Organization: Government of Canada

The Short Report – Jan 13, 2021: Vivek Goel and Gina Cody receive Order of Canada appointments, VIDO’s COVID clinical trials to start in Halifax, a new Canada Research Chair, and more

Joanne Weber has been named the first Canada Research Chair in Deaf Education, François-Philippe Champagne replaces Navdeep Bains as Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, the Canadian Space Agency opens a competition to foster innovative food technology production, and Vancouver is the latest city to benefit from the federal government’s LC3 initiative.

Canada’s deep-sea science imperiled by outdated research ships, say scientists

Canadian scientists are no longer able to do cutting-edge deep-sea research off Canada’s coasts because of outdated and unreliable research vessels, say co-chairs of the National Research Vessel Task Team. As a stop-gap measure, the group is proposing the development of modular ocean research infrastructure (MORI) that could be deployed on industry ships and other non-specialized vessels.

The Short Report – Jan 6, 2021: National Research Council has a new president, drones deliver PPE to remote communities, a hydrogen strategy for Canada, and more

NAIT researchers are collecting and analyzing microplastics in a first-of-its-kind study, Tim Hockey has been recruited to lead digital transformation in Ontario for the next three years, Dr. Ted Hewitt is reappointed president of SSHRC, and the IRPP calls for a roadmap to link training opportunities to skills and jobs.

Canada’s first patent collective launched with defensive “war chest” to protect Canadian IP

Canada has launched its first patent collective to help data-driven clean tech companies understand, generate and strategically use intellectual property in scaling up. The Innovation Asset Collective, backed by $30 million in federal funding, includes a defensive “war chest” to help Canadian SMEs defend their patents in an often predatory global IP marketplace.

The Short Report – Dec. 9, 2020: New funding for pandemic preparedness in LTC homes; a first-of-its-kind biofuel plant for Quebec, and more

Michael Sabia is the new deputy minister of Finance; a consortium of food-based businesses will test new applications for pulse flours; British-based Hg Capital will spend $1.1 billion to assume majority control of Calgary-based Benevity; Canada’s top 50 research universities posted a combined research income of $8 billion in fiscal 2019.