Program Assistance for Canadian Business. Grants, loans, equity funding, advice and research assistance.

Most Small and Medium Size Enterprise (SME) management, with rare exceptions, will need some form of outside assistance from time to time. In an effort to inform our readership about various assistance programs, we have featured a number of them in full length articles in previous issues of STRATEGIES. Here we repeat some of them and add new ones as a reference guide to what’s available.

The Business Development Bank of Canada [1] provides both financial and consulting help. Financing comes both as loans as well as venture capital. Call your local BDC office or 1-888-463-6232.

Canada Revenue Agency [2] administers the SR&ED tax credit program. This program provides financial assistance to companies performing R&D in Canada.

Canada Business Service Centres [3] provide information on both Federal and Provincial assistance programs.

Canadian Commercial Corporation [4] guarantees performance on export sales to foreign public sector buyers, such as the US Dept. of Defense, by acting as a prime contractor. Also provided, in conjunction with a local bank, is working capital for work-in-process for export sales. Call your regional office or head office in Ottawa at 613-995-2121.

The Canadian Technology Network [5] (CTN) is a joint initiative between Industry Canada and the National Research Council. It provides information on data, intelligence and services on technology and related business issues.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade [6] operates the Program for Export Market Development (PEMD). This program provides Canadian companies with annual sales between $250,000 and $10 million with financial assistance in development export markets.

Export Development Canada [7] provides assistance by insuring the receivables of foreign buyers. Contact them at 1-800-850-9626.

Human Resources Development Canada [8] provides targeted wage subsidies to employers hiring individuals having difficulty finding work. HRDC has entered into agreements with most provinces and territories to define how the Benefits and Measures would be delivered in each region. HDRC also sponsors a summer career placement programs [9], a youth employment subsidy program [10], and ON-SITE [11] is an industry-government partnership that assists Canadian organizations by providing educated professionals who gain career-building experience, skills and contacts.

Industry Canada [12] sponsors a number of programs including Technology Partnership Canada [13] which provides loans to develop technology oriented products with export potential for strategic industry sectors. Call 1-800-266-7531; e-mail them at tpc@ic.gc.ca [14]. Industry Canada also has a very large information resource data base called Strategis [15]. Included in Strategis is a list of federal government assistance programs for technology, innovation and licensing [16], and lists of provincial government assistance [17].

The Industrial Research Assistance Program [18] (IRAP) provides financial assistance in the form of grants for R&D projects. Most technical universities and colleges have representatives on staff.

The Intelligent Manufacturing Systems [19] research effort, operating under IMS Canada, is an international R&D effort involving the US, Japan, Canada, Europe, Australia and Switzerland focussed on developing advanced manufacturing technologies. Phone: 613-233-6845 or e-mail: amartel@imscanada.ca [20]

NSERC [21] supports a number of partnership programs [22] including the Idea to Innovation Program [23] which supports to accelerate the pre-competitive development of promising technology and promote its transfer to Canadian companies. The program supports research and development projects with recognized technology transfer potential by providing crucial assistance to university researchers in the early stages of technology validation and market connection.

Ontario Centres of Excellence [24] is designed to make connections between University research and Industry. Each Centre supports university research, develops partnerships, trains qualified graduate students with an industrial orientation, and transfers knowledge and technology to industry. The Centres include Materials and Manufacturing Ontario [25] (MMO), The Centre for Research in Earth and Space Technology [26] (CRESTech), Communication and Information Technology Ontario [27] (CITO), and
Photonics Research Ontario [28].

Ontario Exports Inc. [29] is the lead trade agency of the Ontario Government. By using experienced trade professionals it assists Ontario suppliers of goods and services in developing their export strategies for international markets.

Ontario Ministry of Economic Development Trade and Tourism [30] (MEDTT) supports the Centres of Excellence program in Ontario. Contact them as below.

The Ontario Ministry of Education and Training [31] sponsors the Job Connect Program [32] which will assist employers in reducing costs associated with training a new employee. Job Connect will register job vacancies and help employers find the right person for the job. The Ministry also sponsors the Summer Jobs Services Program [33] which provides a wage subsidy for students 15 to 24 years old (up to 29 for a person with a disability); not currently working for the employer applying for the subsidy (exception: students whose part-time jobs will be increased to full-time while participating in the Summer Jobs Service); and planning to return to school in the fall.

The Strategy
Review all your development efforts and consider obtaining appropriate help from one or more of the above assistance programs.