Throughout our ride we have been showcasing communities who are adopting smart and sustainable programs to enhance community economic development.  So far we’ve looked at Hantsport, Stratford, and the region of southwestern Ontario.  Well as we ride through the west coast, St. Albert, Alberta continues this trend.  Mayor Nolan Crouse and their City Manager, Patrick Drapes, recently announced smart and sustainable initiatives to improve economic development in the areas.

Mayor Crouse, and Drapes noted, “For St. Albert, the focus will be based on the Smart City principles expanded to serve as a springboard for regional and provincial growth, while reducing our environmental footprint.”

Investment in ICT infrastructure as the platform to achieve their goals has become an priority .  Improve communications technologies will enable connectivity for the businesses and residents,  improve traffic flow infrastructure, and allow for the creation of one unified improvement plan.

It’s an impressive project for a city of 60,000, who is remarkably forward thinking in terms of developing its future local economy on efficiency, integration, and sustainability!  What we’ve noticed across Canada is how eager smaller and mid-sized communities are to invest in smart infrastructure.  In many ways, the efficiencies created through smart programs save communities with smaller tax revenues a lot of money.

This year, Ontario Centres of Excellence Discovery was pleased to host a competition targeted towards Ontario’s high school aged innovators. Young Entrepreneurs, Make Your Pitch is an entrepreneurship competition for Ontario high school students presented by the Ministry of Economic Development Trade and Employment and its partners.

Eighteen finalists were chosen through a combination of public and expert voting based on a two-minute video laying out their business idea submitted online. These 18 finalists pitched their ideas in front of a live audience and a judging panel comprised of young, influential entrepreneurs at Discovery.

Leading up to Discovery, these young entrepreneurs received invaluable business advice through pitch workshops and also benefited from the opportunity to participate in all that Discovery had to offer.

The six (6) winners of this competition won a reserved spot in Summer Company, the Province’s flagship youth entrepreneurship program. Through this program  they’ll receive business training and support to turn their business idea into a reality.

Preparing to arrive in Edmonton we had the opportunity learn a bit more about Alberta’s Capital.  As the 5th largest metropolitan area in Canada, the city of Edmonton has been implimenting innovative and sustainable urban planning development since the early 1970s, and recently integrated “smart” city planning. Using both rods and rails, Edmonton’s city planning is focused on connecting Edmontonians through digital and transit infrastructure

Chris Moore, the Chief Information Officer of the City of Edmonton, is featured in this video speaking about some of the innovative ways that senior management and officials in the city connect and utilize digital media.  Edmonton city officials understand the need for residents, visitors, and businesses to stay connected on a consistent basis, both socially and professionally.

leveraging ICT for sustainable economic development and community engagement makes sense for long-terms urban planning.  The city of Edmonton noted that  it is more and more common for citizens to have multiple hand held devices. With a goal of “fostering innovation any place, any time, on any device” city officials asked how they could leverage that fact and develop integrated, sustainable and smart city planning.  IBM published some key recommendations in partnership with the City of Edmonton on how to increase their presence as a “Smarter City” when it comes to urban traffic flow and safety, which is very interested when it comes to the physical infrastructure, like transit, needed to enable productivity.

Aside from being an early adopter of open and smart city management, Edmonton was the first North American metropolitan with a population under one millon to build a light intra-city light rail system.   The construction of their system began in the early 1970s and serves as a key platform for sustainable urban growth.  City officials have noted that supporting LRT and public transit will help reduce traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions, increase transit ridership, deliver direct economic benefits to the community  by providing residents with a lower-cost transportation alternative, and create jobs both during and after construction.  Investment in Edmonton’s LRT continues with a recent $250 million investment in expansion.

Communities across the country are initiating their strategies and focus on following “Smart City Principles” to set the future of economic growth and make an impact on not only their provinces, but on the country as a whole. Smart city principles consider how we connect citizens to one another locally and globally.  The Canadian Pacific Railway into Alberta in 1885 provided a tremendous boost to Edmonton’s economy at the beginning of the 20th century

Intronix Technologies is a Canadian medical device company that designs and produces medical devices applied in the diagnosis and management of pain, spasticity, neuropathy and myofascial pathology. Intronix President, Dr. Evan Friedman says that they have been manufacturing medical devices for neuroscience and spasticity research since 1984. Classed in the Biomedical Engineering R&D/Manufacturing sector, Intronix ‘reformatted’ in 2007 to create its own products for the Neurology and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation space.

