The Short Report: October 9, 2024

GOVERNMENT FUNDING

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) announced $13.6 million from its Enabling Small Modular Reactors (SMR) Program for nine research projects to promote the safe, commercial development of SMRs (artist's conception of an SMR at right) to contribute to Canada’s low-carbon economy and help fight climate change. The projects are:

• $935,542 to Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., to study fuel dry storage and to conduct a techno-gap/lifecycle assessment to enable the effective deployment of SMRs.
• Over $2.1 million to Chemetics in Pickering, Ont., to support the research and development of SMR fabrication. This project will enable Chemetics to develop, test and qualify new fabrication technologies for SMR components.
• Over $2.7 million to Prodigy Clean Energy Ltd. in Montreal, Que., to support research and development to enable transportable nuclear power plants as part of the SMR supply chain.
• Over $3.7 million to the Nuclear Waste Management Organization(NWMO) in Toronto, to enhance the compatibility of the NWMO’s current Adaptive Phased Management program with the upcoming deployment of SMRs.
• $261,535 to Calian Ltd. in Ottawa, Ont., to provide a guidance document to SMR vendors and planned owners or operators in Canada that outlines the characterization of radiological elements in building materials for the construction of new SMR facilities.
• $543,000 to the Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries in Pickering, Ont., to develop a National Ready4SMR program to identify procurement risks due to technological gaps in Canada’s SMR projects and subsequently develop supply strategies for at-risk parts and components.
• $126,475 to Kinectrics in Etobicoke, Ont., to investigate the feasibility of disposing the isotope carbon-14 by recovering it from radioactive wastes and to engage with stakeholders to identify a route to divert waste streams from disposal.
• Just over $2 million to North Shore Mi'kmaq Tribal Council in Eel Ground, N.B., to study and develop robust supply chains in Canada for SMR manufacturing while anchoring elements in New Brunswick with First Nations ownership.
• Just over $1 million to Opportunities New Brunswick in Fredericton, N.B., to provide a research and development lifecycle framework and roadmap for the manufacturing of cost-effective modularized SMR technology to enhance the development and deployment of SMRs within Canada. NRCan

Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan) announced a federal investment of more $8.4 million for three projects that will strengthen Alberta’s capacity to bring new quantum products to national and international markets. Projects receiving support include:

• Over $4.1 million for the University of Calgary’s Quantum City initiative to develop infrastructure and acquire specialized equipment aimed at supporting companies developing industrial quantum applications.
• Over $2.2 million for the University of Alberta to establish a quantum hardware innovation hub that provides industry with access to technical expertise and equipment to prototype and manufacture quantum technologies.
• Over $1.9 million for Edmonton-based Zero Point Cryogenics (which makes refrigeration equipment to cool quantum computers) to scale up its advanced manufacturing capabilities, develop new products and services, and expand into Canadian and U.S. markets.

These investments are expected to support approximately 170 jobs, directly assist 30 small and medium-sized companies, and train 375 individuals in the field of quantum science, PrairiesCan said. The funding is allocated through PrairiesCan’s Regional Quantum Initiative in Alberta and is aligned with Canada's National Quantum Strategy. According to a study commissioned by the National Research Council of Canada in 2020, the quantum sector will become a $139-billion industry in Canada with more than 200,000 jobs and $42 billion in returns by 2045, potentially contributing three per cent to Canada's GDP. PrairiesCan

Finance Canada announced the payment amounts for the new Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses, which will deliver over $2.5 billion to about 600,000 Canadian businesses before the end of this year. This refundable tax credit will return a portion of the fuel charge proceeds from 2019-20 through 2023-24 to small businesses, in jurisdictions where the federal fuel charge applies. Finance Canada said the carbon rebate program will deliver up to $4,010 to a business with 10 employees in Ontario, $29,550 to a business with 50 employees in Alberta, and $576,844 to a business with 499 employees in Saskatchewan. Small businesses in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador will also receive payments. Finance Canada also announced a revised Code of Conduct for the Payment Card Industry in Canada to protect over 1 million businesses that accept credit card and debit card payments from customers. Starting on October 30, 2024, the revised Code will help businesses compare prices and offers from different payment processors and shorten the complaint handling response time by nearly 80 percent to just 20 business days. In addition, Finance Canada announced that new, reduced credit card transaction fees for small businesses will take effect on October 19, 2024. More than 90 percent of small and medium-sized businesses that accept credit cards will receive lower rates and see interchange fees reduced by up to 27 percent. These fee reductions are expected to save eligible small businesses about $1 billion over five years. Finance Canada

The Government of Canada and the Government of Nova Scotia are jointly investing nearly $30 million over five years to support Nova Scotia’s efforts to purchase wildfire firefighting equipment, such as helicopters, fire trucks, communication vehicles, incident command trailers, weather monitoring stations, technology upgrades, personal protective equipment and more. The funding includes $25.6 million under the federal government’s Fighting and Managing Wildfires in a Changing Climate Program – Equipment Fund and the Resilient Communities through FireSmart (RCF) Program. Through the RCF Program, Nova Scotia and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) will invest up to $3.9 million over five years aimed at preparing for wildfires, reducing risks before they occur and expanding the adoption of FireSmart principles and practices in Nova Scotia. The investment will further enhance safety for communities and firefighters and improve wildfire resource sharing across Canada. NRCan

The Department of National Defence (DND) officially opened the NATO DIANA North American regional office in Halifax, N.S. Canada is supporting the opening and operating of this office with an initial investment of $26.6 million dollars over six years. DND also announced the appointment of Major-General Paul Peyton as the military deputy director for North America for NATO DIANA. Peyton brings more than 35 years of experience in leadership roles – most recently as chief of force development with the Canadian Armed Forces. NATO DIANA was created to help develop dual-use technologies [both military and civilian applications] that address challenges affecting security and defence. NATO DIANA brings together the best and brightest innovators from key sectors across the alliance to help NATO maintain its technological edge, defend its one billion citizens, and preserve peace and security. Through NATO DIANA, innovators can access alliance-wide resources, including grant funding, commercial advice and other acceleration services to adapt their solutions for defence and security needs. The Halifax Regional Municipality provides a thriving innovation ecosystem – sustaining more than 300 entrepreneurial science and technology startups – and is also home to several major universities and research centres as well as Canada’s Atlantic naval fleet. In March 2024, NATO DIANA announced the addition of 11 accelerators, of which two are Canadian, and 92 test sites, of which 13 are Canadian, to its growing network. This brings the NATO DIANA network to 20 accelerators and 180 test sites. DND

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) announced more than $6.8 million over five years for the Organic Federation of Canada (OFC) through the AgriScience Program – Clusters Component, an initiative under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership. This funding will allow the OFC to partner on research into the environmental benefits of sustainable farming practices and address challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, soil health and water quality. The OFC will develop solutions to production challenges such as organic crop adaptability and pest management. These efforts will improve the performance of organic production systems, support economic growth and development, and improve sustainability in the sector. AAFC

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) is providing more than $4.3 million over five years to the Eastern Canada Oilseed Development Alliance (ECODA) through the AgriScience Program – Projects Component, an initiative under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership. This funding will allow the ECODA and its partners to develop new agronomic technologies, improved cropping systems and adaptive crop varieties to address environmental challenges such as climate change and soil degradation, while meeting market demands. The project aims to improve the long-term security and sustainability of the Eastern Canadian oilseed industry by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, coordinating knowledge transfer among stakeholders, and improving soil health, crop resilience and yields. AAFC

The Government of Quebec announced more than $5.6 million for the Kemitek College Centre for Technology Transfer (CCTT) and a Technology Access Centre in Thetford Mines, Que., to support the expansion of its green chemistry research facilities. This project, part of an overall investment estimated at more than $10 million, included the construction of a green chemical process pilot plant, the renovation and improvement of laboratories in Kemitek's main building, and the acquisition of research equipment. The financial assistance was granted through the Support Program for Research and Innovation Organizations' Support for the Financing of Public Research and Innovation Infrastructures component. Govt. of Quebec

 Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED) announced a call for projects to which CED will dedicate a budget of $1 million to support new social innovation projects whose economic, social and environmental spin-offs are clearly destined for the territory targeted by the Initiative to Support Economic Development in Montréal’s East End. Under this initiative, CED will provide $95,000  to support the Maison de l’innovation sociale, an organization that specializes in guiding and incubating projects. CED is accepting applications up to November 29, 2024. For information on eligibility criteria and on how to submit a project, interested organizations can consult the Call for Projects Guide and the document Preparing to submit a funding application. CED

RESEARCH, TECH NEWS & COLLABORATION

Canada’s Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell attended the G7 Competition Authorities and Policymakers’ Summit to discuss the competition concerns raised by the rapid development and uptake of artificial technologies, and the impact on AI-related markets and across national economies. At the Summit, G7 competition authorities and policymakers committed to advancing global cooperation to ensure that AI systems are developed and used in ways that respect human dignity, promote fairness and foster inclusive economic growth. In alignment with the Hiroshima Process International Guiding Principles for Advanced AI system, they emphasized the need for a coordinated international effort in promoting responsible AI practices. The G7 competition authorities and policymakers made a commitment to the following guiding principles:

• Fair Competition: Making sure AI markets stay open and fair.
• Market Entry and Opportunity: Making it easier for new companies to enter the market.
• Consumer Choice and Interests: Making sure consumers have clear and correct information.
• Interoperability: Making sure AI systems can work with each other.
• Innovation: Creating conditions to support new ideas, technologies and business models.
• Transparency and Accountability: Holding AI companies responsible for their actions.

The Competition Bureau’s contributions to the G7 Working Group and Summit build upon recent work on AI, including Canada’s Competition Summit 2024: Market Dynamics in the AI Era and consultation on Artificial Intelligence and competition. The concentrated control of crucial AI inputs has the potential to place a small number of firms in key market positions, the Summit participants said in a communique. These firms could exploit existing or emerging bottlenecks, reducing competition and restricting market access for new entrants. “Additionally, access to energy resources may also become a bottleneck, particularly as AI deployment expands and as AI models continue to increase in scale and complexity.” The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust division participated in the G7 Summit and joined in warning that concentrated market power in AI-related markets and possible collusion or improper information sharing using AI technologies require careful vigilance and vigorous and timely competition enforcement. Competition Bureau, U.S. Federal Trade Commission

California-based digital infrastructure company Equinix announced the signing of a joint venture agreement with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) and Singapore-headquartered GIC, with the intent to raise over US$15 billion in capital together with partners. The joint venture is intended to meet growing demand for the processing power and infrastructure to train and run AI systems. Driven by increasing AI and cloud computing growth, the venture will accelerate the Equinix xScale data centre portfolio, which enables hyperscale companies to add core deployments to their existing access at Equinix International Business Exchange™ data centres. Under the agreement, CPP Investments and GIC will each control a 37.5-percent equity interest in the joint venture, while Equinix will own a 25-percent equity interest. At full buildout, this new joint venture will nearly triple the investment capital of the Equinix xScale program. With the capital raised through the joint venture, Equinix expects the venture to purchase land to build new state-of-the-art xScale facilities on multiple greater-than-100-megawatt campuses [data centre size is typically measured by power consumption] in the U.S., eventually adding more than 1.5 gigawatts of new capacity for hyperscale customers. Equinix

Silicon Valley-based Marvell Technologies, a leading data centre hardware firm, plans to more than double its Canadian workforce, reaching 650 employees over the next five years. Marvell, which currently employs 270 staff in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver, is expanding due to growing demand for AI-related hardware. The firm’s Canadian offices focus on R&D, building connectivity, security and networking capabilities for AI chips and office-network equipment. Marvell recently opened a new design centre in Toronto and is seeking federal and provincial support to fund its growth. In 2022, Marvell added more than 120 new employees to its Canada team. The company also has close ties with leading Canadian academic institutions, including partnerships with University of Toronto, Carleton University and University of Waterloo, through collaboration on various programs such as internship opportunities, recruitment fairs and talent acquisition. Decoder

Calgary-based De Havilland Canada concluded contract negotiations with the European Commission, Government of Canada and EU member states,  as aircraft production for 22 new waterbomber aircraft ramps up at De Havilland Canada’s facilities. As part of the event, De Havilland Canada announced that the name of the DHC-515 Firefighter aircraft would be changed to reflect the history and overwhelming sentiment for the name “Canadair” in Europe. “When people are close to a wildfire in Europe, they ask when the Canadairs will come to help protect their community,” De Havilland Canada CEO Brian Chafe said in a statement. “Today, we are recognizing the history of service of the Canadair fleet by renaming the aircraft the ‘De Havilland Canadair 515.’” To celebrate the event, De Havilland Canada released a video outlining the current state of production of the aircraft, as well as an image of a re-branded De Havilland Canadair 515. De Havilland Canada

Canada celebrated 40 years of Canadians in space on October 5, a journey that started with Marc Garneau’s historic first flight in 1984. The last four decades have seen significant moments, from the creation of the Canadian astronaut corps and subsequent 17 missions, to the assignment of Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen to fly around the Moon onboard Artemis II. To date, Canada has recruited 14 astronauts through four campaigns. Nine of these astronauts have participated in 17 space missions. Astronaut missions have always been a source of tremendous pride and inspiration, encouraging young people to study and pursue careers in the fields of science and engineering, the CSA said. The Canadian space sector is well positioned to contribute to the evolving space economy with the development of Canadarm3 for Gateway and the upcoming two Canadian rovers set to explore the Moon. CSA

Calgary-based Steel Reef Infrastructure Corp. announced a $265-million capital investment and long-term power purchase agreements with SaskPower to provide more than 100 megawatts (MW) of carbon-efficient power to Saskatchewan communities. Steel Reef will deliver this power supply by utilizing recovered oilfield gas that would have otherwise been vented unburned or flared (burned) into the atmosphere. Steel Reef will install additional turbines and electrical substations at its facilities in Coleville, North Portal, Saskatchewan Ethane Extraction Plant, Steelman and Viewfield. On average, each site will produce approximately 20 MW of power to be brought onto the SaskPower grid by late 2027. Since 2012, Steel Reef has deployed approximately $1.2 billion into infrastructure assets in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and Bakken Resource Play in Saskatchewan and North Dakota. Last year, for the first time, Alberta’s oil and gas industry exceeded the province’s own regulatory limit on natural gas flaring. Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) data shows oil and gas companies in the province flared approximately 754 million cubic metres of natural gas in 2023, exceeding the annual provincial limit of 670 million cubic metres. A 2022 report by the AER found flaring volumes in Alberta have been increasing since 2016 and nudged close to the regulatory limit in 2022. Steel Reef, CBC News

Calgary-based Lafarge Canada Inc., a member of Holcim Group, officially commissioned its low-carbon fuel facility at its Exshaw cement manufacturing plant west of Calgary, in collaboration with Geocycle Canada. The $38-million facility will reduce the plant's reliance on traditional fuels by replacing up to 50 percent of natural gas used for one of its kilns. This alternative thermal energy is derived from construction demolition waste, primarily discarded wood that would otherwise end up in landfills and emit methane gas. The facility is projected to divert up to 120,000 tonnes of construction demolition waste from landfills each year, reducing CO₂ emissions by as much as 30,000 tonnes annually. Geocycle Canada, also a member of Holcim Group, is responsible for co-processing the construction demolition waste into low-carbon fuels. This method ensures no residue is left behind, offering a complete solution. This new facility was made possible with $10 million from Emissions Reduction Alberta through the Alberta government’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction fund. Lafarge Canada

Staff at Canada’s nuclear safety regulator recommended that the country’s first new power reactor in decades should receive the go-ahead to begin construction, even though its design is not yet complete and issues about the reactor’s emergency shutdown system remain unresolved. Staff from Ontario Power Generation (OPG) argued at a hearing that the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) should grant a licence to construct a 327-megawatt nuclear reactor, known as the BWRX-300, at OPG’s Darlington Nuclear Generating Station in Clarington, Ont., about 70 kilometres east of Toronto. OPG’s application received unequivocal support from the CNSC’s staff, despite the fact that several safety questions remain unresolved. This would be the first small modular reactor (SMR) built in a G7 country and among the first globally. The BWRX-300 is currently being developed by U.S. vendor GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy. OPG, which submitted its application two years ago, is seeking a 10-year licence and plans to build three additional BWRX-300s at Darlington. M.V. Ramana, a professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs who specializes in nuclear power, said the CNSC doesn’t have enough information to answer key safety questions necessary to grant a construction licence. As the first of its kind, the Darlington SMR’s design is likely to require further significant changes during construction, he said. The Globe and Mail

