Industry Canada Performance Report —
For the period ending March 31, 2006

• Leverage of private sector R&D investment.
• Increased skills, knowledge and competencies of Canadian companies.
• Repayments recycled into program funds.

• TPC contracted 56 projects valued at $414,243,661.
• Aerospace and defence technologies: 9 projects for $341,404,035.
• Enabling technologies: 3 projects for $21,450,825.
• Environmental technologies: 1 project for $30,000,000.
• TPC-IRAP: 43 projects for $21,388,801.

• Review the balance, scope and focus of activities to ensure efficient use of funds (ongoing).
• Review and revise the project selection process (now addressed).
• Adjust the unrealistic 3-percent operating budget level to the higher level needed for the type of program (now addressed).
• Develop better performance measures and communications to tell TPC's story (ongoing).
• Library - TPC R&D Program Audit & Evaluation 2002–2003

• Improved technological capability, and economic benefits to suppliers.
• Sustainable industrial development in the automotive sector.

• PSIP contracted two projects valued at $300 million.

• Library - TPC R&D Program Audit & Evaluation 2002–2003

• Investments in new hydrogen technology demonstration projects that will lead to a hydrogen economy for Canada.

• Accelerate the market adoption of hydrogen and hydrogen-compatible technologies.
• Leverage of private sector R&D investment.

• h2EA: Two projects for $9,337,075.

• Library - TPC R&D Program Audit & Evaluation 2002–2003

• Creation and expansion of viable businesses in Canada owned and controlled by Aboriginal peoples.

• Creation and expansion of viable businesses in Canada owned and controlled by Aboriginal peoples.

• In 2005–06, direct equity investments by the program helped 289 clients to establish or acquire a business through contributions totalling $12.9 million. Support was provided to businesses in the following areas: tourism, manufacturing, business, professional, scientific or technical services, and businesses linked to specified major developments.



• ABC helped 287 enterprises to expand their operation (this involves innovation or market expansion projects) or embark on new marketing initiatives with another $6.9 million.



• ABC provided assistance to 458 firms with $2.9 million in contributions towards business planning and support projects.



• The $22.7 million in direct equity investments made in the year just ended resulted in a total investment, from all sources, of $82.9 million in Aboriginal business growth, and in the Canadian economy overall.



• In 2005, ABC gathered business performance information related to 273 establishment and acquisition projects. The data collected showed that 92.9 percent of these new businesses were still in operation after one year. While it can be expected that this proportion may decrease as supported businesses enter their second and subsequent years of existence, these preliminary results show that the vast majority of ABC clients successfully launch their business and survive through their critical first year of operation.



• Experience has shown that ABC's emphasis on commercial viability when screening applicants, as well as additional business support provided by the program, enhance the survival rates of businesses supported.



• ABC also provides support to a network of Aboriginal financial institutions (AFIs), which provide loans and business services to small and medium-sized Aboriginal firms. Loan capital is made available through a number of initiatives, including direct capital injections. In 2005–06, ABC invested $9.4 million in the network.



• The yield on the Aboriginal Capital Corporations portfolio is currently 6.93 percent. This is up slightly from the previous year (6.84 percent) and results in a three-year average of 7.17 percent. These results are lower than the figures reported at the beginning of 2000 that saw yields in the 10-percent range. The reduction is reflective of a general trend down in interest rates and the costs associated with developmental lending.



• ABC continues to provide support to 15 “external delivery organizations,” which are Aboriginal financial and development institutions, to assist in capacity development. Support for these organizations continues to result in increased business development and entrepreneurship capacity on the part of these organizations, and it extends the program's reach into more remote areas of Canada. This improves program availability.

• Ensures Canadian communities and businesses have access to reliable, modern information and communications technologies (ICT) infrastructure by bringing broadband, or high-capacity, Internet to rural, remote, Northern and First Nations communities.

• Access by Canadian communities and businesses to reliable, modern ICT infrastructure by bringing broadband, or high-capacity, Internet to rural, remote, northern and First Nations communities.

