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If youre reading this you likelyhave a foot in each of two commu-nities. You live in Ottawa, or nearenough (hello Almonte, helloCarp). And you work with ad-

vanced technology.For your information needs as a

citizen theres a plethora of mediaranging from The Ottawa Sun toCJOH to CHEZ.

The paper you hold in your hand,national capital SCAN, is ad-dressed to your interests as amember of the local advancedtechnology community.

This is not to say that SCAN isabout technology per se. Those

who pursue the frontiers of inno-vation and science know where tofind news of breakthroughs in theirfields. Some sources are tacit.They arent codified or document-ed, but arise from professional ex-perience and personal interaction.Others are published. Innovatorsand inventors generally are wellserved by information sources that

proliferate internationally, some ofwhich have a century of history.Ready access to this blizzard ofmaterial is provided through the

world-class collection and collationmaintained by the National Re-search Council and distributedthrough the Canadian Institutefor Scientific Information (CISTI)based on the NRC campus at Mon-treal Road and Blair.

SCAN, on the other hand, isabout the people who make up theadvanced technology communityin Ottawa. Who they are. Whattheyre doing. Their successes.Their try agains.

You rememberSilicon ValleyNORTH, which was the newsleader for Ottawas technology sec-

tor for a decade. It thrived throughthe turn of the millennium but fellon hard times like the sector itselfand finally bit the dust last year.SVN told the story of the tech

community. It provided a vehiclefor finding employees (skills short-ages are back, see articleITs com-ing back, page 4), for informing in-

vestors and for selling product(high tech is the only industrialsector that buys a large proportion

of its own output). And there wereother reasons for its success.

John MacDonald, now presi-dent ofAllstream but then theEVP and CTO ofBell Canada,once said of SVN, One of thebiggest issues Ive got and yournewspaper helps in this regard is getting to understand all of the

capacity and capability we have inthis region. I think there are greatopportunities in terms of working

with companies in this area. Bellis very interested in engaging oth-er R&D companies and manufac-turers to help put together ourportfolio of the future.

In short, this is the mantle thatSCANwill be donning.

Communications is at the veryheart of community and commu-nity is at the very heart of achieve-ment. Ottawa has adopted thecluster as a method of concen-trating talent and productive ca-pabilities. We have a cluster of soft-

ware developers. Of wireless. Pho-tonics. Genomics. Artificial Intel-ligence. Nanotechnology. Bioin-

formatics. Fabless semiconduc-tors. And Ottawa itself is a clusterof clusters, with 1,700 companiesand 75,000 workers engaged in cre-ating and selling products, ser-

vices and systems based on ad-vanced tech.

Bigger than capitalsThere are four capital cities in

Canada with populations muchlower than 75,000. Another, Fred-ericton, is just a shade more pop-ulous at 81,000. A community of75,000 is a substantial group ofpeople, in Canada at least. And

when their interests converge, aswell as their living space, the dy-namic can be thrilling. Lots to

write about.

The team that will be doing thisis led byTony Patterson, who wasalso founding editor ofSilicon Val-ley NORTH, a position he relin-quished when he sold that publi-cation in 2000. Tony is an experi-enced journalist who has also hadhis boots to the fire in the tech sec-tor as CEO of a microelectronicsintegration firm. He is a former as-sociate editor ofFinancial Timesof Canada, Canadian correspon-dent forNew Scientist and a wide-ly published magazine writer (fre-quently in Ottawa Magazine). Heis the recipient of journalismawards from the Canadian Ad-

vanced Technology Alliance andOttawa Life Sciences Council.www.b l a ke s . com | M O N T R A L OTTAWA TO R O N TO C A LG A RY VA N CO U V E R LO N D O N B E I J I N G

Bio, Nano, EnviroandEverythingIn-Between.Blakes-ALawFirmThatGets Tech.

Call Now - Start Classes Soon!

