Algonquin College Pembroke, Ontario – Cheryl Gallant, MP Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke is pleased to thank local business leaders in the Defence, Aerospace and Nuclear sectors for taking the time to attend an information session held recently at the new Algonquin College waterfront campus in Pembroke.
“I am pleased to express my appreciation to Mr. Jamie Bramburger, Manager of Community and Student Affairs and staff for facilitating the use of the beautiful new Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley,” stated Cheryl Gallant, MP. “The space and resources provided were outstanding. The new college campus is a tremendous asset to Renfrew County and the Ottawa Valley.”
“This is the second information session I have arranged since the last Federal Budget. By participant agreement, the meeting was an outstanding success. In addition to providing an opportunity for local employers to network by sharing the core activities of their businesses, presentations were made by Federal Government officials from the Southern Ontario Development Agency”(FedDev), (which includes Eastern Ontario), the National Research Council and Public Works and Government Services Canada.”
Each Renfrew County employer was invited to give a brief introduction of their businesses, followed by an opportunity to answer questions and share information. The Ontario CFDC Network gave a detailed overview the Southern Ontario Fund for Investment in Innovation (SOFII). The National Research Council gave an overview of the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP), followed by a detailed presentation of the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP), presented by the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises, Public Works and Government Services Canada.
Created to bolster innovation in Canada’s business sector, the CICP helps Companies Bridge the pre-commercialization gap for their innovative goods and services by awarding contracts to entrepreneurs with pre-commercial innovations through an open, transparent, competitive and fair procurement process. The CICP does testing and provides feed-back to these entrepreneurs on the performance of their goods or services, provides innovators with a successful application of their new goods and services as well as providing information on how to do business with the Government of Canada.
“While Renfrew County has fared better than some other rural regions for employment, I remain very concerned about our local employment. Good, well-paying jobs in rural Canada are being challenged. We need to be constantly exploring new opportunities. Hosting business opportunity seminars is my way of making sure that local Valley employers have all the competitive advantages that come from being in or closer to the big city,” concluded Cheryl Gallant, MP.