The U.S. government is providing a $US1.52 billion loan guarantee to restart Holtec’s Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan. Palisades still needs licensing from regulators, which means the plant – which has been shut since 2022 – could take up to two years to reopen, although Holtec has estimated a restart in the fourth quarter of 2025. President Joe Biden's administration has called for a tripling of U.S. nuclear power capacity as U.S. power demand surges and worries about climate change mount. The $1.52 billion in financing, from the U.S. Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office, was accompanied by funding for nonprofit electric cooperatives to purchase power from the Palisades plan. Deputy U.S. Agriculture Secretary Xochitl Torres Small announced more than $1.3 billion in public funding for power cooperatives Wolverine and Hoosier Energy. Last month, Constellation said it would restart the mothballed Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania and sell all of its capacity to Microsoft for 20 years to power the tech giant’s data centres. Reuters

The European Union voted to impose tariffs as high as 45 percent on electric vehicles from China. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, can now proceed with implementing the duties, which would last for five years. Ten member states voted in favour of the measure, while Germany and four others voted against and 12 abstained, according to people familiar with the results. The decision by the EU comes after an investigation found that China unfairly subsidized its industry. Beijing denies that claim and has threatened its own tariffs on European dairy, brandy, pork and automobile sectors. The EU, which did €739 billion (US$815 billion) in trade with China last year, was split on whether to move forward with the duties. The EU and China will continue negotiations to find an alternative to the tariffs. The U.S. and Canada have each implemented a 100-percent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles. BNN Bloomberg

The U.K.’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) is a high-risk, high-reward science funding agency designed to put Britain back on the scientific map. The U.K. government has allotted £800 million ($1 billion) of public money to ARIA for its first four years. Inspired by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency that helped birth what became the internet, GPS and the era of personal computing, ARIA is an attempt to find a new way of funding breakthrough British science. It’s designed to be ambitious and nimble and to take big risks. Its employees have an extraordinary amount of freedom over how and who it will fund: startups, universities, individuals, anything is on the table. Its senior employees, including eight program directors, are exempt from the ordinary restrictions on civil service pay and Freedom of Information laws. In August, ARIA announced that Canadian deep-learning pioneer Yoshua Bengio would join ARIA’s program on safeguarded AI as scientific director, working with program director David “davidad” Dalrymple. An article in WIRED tells the story behind ARIA’s creation and its moonshot programs. WIRED

VC, PRIVATE INVESTMENT & ACQUISITIONS

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and Connecticut-based Nuveen Green Capital, which is focused on sustainable commercial real estate financing solutions, launched a US$600-million (Cdn$830-million) integrated sustainable commercial real estate financing program. This offering combines Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing and senior bridge and construction financing aimed at the U.S. commercial real estate market and developing “greener” buildings. The competitive, single-source program will provide a substantial source of flexible, committed and discretionary capital for new large-scale construction and bridge financings across key asset classes and markets. The program will offer a turnkey solution while also driving the adoption of sustainability measures in commercial buildings. As a leading provider of C-PACE across the U.S., Nuveen Green Capital will act as the primary sourcing agent for the integrated financing program. CDPQ

Toronto-based fintech firm Koho Financial secured $190 million in additional capital, including $40 million in equity and $150 million in debt. The round was led by returning investor PROPELR Growth, joined by new investor Rockefeller Capital and included existing investors Drive Capital, TTV, and BDC. PROPELR Growth managing partner Sanjiv Samant will join Koho’s board of directors as a result of the financing round. The credit extension is in partnership with new and existing partners. KOHO said the new capital injection will fund growth, the expansion of the company’s lending book and new innovative products, and continued progress towards a Schedule 1 bank license to become a bank. Business Wire

Calgary-based digital therapeutics startup Orpyx Medical Technologies Inc. raised $26.9 million in growth capital in a financing round led by Perceptive Advisors. Orpyx is focused on diabetic food ulcer and amputation prevention. The company’s Orpyx® Sensory Insole system enhances standard custom orthotics by integrating advanced multi-modal sensor technology that allows for continuous remote monitoring, backed by a dedicated team of specialized nurses. This system monitors critical parameters such as plantar pressure, temperature, activity and adherence, which are essential for preventing debilitating foot complications in individuals with diabetes and neuropathy. Orpyx said the new capital will be used to fuel the company’s expansion in the U.S., focusing on both the veterans affairs sector and commercial payers. Orpyx

Toronto-based GreenSky Ventures raised more than $15 million in the first closing of its Fund VI from a group of limited partners that included undisclosed family offices and high-net-worth individuals, many of which are returning investors. GreenSky said it made a “significant investment” in a separate funding round it led, in Toronto-based software company Ethica. Ethica said the investment will accelerate the global growth of CloudAccess, Ethica’s innovative Software-Defined Internet Access solution. Ethica offers a plug-and-play solution that internet service providers can embed into their core products. Across its six funds to date, GreenSky has invested (in addition to Ethica) in 31 Canadian tech startups in total, including Captain AI, Direct-C, Funnelytics, Mesosil, Micharity, Mission Control, Ontopical, PhenoTips, ProNavigator, Pulse Industrial, Symboticware, and WiseDocs. GreenSky Ventures

St. John’s, Nfld.-based medical AI startup Sparrow BioAcoustics raised $10 million in a seed funding round led by Killick Capital, Klister Credit, and Pelorus Ventures. Sparrow is an SaMD (Software as a Medical Device) firm which offers the first medically cleared product (the Stethophone) that uses people's smartphones to capture and decipher cardiac sounds – producing medical-grade heart recordings. Sparrow BioAcoustics

Vancouver-based Indiegraf raised US$2.2 million in a seed funding round led by Toronto-based StandUp Ventures, with participation from Coralus and Mucker Capital. Indiegraf said it makes journalism possible in communities that cannot support the traditional business model of newspapers and radio. The company provides a comprehensive “media business in a box” solution, which includes a news website builder, email newsletter platform, supporter payment system, advertising platform, expert marketplace and access to growth capital. Indiegraf said the platform has already powered over 150 community media businesses operating in multiple languages, including English, Spanish and French. The new funding will help further expand Indiegraf’s platform, making it accessible to more local media entrepreneurs, particularly in underserved communities across the U.S. and Latin America. Indiegraf

Calgary-based insurtech company Flora Fertility raised $1.5 million in a pre-seed funding round. The round was led by Highline Beta fund and venture studio and co-invested by Cartography Capital, Everywhere Ventures, and a strategic group of angel investors – including executives from the insurance, technology and financial services industries. Flora Fertility said the investment will drive the launch of Flora's first-of-its-kind private fertility insurance product across the U.S. and Canada, making fertility treatment more accessible and affordable for millions. Flora Fertility

The Toronto-based National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) launched a new national program, the Angels & Dreams™ Fellowship, aimed at fueling the growth journeys of Canada’s entrepreneurs. The NACO Angels & Dreams™ Fellowship is a one-of-a-kind initiative designed to help selected entrepreneurs build “network capital,” a crucial element for securing funding and scaling their businesses. Through the program, fellows will gain invaluable access to seasoned leaders and strategic advice, helping them open doors to investors, customers and critical growth opportunities. The Angels & Dreams™ Fellowship is powered by a robust national network of angel investors, accelerators, incubators and partners, uniting Canada's leading ecosystem organizations with top entrepreneurial talent. Participating organizations include Altitude Accelerator, Centech, The DMZ, Invest Ottawa, North Forge, Platform Calgary, and Propel. Entrepreneurs from a wide range of high-impact sectors will be invited to join the program. NACO

Seven Canadian tech startups earned a share of over $275,000 in grant money and investment opportunities at this year’s Elevate Festival. The winners were:

• Oakville, Ont.-based Nunafab, recipient of the $200,000 grand prize, offered by Women+ investment in partnership with The Firehood. Nunafab, led by CEO and co-founder Cynthia Ene, is developing high-performance materials for the construction and manufacturing industry. The Women+ incubator comprises an eight-week program for women and gender-diverse founders to gain investment readiness skills, meet directly with investors, and earn the chance to pitch for the prize money.
• The runner-up prize of $25,000 in the Women+ program went to Niagara, Ont.-based Infinite Harvest Technologies. The startup, led by co-founder Tamara Lockwood-Ortiz, has developed a process for the agrifood industry to deal with waste, using insects for bio-digestion of organic waste and then harvesting these insects as ingredients for the pet food, aquaculture feed, poultry feed and organic fertilizer markets. 
• A third and surprise prize under the Women+ program was awarded to Montréal-based Oasis Learning AI, led by co-founder and CEO Karine Bah Tahé. The startup uses artificial intelligence to deliver personalized, scalable and updated training programs for employees. Oasis Learning will receive $500,000 in AWS Activate credits, courtesy of AWS.
• Athiya Rastogi, CEO of Toronto-based AI startup SnapWrite, won a $10,000 grant from the eCommerce North Innovator Challenge. SnapWrite has developed a platform that allows brands and retailers to automate product detail pages from images while enabling them to create a resale channel for their items. The challenge is a four-week competition that offers e-commerce startups the opportunity to pitch their startup in exchange for a grant.

