responsible for managing the SUV by designating venture capital firms, angel investor groups, and incubators or accelerators across Canada to participate in the program.

NACO said despite IRCC’s changes to the SUV program’s management, NACO remains dedicated to supporting the Start-up Visa Program’s objectives and will continue to advocate for program improvements.

“Leveraging over a decade of experience as a partner with IRCC and as an architect of the Start-up Visa Program, NACO will work to enhance support for designated organizations and newcomer entrepreneurs,” NACO said.

NACO said it will continue supporting member organizations who meet designation criteria. This includes updating IRCC on the status of their membership with NACO, providing letters of support where appropriate, and reporting on key performance data relative to their participation in the program.

NACO will share this data with IRCC in the form of an annual report on the Start-up Visa Program, ensuring continued advocacy and alignment with program goals. NACO

*******************************************************************************************************************************

Proposed California law on artificial intelligence advances despite opposition from AI firms

California’s proposed legislation to regulate artificial intelligence development and deployment has taken another step closer to becoming law.

The California Appropriations Committee passed the Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act (also known as SB-1047). The state Assembly and Senate must still approve the bill before it becomes law.

Known colloquially as California’s AI Act, and monitored closely across the country for possibly setting a precedent for state guidelines around generative AI, SB-1047 sets out several rules for AI developers:

• Create safety and security protocols for covered AI models.
• Ensure such models could be shut down completely.
• Prevent the distribution of models capable of what the act defines as “critical harm.”
• Retain an auditor to ensure compliance with the act.

The bill provides a framework that aims to prevent generative AI models from causing large-scale damage to humanity, such as through nuclear war or bioweapons, or from causing over $500 million in losses through a cybersecurity event.

The act defines “covered models” as those using computing power greater than 10^26 integer or floating-point operations – the cost of which exceeds $100 million – during training.

The version of the bill that passed included some changes suggested by AI maker Anthropic and accepted by primary bill author Sen. Scott Wiener, D-Calif.

Anthropic successfully asked the state to remove some language from the bill which said companies in breach of the act could see legal action from the state’s attorney general. The newest version also removes the need for companies to disclose safety test results under threat of perjury. Instead, the developers will need to submit statements, which do not have the same legal weight.

Other changes include:

• The shift in wording from AI companies having to provide “reasonable assurance” of safety to “reasonable care.”
• An exception in which AI researchers who spend less than $10 million fine-tuning an open-source covered model are not considered developers of that model.

The bill no longer calls for the creation of a Frontier Model Division, an agency to oversee the AI industry. Instead, a Board of Frontier Models focused on forward-looking safety guidance and audits will sit within the current Government Operations Agency.

While Anthropic contributed to the bill, other large organizations like Google and Meta have expressed disapproval.

Some representatives of industry and Congress say the act will restrict innovation and make it particularly difficult to work with open-source AI models.

Canadian AI researchers Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio, known as the “godfathers of AI” for their pioneering work on deep learning, publicly support the bill. The act will “protect the public,” Bengio wrote in an op-ed in Fortune on Aug. 15.

Eight of the 52 Congressional members from California signed a letter saying the act would “create unnecessary risks for California’s economy with very little public safety benefit.” They argue it is too early to create standardized evaluations for AI, as government agencies like National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NIST) are still working on creating those standards. TechRepublic

[Editor’s note: NIST said in a report released last week that given the present state of open AI models today, current evidence isn’t sufficient to determine what restrictions are warranted for their development or that restrictions will never be appropriate in the future. See item under “Reports & Policies” in the August 14, 2024 Short Report].