• The Broadband Pilot Program was originally estimated to connect 400 communities with broadband infrastructure. It is estimated that 896 communities will receive broadband service (3 projects are still under negotiation). The network is built and services are deployed to 294 of those communities.

• Improved community infrastructure through investments in rural and municipal infrastructure in Ontario, with an emphasis on green municipal infrastructure, such as water and waste-water systems.

• Improved community infrastructure in Ontario.

• For 2005–06, COIP announced 22 projects, with a federal contribution worth more than $32.5 million. Additionally, there were 44 milestone ceremonies, 23 project signs approved, and 22 permanent plaques approved. COIP staff completed 75 site visits and performed environmental assessment monitoring and claim processing for approved projects.

• Work in partnership with apparel and textile companies so they can become more innovative and pursue market opportunities.

• Increased competitiveness of the Canadian apparel and textile industries.

• National Initiatives have assisted apparel and textile associations with projects to introduce best practices in manufacturing and marketing, exploit leading-edge technology, and develop and implement global marketing strategies. In addition, an Apparel Business Centre was established this year. Its initial services included company diagnostics, supply chain management, and professional development seminars. Since the inception of the program, the national initiatives component has supported some 140 projects.



• The CATIP firm component, aimed at both the textile and apparel industries, resulted in over 300 project approvals from throughout Canada (157 of these are from Quebec, through the Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions Agency [CED-Q]). The program helped the industry introduce best practices in manufacturing and marketing, exploit leading-edge technologies, develop and implement global marketing strategies, and evaluate and implement e-commerce initiatives. Delivery of the firm component of the program ended March 31, 2005.



• Delivery of the Textile Production Efficiency Component of the program (known as CANtex) continued in 2005–06. CANtex, delivered in collaboration with CED-Q, is aimed at improving the productivity of textile producers and assisting them in transforming production towards higher-value-added textile products. Thus far, CANtex has resulted in approval of some 140 initiatives, about half of which are projects approved by CED-Q.

• Ongoing formative evaluation of CANtex (firm component).

• Provides Canadians with affordable public access to the Internet and the skills they need to use it effectively. Helps Canadians, wherever they live, to take advantage of emerging opportunities in the new global, knowledge-based economy.

• Improved access to the Internet for Canadians most affected by the digital divide.

• 3,930 community-based public Internet sites, in all parts of Canada, funded in 2005–06.



• An estimated 15 million visitors a year were served at these sites, and 8 million were repeat users.



• 68 percent were in rural, remote, northern and First Nations communities, and 32 percent were in urban communities.



• 31 percent of CAP sites are located where no federal government presence exists.



• Primary targets are youth, seniors and job-seekers.



• 8 percent of sites are administered by Aboriginal organizations: 235 sites are on First Nations reserves, and 19 percent of sites serve Aboriginal communities.



• Most frequent usage consists of training, job search services, and accessing government online services and email.

• Evaluation Study of the Community Access Program

• Regional and community development in Northern Ontario.

• Improved retention and development of youth to help increase business competitiveness as well as community capacity and response to local economic development opportunities and challenges.



• Enhanced technology infrastructure and innovation through strategic and targeted support.



• Improved business and trade skills through FedNor-supported counselling and training activities.

• FedNor invested more than $8.5 million to support over 120 internships through its Youth Internship Program, providing recent graduates with valuable work experience that could lead to permanent employment in Northern Ontario.



• FedNor helped connect Northern Ontario communities to the world by investing more than $11.9 million in 70 ICT projects in 2005–06, leading to increased opportunities for local business, and facilitating community economic development and access to services. FedNor invested more than $10.1 million in 50 innovation projects, helping strengthen the innovation capacity of Northern Ontario.



• FedNor's International Business Centre helped Northern Ontario compete in the global economy by supporting 10 trade workshops and seminars, attended by more than 145 participants.

• Community economic development in rural Ontario.

• Improved SME access to capital and leveraged capital for higher-risk ventures through Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC) investments in businesses.

• Ontario CFDC investment of $47.4 million in more than 1,140 local businesses leveraged over $88 million from other sources.



• Through CFDC investments, over 8,000 jobs were created or maintained within local businesses.