The three winners of the six-week Sustainable Changemaker Challenge, which sought out tech startups that are building solutions to cut greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible, were:

• Dartmouth, Nova Scotia-based Aruna Revolution, which is developing plastic-free, compostable menstrual pads. The startup, founded by CEO Rashmi Prakash, took home $25,000 from the challenge. 
• Toronto-based CERT Systems, which came in second place in the Sustainable Changemaker Challenge, won $10,000 for its electrochemical process that converts carbon dioxide emissions into high value chemicals.
• The third-place winner was Burnaby, B.C.-based NANOSentinel Technologies, which has developed a toxic metal monitoring system for clean energy original equipment manufacturers and the critical minerals industry. The startup took home $5,000 from the Elevate Festival. BetaKit

San Francisco-based OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, raised US$6.6 billion in a funding round that valued the company at US$157 billion. Thrive Capital led the round, with participation from SoftBank, Microsoft, Nvidia and others, sources told The New York Times. OpenAI will use the money for research to advance its technology, pay for more hardware and other infrastructure to train and run its AI models, and develop new products. OpenAI said it aims to make advanced intelligence a widely accessible resource. OpenAI

Germany-based fuel cell manufacturer SFC Energy AC agreed to acquire several of Vancouver-based fuel cell maker Ballard Power Systems’ Scandinavian assets for a price in the “low single-digit million euro range.” With this transaction, SFC said it is expanding its own power range with two proven hydrogen fuel cell solutions with an output of 1.7 kilowatts (kW) and 5 kW. As part of the deal, the maintenance contracts for Ballard’s existing installed base of around 400 sites, mainly located in the Northern European countries of Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, will also be acquired, subject to customer consent. SFC Energy

French business and technology consulting company Audensiel acquired the digital factory, cybersecurity, development operations and data activities of Montreal-based digital consultancy Maltem Canada. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. Maltem Canada supports customers in their strategic digital activities by setting up customized service centers on their premises and offers a complete range of coaching and premium training. Audensiel said this acquisition consolidates its role as the preferred partner of large and medium-sized Canadian companies. Marc Giraud-Sauveur, CEO of Maltem Canada, will remain as the CEO of Maltem Canada and general manager at Audensiel Canada, and all of Maltem Canada’s employees have been moved to Audensiel. Maltem Canada

Chicago-based Coeur Mining agreed to acquire Vancouver-based precious metals-miner SilverCrest Metals in a share acquisition deal, at $US11.34 per share, which valued SilverCrest at US$1.7 billion. Coeur said the acquisition adds to its portfolio of silver and gold production, and SliverCrest’s strong balance sheet will accelerate Coeur’s debt-reduction initiative. As part of the deal, N. Eric Fier, SilverCrest’s CEO and board director, and one other current SilverCrest board director, will join Coeur’s board of directors. Business Wire

Indigenous-related capital markets steadily increasing in Canada, international credit rating agency says

Canada is poised to see significant growth in Indigenous-related project financing, international credit rating agency Morningstar DBRS said.

In a report released on the fourth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the credit rating agency said Indigenous-related capital markets activity is on a steady upward trend with “considerable potential” for more.

“We have seen a gradual increase in capital markets activity by Indigenous-related organizations, and we anticipate this segment of financing will grow significantly in the coming years, supported by increased federal and provincial government guarantees and other forms of support,” the Morningstar report said.

Indigenous communities across Canada are showing growing interest in acquiring equity positions in major projects and infrastructure as a way to generate revenue and economic opportunity for their people.

But historically, one of the biggest barriers preventing Indigenous partners from pursuing equity ownership has been a lack of access to capital. Canada’s Indian Act prohibits First Nations from using their land as collateral, meaning Indigenous communities have struggled to access competitive interest rates through mainstream capital markets.

However, the federal and provincial governments are increasingly getting on board with the need to provide Indigenous communities and organizations access to capital to facilitate economic development, Morningstar said.

The report identifies more than $13 billion in available federal and provincial programs, such as loan guarantees, which are leading to increased financing activities by Indigenous communities and groups.

Morningstar pegs the value of Indigenous financing activity, including government loan guarantees, at almost $800 million annually over the past five years.

The report also points out there are several high-profile transactions involving Indigenous communities on the horizon, including Ottawa’s planned sale of the Trans Mountain pipeline to Indigenous groups, TC Energy Corp.’s planned sale of its NGTL pipeline system to an Indigenous consortium, and the development of the Cedar LNG project by the Haisla Nation and Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corp.

“We believe that there is significant growth potential for Indigenous-related financings in the coming years,” Morningstar said. MoneySense

REPORTS & POLICIES

Canadian SMEs' top operational priority is implementing generative artificial intelligence: KPMG survey

Executives at small and medium-sized Canadian businesses say their top operational priority is implementing generative artificial intelligence technology, according to a survey by KPMG.

“After taking a wait-and-see approach, they are now playing catch-up to larger Canadian organizations who made the new technology their top investment priority last year,” KPMG says in its 10^th 2024 CEO Outlook survey.

The survey included 1,325 CEOs globally – as well as more than 800 business owners in Canada – and was conducted between July 25 and August 29, 2024.

Fifty-nine percent of Canadian CEOs (versus 64 percent globally) agree that generative AI is a top investment priority, down from 75 percent last year (versus 70 per cent globally), likely in part reflecting the already significant investments they've made over the past year, the survey says.

Nearly nine in 10 (86 percent) of small and medium-sized businesses in Canada said they’re trying to address their productivity gaps by ramping up automation and adopting new technologies like AI.

But, as with so many things, there are hurdles: 81 percent say they lack the skilled talent necessary to put the full benefits of AI to work.

"Our survey findings show that business leaders are focusing their resources on meeting their growth forecasts and improving productivity," Tim Prince, Canadian managing partner, clients and markets for KPMG, said in a statement.

"Canadian business leaders are well aware that they will need to continuously improve their operations, decarbonize their operations, and upskill their workforce to compete in a world that's getting tougher by the day, whether it's changing demographics, growing trade protectionism or the impacts of climate change,” Prince said.

The second most-important operational priority for both Canadian and global business leaders is their “employee value proposition,” according to KPMG’s survey.

The competition for a limited pool of skilled talent is a major challenge for employers, prompting them to evaluate what they can offer employees around career development opportunities, work-life balance, compensation, purpose and mission, and company culture.   

With the skills shortage a perennial concern, 84 percent of small and medium-sized businesses expect their organization to be impacted by labour market shifts – specifically the number of employees who will retire and the lack of skilled workers available to replace them.

By contrast, only about a third (28 percent) of CEOs globally share similar concerns, although 79 percent agree that organizations should be investing in skills development and lifelong learning within local communities to safeguard access to future talent.

According to the survey, the CEOs of Canada's largest and most influential companies remain confident in their organization's three-year growth prospects (76 percent) and the Canadian economy (83 percent). But 76 percent also said they feel under more pressure to ensure the long-term prosperity of their business.

The top issues identified by Canadian CEOs that could derail their three-year growth plans are: operational risks, cybersecurity and environmental/climate change.

Similarly, CEOs globally cited operational, supply chain and cybersecurity risks as their top three concerns. Canadian SMBs ranked cybersecurity No. 1, followed by emerging and disruptive technologies, and energy security and affordability.