1200 St. Laurent Blvd., Unit 19Ottawa, ON K1K 3B8

1050 Morrison Drive, Suite 200

Nepean, ON K2H 8K7

. 1, No. 1 February 2006News Leader For Ottawas Advanced Technology Community

Forethought savescosts of the IP caseBy Jennifer Bruce

Is it possible that companies andndividuals could own millions of

dollars worth of property withoutealizing its value? Fail to hold doc-

uments proving ownership? Itsnot only possible but all too com-mon. Intellectual property oftengoes unrecognized and underval-ued. Very few people are aware ofhe role IP plays, yet its influencean be felt virtually everywhere.Every brand name, licensed

rade-mark or commercial slogan

s a form of IP, as are key facets ofa great many of the objects we usen our daily lives. Your alarmlocks annoyingly effective signa-ure buzz tone is IP; so are the

unique non-slip soles of the slip-pers you put on when you step outof bed, the shape of the filter bas-ket in your coffee maker, the sto-ries in the newspaper you read

while youre waiting for the coffeeto brew, and the logo on the mug

you drink from. And thats just thefirst few minutes of the day.

Yet the importance of IP goesunnoticed to a large extent. To thepublic at large, it conjures up no-tions of frivolous, petty bickeringover ill-defined concepts re-member the tiff between NBC and

David Letterman over whoowned the rights to the idea of aTop Ten List? This is unfortunate,because a vast body of work and

More, seeForethought, P. 11

HELLO AGAIN!

More, seeHello, P. 11

ORIC to pushOntario globallyBy Susan Johnson

Local high tech visionaryAdam Chowaniecwas hand-picked byDalton McGuintyJan. 5 to chair the Ontario Re-search and Innovation Coun-cil (ORIC), an advisory body forthe newly formed Ministry ofResearch and Innovation. Inmid-February, the premiers of-fice will announce the membersof the council, chosen in part-nership with Chowaniec, andthis will ignite Dalton McGuin-tys vision to support cutting-edge business ideas in theprovince.

More, seeORIC, P. 9

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Each reference is to the first pageof the story in which the nameof the company or individualappears

