Ontario's Innovation Plan - Inventing Its Future

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By Tonya Costoff

Ontario’s future is a topic of much discussion lately. It seems to be a time of change as the province looks to make itself known on the world-stage in different arenas. Biotechnology is taking a big step forward in this regard, as the government realizes the opportunities it offers to the future.

Premier Dalton McGuinty created the Ministry of Research and Innovation (MRI) in 2005 as the government’s commitment to innovate and act as the driver of growth across all sectors of the economy. The MRI’s mandate is to: develop an integrated innovation strategy and guide its delivery; invest in both policies and programs to deliver on the innovation strategy; and foster a culture of innovation and showcase Ontario’s innovative culture, nationally and internationally. Since its inception, the ministry has been doing just that.

Biotechnology Focus spoke with the Honourable John Wilkinson, Minister of Research and Innovation, about what the MRI has been up to in the last three years and what its plans are for the future. As far as Wilkinson is concerned, it looks like Ontario has a very exciting future ahead of it and it is most definitely changing with the times.

“The future is key right now, we are at a crossroads. The future is something you can fear, or it’s something you can embrace,” explains Wilkinson. There are many parts of Ontario’s economy that are changing and struggling right now, in large part due to the rising dollar. Wilkinson believes this is a chance for the province to make that change a positive for Ontario. It is for that exact reason in fact that the MRI was first formed, taking these changes and making it a positive for Ontario.

Since the Ontario government took office four and a half years ago, the Chinese economy has grown by 50%, the TSX Composite Index has nearly doubled and green energy has gone mainstream with Ontario moving from last place to one of the leading wind power jurisdictions in Canada. Since 2002, the Canadian dollar has risen nearly 60%, which could be the largest factor of change in the whole mix.

Wilkinson believes this is Ontario’s chance to make a choice. It can continue to do what it has in the past and hope it can hold on to its prosperity or it can lead the way. It has chosen to lead the way.

“Our government believes that the best way to do that is not to stand in the way of global change, but to find a way to make change positive for Ontario. Rather than simply react to change, we believe we can be a catalyst, to help drive change,” said Wilkinson in a speech recently given at the Economic Club of Toronto.

Ontario has been a place with a distinguished history of innovation and big ideas, but Wilkinson believes it’s time for the province to go far beyond simply being a place where innovation happens. “We must become a place where innovation is inevitable,” he states.

Just how does the Ontario Government plan to do this? It plans to pave Ontario’s future through its Five Point Economic Plan. This plan consists of: cutting corporate business taxes; making the largest investment ever in Ontario’s infrastructure, $60 billion over 10 years; investing in Ontario’s people; partnering with businesses in key sectors and making strategic partnerships with industry; and innovation, through the Ontario Innovation Agenda.

The Ontario Innovation Agenda acts as the glue that holds everything together and is the key driver of the five point plan. It reflects the government’s commitment to healthcare, the environment and the economy. “It reflects what innovators and business leaders across the province told us we must do to create a culture of innovation that will permeate our province,” Wilkinson told the Toronto Economic Club.

Supported by close to $3 billion in spending over eight years and a focus on seizing global opportunities, the agenda builds on the strength of Ontario’s creative environment, diverse culture, highly skilled workforce, world-class educational system and internationally recognized research community. The agenda recognizes that “successful innovation depends on people with the right talent, training and attitudes, working quickly in a culture of commerce.”

Ontario’s Innovation Agenda consists of a few key elements, which are:
Extracting value from excellence.

The agenda builds on an ongoing commitment to excellence in world-class, peer-reviewed, basic and applied research. Attention will also focus on extracting value from investments in public research through commercialization.

Focusing investment in global opportunities.

Through government programs like the Next Generation of Jobs Fund, the agenda supports industry-academia partnership investments in areas where Ontario is, or will be identified as a global leader. Initial areas of focus include the bio-economy and clean technologies, advanced health technologies, pharmaceutical research and manufacturing, digital media and information and communications technologies.

Leveraging skills and knowledge. Ontario is placing an emphasis on commerce skills, which are critical to innovation. This emphasis is being felt through the entire post-secondary educational system, with a focus on providing these skills across disciplines – including the sciences, technology, the humanities and the arts.

A business-friendly climate.

The agenda is committed to continuous improvement in the business climate. This includes helping innovative companies gain access to capital at every stage of its growth.

Ontario’s government: catalyst for change.

The innovation agenda’s goal is to align all provincial activities with the needs of an innovative culture and economy. The agenda is acting on the need to work at the speed of business with programs that are focused, streamlined and easy to understand and access. The agenda is ensuring that innovation-related programs and activities extract value and create measurable benefits for people.

“We have to extract value from our research excellence,” stresses Wilkinson. He believes that the government needs to do a better job of this in order to make things work. “Ontario is home to world-class talent and research . . . but now we need to go even further. We need to partner with innovative companies to make sure research excellence and great ideas are translated into thriving businesses and new jobs.”

The government plans to focus on sectors where Ontario has the research and business capabilities to not only compete but to “dominate the world market”. Its priorities are: to conquer disease through the life sciences, biotechnology, pharmaceutical research and advances in medical devices; advancing/expanding the digital universe through new media and cutting edge communications technology; and sustaining humanity through bio-based, environmental and alternative energy technologies.

The agenda is in place, the priorities are set so the next step is action, which the government is showing through such things as its $1.15 billion Next Generation of Jobs Fund. This fund, which was launched in January, comes with a 45 day guarantee that a decision will be reached. In fact, there has already been one successful application.

Sanofi pasteur submitted an application, which was reviewed and approved and it signed a term sheet in under 45 days. The results were: a $100 million expansion, 300 construction jobs, 900 existing R&D jobs, 30 new ones and a commitment for over half a billion dollars in R&D investment over the next five years.

Another key area for Ontario is in cancer research.

“We can take the incurable, to curable to preventable,” says Wilkinson.

Wilkinson shared some sobering statistics with the Economic Club of Toronto, stating that according to the World Health Organization, deaths from cancer are on the rise globally. Worldwide they estimate nine million people per year will die in 2014, rising to 11.4 million people in 2030. The world is desperately searching for a solution.

Ontario has a reputation for global research excellence in biomedical life sciences. The province employs 10,000 scientists and researchers who conduct $850 million in research annually. Ontario is now the fourth largest biomedical research centre in North America. In 2005, Ontario created the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, led by Dr. Tom Hudson and now the province is in the midst of a five year $347 million commitment to OICR. In fact, OICR is now hosting the secretariat for the International Cancer Genome Consortium and has pledged $30 million towards this immense global project. As well, Ontario will serve as the global data centre, creating the largest health informatics database in history. Ontario, through the MRI, has allocated $10 million to OICR to meet this challenge.

“We’re building Ontario’s economic future on our research strengths and our people,” says Wilkinson. “Moving forward, our mandate is to implement this agenda.”