THE GRAPEVINE – News about people, institutions and communities

Montreal-based Enerkem announced the appointment of Michel Chornet as new CEO, succeeding Dominque Boies in this role. Enerkem is a technology provider enabling low-carbon fuels and chemicals production from waste. Michel’s family founded Enerkem in 2000 with co-founders Esteban Chornet (his father) and Vincent Chornet (his late brother). Michel has been with Enerkem for years in various leadership positions, and he notably headed business development activities as well as technology management. Boies has been steering Enerkem through the past seven years. He first served as chief financial officer of Enerkem before assuming the role of CEO in 2019. Under his leadership, Enerkem saw the launch of the company's first-of-a-kind commercial project Varennes Carbon Recycling currently in construction in Quebec, advancing multiple projects and securing strategic financial partnerships. Enerkem

Montreal-based online tutoring company Paper Education Co. replaced founder Philip Cutler as CEO and cut 45 percent of its roughly 180-person staff, The Globe and Mail reported. Cutler was replaced on an interim basis by veteran Silicon Valley-based education technology Rich Yang. It was Paper’s fourth workforce reduction since early 2023, bringing its ranks down from peak levels of more than 500. Paper also employs about 2,000 part-time tutors. Cutler remains a company director. Yang will transition to the executive chairman role once a new, permanent CEO is appointed. Paper’s business grew rapidly during the COVID pandemic, but the company has struggled to maintain momentum since the COVID-driven remote-education boom. The Globe and Mail

Smith Falls, Ont.-based cannabis company Canopy Growth announced that CEO David Klein will retire at the conclusion of the company’s fiscal year ending March 31, 2025. Klein will continue as CEO until that time or a successor is named. Canopy Growth’s board is securing a search firm to initiate a CEO selection process. Under the leadership of Klein, who joined Canopy Growth as CEO in January 2020, the company established a foundation for multi-market cannabis that included the launch of Canopy USA and growth in international markets. Canopy Growth

Consulting engineering firm BBA has hired Susan Campbell, P.Eng., as director of decarbonization. Campbell has more than 20 years’ experience in decarbonization projects, particularly in the energy and chemical process sectors. She earned her B.Eng. in mechanical engineering at the University of Victoria and has worked for Imperial Oil, BP and Suncor. In her new role, based in Calgary, she will oversee the development of BBA’s decarbonization service offering, from consulting services through project execution, to reduce clients’ carbon footprints and improve the sustainability of their operations. BBA

San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken appointed Alex Mehrdad as the new general manager of its Canadian operations to spearhead the next phase of operational growth across Canada. Mehrdad has been a “key pillar” of Kraken’s Canadian team, the company said. He succeeds Mark Greenberg, who will head a new asset growth and management division. Greenberg has successfully doubled the size of Kraken’s Canadian business while the company navigates the pre-registration undertaking process to obtain a restricted dealer license in Canada with the Canadian Securities Administrators, Kraken said. Kraken

Toronto-based Bitcoin miner Bitfarms appointed CEO Ben Gagnon to the company’s board of directors after co-founder and chairman Nicolas Bonta stepped down. Lead board director Brian Howlett was appointed independent board chairman. The move comes amid an ongoing dispute with shareholder Riot Platforms, which previously called for Bonta to resign over corporate governance practices. Bitfarm also announced that Liam Watson, an experienced executive with over two-decades of leadership experience across multiple relevant industries, was appointed chief operating officer, effective August 26, 2024. Bitfarms

Glenn Barnes, chair of Memorial University's board of regents, has resigned, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador said in a news release. Barnes came under fire in July for forwarding former 35-year-old student Becky Winsor’s email to her father. The email Winsor sent Barnes demanded that Memorial University divest from “weapons manufacturing companies implicated in the genocide in Gaza." Barnes had received more than 100 similar emails as part of a campaign organized by the Newfoundland and Labrador branch of the Canadian Federation of Students. Board of regents vice-chair Anik Rahman will serve as the interim leader, as the department works to have a new chair appointed, the provincial Education Department said. The university said in a statement that the decision follows a review process undertaken by the board in a special meeting on August 13. The board, made up of faculty, community leaders and students, found that Barnes's recent use of his university email did not align with the board's code of conduct. The board decided after that meeting to issue Barnes a letter of reprimand and to suspend Barnes until he made a public apology for the privacy breach and committed to completing privacy training. CBC News, Govt. of Newfoundland and Labrador