Advertisers

Companies

People

Accenture, 1

Alcatel, 1

Allen-Vanguard, 3

Allstream, 1, 5

Ash, Stuart, 1

Atomic Energy of Canada, 1

Attachmate, 5

Baker Metals, 9

Belaire, Fred, 1, 8Bell Canada Enterprises, 3

Bell Canada, 1, 5Bereskin Parr, 12

Berkeley, 5Blake Cassels, 1

BMO Nesbitt Burns, 1Boulanger, Frdric, 10

Bridgewater Systems, 5

Brook, George, 8Brown, Will, 9Bruce, Jennifer, 1

Bryden, Rod, 9

BTI Photonic Systems, 3

Business Development Bank, 6

Canadian Association forDisabled Skiing, 5

C-Com, 10

Canadian Institute forScientific Information, 1

Canadian Technology HumanResources Board, 5

Carleton University, 3, 9

CDI College, 1

CHEZ, 1

Chowaniec, Adam, 1

Chrysalix Energy, 6

CJOH, 1

Cognos, 5

Colford, Chuck, 5

Collins, Dr. Francis, 3

Community Foundation

of Ottawa, 7Computer Recyclers Inc., 9

Concordia University, 5

Corel, 5

Cot, Ray, 10

Coulter, Randy, 9

Credant Technologies, 5

Crick, Bill, 5

CT Partners, 6

Curry, Ian, 3

CyberSafe Corporation, 5

Cyrium Technologies, 6

Dale, Jeffrey, 1

Dalhousie University, 5, 10

Daze, Steven, 7

Dean, Alan, 10

Decima Research, 7

DEMO, 3

Dickey, Bill, 1

Digital Equipment of Canada, 1

DNA Genotek, 3

Doyle, Denzil, 1, 7

Economic Council of Canada, 1

Elliptic Semiconductor, 5

EMCON, 5

ENGAGE!, 7

Entrust, 5

Epocal Inc., 3

ETrade, 3

Fafard, Dr. Simon, 6

Fidus Systems, 3, 5, 6

Fillmore, Peter, 1, 6

Finance, Department of, 7

Financial Times of Canada, 1

First Asset Funds, 3

First Boston Corporation, 8

Florida, Richard, 8

Fortinet Technologies, 5

Fujitsu, 5

Fuller, Ann, 3

Gay, Chris, 9Gladwell, Malcolm, 8

Glazebrook, Michele, 9

Gordon, Ian, 5

Gowling Lafleur HendersonLLP, 1, 5

Gray, Murray, 5

GrowthWorks Canadian Fund, 3

Guerrera, Frank, 5

Halogen Software, 3

Harris, John D., 1

Hawtin, Al, 5

Hayami, Rob, 5

Hickman, Susan, 1

Huawei Technologies, 3

Human Genome Project, 3

Hynes, Carol Lynne, 1

HyperFeed Technologies, 5IBM, 1, 5, 9

Intelligent Photonics Control, 5

International DevelopmentResearch Centre, 3

iotum Corporatioan, 3, 10

i-STAT, 3

JDS Uniphase, 1, 5

Jeffrey, Rene, 1

JP Morgan and FidelityInvestments, 5

Klocwork, 5

Lac Deschenes Sailing Club, 5

LaFlche Environmental Inc., 10

LaFlche, Andr, 10

Laking, Lance, 3

Lalonde, Coralie, 7

Lauks, Imants, 3

Lawless, Ken, 1

Ledwell, M. Kent, 1

Letterman, David, 1

Lindgaar, Gitte, 3

Liponex Inc., 1

Liquid Computing, 5Lorton, Renee, 5

Lotus, 5

Lougheed, Fred, 5

Lucci, Mike, 5

Luxton, David, 3

Lynds, Grant, 5

Macadamian SoftwareEngineering, 10

MacDonald, John, 1

Mann, David, 7

Manson, Mike, 6

March Networks, 3

McGuinty, Dalton, 1

Michaelides, Doug, 5

Millea, Tom, 5

Ministry of Research andInnovation, 1

Mitel , 5

MMV Financial Inc., 3

Moore, Geoffrey, 6

Morand, Peter, 1

Motorola Inc., 3

Motorola Ventures, 3

Nantes, Chris, 5

Narula, Raj, 6, 10

National Capital Commission, 8

National Research Council, 1, 6

Natural Sciences andEngineering Research Council, 1

New Scientist, 1

Newbridge , 1Newbury, Russell, 10

Newbury Ventures, 3

Noranda Recycling, 9

Nortel Networks, 1, 3, 5Numerical Technologies, 5

OCRI EntrepreneurshipCentre, 5

OCRI, 1, 3, 10

Office Team, 3

Ontario Research andInnovation Council, 1

Orpheus Musical TheatreSociety, 1

Orr, Melissa, 1

Ottawa Citizen, 7

Ottawa Life Sciences Council, 1, 8

Ottawa Magazine, 1

Ottawa Police, 1

Ottawa Senators, 5, 9

Ottawa Sun, 1

Ottawa, City of, 9

Pangaea Ventures, 6

Patterson, Christian, 1

Patterson, Tony, 1

PeopleSoft, 5

Philpott, Bruce, 3

Piccioni, Brian, 1

Plasco Energy Group Inc.,

PointShot Wireless, 5

Queens University, 5, 10

Reuters America, 5

RightAnswers, 5

Robertson, Erin, 1

Rosati, Debi, 7

Rousso, Gilles, 5

Sagus Systems, 5

Saunders, Alec, 3

Schenkel, David, 3

Scollon, Dave, 5

SCStormont Inc., 1

Silicon Valley NORTH, 1

Simms, Paul, 9

Skype, 3

Sloot, Edward, 6

Software Human ResourcesCouncil, 1

Sokoll, Kenneth, 1

Solace Systems, 5

Sparks, Dr. Daniel, 1

Spotwave Wireless, 3Sprott School, 2

State Street Bank, 5

Statistics Canada, 7

Sun Tsu, 1

Synopsys, 5

Tarbett, Lori Lee, 1

Technical University ofNova Scotia, 5

Telesat, 3

Timmons, Richard, 5

TaraSpan Group Inc., 10

Trigence Corp., 5

TSI, 6

University in Rhode Island, 5

University of Georgetown, 5

University of Lowell, 5

University of New Brunswick, 5University of Ottawa HeartInstitute, 1

University of Ottawa, 1, 5

University of Tokyo, 5

University of Toronto, 5

University of Waterloo, 5

Vector Wind Energy, 3

Villeneuve, Arnold, 7

VoIPshield, 5

Walker, Tim, 5

Wilfrid Laurier University, 5

Workstream, 5

World Economic Forum, 3

Yee, Stephen, 5

York University, 5

Zimmer, Martin, 10

2 national capital SCAN, February 2006

Dont be shy!A community paper is not

just about the community, itsalso by the community. Whileeditors and reporters at na-tional capital SCAN willbe alert to what makes thesector tick, they cant beeverywhere. Well neverclaim to know it all. But col-lectively the members of the