Intronix not only holds ISO 9001 & ISO 13485 certification, it is TUV and US FDA compliant.  It’s a small lean company. The dedicated team of four staff  complement each other. And together they  pack a mean punch with significant distribution in over 10 countries.

Intronix has been entirely self-funded.

The company has  reached an interesting point in its corporate development.  It has now developed, manufactured, and commercialized its first medical device. Friedman says” he has  built processes that allow us to initiate creative work that will lead to subsequent products being commercialized within a shorter time frame” . Recognition, validation, and funding by the granting agencies now allows acceleration of the entire process.

Higher burn rates due to increased research and development, and increased marketing efforts made finding funding sources important for Evan Friedman.  He started attending seminars at innovation centres many years ago and continues receiving entrepreneur support from  ventureLAB. Area networking opportunities at the innovation centers led them to funding agencies via the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade & Employment and  the Ministry of Research & Innovation. “These seminars are a fine opportunity to learn about aspects of business development, network, and learn about government programs”. He highly recommends regular contact with these centers to keep up to date on what is being offered. “It has been  enormously helpful”.

“Myoguide” launched in Canada and Europe  two years ago.

Intronix’s  first name-brand product “Myoguide” was launched in Canada and Europe almost two years ago.  The company entered the US market last year.

This is my first experience traveling through the prairies (incredibly flat) terrain and this trip is making me appreciate the diversity in land and population that exists in Canada more and more.

I have a friend who loves to make the joke that if you live in Saskatchewan, you can watch your dog run away for 2-3 days. I think that’s hilarious to think about, but I can truly appreciate the humour now that I’ve seen it for myself.

Increasingly, I’ve heard more and more stories about innovation and technology clusters building steam in the prairies.  Cisco sees the potential in the Prairie Provinces as well, investing in University Research Chairs at the both the University of Regina with a focus on understanding and changing the landscape when it comes to e-governance, and the University of Saskatchewan where a focus on mining productivity and efficiency will be the focus. The motivation to participate with organizations like the Canadian Digital Media Network (CDMN) on how to support and enable Canada’s emerging digital economy shows a great deal of commitment. This initiative is in response to recent disappointing results comparing Canada’s productivity to the rest of the G7 Nations.

TRTech is an organization that supports the prairie provinces of Western Canada and they are also a part of the CDMN network. They were established in 1986 and have lab and facility presence to support entrepreneurs and economic development in Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, and Calgary.

Continued investment into building strong research, innovation, and technology development clusters in various regions across the Prairie Provinces is essential in the fight to keep Canada’s economy on the relevant and moving towards the forefront of the global competitive landscape.

The connectivity infrastructure barrieres are felt here in providing reliable high speed access because of the geographic spread between cities and communities, but the potential impact of connecting these communities with the rest of Canada is massive.  To address this concern in Manitoba, MTS, Manitoba’s leading telecommunications provider, announced that as part of its overall 2013 network spending program, more than $40 million will be invested in upgrades and enhancements in its rural telecommunications infrastructure. This investment will bring ICT advancements to rural areas of the province.

If all these geographic and diverse areas of Canada were to work towards seamless connectivity, and collaboration, imagine what we could accomplish as a nation in this increasingly competitive and turbulent global economy.

  
What is the CTA @ NYC?

The CTA @ NYC is a unique 3-month program that offers resources to accelerate a start-up’s integration into the New York market and fast-track global growth.

The program runs a competitive application process to identify cohorts of six (6) start-ups on a quarterly basis.

• 3-month communal membership at General Assembly
• Orientation program with access to mentors & business contacts (Sept 4-6)
• Mid-term program with Demo Day (Oct TBD)

How do I apply?