Toronto-based Rogers Communications appointed Edward Rogers executive chair of the company, effective immediately. Rogers will continue to lead the board as executive chair. Working with the board and the chief executive officer, Rogers will lead the development and review of the company’s long-term strategy for growth. The promotion, from chairman to executive chairman, comes after Rogers settled a family feud earlier this year, which ended with his sisters Melinda Rogers-Hixon and Martha Rogers leaving the board. Tony Staffieri’s responsibilities as CEO remain the same, the board said. Reporting to the full Rogers board, Staffieri will continue to run the company. Rogers Communications

Marissa West, who was appointed senior vice-president and president for GM North America in January, is leaving General Motors after 20 years. West had served as GM Canada’s managing director before her move to her most recent role. Rory Harvey, executive vice president and president of GM Global Markets, is taking on day-to-day responsibilities for the North American market and global brands. Harvey had previously served as president of GM North America. The company, in a statement provided by GM spokesman Kevin Kelly, said "GM is reducing the complexity of our organization to better integrate Global Markets, move faster and serve customers around the world.” Detroit Free Press

Indigenous scholars from Dalhousie University and the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) are working together to develop a dynamic, multilingual platform for Indigenous terminology that can be used in libraries, archives, museums and information systems worldwide. Camille Callison, UFV’s university librarian, and Dr. Stacy Allison-Cassin, an assistant professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, N.S., are co-leaders of the Respectful Terminology Platform Project (RTPP), funded with a two-year grant for US$1.4-million from the Mellon Foundation and also supported by other organizations. The grant is situated at Dalhousie University which is partnering with UFV. Callison said the platform will address harmful, racist, stereotypical and antiquated terminology that exists right now in places like libraries that provide access points to information. UFV

Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) professor Jonathan Roberge and Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM) professor Destiny Tchéhouali are the co-holders of a new Quebec Research Chair in Francophone Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technology. Supported by a nine-member research team from UQÀM, INRS, Concordia University and Université Laval, this chair aims to leverage AI to diversify and enrich access to Francophone cultural and media  content (fiction, documentaries, TV series, music, books) on digital platforms. The researchers will focus on three priority areas: the techno-scientific ecosystem of AI in Quebec; the discoverability of French-speaking cultural content in the digital environment; and the governance, regulation and future of public policies relating to the development of AI and digital technology in French. The Fonds du recherche du Québec has provided $1.8 million to support this chair. UQÀM

The Government of Quebec is creating a consultation group to study the pedagogical and ethical issues related to the use of artificial intelligence in universities. In a news release, the government said the group will include representatives from post-secondary institutions, student and union associations, and experts in the use of AI in higher education. Higher Education Minister Pascale Dery said the new group will develop a "common vision" that will guide the responsible and ethical use of AI in post-secondary institutions. The group is also tasked with helping to come up with strategic priorities for the use of AI and implement technology projects in universities and other post-secondary schools. The government said its goal is to leverage artificial intelligence as a tool to promote academic success, while developing digital skills so students can appreciate the limits of these new technologies. CTV News

British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) has launched a 12-week flexible learning course, Environmental and Climate News and Analysis, that explores the ways people talk about the climate emergency. Kamyar Razavi, a climate change journalist at Global News and veteran television news producer, will teach learners how to construct environmental news stories for impact, as well as how to develop messages that engage stakeholders on issues pertaining to climate change, environment and sustainability. The course covers topics such as the environmental and energy policy landscape in Canada, and the development of messages around climate change, the environment and sustainability. In another new course, OCAD University’s School of Continuing Studies has launched a four-week Introduction to the Landscape of Health Design in Canada course. The online course, starting October 12, 2024, examines the role of design in Canada’s health care sector and will feature health care industry innovators and leaders as guest speakers, including Dr. Jennifer Zelmer, inaugural president and CEO of Healthcare Excellence Canada, public interest designer and strategist Zahra Ebrahim, and Sophia Ikura, founder and executive director of Health Commons. The course is led by instructor Luz Paczka Giorgi, a recent alum of OCAD U’s Design for Health graduate program and a health designer and researcher. BCIT, OCAD

R$