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Results: 61 - 75 of 192
Brad Shaw
View Brad Shaw Profile
Brad Shaw
2021-03-29 13:13
The right competition, dynamic competition adds to that. It doesn't have to be a number of players. I think that when you have that dynamic competition in the market, the federal government will be able to create the policies to be able to do that. We still have a regulatory overhang—
Rick Whittaker
View Rick Whittaker Profile
Rick Whittaker
2021-03-25 11:07
Thank you, Chairperson.
Thank you to the committee for inviting me to participate in this important study on the aerospace sector. It truly is a privilege to share my perspectives as an aerospace manufacturer and as a proud Canadian.
By way of background, I am the co-founder and CEO of AirShare, Inc., a Canadian company headquartered here in Ottawa that makes safe and cost-effective systems to help manage airspace and small aerial drones as they become increasingly part of our daily lives. Our systems are used in aerospace, commercial and defence applications.
Our company has developed an airborne rocket-powered robot that is used to safely intercept drones that may have gone off course, or which may have nefarious intent.
Our Prime Minister helped coin our tagline in a meeting we had in 2019, as we described our interceptor as the world's friendliest guided missile, something that could only have originated in Canada. So I feel the study and this undertaking that this committee is engaging in is vitally important to Canada and near and dear to my heart.
The input to the study I share today comes from the perspective of a small innovative manufacturer of equipment in the aerospace sector.
It will come as no surprise that the aerospace sector has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic, from reductions in air travel to disruptions in global supply chains. For our segment of the industry, drones and drone safety, there are no concerts, no large public gatherings, tournaments or events that would typically use drones and require drone safety systems as a routine business.
Suppliers of specialized components used in these systems have reduced their production, increased their cost, or have ceased operations altogether. The impact has been broad-reaching throughout the sector.
As a small company, we have had to react quickly, first by working with our key suppliers to develop alternative approaches to maintain product continuity. We then focused on the segments of the customer base that were still in business, and finally we developed new technology and capabilities for a post-pandemic reality.
We were grateful for the support we have received from the Canadian government thus far, utilizing the work-sharing program, for instance for our production staff, while our company funded the supplier, customer and technology changes that were necessary to our ongoing survival.
In terms of recovery, the pandemic has created a great upheaval on a scale we have never seen. While it's hard to see a silver lining, this does present an opportunity for Canada's aerospace sector, and in particular for autonomous aerial vehicles and government to work together on recovering and reinventing.
There are many measures that this committee may wish to consider, however, I'll just mention two in my opening remarks.
The first one is innovation. In a changing world, supporting innovation is even more critical. I have been honoured to see Canada's innovation system grow and adapt over the past 25 years.
We are now seeing a spectrum of support for innovation, starting from the lab and all the way up to market entry. There is lots to build on, and now more than ever, a lot more to do.
Countries like the U.S. have created a system that uses government needs as the market pull. We are now seeing that emerging in Canada with programs like Innovative Solutions Canada and IDEaS.
The U.S. innovation system, and in particular the small business innovation research program, SBIR, focuses heavily on government as the end-user and even funds early-stage projects intended to secure our government user as a first customer, creating memoranda of understanding, matching funding with the private sector investors, leveraging departmental funding and importantly, creating a pathway to large-scale procurement, up to $250 million using other transaction authorities. This program provides continuity with multi-year, multi-stage involvement as the technology, company and customers progress. It would seem that some of these techniques could be applied to Canada's aerospace sector.
The second point is regulation. Government can play a big role by creating sandboxes for the aerospace development and testing that do not require complex regulatory approvals that are typically associated with commercial products' introduction. It goes hand in hand with the innovation emphasis I mentioned previously.
For Canada's aerospace sector to recover, it must reinvent.
From the perspective of our autonomous aerial vehicles manufacturing, this means testing new approaches safely and efficiently, and revisiting regulations in this regard would be most beneficial. We struggled with this aspect, having to fly across the country to get a few days of testing at an approved test site. We eventually purchased our own private test range, which is not sustainable for this sector, and which could have been solved with some regulatory innovation.
I could touch on many more topics, however I'll stop here with my gratitude to the committee for allowing me the time to share my passion for this sector.
Thank you.