Please complete the online form. Deadline: Thursday, July 4 at midnight\

Graduated Clients

Miramar Design Studio

“The IC Incubator has provided Miramar Design Studio with a professional work environment conducive to expanding its business. Access to work space, meeting rooms and equipment provides an opportunity to build credibility and attract new clients. The incubator also provides staff resources that assist in networking, professional development and lead generation. MDS has been available to grow its client base at a faster rate by utilizing a combination of the services provided by the incubator. MDS has made contacts with key IT professionals and continues to benefit from the assistance offered to expand its human and capital resources.” – Steve Morassut, MDS

Current Clients

Pod Generating Group

Pod Generating Group is a developer of utilityscale solar power generating facilities and recently announced their first two Standard Offer Contracts with the Ontario Power Authority (OPA). The two planned 10 megawatt (MW) solar projects represent an investment of approximately $100 million dollars and will be located in the city of Sault Ste. Marie and connected to local utility PUC Distribution.One of Canada’s leading independent utility-scale solar power generators, Pod Generating Group is dedicated to working with local communities to develop clean and renewable power for all Ontarians.

Wasatch Wind

Wasatch Wind Ltd. (WWL), is a developer and technology provider of the Space Frame Wind Tower, the Gin Pole and Hi-Jack Lifting System, which are components that make wind power generation possible. WWL is focused on developing wind energy projects under Ontario’s Standard Offer program and their technology allows them to locate towers at locations that are considered remote or with challenging terrain.

Muzyka’s career is distinguished by achievements in both corporate and entrepreneurial dimensions of information and communications technology. It began in the mid-eighties at Xerox Canada where he held progressive sales and marketing functions. On leaving Xerox in 1998, he co-founded Optus Corporation, transforming a small printing and transaction processing business into a pioneer in the one-to-one customer communications. Optus was acquired by Symcor in 2000 and Muzyka became Senior Vice-President, Sales and Marketing in the Customer Communications Division. From Symcor, he served as the President of Mobile Computing Corporation where he successfully restructured the business to attract new investors. He returned to Xerox Canada in his current position in 2008. He is responsible for all aspects of the Xerox Services business in Canada and was instrumental in establishing the company as the leader in the Canadian document outsourcing market.

Apart from his strong credentials as an ICT executive, Muzyka is also a community builder and a vigorous champion of diversity in the ICT industry. He serves as the executive champion for women at Xerox Canada and is a member of the board of Canadian Women in Communications. “Jim joined the ITAC Board of Directors shortly after I did in 2008,” Jen Evans said. “At the time, I was the only female director on the Board. At his very first meeting Jim challenged us all on this and proceeded over the next two years to demonstrate that creating more diverse organizations is simply a matter of will. Today women comprise 30% of the ITAC Board and diversity is a central priority for the association – all due to Jim’s leadership.”

Karna Gupta, ITAC’s President and CEO also endorsed Muzyka’s leadership. “When I arrived at ITAC, Jim Muzyka was our treasurer and already recognized as a leader in our association.  ITAC faced a very challenging opportunity in 2012 as we brought the world to Canada with WCIT – the World Congress on Information Technology – in Montreal last October,” he said. “It was a large project that demanded a great deal of our Board and Executive Committee. Jim was a steadying influence throughout that project. He is a great asset to the ITAC community and I am looking forward to working even more closely with him in his role as Chair.”

Traveling across the Canadian Shield in Northern Ontario is a whole new experience. The terrain is beautiful and the sheer size is rather amazing. Northern Ontario constitutes 87% of the land mass of Ontario but has approximately 8% of the population on the province.

In context, Northern Ontario is about 802,000 square kilometers in size, whereas Germany is about 357,000 square kilometers. This means you could fit more than 2 Germanys into Northern Ontario alone. An estimate of Germany’s population however is about 82 million people. Northern Ontario? Just about 750,000! Northern Ontario is over 2 times the size of Germany with less than 1% the population!

As we’re here to look through the lens on connectivity and the need to inspire a digital economy to grow with investment into technology and physical infrastructure, let’s take a moment to think about some of the connotations associated with this geographic spread and sparse population. There are very real challenges associated with such a vastly spread out population. Getting everyone highspeed internet in itself is a huge effort and an expensive one.

The virtualization of support networks and access to government programming is essential in this area. High quality and inclusive connection to the internet for all is a long road.

There are some organizations doing excellent work in bridging and working towards solving these issues however. CDMN has three incredibly hard working hubs in Northern Ontario built to push initiatives in economic development and startup support forward every day: NORCAT (Sudbury), the Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre (Thunder Bay), and the programs at the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre are all definitely worth looking into if you are in the region and looking to connect with mentors and other like-minded entrepreneurs and industry partners. If you’re in other areas of the country and want to learn more about how they have started to overcome these challenges associated with virtual incubation and connecting various spread out communities, the management of these organizations are highly supportive and are always willing to chat.

