Southern Ontario Spotlight - January 2020

FedDev Ontario is proud to have been recognized as one of Waterloo Area’s Top Employers! This annual competition acknowledges employers with the most forward-thinking human resource initiatives in their area of industry, including efforts in the areas of work environment, work-life balance, wellness and mental health programs, and employee engagement and career development opportunities. The full list of recipients in the Waterloo area was published in the December 10 issue of The Record. You can view FedDev Ontario’s Reasons for Selection on Eluta.ca, a website promoting top employers to job seekers. We are committed to making a difference for our employees and for our region. We understand that when our employees have the resources at work to give their best, the benefits result in service excellence for our stakeholders.

With the Speech from the Throne delivered on December 5, the 43rd session of Parliament officially opened. Key priorities for the government include fighting climate change, strengthening the middle class, continuing the work on reconciliation, maintaining Canadians’ health and safety and positioning Canada for success in a changing global context. The speech emphasized the importance of regional needs and highlighted the government’s commitment to working with provinces, territories, municipalities and groups across the country so that all regions can realize their full potential.

Ministers in the new Cabinet received their mandate letters on December 13, with specific directions to make progress on these priorities. The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, will work closely with regional development agencies to ensure that Canadians have the necessary resources to take advantage of economic growth opportunities in their communities and have support through challenges and transitions.

BioConnect announced the opening of its innovation hub in Toronto to accelerate its security technology. BioConnect is a biometric technology and software company that provides identity management solutions for both digital applications and physical spaces. The premise of BioConnect Labs came about in response to the growing interest from both customers and partners to drive innovation at an increased pace. Managing identity across the enterprise is an increasingly complex requirement, and BioConnect is in a prime position to lead the development of simpler, human-centric security solutions. FedDev Ontario’s support has helped contribute to this Canadian technology success story.

A career in electrical engineering was a clear choice for Miriam Tuerk. But, as a woman, the CEO of Clear Blue Technologies wasn’t always well-received during the early years of her company. Tuerk was recently interviewed by The Globe and Mail and described the path that led to her current position and achievements, including the installation of almost 4,000 solar power systems around the world—as well as the recent $1.2-million order for her Smart Off-Grid system in the Middle East and Africa. Tuerk and her husband—Clear Blue’s co-founder—are now successfully navigating the wireless economy and their know-how is delivering off-grid power systems to countries in need of clean and reliable power sources. Support from FedDev Ontario is helping Clear Blue Technologies scale up.