Suzanne Benoît
View Suzanne Benoît Profile
Suzanne Benoît
2021-03-09 11:11
Good morning, Madam Chair, ladies and gentlemen.
I am very pleased to be appearing before you today on behalf of the members of the Quebec aerospace cluster. We are very grateful for this invitation and for the interest you have taken in our industry.
As you know, the global aerospace industry was hit hard by the current crisis. The recent report of Canada's Industry Strategy Council also cites aerospace as one of the sectors most affected by the pandemic across the country and most in need of targeted emergency measures by the federal government.
For a year now, the vast majority of the global air fleet has been grounded as a result of the sharp decline in air traffic caused by the closing of international borders. As a result, thousands of aerospace workers are now unemployed, and hundreds of Canadian businesses are struggling to survive.
However, our industry is developing measures that would allow operations to resume, as many other countries have done and are still doing. Leading executives in our sector have also mobilized as never before and, last May, established the alliance for aerospace recovery to accelerate the industry's emergence from the crisis. The alliance is a strategic committee of Aéro Montréal's board of directors that, in the past few months, has helped to develop a specific action plan that is readily applicable and suited to the industry's needs.
However, the government needs to take a position on it quickly because every day counts. We have already observed a nearly 60% reduction in airlines' new aircraft requirements and do not anticipate a return to previous production levels until 2024-2025.
The global aerospace industry had hit unprecedented heights before the crisis. To meet demand, many airlines took on debt so they could continue expanding at pre-crisis growth rates, acquiring new equipment, investing in automation to increase their productivity and expanding their plants. However, their operations have since declined by as much as 50%.
Many SMEs now have cash flow problems as a result of those capital investments and of the changes made to repayment terms by nearly all decision-makers in recent months because they too are struggling to survive the crisis.
Extending the Canada emergency wage subsidy for our sector until the end of the crisis, which is anticipated in 2024, would help us retain our qualified employees and thus ease pressure on corporate cash flows.
We must block the exodus of sectoral workers to other places around the world where governments are engaged or to other industries less affected by the crisis.
Since the pre-crisis labour shortage will still be intact when the sector recovers, it is therefore vital that we retain workers within our businesses.
The few nations that have an aerospace industry support their strategic sector because they know that exports of high-tech products will create jobs and wealth. That is why they advance strong industrial policies to ensure its growth.
To address the crisis, France has invested $26 billion in its aerospace sector, the United States $80 billion and Germany nearly $10 billion. Here in Canada, we are still waiting for the targeted assistance that is so slow in coming. What will Canada do to support this pillar of our economy?
Aerospace is a strategic and key industry for the economy. On its own, it generates total revenue of $34 billion and contributes $28 billion to Canada's GDP. It represents 235,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs, including more than 43,400 in Quebec, and consists of hundreds of SMEs and large businesses. It invests more than $1.4 billion in research and development every year. The sector exports more than 80% of its production, which contributes to Canada's collective wealth. It is therefore essential that we invest now in order to preserve our industry and halt its decline.
In the 1980s, Canada's aerospace sector was ranked fifth largest in the world. Today, we have fallen to ninth position, and, if nothing is done, we should simply consider taking ourselves out of the running.
Canada has set very clear greenhouse gas emissions targets, and the transformation of the aerospace industry will play a crucial role in meeting those targets.
A large number of initiatives conducted by our businesses across Canada are already in development and include the design of new low-emissions engines based on hybrid, electric and hydrogen propulsion.
All these disruptive technological projects are part of a long-term strategy and require a profound transformation. Here in Canada, we are fortunate to have all the operational and technological assets and skilled talent we need to contribute to a greener recovery.
To support the aerospace industry and ensure its long-term viability, the federal government must become our strategic partner and quickly establish an integrated national aerospace strategy. That strategy, together with competitive funding, would enable Canadian businesses to compete with other countries on an equal footing.
By contributing to efforts to develop the industry, the Canadian government will help our country continue to distinguish itself and to shine on the global stage. The facts are clear: support for our industry is a profitable investment for Canada.
Madam Chair, ladies and gentlemen, thank you in advance for your support and attention.
View Tony Baldinelli Profile
CPC (ON)
Thank you.