Fifty-nine percent of Canadian CEOs (versus 53 percent globally) and over a quarter (26 percent) of Canadian SMB leaders say economic uncertainty is their biggest current challenge.

Related to economic growth, nearly one-third (31 percent) of SMB leaders expressed concern over growing protectionist attitudes in some markets, including economic decoupling, compared with 19 percent of Canadian CEOs and 14 percent of their global counterparts.     

Amid growing scrutiny from stakeholders, regulators and lawmakers, Canadian CEOs identified executing on their environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy as their top operational priority.

While only half (50 percent) of Canadian CEOs say they are prepared to withstand the potential scrutiny and expectations of stakeholders, as well as shareholders on ESG, they are in a better position than their global counterparts (34 percent).

By contrast, SMB leaders, in ranking implementing GenAI as their No. 1 operational priority, ranked ESG No. 4 – tied with inflation-proofing their businesses, among their operational priorities. KPMG

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Risks to Canada’s financial system from AI have intensified: Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions report

Financial integrity and security risks to Canada’s financial system related to artificial intelligence have intensified, while cybercrime incidents continue to accelerate across all industries, says the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI).

“We are increasingly concerned with the operational resilience of institutions, particularly with respect to third-party, cyber, technology and integrity and security risks, including fraud and anti-money laundering,” the OSFI said in a fall update to its 2024-2025 Annual Risk Outlook.

The approaches used by financial criminals for cyber, money laundering and fraud have become more complex and increased in sophistication, the update noted. “Mitigating these threats should be a priority for the institutions the OSFI supervises.”

The speed and scale of technological innovation, as well as technology interconnectivity, continue to create or uncover vulnerabilities, the OSFI noted.

Financial crime activities require financial institutions to continuously accelerate efforts to enhance controls and compliance, the update said. Governance gaps at institutions related to integrity and security pose operational, financial, compliance and reputational risks.

“The dominance and global reach of some third-party service providers creates concentration risk that could cause a third-party incident to affect multiple institutions at once as well as exposure to incidents outside of Canada,” according to the update.

Rapid developments in Generative AI (GenAI) have resulted in an increased adoption of AI tools in finance, which is expected to continue to expand at a rapid pace, the update said. The use of AI in finance has the potential to deliver significant benefits through:

• enhanced efficiency.
• improved decision making.
• better customer experience.

At the same time, these advancements in GenAI can transform and amplify existing risks and give rise to new risks and challenges. For example:

• increased cybersecurity and third-party risks.
• heightened fraud and money laundering activities.
• potential bias and discrimination in decision making.
• data privacy and quality concerns.
• elevated model risk.
• reputational risk.

To address these risks, the OSFI said it will take the following actions:

• assess financial institutions' preparedness to manage third-party risks and technology and cyber-related risks.
• assess the strength of institutions' business continuity plans, disaster recovery plans and internal third-party contingency plans.
• collect third-party data to increase understanding of systemic concentration risk.
• conduct thematic reviews and monitor cyber resilience and third-party risk management of critical outsourced functions.
• assess the impact of AI adoption on the risk landscape and strengthen existing guidelines to decrease AI-related risks.
• issue an updated Model Risk Management guideline in summer 2025. OSFI

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“Greenwashing” risks growing in financial sector in Quebec and Canada, new report says

There’s a growing risk of “greenwashing” in the financial sector in Quebec and the rest of Canada, says a new report by the Centre québécois du droit de l’environnement (CQDE – Quebec Environmental Law Centre).

This proliferation of “green,” “sustainable,” and “responsible” financial products, such as ESG (environmental, social and governance) investment funds, is supported by a proliferation of false, misleading or insufficiently substantiated environmental claims, the CQDE says in its report, Greenwashing in the financial sector: Time for transparency and accountability. 

Similarly, a number of entities active in the financial sector, including banks and listed companies, have begun to boast of their good environmental performance, without ensuring alignment between their words and the impact of their activities. For example:

• a study revealed that only five percent of the 250 largest investment funds presented as socially responsible are actually aligned with the objectives of the Paris Agreement on climate change.
• Similarly, more than 40 percent of the climate risk information provided by listed companies in Canada was assessed as “generic, vague, or incomplete” in 2021.
• A 2023 survey reported that 57 percent of Canadian consumers have lost trust in brands’ environmental assertions, and that 46 percent are reluctant to pay a “green” premium due to challenges in identifying authentically sustainable products.

“The finance sector has an essential role to play in the fight against climate change. We hope that this research report will help guide those involved in sustainable finance to become part of the solution and a major ally, rather than exacerbating the problem by enabling or even condoning greenwashing practices,” Geneviève Paul, executive director of the CQDE, said in a statement.

The report points out that greenwashing not only harms investors, who are misled in their decisions, but also weakens environmental protection, delaying the allocation of capital to transition-oriented projects that are truly sustainable. 

Financial greenwashing also undermines public trust in the green initiatives of financial institutions. A full 70 percent of retail investors in Canada do not sufficiently understand what responsible investment entails.

To remedy this, the CQDE advocates greater public awareness of sustainability issues and increased training requirements for financial advisors.

“It’s often difficult for investors to find their way around sustainable or responsible investment. How can we ensure that our investments will really have the desired spin-offs and won’t contribute to worsening the environmental crisis?” said Julien Beaulieu, an affiliated lawyer and researcher for the CQDE, law lecturer at the University of Sherbrooke, and author of the report.

Although current legislation already prohibits many forms of greenwashing, this legal framework has its fair share of limitations. For example, there is currently no law setting out the minimum conditions for a financial product to be “green” or “sustainable.”

In March 2023, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, which supervises federally regulated financial institutions such as banks, published a new guideline on climate-related risk management that will progressively require banks and insurance companies to make public climate-related financial disclosures by end of fiscal year 2025.

The CQDE’s report recommends a better regulatory framework for sustainable finance. The report makes 26 recommendations, primarily targeted at federal and provincial policymakers, across six categories : 

• Regulating the supply of emerging products and services, such as voluntary carbon offsets, green bonds and ESG rating services.
• Reinforcing rules for disclosing environmental risks and impacts in the financial sector.
• Reinforcing the professional obligations of financial intermediaries.
• Facilitating legal recourse against wrongdoers.
• Stepping up surveillance of misleading environmental claims.
• Informing and raising public awareness. CQDE

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Quebec innovation intermediary plays key role in province’s net-zero industrial policy: Transition Accelerator report

Propulsion Québec has played a key role in net-zero industrial policy in recognizing the economic opportunity of battery manufacturing and putting it on the policy agenda, according to a new report by the Transition Accelerator.

Propulsion Quebec, an independent intermediary on Quebec’s electric transportation sector, also helped develop policy strategies that leverage Quebec's strengths to position it strategically in the global battery value chain, the report says.

The intermediary organization also contributed to more targeted climate and industrial policies to seize Quebec’s economic opportunities, the report says.

For example, Propulsion Quebec’s influence helped drive the Quebec government’s shift from a focus on environmental objectives, such as reducing emissions and creating jobs, to production targets that stimulate domestic industrial production, such as electric buses, according to the report.

Another example is the strong emphasis of Propulsion Québec in targeting key segments of the battery value chain where the province has comparative advantages (e.g. materials processing such as lithium and graphite, and battery recycling).

“These examples illustrate the importance of high-quality information on market and technological trends for industrial policy. An independent intermediary can be an asset in catalyzing information flows between government and business," the Transition Accelerator's report says.

“A key element is to have a permanent institutional structure with a clear mandate and working on specific problems.”

Propulsion Quebec also helped align the province’s policy mix and remove institutional barriers to facilitate the scaling up of homegrown innovations into thriving businesses.

Quebec's Energy Transition Valley innovation zone is one example: it helps to align research and development with the need of strategic industrial sectors to improve production techniques and promote regional economic development.

For policymakers, this suggests the importance of having coordination mechanisms within the public sector. An intermediary organization can help with this task.

Another key element is involving a diversity of stakeholders. This helps take a holistic, multidimensional view of challenges and promote cross-sector collaborations that can help overcome departmental silos.

