Today, the federal government announced that 36 innovations from small and medium sized businesses across Canada have pre-qualified as part of the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program. This program was born from Budget 2010 with a mandate to help Canadian businesses test their innovative products and services within the Government of Canada before taking them to market. Making it easier to commercialize research and products has been an issue the Canadian Chamber continues to advocate strongly for. With this support from the federal government, Canadian entrepreneurs will be able to test their innovative products and be given feedback under this pilot program.

Intellectual property and innovation are key elements for economic success, especially as other nations continue to fully embrace the benefits. By building on our strengths and working together with the federal and provincial governments, Canadian businesses will be in the right position to realize the benefits of innovation and achieve a competitive advantage internationally.

In addition, the creation of a federal patent court would vastly improve the judiciary knowledge of intellectual property rights issues and streamlining the Canadian Intellectual Property Office’s patent review system would also improve Canada’s competitiveness by getting products to market more quickly.

The Canadian Chamber looks forward to continuing to work with the government and our partners in business to ensure Canada reaches the top of the podium for global innovation.

- Perrin