Why Trade Matters
Trade and the Canadian Economy
Canada’s Enhanced Presence in the Southeast United States
Stories of the Week - April 6, 2004
Last September, the government announced that it was opening seven
new consulates in the United States, upgrading two consulates to
consulates general and appointing 20 honorary consuls as part of
the Enhanced Representation Initiative to advocate Canada’s
interests in vital economic, political and security matters, and
to develop innovative strategic partnerships in emerging U.S. economic
power centres.
Canada will open a new consulate general in Denver and new consulates
in Houston, Raleigh-Durham (already open), San Diego, Philadelphia,
Phoenix and Anchorage. The existing consulates in Miami and San
Francisco will be upgraded to consulates general. This will bring
Canada’s representation in the U.S. to 22 offices. The honorary
consuls will be appointed in important U.S. cities to champion our
interests where there are no Canadian government offices.
This initiative will reinforce Canada’s presence in the U.S.
and fill important gaps in our current representation, particularly
in the Southeast, Southwest and Midwest. It will also help ensure
that Canada’s vital political and economic interests are promoted
and protected in all regions of the United States and will enable
Canada to build effective market intelligence networks and relationships
with key players in the new centres of economic and political power.
For example, the new consulate in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina,
officially opened by International Trade Minister Jim Peterson in
January, will be well positioned to provide market opportunity services
to Canadian companies in this burgeoning economic region.
Bio-industries, health industries and information and communications
technologies are making the Southeast one of the most vibrant areas
in the United States. Major population and corporate shifts to North
Carolina, especially in financial services, advanced technology
and manufacturing, have made it a new economic centre. Almost one
quarter ($4.6 billion) of North Carolina's exports—from auto
parts to furniture to yarn— went to Canada in 2003, while
Canada supplied the state’s furniture and homebuilding industries
with $531.1 million in wood, veneer and other wood products. In
addition, Canada exported $347.9 million in pharmaceutical products
and $281.8 million in electrical and electronic machinery and equipment
to North Carolina.
As part of a series highlighting Canadian companies who are successfully
doing business with the regions in the United States where Canada
is increasing its representation, this edition of Stories of
the Week features three companies who are active in the Southeast
market.
Stories of the Week - April 6, 2004
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E-Government Services for Georgia
CGI Group Inc., Montreal,
Quebec
Residents of the Peach Tree State will soon be able to pay property
taxes and apply for building permits and business licences on-line,
using technology CGI Group Inc. originally
developed for New Brunswick. As a result of a partnership agreement
signed in February 2004, CGI’s e-government software, gBIZ,
is being marketed to all 500 member cities of the Georgia Municipal
Association (GMA). The city of Statesboro, in the heart of the state,
will be the first municipality to implement the technology.
The GMA, the voice of municipal governments in Georgia, is one
of the first organizations in the United States to adopt this model
of multi-channel, one-stop-shop government service delivery. CGI
will provide the GMA with project management, functional and technical
architecture, systems integration, and solutions and applications
development, as well as consulting services. “The government
sector is a key vertical for us,” says Terry Broom, a senior
vice-president with CGI. “With this partnership, we are creating
a centre of expertise in Atlanta that will serve the entire state
and possibly beyond.”
Headquartered in Montreal, CGI is the fifth largest independent
information technology services firm in North America, based on
head count. Together with its affiliate companies, CGI employs 20,000
people in more than 60 offices worldwide, including operations in
Bangalore and Mumbai, India.
North Carolina and Quebec Companies Team
Up to Fight Disease
Tranzyme Pharma Inc.,
Sherbrooke, Quebec
Quebec-based Neokimia Inc. and North Carolina’s Tranzyme
Inc. have joined forces to form a fully integrated drug discovery
and development company called Tranzyme Pharma Inc.
The merger, announced in December 2003, combines Tranzyme’s
proprietary functional biology with Neokimia’s novel medicinal
chemistry technology.
With a focus on diseases of the neurosensory system, including
the eye, ear and brain, Tranzyme’s technology has served as
the basis for numerous multinational corporate partnerships. Neokimia
has developed several lead candidates directed toward gastrointestinal
and metabolic disorders. The new company is thus uniquely positioned
to develop new therapeutics for disorders related to the “brain-gut
axis.” In addition to developing new pharmaceutical products
in-house, Tranzyme Pharma will continue to leverage its combined
expertise with strategic industry collaborations, which generates
revenue and provides access to additional technology. The company
is also involved in partnerships with therapeutic programs for HIV
infection, cancer and cystic fibrosis.
With a staff of 40, most of whom are scientific personnel holding
advanced degrees, Tranzyme Pharma will maintain its functional biology
program at the existing facility in North Carolina’s Research
Triangle Park, while medicinal chemistry operations will continue
at the company’s facility in Sherbrooke.
Integrating Technology in Florida’s
Classrooms
Vital Knowledge Software
Inc., Miramichi, New Brunswick
Just five years ago, Vital Knowledge Software Inc.
had never sold its product outside New Brunswick. That changed in
1999, when the company won Select Vendor status from the New Hampshire
Department of Education, beating out 27 U.S. competitors including
Microsoft and IBM. Since then, Vital’s award-winning educational
software has been used throughout the U.S. Dedicated to helping
educators understand and apply information technologies in today’s
dynamic learning environments, Vital has developed products such
as the P.E.T. (Personal Empowerment Through Type) Learning Styles
Solution and the Teachers’ Tech Tutor.
How does a team of five people from Miramichi get to compete with
multinational giants, and win, in the tough U.S. market? “To
begin with, we participated in an export awareness seminar organized
by Industry Canada, which opened our eyes to opportunities in the
U.S.,” explains Michael Cormier, President of Vital Knowledge.
“We also sought advice from Trade Team New Brunswick, the
International Trade Centre in Moncton and the Canadian consulates
in Boston, Washington and Miami, which helped us develop a solid
market entry plan and ultimately win the contract in New Hampshire.
As a small company from a small town in a small province, this was
a huge first step in building a name for ourselves south of the
border.”
Vital is particularly successful in Florida, where P.E.T. is used
in more than a dozen high schools and was recently discovered by
several state colleges and universities as an instrument for enhancing
e-learning. “Florida has proven to be one of the most progressive
states in the practical integration of technology as an effective
support tool for educators,” says Cormier. “With more
than 2,100 public schools, not including elementary, and a healthy
population growth rate projected through to 2013, Florida is a market
we fully intend to continue developing.”
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