Canada Open For Business with Elimination of Section 116
The Canadian federal government tabled their budget for 2010 and sent a clear message to international investors that Canada is clearly open for business.
The City is looking for your input
The City of Ottawa is conducting consultations that will lead to a new Economic Development Policy which will be presented to Council this spring. OCRI executives participate regularly in ongoing discussions with the City on their role and leadership. Last Friday, we attended a stakeholder’s forum to voice our views and have since met with them specifically on the innovation strategy.
Learning to Peak at the Right Time
It was good to see a local start-up getting some well-deserved media attention with Jim Bagnall’s recent profile of IPeak Network’s CEO Martin Horne in Saturday’s Ottawa Citizen. Under Martin’s leadership, IPeak is poised for growth.
HOCKEY? on a work day? For sure.
Set aside some time on Wednesday February 24 and Thursday February 25 so that you can play in this year’s 5th Annual Bell Sensplex OCRI TECHNOLOGY Hockey Challenge presented by 580 CFRA. This one-of-a-kind annual hockey tournament provides Ottawa’s technology sector with a unique chance to get together for good times on AND off the ice.
Excerpt from Ottawa’s ICF Top 7 Application : Digitial Inclusion in Ottawa
Being “connected” and online has become a way of life and a natural thing for Ottawa residents, regardless of their economic standing, physical or mental abilities or location. Ottawa has demonstrated a strong commitment to digital inclusion and bridging the digital divide over the years.
Top 7 was a team effort!
PHEW! We made it! It was quite the process. While it was certainly a shot in the arm to see Ottawa chosen as one of the Smart21 by the Intelligent Community Forum it did instil a bit of fear in me because the next round of applications for Top7 was apparently the hardest part – the really “detailed” and comprehensive part. After we sorted through all the categories, assigned responsibility for sourcing data and information and made our shopping list of best projects in town we had to get to work and prove it! The deadline for the application was New Year’s eve but with vacations on the calendar and everyone thinking of Santa and sugarplums we opted to get it in EARLY! Great.
When someone asks you what Ottawa is like, what’s your answer?
As you may know, OCRI is very much involved with the development of the Innovation Strategy for Ottawa. For the past several months, the Innovation Strategy working group which represents Ottawa’s diverse knowledge-based community including education, research, government and industry has been working together to collect input and feedback from all sectors in the community. Now, after completing initial consultations, the group is ready to provide their assessment.
Brutal Optimism in the face of Harsh Reality…lessons from a bigshot at TEB this morning
Bernie Ashe was so proud as he introduced his little brother, Rob, to the Technology Executive Breakfast (TEB) crowd this morning. Introductions can so often be bland and a direct steal from the speaker’s bio but Bernie’s humour, personal stories and insight provided the audience with much deeper appreciation for Rob the person, and what’s driven him to such success as a globally respected business leader.
It’s all about the chemistry according to Pat DiPietro at this morning’s TEB
Taking questions from a somewhat surprised audience before he began his presentation, Pat DiPietro, Managing General Partner of Vengrowth Capital Partners, aimed to set the stage for his talk and ensure that he was speaking about what the audience wanted to hear. That was clever but putting Mary, a local high school student who was there to demo her team’s robotic entry for a regional competition, on the spot to ask a question in front of a room filled with senior execs seemed a bit uncomfortable for a moment. But when Pat exclaimed that Mary’s question was the best one of the day and he was going to stop the questions there, the room errupted in applause. Mary could breathe again and the presentation started to really roll. Mary’s question? “What are some tips to handle conflicts in a team? Ahhh. It’s all about the chemistry – according the Pat… and so we begin.
Donald Trump event next week – agenda now available!
Here is the speaking order for the Eastern Ontario Economic Showcase featuring Brett Wilson of CBC’s Dragons Den and Donald Trump. This will take place next week on Thursday September 24, 2009 at the Ottawa Civic Centre http://www.ocri.ca/showcase/assets_2009/agenda.pdf – it starts at 12:30 pm and ends at 5:00 pm.