• Evaluation of the Community Futures Program in Ontario

• To promote rural socio-economic development in Eastern Ontario.

• Strengthened community capacity for economic development in Eastern Ontario, through community-based strategic economic planning and implementation, and through enhanced technology infrastructure.



• Improved business competitiveness in Eastern Ontario, through support for initiatives to retain and expand existing businesses and encourage new start-ups, including business financing support and the development of human capital.

• Improved competitiveness through the development of over 160 business plans.



• Increased use of technology through the support of over 25 projects to improve technology infrastructure.



• Retention and development of businesses through over 130 loans made to local SMEs, valued at over $2.8 million, which leveraged an additional $19.5 million.



• Attraction, retention and development of human capital through the support of 230 youth internships.



• Improved business and trade skills through skills-development training/counselling to 10,000 participants.

• Increased access to, and effective use of, ICTs and the ICT infrastructure by First Nations students and learners, other Canadian learners, and learning professionals.



• Increased availability of learning resources that are online, multimedia and Canadian content–rich, and that can be re-used and/or re-purposed.

• 88 percent of schools have been participating in the First Nations SchoolNet program; 41 percent of these schools have achieved adequate connectivity to enable e-learning applications. 80,000 students are now benefiting from the program; 29 percent of schools have video conferencing capability, and the computer-to-student ratio was lowered to 1:4.8 from 1:6.0.



• The SchoolNet portal provides Canadian elementary and secondary students with access to online resources. The portal received 222,455 visits in 2005–06.



• 113,411 computers have been refurbished and distributed to schools, libraries and not-for-profit learning organizations, thereby extending the useful life of the computers and diverting them from landfill sites.



• 4500 tonnes of surplus ICT equipment was recycled or refurbished for further ICT applications and use.



• To increase the safety and security of young Canadians using the Internet, Cyberwise.ca was developed and launched in partnership with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada. As of March 31, 2006, the site has attracted 80,700 visitors. In order to create awareness, 116,000 information/promotion items have been distributed to the public. Support was also provided to Child Find Manitoba to operate the Cybertip hotline, where Internet users can report abuses of the Internet.



• Results of Young Canadians in a Wired World, Phase II, which provides a benchmark for the status of the integration of ICTs and a basis for future programming, were released in fall 2005. The results are available online at the Young Canadians in a Wired World — Phase II Overview page.



• 14 of Campus Canada's member institutions (colleges, universities and consortia) offer online post-secondary programs, and 89 Campus Connection participants (colleges and universities) offer online courses. 3,078 online post-secondary courses are available to users through Campus Connections.

• Stimulate economic activities in the Canadian shipbuilding and industrial marine industry by providing financial assistance to buyers/lessees of Canadian-built ships.

• Increased awareness/knowledge about SFF benefits.
• Increased use of SFF by Canadian/foreign buyers or lessees.

• To date, 29 projects have been contracted, representing $52 million of SFF disbursements, $440 million of shipyard sales, and 3,085 person years of employment.

• Interim Evaluation of the Structured Financing Facility (October 2004)

• Administration of the Canada Small Business Financing Act (CSBFA) and the Small Business Loans Act.

• Access to debt financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

• Loans made:
  • A total of 10,864 loans, representing $1,097.4 million, were made to SMEs under the CSBF program in 2005–06.
  • A total of 438 capital leases, representing $38 million, were made to SMEs under the Capital Leasing Pilot Project in 2005–06.
    
    
• Claims paid:
  • In 2005–06, 1,616 CSBFA claims totalling $72.5 million, 183 Small Business Loans Act claims totalling $5.2 million and 15 Capital Leasing Pilot Project claims totalling $426,000 were paid.

The review concluded that the program was still relevant to the needs of small business, there are no attractive alternatives to it, and there is minimal overlap between it and other federal initiatives to support access to financing by small business.

Independent research and an outside evaluation of the CSBF Program under the direction of a public–private sector committee, based on a Result-Based Management and Accountability Framework, was completed to support this review.

• Program Review - Evaluations
• Program Review - Comprehensive Review Report