The digital divide still exists in Canada and Northern Ontario is an area that can and will benefit from more investment into the infrastructure that enables the digital economy. Prominent industries like mining, forestry, and other resource-based industries provide a huge opportunity for digital entrepreneurs to create workflow and monitoring tools to increase efficiency and decrease environmental impact within these areas. The sheer size also open up massive opportunities for research and clean energy initiatives like solar, wind and other technologies that can benefit Canada as a whole as well.

Finding new ways to connect entrepreneurs and industry partners to this rich landscape can have a massive impact and continued support for this region is definitely a great step towards growth and improvement.

Global Hydration was started in 2001 and up until recently was primarily involved with R & D and product development revolving around portable water treatment systems. After years in design, Global Hydration released the patent pending Can Pure™ Water Purification System (WPS) in 2005.

Global Hydration is owned and operated by two brothers,Andrew and Ian Moorey. Andrew is a Deans List graduate of Confederation College’s Entrepreneurship Program and Ian has successfully completed the Jacques Whitford Training Institute (JWTI) Small Drinking Water Systems Course – Federal Version.

Located in Kakabeka Falls, Ontario.Global Hydration quickly grew as it developed the Can Pure™ WPS product line to include multiple models of highly portable water treatment systems for emergency preparedness, disaster relief, humanitarian aid, military applications and remote regions.

The Can Pure™ WPS has been successfully used by the OPP Provincial Emergency Response Team since 2005 and is expected to become standard equipment of CANTF-3 / Toronto HUSAR in late 2007 and CANTF-1 / Vancouver USAR in 2008.

CEO, Andrew Moorey talks about the” 3 key requirements for success…..

1. Our angel investor/mentor who is also our special representative to military and federal markets. Without his experience and cash we wouldn’t still be here. He believed in our product and pushed us to participate in key trade shows, marketing opportunities, etc. all items that we would have passed on without his support and financing. He pushed us to develop required marketing materials, participate in face to face meeting with leads across the country, helped us complete complicated tenders, develop pricing, and basically just hang in there for the 2-3 years that it takes for a new business to establish itself.
2. Dedication to the product and to the customer. We have never stopped improving the product. Looking back at the first Can Pure Water Purification System we ever sold, it’s almost embarrassing when compared to our current model. We also supported our first customer as if they were the last customer on earth. As a result, they became a very solid reference which was absolutely instrumental in us obtaining over a half a million dollars in sales from another group of customers who operated in the same circle. It turns out that one of these new customers had been closely watching our relationship with the first customer for over a year as he decided which supplier to go with. After obtaining our second customer, the others quickly followed suit.
3. We never stopped looking for opportunities and/or product lines beyond our original product and concept. This was critical in creating our current level of diversification which has been very important with regard to cash flow. Interestingly, some of the new opportunities that we seized have become more successful than our original ones. “

Global Hydration has continued to expand, developing a host of supporting water purification accessories such as exclusive portable diesel water pumps, food grade hose packages, portable water bladders and pillow tanks, portable mil-spec shipping and storage cases and more. Eager to respond to customer requests for more solutions when faced with the need for emergency water purification, Global Hydration entered into a strategic alliance with Medentech Ltd. of Ireland to be exclusive, master agent for AQUATABS® Water Purification Tablets in North America. Global Hydration is now proud to carry the full line up of AQUATABS® products as well as a number of innovative AQUATABS® Water Purification kits and systems designed by and exclusive to Global Hydration.

At Global Hydration, customer support always comes first. Global Hydration was one of the few private vendors to be invited to Canada’s largest ever HUSAR exercise between the O.P.P. Provincial Emergency Response Team and Canadian Task Force Team 3. Global Hydration was onsite at the exercise for 3 days, working closely with both teams in order to provide technical support for all water related issues and plumbing as well as to further develop innovative portable water treatment systems for emergency water purification, emergency preparedness and disaster situations.

Global Hydration continues to expand its suite of water purification solutions and is excited about the release of a host of new products in 2008 including a AQUATABS® Water Cooler Cleaning Kit, Food Safe Produce Wash and Sport Bottle Disinfecting Tabs.