community do know it all, andsome of what you know willinterest others. So pleaseshare through the columns ofSCAN. Send us news of yourachievements, of your people(when theyre hired, whentheyre recognized by peers,when they solve the difficultproblem). Were interested inwhos doing what in Ottawashigh tech community and welook forward to hearing fromyou. Write us at editorial@nationalcapitalscan.ca.

appearing

PEOPLE, COMPANIES AND ADVERTISERS IN THIS EDITION

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Zarlink stock jumpcoincides withannouncement

Zarlink Semicondutor an -nounces its new Ethernet platformor IP video. At the same time, in

an unrelated development, theompanys stock leapt 31 cents, or3.1% a share. Increasing demandor real-time packet services, in-luding television over broadband,equires network access equip-

ment that more efficiently ana-yzes and manages network traf-ic, the company says. Thats whathe newClassSwitch platform

does. On the down side, the com-munications semiconductor com-pany anticipates small profits (ze-o to one cent a share) in the first

quarter of the new year.

Objectworldunearths$6.5 million

Software makerObjectworldCommunicationssecures $6.5 mil-ion in new venture capital funding,

bringing total investment in theompany to more than $10 million.

GrowthworksCanadian Fund ledhe round with $3 million. Further

money came from Latitude Part-ners, the largest investor in Object-world to date. Company foundersDavid Levyand David Schenkelalso contributed, as did a number ofObjectworlds 27 employees. Ob-ectworld is a maker of businessommunications software for the

Microsoft-based IT environment.

BTI lightingnetwork dark zone

BTI Photonic Systems has ac-quired US$12 million in Series Cprivate equity financing. The 65-employee company is usingiberoptic and photonic technolo-

gy to make it easier for carriers toeach new suburbs and to expand

network capacity for services likeideo-on-demand, IPTV and wire-ess Internet. This deal gives ushe capital base to keep pace asommunications carriers upgradeheir networks to deliver more

broadband services at the metro-edge, says Lance Laking, CEO.

Fidus numbersrising

Circuit board and electronics de-ignerFidus Systems has signed

deals worth over $4.5 million in005, almost a third more than in004. Company ranks also grew to

over 50 employees during the year.Winner of the 2005 OCRI Serviceof the Year award, Fidus supplieselectronic engineering services foraerospace, defence, transportation,ndustrial control systems, con-umer products, telecommunica-ions equipment, and biomedicalnstrumentation.

Email has arrivedEmail has become the preferred

orm of business communication,upplanting the telephone, says

Office Team, a temp-help agencybased in Menlo Park, California. Ina recent poll of 100 Canadian busi-ness execs, Office Teams Canadi-an head office in Toronto found on-ly 11 % employed the telephone astheir communication tool of choice,

while 70 % said they preferred us-

ing email nowadays. This is an in-crease of 20% over five years ago,when less than half of executivesranked Email as their primarymode of business communication.

Epocal getsVC injection

MMV Financial Inc. has made aUS$2.5 million investment in Epocal

Inc., an Ottawa-based manufactureof a wireless hand-held system forbedside blood analysis. This in-

vestment strengthens our balancesheet while we remain focused onthe launch of our first product laterthis year, says company presidentand founderImants Lauks. We are

very pleased to have MMV Finan-cial join our investor group. Whileat i-STAT, a company he started in1983, Lauks developed technologythat led to the creation of the firstcommercial biochips. Epocal wasestablished in 2001.

OCRI reportsoptimistech

Two recent reports byOCRI its semi-annual technology em-ployment survey and a report on VCinvestment show local tech com-panies proliferating and profiting.Since July, the number of technolo-gy companies has grown by 4%,

while sector employment rose 7%.There are now more than 1,800companies in the technology sectorand over 76,100 jobs. Venture capi-talists invested just under $362 mil-lion in tech enterprise in 2005, OCRIreports. The average disclosed dealsize increased to $12.73 million last

year from $8.65 million in 2004.