Again, going back to your “Vision 2025” document, you addressed the whole issue of innovation. We've talked about green technologies and so on. What more can the government do to foster that kind of environment, so that the research and development can take place here, so that those jobs can then be created in Canada to create those green technologies?
Mike Mueller
View Mike Mueller Profile
Mike Mueller
2021-03-09 12:59
You're absolutely right. At the end of the day, it's about the jobs that are here.
When people talk about the Canadian aerospace industry, you think of planes, helicopters and satellites, but it's not that. It's the people behind it and it's the high skill and high wages that we have here.
I would agree; we need that sector strategy to be in place to ensure that we retain those good paycheques that are across the country in every single region from Victoria to Newfoundland and into the north.
If there is one item or one idea I could impress upon the committee, it is the need for that sector-specific strategy that encompasses everything.
View Maninder Sidhu Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you, Mr. Bain. I appreciate your insights.
The Canada Infrastructure Bank recently announced a partnership with the Government of Alberta to help build a modern irrigation system that will enhance crop production while providing water security and mitigating the impacts on the environment. Our government is committed to supporting innovative projects across the country, like the Alberta irrigation project, that will bring us into the future and provide significant returns on investment.
Can you speak to the new innovations that the Canada Infrastructure Bank should consider supporting? It's similar to my last question but more in depth.
Derron Bain
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Derron Bain
2021-02-23 15:57
Can you maybe be a little more specific with what you're trying to get at?
View Maninder Sidhu Profile
Lib. (ON)
The Canada Infrastructure Bank can be used for many different competitive projects. I'm just thinking of taking an innovative approach. What are your thoughts on that?
Derron Bain
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Derron Bain
2021-02-23 15:58
If you look at the list of projects that it's committed to, whether it's the one you cite in terms of Alberta Irrigation, whether it's Lulu Island District Energy, the Oneida Energy Storage project, Pirate Harbour Wind Farm, that's a basket of projects, clearly, that lands in the renewable energy space. I think that's certainly a priority for this government and it's clearly a priority for many others, as we face the challenges of climate change.
Élise Gosselin
View Élise Gosselin Profile
Élise Gosselin
2021-02-23 15:38
First, I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to provide some information to this committee.
I would like to approach processing capacity in the dairy industry from a slightly different angle, namely that of innovation and research, which support the capacity for innovation.
As you know, the majority of the industrial matrix, as far as dairy processing in Quebec in particular is concerned, is composed of small and medium-sized enterprises. However, to support research and innovation, these businesses can only rely on limited financial capacity and human resources.
This innovation is essential to processing capacity. To ensure the survival of companies, a constant effort is made to meet market demand, adapt to standards, and increase processes and competitiveness. Climate change and its environmental impacts also require companies to constantly adapt their processes.
In terms of societal concerns, the news this week showed just how important everything is in the dairy sector. This even includes animal feed. Consumer demand for more natural products and views on animal welfare mean that companies have to adapt to a constantly changing environment. They must adapt both their products and processes to be able to produce in this environment. Currently, it is industry suppliers, engineering companies, that support innovation in small and medium enterprises, particularly with equipment, but this does not necessarily meet all needs.
I would like to introduce you to our organization. Novalait is living proof that the Quebec dairy sector is particularly innovative. Twenty-five years ago, in 1995, dairy producers and processors decided to create a fund to invest in research. They not only created it, they created it together. In other sectors of the agri-food industry, particularly beef, which my colleagues are familiar with, samples taken from carcasses are used for research. This is also the case in the dairy sector, where producers and processors have come together to invest in research.
In the case of Novalait, all Quebec farms and all companies that process milk, from artisanal cheese dairies to multinationals, contribute to the research funding. Novalait solicits the expertise of researchers to develop knowledge and solutions to solve problems associated with the production and processing of milk. Since its creation, Novalait has invested $11 million in research, in more than 125 projects, for a total value of almost $55 million. This amount has been invested by producers and processors.
We often hear that in the agri-food sector, we are less innovative or we invest less in research than in other OECD countries, but it is important for you to know that this capacity for innovation is really present in the dairy sector in Quebec.