The report’s authors are: Bruno Arcand, a doctoral candidate in the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University; Dr. Bentley Allan, PhD, transition pathway principal at the Transition Accelerator; and Dr. Derek Eaton, PhD, director of future economy at the Transition Accelerator.

The authors found that in the electric vehicle battery sector alone, Propulsion Quebec has helped catalyze, since its creation in 2017:

• $16 billion of investment announced in Quebec's battery sector, from mining and processing of critical minerals to battery component production, assembly, and recycling.
• As many as 6,000 new jobs to be created in the battery sector.
• Around a 13-fold increase in the number of electric school buses and hybrid city buses on the road (as of 2022).
• A 300-percent increase (between 2017 and 2022) in the average number of new patents in Propulsion Quebec’s Canadian startup member companies (compared with the 2011- 2016 period).
• Nine innovation infrastructures established in the electric and smart transportation sector.

The report says lessons drawn from Propulsion Québec for robust intermediaries in industrial policy show the need to:

• Empower the private sector and in particular startups, which tend to better anticipate market trends than established actors.
• Set up a politically independent organization, which makes it flexible and agile in responding to rapidly changing market dynamics, and in pressuring government to correct misguided policies.
• Create a permanent institutional structure with a clear mandate and working on specific issues that facilitates access to quality information on barriers and opportunities in the economy to inform policymaking.
• Include a wide range of stakeholders of different sizes and from different fields of activity to gain a multi-faceted view of the challenges, and to promote cross-sector collaborations that can help overcome departmental silos. Transition Accelerator

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RCMP investigating possible criminal wrongdoing at Sustainable Development Technology Canada

The RCMP are investigating Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) for possible criminal wrongdoing.

RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme didn’t specify who or what the RCMP was investigating in relation to SDTC, which the federal government decided in June would be transferred to the National Research Council of Canada, following a scathing audit by Auditor General Karen Hogan.

Hogan’s report found “significant lapses” in the $1-billion fund’s governance and handling of public funds. For example, she discovered 90 decisions in which SDTC violated its own conflict-of-interest policies.

She also noted that one out of six projects funded by SDTC (worth a total of $59 million) she audited weren’t eligible for funding and, in some cases, didn’t even support the development of a new green technology.

In a July report from Konrad W. von Finckenstein, Canada’s ethics commissioner, former SDTC board chair Annette Vershcuren was found to have violated the Conflict of Interest Act twice by benefiting companies associated with the Verschuren Centre – a clean technology accelerator that she founded.

On September 27, House Speaker Greg Fergus ruled that the government appeared to have violated the powers of the House of Commons when it failed to surrender all unredacted records on SDTC so they could be provided to the RCMP, as ordered by MPs on June 10.

“The House has clearly ordered the production of certain documents, and that order has clearly not been fully complied with,” Fergus said.

Since then, MPs have debated what to do next, with Conservatives arguing that the government should hand over all records. The NDP and Bloc Québécois support the suggestion that the issue be studied in a Commons committee.

The Liberals have argued that the order is an unacceptable blurring of the lines between the legislative and judicial branches and a potential violation of Canadians’ Charter rights.

Conservative House Leader Andrew Sheer said he disagrees with the Liberals’ assertion that the motion to provide documents to the RCMP is akin to directing the police, because the order does not tell the RCMP what to do with the records.

The RCMP has confirmed it received a first batch of documents in August from House of Commons Law Clerk Michel Bédard. National Post

See also: Ottawa shutting down SDTC and transferring its programs to the National Research Council

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Canada’s growing biomanufacturing sector will need to expand its workforce over the next few years: CASTL study

Seventy-four percent of Canada’s biomanufacturing employers surveyed plan to hire new staff in the next three years, according to study by the Canadian Alliance for Skills and Training in Life Sciences (CASTL), in partnership with BioTalent Canada and Future Skills Centre.

Preliminary findings of the market survey done for the study also show 50 percent of those new hires will be for manufacturing/production technician and laboratory technician roles.

The full study, Identifying the Technical Skills and Training Needed to Advance Canadian Biomanufacturing, will be released in late October.

“The results of this study provide invaluable insights into what it will take to ensure Canada has the skilled talent necessary to support and advance its thriving biomanufacturing industry. By understanding emerging trends, we can more effectively align our resources with industry needs,” Penny Walsh-McGuire, CEO of CASTL, said in a statement.

The national survey included 50 Canadian biomanufacturing employers and 15 interviews to identify specific skills gaps in the Canadian biomanufacturing industry, and to better understand the sector’s current and future training needs.

CASTL, based in Charlottetown, P.E.I., said the study offers critical insights for industry stakeholders, educators and policymakers seeking to ensure that resources, programs and curricula are strategically aligned to meet the evolving needs of Canada’s growing biomanufacturing sector.

According to the survey, technical skills are a key focus in hiring decisions, with Good Manufacturing Practices (80 percent), laboratory skills (70 percent), and manufacturing and production techniques (64 percent) among the top competencies sought by employers.

A recurring theme was the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical, hands-on experience. Among employers surveyed, 80 percent have included self-directed online learning in their training budgets.         

The study follows the 2021 BioTalent Canada Close-up on the Bio-economy: National Report, which found that Canada’s bioeconomy has been expanding rapidly, requiring a growing number of skilled workers to meet sector demands.

According to that study, it is estimated that Canada’s bioeconomy will require 65,000 additional workers by 2029, with biomanufacturing accounting for 16,140 of these jobs. 

The new CASTL study also explored the themes of artificial intelligence and industry 5.0 technologies, which are slowly making their way into Canadian biomanufacturing. Among those surveyed, approximately 50 percent of employers recognize the need for training in AI-related areas. 

This study was part of the CASTL-led Knowledge and Insights for Future Proofing Biomanufacturing Training project funded by the Government of Canada through the Future Skills program.

The study “presents a valuable opportunity for employers, educators and the government to collaborate, ensuring that Canada’s biomanufacturing workforce is sustainable and competitive,” said Noel Baldwin, executive director of Future Skills Canada. CASTL

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Cost of cleaning up "orphan" oil and gas wells, reclaiming oilsands land continues to climb in Alberta

The number of “orphan” oil and gas wells in Alberta requiring decommissioning is expected to double as the bankruptcy of Sequoia Resources is finally settled.

The province's industry-funded Orphan Well Association (OWA) is tasked with cleaning up oil and natural gas wells that no longer have an owner, something often caused by a company going bankrupt.

The OWA already has an inventory of about 1,600 wells in need of closure and reclamation. With Sequoia, the OWA is expecting to inherit 1,800 to 2,000 more wells, in addition to the company's other infrastructure, such as pipelines.

The estimated clean-up cost of the Sequoia properties is about $200 million.

 As a result, the OWA now expects it will likely need more than a decade to clean up Sequoia assets, with a scheduled completion around 2036. That timeline could increase further if other oil and natural gas companies go bankrupt.

Alberta government figures show the province has nearly a half-million energy wells, with less than one-quarter properly reclaimed and decommissioned. The cleanup tab has been estimated at between $59 billion to $260 billion.

Alberta’s United Conservative Party government has not ruled out using public money to do the cleanup, and has already proposed two programs that would use taxpayers’ dollars to help companies pay for their legally required cleanup.

The Alberta government also has officially handed back more than $137 million to the federal government, after running out of time to spend the cash Ottawa provided to help clean up old oil and gas wells.

Meanwhile, oil and gas companies have not paid more than $250 million in municipal oil and gas taxes during the last decade in Alberta, leaving local taxpayers to cover the lost revenue.

Also, the Alberta government won’t force oilsands companies to pay more to ensure sufficient money will be available to eventually clean up sites under changes to Alberta’s security-payments rules, according to documents obtained by The Globe and Mail.

Changes to the rules will also not alleviate the concerns of stakeholders who worry that a global shift away from fossil fuels could cause a downturn in the industry, further eroding the companies’ ability to pay.

Liabilities have skyrocketed by billions of dollars since 2010, according to data from the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER).

The Mine Financial Security Program (MFSP) is administered by the regulator using policy guidance from the provincial environment ministry. The AER collects financial security from oilsands and coal mine owners to ensure that the companies can cover the cost of cleaning up their messes, rather than foisting the bill onto taxpayers.

The Alberta government has been reviewing the MFSP since 2021, after a series of investigations by Alberta’s Auditor-General identified a ream of potential problems with its program.

