Announcement of the Fifth Round Call for Proposals for the Build in Canada Innovation Program at Tektrap Systems Inc.

Speaking Notes for The Honourable Diane Finley, PC, MP
Minister of Public Works and Government Services

Gatineau, Quebec
June 20, 2014

Check against delivery

Good morning everyone.

Thank you, André, for that kind introduction.

I'm pleased to be here in Gatineau—my own backyard.

Innovation can be inspiring. And during this past year as Minister of Public Works and Government Services, I have had more than my fair share of opportunities to see innovation and innovators in action.

That's because the Harper Government has been at the forefront of supporting innovations through the Build in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP), a program that encourages Canadian entrepreneurs and innovators to submit proposals for their innovations to be tested by federal government departments.

The BCIP is a collaborative approach to success and a prime example of something Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”

Our top priorities have always been job creation and economic growth. By working together with small and medium enterprises in Canada, we are helping Canadian businesses expand and succeed.

Successful innovations translate into jobs, and jobs lead to prosperity for hard-working Canadians and their families.

As a demonstration of the commitment of our Government to this Program, Economic Action Plan 2012 allocated additional funding for three years starting in 2013. As of 2016, $40 million will be permanently dedicated to the Program annually.

Since the Program was launched in 2010, over 1,200 submissions have been received!

The first question often received by Canadian companies in search of new international contracts is whether or not they have sold in Canada or to their own government.

We know that a contract with the government can give a company the legitimacy it needs to break into a new market.

Last January, Tektrap Systems Inc. was awarded a Build in Canada Innovation Program contract of over $422,000 for its innovation, the CargoKeeper™. The CargoKeeper™ is a tiny electronic tag for GPS tracking of cargo containers.

Of course, container tracking isn't anything new. But the CargoKeeper™ is new. It goes a step further, operating completely under cover by using the metal structure of the container as an antenna. And, in addition to tracking, it can also detect when a container has been mishandled or opened and let the shipper know!

In container shipping, security and efficiency are no small matters. For border inspectors, knowing whether the security of a container has been breached is important intelligence.

With this knowledge, border inspectors can make better-informed decisions on whether to flag a container for a physical inspection, and they can make those decisions more quickly. This lets them focus on the containers that warrant their attention, without holding up others unduly.

The CargoKeeper™ is just one example of why we created the Build in Canada Innovation Program—to connect Canadian companies with federal departments and agencies that have a need for innovative products and services.

As Minister of Public Works and Government Services, I am pleased to see that a contract from the federal government is helping Tektrap Systems Inc. in the process of moving this innovation forward. We are very proud that as a result of participating in the BCIP, Tektrap also now has a contract with U.S. Customs!

Small and medium enterprises are the backbone of our economy and we are proud to encourage Canada's entrepreneurial spirit by kick-starting Canadian businesses to get their innovative products and services from the lab to the marketplace.

It is also my pleasure today to announce that 72 additional innovators and entrepreneurs have been pre-qualified under the fourth Call for Proposals.

The list of pre-qualified innovations is now available on the BuyandSell.gc.ca website and it includes those that were pre-qualified under the new military procurement component.

Over the coming months, PWGSC will begin to match these companies and their innovations with government departments that may need help with their operational requirements.

Testing in our federal departments will bring the products and services one step closer to domestic and international markets.

Today, with the success of the fourth-round results still fresh, it gives me even greater pleasure to announce the release of the fifth Call for Proposals under the Build in Canada Innovation Program.

To Canadian entrepreneurs chomping at the bit to pitch their innovation, they can now submit proposals for their pre-commercialized goods and services to the Government of Canada through an open, fair and transparent process.

I encourage everyone who thinks they have a pre-commercial innovation that could be applied in a Government of Canada context to visit the BuyandSell website for more information on the Program.

Fostering a sound and supportive environment in which innovators can thrive can be a key contributor to our long-term economic growth here in Canada.

By supporting Canadian entrepreneurs, the BCIP is creating the conditions to promote jobs and economic growth.

With our Government's sustained commitment to getting home-grown innovations from the lab to the marketplace, we are allowing Canadian firms to earn their rightful place in the forefront of global markets. The BCIP is helping Canadian businesses grow and that means directly benefitting Canadian workers and their families.

I call that a Win! Win! Win!

Thank you.