Ailing Allen-Vanguard takes

counter measuresSecurity equipment makerAllen-

Vanguard is cutting 17 jobs, reduc-ing its Ottawa workforce to 30. Wordof the cost-cutting measure came

just days after the company report-ed a $3.1 million order for electron-ic counter measures equipment andat the end of a 90-day period thatsaw it sign $15 million in contracts.The company says it is outsourcingthe manufacturing of its VanguardMkII bomb-sniffing robot to anundisclosed Ottawa company andprojects approximately $2.5 millionin yearly savings. David Luxton,

Allen-Vanguard interim CEO andchairman, believes theres a possi-bility some of those losing their jobs

will find work with the new manu-facturer, which is based locally.

Allen-Vanguard reported a loss of$23.3 million in the quarter endedSept. 30 and predicts even hardertimes ahead. Luxton says the com-panys first quarter results, due tobe released in a week or two, will re-

veal a low water mark in the com-panys financial history.

Forum recognizesDNA Genotek

DNA Genotekis named a Tech-nolgy Pioneer for 2006. The Ottawacompany is the only one from thiscountry to be honoured by theWorld Economic Forum, a Gene-

va-based foundation, for developingand applying innovative technolo-gies in biotechnology and health andinformation technology. A heady ho-nour for any company let aloneone with less than 30 employees and

which entered the marketplace on-ly two years ago the award hasafforded DNA Genotek president

and CEO Ian Curryan audiencewith Dr. Francis Collins, who head-ed the Human Genome Project.The two recently met with other ex-perts to discuss some of the issuessurrounding genome research.

BCE launchingTelesat IPO

Bell Canada Enterprises is of-fering shares in its satellite sub-sidiary Ottawa-based Telesat Thegiant telco says it plans to re-capi-talize Telesat before selling a mi-nority stake later this year. Themove is part of a cost-cutting ini-tiative that will see the giant telcoBCE eliminate 4,000 jobs in 2006.BCE is facing unstinting competi-tion from marauding cable compa-nies moving into the phone market.

Carleton findsinternet usersjudgmental

According to researchers at Car-leton University, internet users

judge a websites appeal in as littleas 1/20th of a second. These almostinstantaneous first impressions caninfluence subsequent judgments ofperceived credibility, usability, andultimately influence our purchasingdecisions, the study shows. I wasreally interested to know if theseaesthetics judgments were a mereexposure effect, says Carleton pro-

fessorGitte Lindgaar. There arelots of other reasons that affect usersatisfaction.... The data we have justpublished only speak to the speed

with which people decide upon animage being shown to them.

Vector Wind stirsup Nova Scotia deal

Vector Wind Energyhas inkeda deal to assemble and maintainfive new wind turbines in Nova Sco-tia, bringing the companys energyoutput in that province to sixmegawatts, enough electricity topower 300 homes. The agreement

with First Asset Funds shouldgenerate a minimum of $642,000 in

revenue for Vector over the nextyear and a half.

IDRC setting upopen archive

The International Develop-ment Research Centre plans tocreate an open archive that will al-low full access over the Internet toIDRCs extensive researcharchives. The resource will alsoprovide IDRC-funded researchers

with a much-needed forum to pub-

lish their work. According to IDRC,the archive is necessitated by anemerging culture of protecting in-tellectual property, soaring costsof accessing research literatureand difficulties in having researchpublished in traditional journals...

March tiestransit deal

March Networks secures a con-tract to install its mobile digital sur-

veillance system in buses operatedby the Regional Transit Service inRochester-Genesee, New York. TheMarch Networks solution will...bringpeace of mind to our customers anddrivers...and [offer] a higher level ofpublic transit service to our cus-

tomers, says Bruce Philpott, di-rector of RTS Transit Operations.

iotum to DEMOiotum Corporatioanwill be un-

veiling a new application for its coretechnology at DEMO 2006 inPhoenix, Arizona. DEMO, the pre-mier launchpad for emerging tech-nologies, yearly receives hundredsof applications from companies inNorth America and around the

world, each vying for a place in thepeer-and-media generated DEMOspotlight and a chance to presenttheir technology on stage in six min-utes or less. DEMO 2006 is an amaz-ing opportunity for us, saysAlecSaunders, iotum co-founder. Were

flattered to be launching at the sameevent where Skype and ETradelaunched. The 11-employee iotum,in business for two years, makes theRelevance Engine, a call filteringand prioritizing system.