One of the biggest issues was that the formula used to calculate the value of mines – thus, the security requirements their owners pay – was inconsistent with actual asset values. The formula also failed to take into account the impact of future price declines on the economic value of oil reserves, according to the audit.

Six years ago, the AER held $1.46 billion in security to cover the eventual cost of mine cleanup, compared with estimated reclamation liabilities of just over $28 billion.

New numbers released by the AER show it now holds about $1.71 billion in security, compared with estimated liabilities of $57.3 billion. CBC News, The Globe and Mail

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Ottawa announces final list of Chinese steel and aluminum products subject to 25-percent surtax

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced the final list of steel and aluminum products from China that will be subject to the 25-percent surtax, effective October 22, 2024.

This surtax will protect workers and businesses in Canada’s steel and aluminum sectors against China’s unfair trade policies and prevent trade diversion resulting from recent actions taken by Canadian trading partners, Finance Canada said.

Recent consultations with Canadian stakeholders confirmed that exceptional measures are required to address the extraordinary threat from Chinese producers, Finance Canada said. However, the government also heard concerns from certain stakeholders about challenges with adjusting supply chains before the measures enter into force.

To ensure Canadian industry has time to adjust supply chains, the government said it intends to implement a framework to consider requests for tariff relief.

Potential factors that may be included in the framework are situations of short supply, requiring additional time to switch to alternate sources of supply, certification requirements and other exceptional circumstances.

Further details on the remission order framework, including the application process and eligibility criteria for relief, will be released in advance of October 22. Requests for remission or inquiries on the remission process can be directed to remissions-remises@fin.gc.ca.

In addition to the steel and aluminum tariffs, the government confirmed the 100-percent surtax on all Chinese-made electric vehicles imported into Canada now applies to electric vehicles and certain hybrid passenger automobiles, trucks, buses and delivery vans.

Ottawa said it intends to review these measures within a period of one year from their entry into force. Current actions may be extended for a further period of time and supplemented by additional measures as appropriate, the government said. Finance Canada

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Ottawa taking steps to modernize Canadian Environmental Protection Act to protect Canadians from harmful substances

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Health Canada announced a framework to protect the right to a healthy environment through the modernization and administration of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA).

Ottawa said this series of initiatives protects all people in Canada, particularly communities who are disproportionately impacted by harmful substances. Over the coming months, the public will have the opportunity to have their say on several initiatives, including:

• A Draft Implementation Framework on the Right to a Healthy Environment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.
• A proposed Watch List Approach for substances of concern that have hazardous properties but are not currently defined as toxic.
• A proposed Plan of Priorities describing how the government will address chemical substances in Canada.
• A Draft Strategy to Replace, Reduce, or Refine Vertebrate Animal Testing.

The federal government said it is committed to implementing the best possible tools to protect the right to a healthy environment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, and to reinforcing the chemicals management regime.

The draft implementation framework proposes how the right to a healthy environment will be considered when administering the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.

The proposed Watch List Approach, Chemicals Plan of Priorities, and Vertebrate Animal Testing Strategy are three of the new key elements in support of the ongoing Chemicals Management Plan. There will also be more initiatives in 2025, including a forthcoming consultation on proposed regulations to define toxic substances of the highest risk.

These initiatives follow the release of the updated Draft State of PFAS Report, which proposes to identify the class of PFAS, excluding fluoropolymers, now entering or which may enter the environment, at levels that are or may be harmful to the environment and human health.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) comprise a large class of extremely persistent human-made substances found in everyday products like electronics, packaging and cosmetics.

On October 5, 2024, the 60-day public comment period began for the Draft Implementation Framework for the Right to a Healthy Environment under CEPA, the proposed Plan of Priorities, and the proposed Watch List Approach.

The Draft Strategy to Replace, Reduce or Refine Vertebrate Animal Testing is currently open for public comment, and input can be provided until November 13, 2024.

Meanwhile, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has written a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau threatening legal action if Ottawa doesn’t implement changes the Alberta government wants to the federal Impact Assessment Act.

Smith sent Trudeau a list of legislative amendments to the Act that she said are necessary to address Alberta’s concerns, including the need to:

• eliminate federal encroachment into provincial jurisdiction.
• recognize equivalency and the ability to fully substitute our provincial environment assessment for federal impact assessment.
• create certainty for industry and increase investor confidence by imposing concrete timelines and curbing ministerial discretion.
• emphasize that significant adverse effects within federal jurisdiction is the minimum threshold for federal involvement.
• streamline the process by scoping projects appropriately and placing some parameters on public involvement.
• focus the public interest decision-making process on significant adverse effects within federal jurisdiction and countervailing positive effects.

Environment Minister Stephen Guilbeault said in a statement that Smith’s move is “cynical,” given amendments to the Impact Assessment Act passed through Parliament months ago.

“It’s no coincidence that this arbitrary deadline comes at the same time she faces a leadership review and wants to look tough for the hardcore base within her party,” said Guilbeault’s statement.

Guilbeault said Smith’s government refused to participate in a co-operation agreement to help streamline and possibly substitute impact assessments. ECCC

THE GRAPEVINE – News about people, institutions and communities

Geoffrey Hinton, a University of Toronto professor emeritus of computer science, has won the 2024 Nobel Prize for Physics. Widely regarded as the “godfather of AI,” Hinton shared the prize with John J. Hopfield of Princeton University for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks. Hinton said he was “flabbergasted” at the honour. "I had no expectations of this. I am extremely surprised and I'm honoured to be included.” Hinton and Hopfield are credited with wielding tools from physics to advance basic research in the field. Specifically, Hopfield created an associative memory that can store and reconstruct images in data, while Hinton invented a way to find properties in data and perform tasks such as identifying specific elements in pictures. Hinton is the fourth researcher at U of T to win a Nobel Prize over the years. The Nobel prizes carry a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor (Cdn$1.44 million), which is shared between the winners if there is more than one person honoured. University of Toronto

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their discovery of microRNA, a fundamental principle governing how gene activity is regulated. The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute, which awarded the prize, said the duo's discovery is "proving to be fundamentally important" in understanding how organisms develop and function. MicroRNA have opened up scientists' approaches to treating diseases like cancer by helping to regulate how genes work at the cellular level. Ambrose performed the research at Harvard University that led to his prize. He is currently a professor of natural science at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Rackham's research was performed at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard Medical School, where he's a professor of genetics. CBC News

Mitacs announced Dr. Stephen Lucas as the innovation organization’s new chief executive officer. He is an accomplished leader with extensive public sector experience in economic, innovation, energy, environment and climate change, and health and social policy as well as federal-provincial-territorial relations. Lucas brings nearly four decades of experience within the federal government with him to Mitacs, having held key roles including deputy secretary of plans, consultations and intergovernmental affairs at the Privy Council Office, deputy minister of Environment and Climate Change and, from 2019 to 2024, deputy minister of Health Canada. At Health Canada, he led the federal government’s comprehensive health response to the COVID-19 pandemic with the Public Health Agency of Canada, in collaboration with federal, provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners, scientific experts, local health and community organizations and industry, including the largest vaccination campaign in Canada’s history. Mitacs

Nancy Déziel was appointed chair of the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) board of directors for a three-year term, effective September 20, 2024. Déziel has been working actively with the College Centres for the Transfer of Technologies for 30 years and was previously a council member with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. She began her career as a laboratory technician and advanced to roles such as quality lead, project lead, business development officer and, ultimately, director general at the National Center for Electrochemistry and Environmental Technologies. She also chaired the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Shawinigan from 2011 to 2013 and served as the vice-president of the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies from 2011 to 2019. She succeeds Dr. Ingrid Pickering, who served as CFI board chair for six years. Innovation, Science and Economic Development

Dr. Chelsea Gabel was appointed scientific director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Indigenous People’s Health for a four-year term, effective October 1, 2024. Gabel will play a lead role in advancing CIHR’s Indigenous health research agenda in collaboration with Indigenous partners and communities across Canada and internationally. During her term, the Institute will be based at McMaster University. Gabel is Red River Métis originally from Rivers, Manitoba, and a citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation. She is an associate professor in the Department of Health, Aging and Society and the Indigenous Studies Department at McMaster University and holds a Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Well-Being, Community Engagement, and Innovation. Gabel previously led the Indigenous Mentorship Network of Ontario and the Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research National Coordinating Centre. CIHR