When Novalait was created in 1995, the dairy industry was facing two major challenges: diversification of dairy products and a significant decrease in fat consumption. Twenty-five years later, we can say that extraordinary progress has been made in the variety of dairy products offered. And just as people were afraid to consume milk fat 25 years ago, today's markets are hungry for milk fat in the form of cream or butter. This is a positive development for our sector.
On the other hand, we realize, not only in Quebec or Canada, but worldwide, that milk is made up of a certain percentage of proteins, fat and other solids. We try to match this composition as much as possible to market demand, but there is an imbalance. We meet 100% of Canada's butterfat requirements, but at the same time there are surpluses of protein and other solids, including sugars from fat. This means that every time we process milk, there is a coproduct, which is skim milk, made up of permeates from the concentration of milk. It is a coproduct that we must be able to add value to.
This problem exists in the United States and Europe, but Canada's situation is unique because of the free trade agreements and international agreements it has entered into. The ability of dairy processors to add value on world markets to their coproducts, i.e. skim milk powder or permeates, is limited. The Dairy Processors Association of Canada also mentioned this to you at a previous meeting.
At Novalait, we are looking for solutions to solve this problem. We are working on milk composition and trying to manage the cows' diet so that it can be aligned as much as possible with the needs of the industry, but this has its limits.
We also work with processors to better control processes to reduce the structural surplus imbalance of non-fat solids and find ways to add value to these products. We are currently looking for solutions.
What is important to understand here is that any increase in dairy processing capacity will result in an increase in coproducts, which we must be able to add value to. This is an issue that needs to be addressed in order to increase milk processing capacity in Canada. We have solutions to address this problem. We are concerned about the future. We want to emphasize here that research and innovation are among the priorities for the future.
Thank you.
Nadia Theodore
View Nadia Theodore Profile
Nadia Theodore
2021-02-23 15:46
Thank you.
Good afternoon, everyone.
I am here representing Maple Leaf Foods, the largest food-processing company in Canada. We have operations across Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec, and Ontario and an exporting footprint that includes Asia, the United States and Europe.
We are truly, as a company, Canadian-born and globally grown. We are committed to and invested in the success and sustained growth of the Canadian agri-food sector and of the processing sector in particular, which we believe will be key to Canada's post-COVID-19 economic recovery. However, the question we're trying to grapple with today is how to make this happen. What will it take to make economic recovery happen?
I would like to highlight three areas that Maple Leaf Foods believes will be critical to success.
First is regulatory agility. We know that, if done correctly, regulation can have a positive impact on growth and foster a thriving competitive market that supports innovation and technological progress. However, if executed poorly, regulation stifles productivity, results in unnecessary costs for all businesses, particularly for small and medium-sized firms, and effectively reverses our competitiveness gains.
The good news is that Canada's regulatory system gives Canadians and our country's trading partners confidence that products made in Canada meet the highest health, safety, environmental and quality requirements. The bad news, however, is that our regulatory system is complex, with a multi-layered jurisdictional structure with no clear authority. Perhaps more troubling to us is that many regulations are either outdated or focused too heavily on prescribing a process than ensuring an outcome. This deters innovation and solutions that would improve health, safety, and environmental outcomes and stymies much-needed investment to our country. The ultimate results are additional cost, distrust between industry and regulators, and an overall less-than-efficient system that prevents us from living up to our true potential on both health and safety and global competitiveness.
Now, with the emergence of COVID-19, the Canadian government has shown that agility is possible in the regulatory process within the agri-food sector, and we sincerely hope the government continues to prioritize regulatory flexibility over the long term. In this regard, the recommendation out of the 2018 agri-food economic strategy table for an approach that is focused on predictability, efficiency, and effectiveness and that—equally important—considers the cumulative impact of regulation on competitiveness and net economic benefit to Canada should be further explored.
A second area that other colleagues have already mentioned today that I would like to also highlight is talent. Like any industry, ours requires an adequate workforce to keep operations going. This sector continues to identify chronic and critical labour shortages as one of the most pressing risks and a major constraint on both agricultural growth and global competitiveness. Right now, this sector is in need of 30,000 workers, 10% of our workforce. By 2025, we expect that number to more than double.
