Ottawa, Ontario, July 19, 2012 — Minister Gordon O’Connor (Carleton-Mississippi Mills), on behalf of the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, is pleased to announce that the Government of Canada has awarded a $ 564,965 contract to Edgewater Computer Systems Inc. for their pre-qualified innovation through the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP).
“Our government’s top priority is the economy and we understand that helping Canadian businesses expand and succeed directly benefits Canadian workers and families by creating jobs and prosperity,” said Minister Ambrose. “We are proud to encourage Canada’s entrepreneurial spirit by kick starting Canadian businesses to get their innovative products and services from the lab to the marketplace.”
“This contract award is great news for the workers of Edgewater Computer Systems Inc. and our region,” said Minister O’Connor. “Our Government is putting its support behind their innovation designed right here in Kanata which will help to kick start their innovation into domestic and international markets. We are proud to continue our encouragement of Canada's tremendous entrepreneurial spirit through this successful program.”
“Edgewater is very pleased to have been selected to receive the support of the Government of Canada through the CICP initiative for a second time. We are confident that this CICP award will help our business and lead to growth in our local economy,” said Duane Anderson, President, Edgewater Computer Systems.
Edgewater Computer Systems Inc.’s innovation, Avionics Network Interface, is a network interface solution that provides a 100-fold increase in the data handling capacity of integrated airborne networks for the rapid and affordable modernization of weapons systems.
The Government of Canada has awarded contracts for 39 Canadian innovations and 64 Canadian innovations pre-qualified since the beginning of the program.
Launched in 2010, the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program has already shown encouraging results, connecting Canadian companies with federal departments and agencies that have a need for innovative products and services. By selling to the federal government, businesses can demonstrate the value of their products and services, and potentially generate future sales to non-federal customers.
To build on the early success of this program, Economic Action Plan 2012 allocated an additional $95 million over three years, starting in 2013–14, and $40 million per year thereafter to make the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program permanent. The program will include an added military procurement component.
For the complete list of the successful innovations, please refer to the backgrounder.
