Speech

From the Prime Minister's Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)

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PM announces investment in Alberta's high-tech sector

October 8, 2010
Edmonton, Alberta

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Thank you, everybody. Thank you, Lynne Yelich, for your kind introduction, and also just on behalf of us all, I want to thank you for your outstanding work as the Minister of Western Diversification, where you have been playing a leading role in rolling out our Economic Action Plan to stimulate jobs and economic activity, and of course diversification here in western Canada. So thank you for that important work.

I want to thank Minister Ambrose as well, the Minister responsible for Northern Alberta who's worked with Lynne in development of projects. I want to welcome my colleagues who are here today, James Rajotte, Tim Uppal, as well as our MC, Mike Lake, MP for Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont, which includes the Edmonton Research Park where we're gathered today.

I also want to thank Ken Brizel and all of his colleagues here at the Alberta Centre for Advanced Microsystems and Nanotechnology Products for your hospitality and for hosting us here today. And thank you, everyone, for attending this important announcement regarding commercialization of some of the most exciting new technologies being developed in Canada, or indeed anywhere.

You know, Canadians are often referred to as "hewers of wood and drawers of water." It isn't usually meant as a compliment, but the truth is, it should be. When it comes to developing our natural resources in a responsible, sustainable, and commercially successful way, we have a great deal to be proud of.

For more than a hundred years, forestry, hydro power, agriculture, mining, energy and other primary industries have powered Canada's rapid economic growth and rising living standards. That alone is a huge success story.

But these industries did something other than exercise the muscles of those who work the land. Something critical to our continued prosperity and long-term quality of life. They challenged our minds. They inspired and financed the rise of our advanced manufacturing and high technology sectors.

In other words, the demands they created challenged Canadians to find ways of hewing wood more efficiently and drawing water more profitably, and none have done it better than Albertans.

As the great Alberta Premier Ernest C. Manning once put it, in his quote, "Albertans are people who dream of changing the world from their tractor seats."

They still do. But increasingly, they dream of changing the world also from their university and corporate science labs and from technology innovation centres like this, the Edmonton Research Park.

Indeed, good things are happening here in Edmonton. Great people are working in the IT sector and have made names for themselves at home and abroad.

It was work done here that was vital for transforming the oil sands from nature's biggest unusable oil spill into one of the world's largest and most secure sources of energy.

Likewise, the city's medical and biotech community has earned international fame with its many important breakthroughs.

And the University of Alberta is home to a legion of scientific pathfinders, including the outstanding term of researchers at the National Institute of Nanotechnology.

But coming up with brilliant ideas is only half the battle. You can build a better mousetrap. However, it is only if someone buys it that it will actually catch any mice. And that's what brings me here today and why we are here today.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are committed to helping Canadian businesses, innovators and scientists commercialize their ideas as quickly as possible, and therefore very pleased to announce that our government is today providing further support for the Alberta Centre for Advanced Microsystems and Nanotechnology Products.

Specifically, this support is to help western micro- and nanotechnology firms market their exciting new products in rapidly emerging markets.

Hear me on this: reaching the market is the end goal. This government will not let Canadian innovative ideas languish on the blackboard.

Now, I'm not going to get too deep into the science here, because it's not my area of expertise. My area of expertise is the dismal science, not the science of microtechnology.

But I can tell you that microsystems and nanotechnology make possible products that are smaller, faster, stronger and less expensive than ever before. I can also tell you that the worldwide market for products incorporating these technologies is expected to exceed $3 trillion in just five years. This is a fantastic opportunity, and we are determined that Alberta and Canada will lead the way.

The team here at ACAMP assist close to 60 local micro- and nanotechnology companies. Today's investment, the third in the centre since our government came to office, will allow ACAMP to acquire important new equipment. ACAMP will also be able to expand its commercialization activities. These are focused on geomatic products, laser product assembly and micro-fluidic devices.

But micro- and nanotechnology has applications in just about every field that you can think of. As I learned in a hands-on demonstration of a micro-fluidic medical device a few minutes ago, it can enable diagnosis to occur instantly in a doctor's office, eliminating the need for expensive, time consuming lab work. That's good for the economy, but more important, innovations like this will make life easier for people who have health problems.

Here in the west, scientists and manufacturers tend to focus on micro- and nanotechnology applications that serve our traditional industries, including energy, agriculture, forestry and environmental protection. This Micralyne manufacturing facility where we've gathered today is a perfect example. In collaboration with ACAMP, Micralyne produces micro machine products that make seismic imaging of oil and gas reservoirs faster, cheaper and more efficient.

Boreal Laser, another ACAMP client, makes laser-based gas detectors that ensure worker safety and environmental protection.

Ladies and gentlemen, the bottom line is this: companies and countries that continue to do things in old ways, without investing in technological innovation and commercialization, will not survive. Because we are making those investments in developing and commercializing technologies, we will ensure that Canada leads the way and is the world's cleanest, greenest and most efficient producer of natural resources.

Ladies and gentlemen, Canadians should be very proud of the fact that during the worst global recession in half a century, our country has significantly outperformed its peers. Among major advanced economies, we were the last in, least affected, and we are coming out the fastest and strongest.

We kept Canadians working with stimulus projects that are effectively rejuvenating our national economic infrastructure in the long term. Our economy has now created more jobs than were lost during the downturn, and we have the lowest deficit and debt burden among the major industrialized economies by far.

The global recovery remains fragile, but we will not lose our focus on the future.

And I want to thank everyone here who is contributing to technological innovation and commercialization. It makes Canada's future look very bright, indeed. So keep up the good work.

Thank you.

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The Prime Minister's Office - Communications
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