Now, this is not a new challenge. The industry has been sounding the alarm bells for several years, luckily coupled with concrete solutions that we are eager to work with all government partners on. Changes to the temporary foreign worker program and to immigration programming are needed to support immediate labour shortages. Even more immediate a need is to help address significant labour challenges that the sector is facing due to COVID-19. Even during a pandemic, Canadians need to eat.
It is because of our frontline workers that Canada's food plants continued to operate throughout the pandemic to provide us with food on our tables. Maple Leaf Foods alone has invested over $50 million to keep our workers safe to allow them to do so. It is critical that governments also reinforce that our frontline workers are critical, and the importance of their contributions to keeping our food supply safe.
We sincerely hope that the federal government will work with the provinces to ensure that food-processing plant workers are prioritized for COVID-19 vaccines immediately after critical health care workers, in all provinces and territories. This is in line with the direction provided by the national advisory committee on immunization and with what other countries around the globe, including our competitors, are doing.
As we have seen recently, there is also a serious animal care consideration to sustained labour shortages. In particular, the supply chain in the pork industry is very tightly calibrated. If there is a break in the hog supply chain, it certainly does not take long for things to get very serious on the farms. We have seen this just this week.
To solve longer-term labour problems, the recommendations of the agri-food economic strategy provide a good road map to assess future needs for all skill levels, to develop a sector-specific strategy for skills development that includes a focus on apprenticeship and skilled trades needs, and to promote the sector as a good career choice.
Before I close, I would like to touch on the topic of innovation. The global agri-food market in 2025 will be highly competitive and filled with new challenges—a growing population, climate change, and rapid advances in technology, just to name a few. Maple Leaf Foods strives for continuous evolution of our products and business strategies to meet these challenges head-on. In 2019, we became the first major food company in the world to be carbon-neutral and the only food company in Canada to set science-based emission reduction targets.
Existing federal innovation programs are not well suited to food manufacturing. Often they are premised on job creation or the development of disruptive technologies. In a small market like Canada, it is unrealistic to think that all or even most innovation will be disruptive.
Our industry will benefit from adopting technologies that already exist in other countries or industries and, in so doing, will introduce and customize innovation products and processes within our sector. Innovation will be critical to ensure the stability and growth of the sector, and more can be done to tailor the programs.
I'd like to thank you again for having me. I look forward to your questions.
Thank you very much.
View Lyne Bessette Profile
Lib. (QC)
Thank you very much.
In committee, we heard a lot about the labour shortage in the food processing sector, and that automation could be a solution. What do you see as the future of mechanization and automation in the dairy processing sector? Is this part of your research?
Élise Gosselin
View Élise Gosselin Profile
Élise Gosselin
2021-02-23 16:06
In fact, it is mainly the equipment manufacturers who will be the leaders in this sector. This is indeed very important. What goes hand in hand with automation—we see it on farms—is the fact that dairy farmers who use milking robots can spend more time on business management.
It's the same for processing. We can reduce the operational work, but we will still need people to manage and analyze the business. That's where we come in.
View Alistair MacGregor Profile
NDP (BC)
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to our witnesses for coming today and contributing to our study on processing capacity here in Canada.
I think I'll start my first question with the Canadian Cattlemen's Association.
Mr. Laycraft, you were talking about automation. I remember that in 2018, during the previous Parliament, our committee did a cross-country trip, and one of our stops was in Guelph, where we visited the major Cargill plant there. As you correctly noted, a lot of the jobs involved in that plant require a lot of talent and a lot of skill. There is a lot of stuff that you need human hands for, which a machine simply can't do.
For our committee's benefit, then, when you're talking about automation, can you list some specific examples of where you'd like to see that investment and what kinds of jobs you'd like to see automation move into?
Dennis Laycraft
View Dennis Laycraft Profile
Dennis Laycraft
2021-02-23 16:14
Yes. There are a few interesting ones. Some people have put in automated box storage facilities. Normally, you'd be using forklifts and moving stuff around. It's all set up on conveyors, and they actually have the capacity to mix and match orders in a very sophisticated way, as you're selling around the world.
It isn't always on the processing line that the automation is going to occur; it's throughout the entire system.
We're also using some remote vision technology where there can be third party monitoring, for instance. We're working with the CFIA on the future of that as well.
There are many different ways that maybe just don't fit your traditional mindset of what automation should look like.
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