The CCI Newsletter: February 2024

This edition of The CCI Newsletter was originally shared with CCI’s subscriber community on February 1, 2024. To receive our monthly briefing on the scale-ups shaping Canada’s future, the policies that matter, and insights you won’t find anywhere else—subscribe here.

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Dear Innovator,

When CCI was founded just over 8 years ago, talking about reorienting Canada's economic policies to support homegrown innovators felt like a bit of a lonely pursuit.

Today, the Council of Canadian Innovators has 150 member companies across Canada, bureaus in B.C., Alberta, Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal and St. John's, hundreds of professionals in our iGP alumni network, and marquee national and regional events to look forward to that bring innovators, policy makers, and thought leaders together throughout the year.

No matter how long you've been a subscriber to our newsletter, thank you for being with us on this journey. We feel privileged to connect with thousands of individuals like yourself who are passionate about Canada's long-term prosperity and care deeply about the continued growth of Canada's knowledge-based and data-driven economy.

In addition to this new monthly digest, we look forward to continuing to share our Info Alerts and Mooseworks pieces to keep you sharp and informed, as well as invitations to special events and webinars we host for the ecosystem.

In 2024, you're going to be hearing from us regularly, because there's a lot happening.

Speak soon,

Benjamin Bergen

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Benjamin Bergen is the President of the Council of Canadian Innovators, a national member-based organization reshaping how governments across Canada think about innovation policy, and supporting homegrown scale-ups to drive prosperity. If you are interested in learning more about the Council or joining our cause, get in touch.

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INNOVATION UPDATES

Yesterday the federal government formally announced a public consultation process for reforming the Scientific Research & Experimental Development tax credit. Public consultations will run until April 15.

We've been talking about SR&ED since the day we were founded, because it's such a key feature of the innovation policy landscape in Canada. We've spoken extensively over the years about ways the government can modernize SR&ED for the 21st century (including here, here, and here), and earlier this week we floated some fresh ideas in Mooseworks.

And get ready to hear even more from us in the weeks ahead!

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In January we also learned that the Department of Defence is looking to abandon Innovative Solutions Canada, a program designed to encourage federal agencies to buy technology from small- and medium-sized Canadian suppliers, according to a report in The Logic. CCI's Federal Director Nick Schiavo explained on LinkedIn why this is a really bad move.

At CCI we've been calling 2024 the Year of Procurement Reform because we think there's an enormous opportunity for the government to support innovative Canadian companies and drive growth.

We'll have a lot more to say about government procurement really soon!

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The Alberta government unveiled a new Data Ethics and Privacy Managment policy for the public service, with larger plans to implement clearer rules for data privacy across the province in the months ahead.

Here's what CCI's Prairies Director Jess Sinclair had to say: "Clear and robust regulatory structures create certainty for innovators operating in the province while also giving Albertans peace of mind that their privacy is being adequately protected."

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On the move: Peter Cowan has been named the new CEO of InnovateBC. Previously, Peter served as CEO of IP Ontario, and is a co-founder of the Innovation Asset Collective.

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ICYMI: The federal government has promised to finally move to enact open banking in 2024. We have some ideas about how to make it a success.

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THE BIG READ

Who's to blame for Canada's low productivity? Depends on how up-to-date your thinking is when it comes to the global economy driven by intangibles like intellectual property and data.

In January, CCI's Chair Jim Balsillie dispelled the myth that Canadian entrepreneurs are at fault for Canada's lagging productivity challenges by pointing out how outdated policy thinking about R&D in 2024 is the real culprit.

In an in-depth essay published in the National Post, Jim looks at how intellectual property and freedom-to-operate are fundamentally shaping Canadian investment decisions. He asserts that in the new knowledge-based economy, productivity gains do not result from purchasing value-added technology from others. Instead, these gains arise from the creation and, significantly, ownership of valuable IP that generates new and high-margin revenues.  

Understanding the role that intangible assets and freedom-to-operate play in the global innovation economy is pivotal to steering Canada toward better outcomes.

Read the full piece here, and share it widely.

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THE BIG DEAL

One reason why we are so passionate about government procurement as a lever to drive economic growth is that we can see how potent it is when it works. It allows firms to scale-up operations, and it validates the high quality of their products in the marketplace.

That's why we were so pleased to see Thornhill Medical awarded a $356-million U.S. defence supply dealfor their portable life-support systems.

CEO Lesley Gouldie and her team at Thornhill have been doing incredible work, including supplying equipment to support medical professionals in Ukraine. To learn more about their "ICU-in-a-box" check out this interview Lesley did with CCI President Benjamin Bergen.

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SCALE-UPS TO WATCH

Each month, we look forward to showcasing some of the leaders and high-growth firms we're proud to work with and support in their rapid growth.

In January, we spent some time with Vladimir Kovacevic, the CEO of Burnaby, B.C.-based Inovatec, a leader in lending software for the automotive and power sports sectors. In conversation with CCI President Benjamin Bergen as part of our 5 Questions series, Vladimir discussed how his fintech company has grown and some of the opportunities they see on the horizon in Canada and beyond.

We also welcomed new members into our roster of Canadian scale-up superstars:

• Knak, led by CEO Pierce Ujjainwala, is an Ottawa-based company that operates a platform for creating high performing, on-brand email and landing pages, without code, and within minutes vs the weeks it currently takes them.
  
  
• FutureFit, led by CEO Hamoon Ekhtiari, is a Toronto-based company that builds an AI-powered tool helping workers navigate career transitions, reskilling and job placement.

In the news this month, these headlines caught our attention:  

Canvass AI launched an Octane Target Optimization Solution for Oil Refiners

• PointClickCare acquired American Healthtech, a provider of electronic health record (EHR) solutions to the post-acute care market.
• Miovision acquired CJ Hensch & Associates, a Texas corporation specializing in traffic data collection and engineering studies.
• Cloud DX secured a new large contract for remote care monitoring in Ontario
• Plurilock secured two new contracts for cybersecurity services protecting U.S. hospital and library systems.

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DISPATCHES

With boots on the ground across Canada, CCI has a unique vantage point into the challenges facing innovators in all regions of our country, and how governments are meeting the moment. For our first dispatch, however, we go across the Atlantic to Europe for lessons we can all benefit from here at home.

In the dynamic landscape of the Baltic Region, a compelling wave of innovation is reshaping the economic trajectory through a strategic fusion of technology, public-private collaboration, and entrepreneurial spirit (writes CCI's Skaidra Puodziunas). Governments, businesses, and academic institutions across Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are fostering a vibrant ecosystem propelling the tech sector to new heights - offering much for Canadian governments to learn. Read more here.

Happy reading!