Montreal-based alternative asset manager Power Sustainable appointed Bruce Heyman, a former Goldman Sachs partner and former U.S. ambassador to Canada from 2014 to 2017, as the company’s new CEO. Heyman is joining Olivier Desmarais and his team in order to accelerate growth, particularly in the U.S. market. Desmarais, who started Power Sustainable in 2019, will remain as chairman of the board. Heyman has served as a senior advisor to Desmarais and the Power Sustainable team since 2021, and has played a key role in shaping the company's strategy. Power Sustainable has $3.9 billion in assets under management (as of June 30, 2024). Power Sustainable

Halifax-based photography technology company Iris Booth named former Shopify director Brandon Ghaeli as Iris Booth’s CEO. Ghaeli is taking the reins from Iris Booth founder and CEO Sue Siri, who is stepping down after a decade at the helm. Siri will remain involved at the board level, where the photographer-turned-tech entrepreneur will continue to offer strategic guidance. Ghaeli, who has left Shopify, assumed leadership of Iris Booth on October 7. The leadership change comes shortly after Toronto-based Rundle Partners purchased a controlling stake in Iris Booth, which has built a profitable, growing business selling self-service photo booths and accompanying software to schools, companies and health care institutions. BetaKit

Toronto-based BMO appointed Kristin Milchanowski as its first chief artificial intelligence and data officer. Milchanowski will drive BMO's AI, data, analytics and robotics strategies and supporting technologies. Additionally, she will focus on data management and data governance across the organization. Milchanowski is a global AI executive with more than 20 years of experience, mostly in the financial sector. Most recently, she was a global innovation partner/principal at EY, focused on AI, high process computing and quantum technologies. BMO

Lauren Savoie was appointed the new president and CEO of Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC), effective November 1, 2024, by PTAC’s board of directors. Savoie will succeed Dr. Soheil Asgarpour, who announced his intention to retire earlier this year. Savoie is a dynamic, business-oriented leader with over 20 years of diverse experience across the oil and gas sector, encompassing upstream, midstream, oilsands mining, in situ, renewable energy and various technologies. Since 2017, Savoie has held several key roles at oilsands company Suncor. PTAC

Ontario Genomics and Loyalist College are offering an online four-course Fundamentals of Applied Research micro-credential program that can get businesses from the idea stage to the testing phase. This 10-week, 25-hour, go-at-your-own-pace course walks through the process of how businesses can connect with local college researchers, design, fund and deliver a project that tests the new product or technology they want to incorporate into their operations. The first course is now available. Ontario Genomics

The University of Ottawa is partnering with San Francisco-headquartered Cisco to provide engineering students with job-ready training for careers in IT and cybersecurity. Funded by Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration program, Cisco will integrate industry-recognized Cisco Certified Network Associate certification into uOttawa’s computer and software engineering curriculum. Cisco will also supply equipment to the university’s Cyber Range facility to support cyber-research initiatives. This partnership aims to help close Canada’s skills gap by strengthening ties between the public and private sectors and building a robust pipeline of IT and cybersecurity talent. uOttawa

Western University officially opened its Ronald D. Schmeichel Building for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, named in honour of a $10-million gift from Western law graduate and entrepreneur Ronald Schmeichel. The 100,000-square-foot facility houses what Western said is the largest maker space in Canada, which is open to students, staff, faculty and alumni. The new building features cutting-edge technologies, collaborative learning spaces and configurative seating. It is also Western’s first net-zero energy building. The new facility brings all of Western’s signature entrepreneurship programs under one roof, including the Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship, Powered by Ivey, and its range of incubators, accelerator programs and networks. Western

Queen’s University’s Smith School of Business has received a $1-million donation from alumnus Ian Friendly, a retired General Mills executive, to support women learners who are pursuing careers in artificial intelligence as well as faculty who are advancing Indigenous reconciliation. Half of this donation will establish the Ian R. Friendly Women in AI Graduate Scholarship, which will be awarded to women in Smith’s Master of Management in Artificial Intelligence program based on academic excellence. The remaining funds will support research, thought leadership and initiatives that enhance Indigenous contributions to economic reconciliation, with preference given to Indigenous faculty members. The two new awards follow on the heels of three others that Friendly and his wife Carol have established at Smith since 2008: the Ian and Carol Friendly Leadership Entrance Award; the Ian R. Friendly Marketing Scholarship; and the Ian R. Friendly Fellowship in Marketing. Queen’s University

Université de Sherbrooke unveiled the Pôle d’expertises en cybersécurité Intact, an interdisciplinary research hub focused on tackling the growing challenges associated with cyber threats. Led by scientific director Marc Frappier and supported by specialists from five USherbrooke facilities, the hub aims to build a strong defense against cyber threats through partnership-based research, interdisciplinary collaboration and training for the next generation of experts. The creation of the hub was made possible thanks to the financial contributions of key partners, including Intact Corporation Financière, Sherweb, and Loto-Québec, who together provided $4.2 million. USherbrooke

Western University’s Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS) launched its first research centre, the Starling Centre for Just Technologies and Just Societies. The Starling Centre’s mission is to educate and empower communities on the impacts of digital technologies. With four co-directors at the helm – FIMS professors Alissa Centivany, Alison Hearn, Joanna Redden and Luke Stark – the centre aims to integrate diverse perspectives and collaborative approaches to address the challenges posed by digital technologies. Redden said the team wants to see more debate on subjects such as artificial intelligence and its social and political implications. The name – inspired by the complex movements of starling flocks – symbolizes shifting dynamics, connections and protection. Western

University of Alberta (U of A) researchers have developed a new protective shirt geared to the needs of wildland firefighters. The prototype garment offers more protection than the current version commonly worn by workers who fight wildfires, said Elena Kosareva, who designed the shirt to earn a PhD in textile and apparel science from the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences. Currently, the upper half of the standard outfit consists of a thin cotton undershirt, which is then covered by the flame-resistant outer shirt. But because it’s not possible to maintain an evenly distributed air gap inside the clothing, there are always some areas of the body – the shoulders, front and back torso, neck and wrists – that are in direct contact with the garment fabrics, making these areas especially vulnerable to burns from the fire’s heat, Kosareva said. She designed her shirt, which is being patented, by adding to the yoke and sleeves a recently developed three-dimensional “spacer” fabric made of flame-resistant fibres. The fabric also contains relatively thick, compression-resistant yarn that connects the upper and bottom layers of the material and traps air, creating an artificial gap in the areas of the garment that are in direct contact with the skin. At the same time, the flame-resistant shirt also retains the lightweight, flexible and breathable qualities needed to help wildland firefighters do their job, said Dr. Jane Batcheller, PhD, who supervised Kosareva’s research and helped test the prototype as principal investigator of the U of A’s Protective Clothing and Equipment Research Facility. Lab tests showed that adding the 3D spacer fabric provided approximately three times more protection against thermal heat than the current garment used by wildland firefighters. U of A

Scientists have uncovered how space travel profoundly alters the gut microbiome, yielding insights that could shape future space missions. The study, led by a McGill University researcher in collaboration with University College Dublin, NASA’s GeneLab and an international consortium, offers the most detailed profile to date of how space travel affects gut microbes. Published in npj Biofilms and Microbiomes, the study used advanced genetic technologies to examine changes in the gut microbiome, colons and livers of mice aboard the International Space Station over three months. The findings reveal significant shifts in certain gut bacteria that correspond to changes in the mice's liver and intestinal genes, suggesting that spaceflight might suppress the immune system and alter metabolism. This marks a breakthrough in understanding how space missions could affect astronauts' health on long trips, the researchers said. “Spaceflight extensively alters astronauts' bodies, yet we still don't fully understand why. By using advanced techniques to study both gut bacteria and genes at the same time, we're beginning to see patterns that could explain those changes and help us develop safeguards for future missions,” said study lead author Emmanuel Gonzalez, who leads microbiome bioinformatics at the McGill Centre for Microbiome Research and the Canadian Centre for Computational Genomics. The study is part of the Nature Portfolio package, The Second Space Age: Omics, Platforms, and Medicine across Space Orbits, marking the largest coordinated release of space biology discoveries in history. McGill University

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