Speaking Notes

The Honourable Gary Goodyear, PC, MP
Minister of State (Science and Technology)

Announcement of NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program Investment in Timeless Technologies Inc.

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
July 23, 2009

Check Against Delivery

Thank you for your kind words. Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. It is a pleasure to be on your beautiful island today.

It is a particular pleasure to be here on behalf of the Government of Canada and to bring good news about federal support for innovation in Charlottetown.

As Minister of State (Science and Technology), I have the good fortune to meet people across our great country — people who embody the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurial drive. People like John Rowe of Timeless Technologies Inc. and his team.

Timeless Technologies has delivered top-quality products for quite some time. It has worked hard to earn a reputation here and abroad for technical excellence and for ethical practices. It has a long history of providing highly sophisticated information technology, application and database solutions. Its medical offshoot, Timeless Medical Systems, had developed advanced software applications and information technology systems for the health care industry.

The firm’s focus in 2006 was on a product that applied wireless bar code technology to help hospitals trace breast milk to prevent medical mismatches. The application was developed with the support of the National Research Council Canada (NRC) through its Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP). I’m very pleased to say this homegrown, innovative application is now used by hospitals in Canada and the United States.

Now Timeless Technologies has a new venture in mind. Work has begun on the design and construction of a knowledge-based decision system for veterinarians. Using artificial intelligence technologies, it will help vets make diagnostic, therapeutic and prognostic decisions.

It will allow them to connect the symptoms they observe in clinics to current veterinarian information. It will be accessible online, and it will be used as a teaching tool. Timeless Technologies is working with Atlantic Veterinary College to develop the multi-layered content.

Before I bring more good news to this thriving Charlottetown company, let me tell you in broad terms why the Government of Canada supports innovation through science and technology (S&T). It is really quite simple. We support it because it creates jobs. It improves the quality of life of Canadians. And it strengthens our economy for future generations.

Two years ago, the Prime Minister launched Canada’s S&T strategy. Our government will have invested more than $7 billion in new investments by 2011 to help stimulate economic activity through S&T investments.

Budget 2009 — Canada’s Economic Action Plan sets out our plan to spend $5.1 billion on S&T-related stimulus efforts — a historic level of new funding commitments in a federal budget. Included in this plan are new resources totalling $200 million over two years for NRC-IRAP.

Small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular, need a hand. Some need technical expertise and advice. Some need networking opportunities and ways to build partnerships. And, yes, some need financial assistance for research and development of projects that have the potential to significantly impact Canada’s innovative S&T landscape. It is through NRC-IRAP that we are able to support the innovative initiatives of firms like Timeless Technologies.

Timeless Technologies’ project for veterinarians has been judged to be an innovative and worthy project. As so, it is with great pleasure today that I am announcing the Government of Canada’s financial contribution to Timeless Technologies of up to $345 000 through NRC-IRAP for the research and development of the veterinary medicine application.

Congratulations to all of you!

We need to continue building a competitive advantage for Canada. We need to continue investing in S&T to ensure that we gain — and maintain — a competitive edge. We need to encourage the growth of highly skilled jobs.

Our government is doing just that through measures announced in our Economic Action Plan. And you are doing it right here in Charlottetown through the development of advanced technology applications — applications that will help train veterinarians and will help veterinarians in their daily practice for years to come.

My sincere congratulations to Mr. Rowe of Timeless Technologies and his team. I look forward to more good news from your company in the not too distant future.

Thank you.