Nortel-Huaweiventure basedin Ottawa

Nortel enters into another jointventure with China-based HuaweiTechnologies, a global telecomequipment manufacture with sys-tems and products in over 100 coun-tries. Based in Ottawa, the project

will focus on enhancing productsfor Huaweis broadband access

portfolio and the development of anew ultra broadband technology.Nortel spokespersonAnn Fullersays the company chose Ottawa be-cause of the depth of R&D exper-tise here. Nortel and Huwaei havealready signed an agreement thatallows Nortel to supply its cus-

tomers with Huaweis broadbandaccess range of products.

Spotwave landsUS$10M

Spotwave Wireless securesUS$10 million in venture capitalfunding aimed at expansion. Theround, led byMotorola Ventures,the VC subsidiary ofMotorola Inc.,also saw further backing comingfrom existing investors includingNewbury Ventures,VenGrowthPrivate Equity Partners and TheGrowthWorks Canadian Fund.Spotwave management and staff al-so contributed. Spotwave makesproducts that allow thorough indoor

wireless coverage by eliminating

dead spots. Wireless coverage ismore and more a priority for com-panies delivering wireless applica-tions and for telecommunicationscarriers looking to retain customers.

Another shiningyear for Halogen

Halogen Software reports an 86%revenue increase in 2005 over theprevious year. The company hiredsome 40 new employees during the

year, raising numbers to approxi-mately 70 and necessitating a moveto larger facilities on March Road inKanata. Halogen makes Web-basedemployee performance manage-ment systems that are currentlybeing used by over 400 customers.

national capital SCAN, February 2006 3

nuggetsNEWS AND NOTES FOR THE RECORD

Youre holding thepaper and we hope youlike it. But youre goingto love theSCANweb-site. Its not quite thereyet, but at www.nation-alcapitalscan.ca youcan leave your nameand well let you knowas soon as we get it to-gether. The websitewill be a daily affair,with news and analy-sis, blogs, RSS feedsand a variety of media.Our objective for the fu-ture is to morph from aprint publisher that al-so produces a websiteto an electronic pub-lisher that also prints apaper. We look forwardto interacting with youin community forumsand on communityweblogs. If you haveany suggestions tomake as we completethe sites design, pleaseEmail christian@nationalcapitalscan.ca.

www.nationalcapitalscan.ca

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4 national capital SCAN, February 2006

By Susan Johnson

Like a fine wine, many thingsmprove with age, and it seems005 was a very good year for

O t t a w a si p e n i n g

h i g h - t e c hector. Notince the

heady days

of the late90s havewe seen

uch buzz.V e n t u r emoney poured in, hitting levelsnot seen in years. Companies se-cured millions in financing deals.Huge revenue increases were re-ported. High-profile IPOs wereaunched. And, job growth in high-ech was predicted to hit 100,000

by 2010.

Latest comments from thegrandmasters of Ottawas telecombiz and various national think-anks proclaim the industry hasurvived endless restructuring

and is now able to focus on in-de-mand technologies with interna-

ional interest.And the biotech industry reports

venture capital levels in Ottawa for005 have, for the first time, sur-

passed that of Toronto. Of the Ontariodeals, more than $60 million went toOttawa, with $10 million going di-ectly to environmental technologies

a level unheard of elsewhere forhis subdivision of the sector.

The Ottawa Centre for Re-earch and Innovation (OCRI) haseported steady growth across

most technology sectors in Ottawaor 2005, particularly in the software

domain. The January 20th releaseof OCRIs semi-annual technologyemployment survey shows a 4% in-crease in companies and a 7% in-

crease in employment since July2005, a continued trend since mid-2004 when OCRI first reported em-ployment increases in Ottawa.

According to OCRIs presidentJeffrey Dale, the big tech shopslike JDS, Nortel, Newbridge andAlcatel accounted for at least 50%of Ottawas total tech employmentat the height of the market in thelate nineties. Today, they account

for less than 20%. It is now thesmall- to medium-sized compa-nies that are on a hiring binge.There are 75% more businessesin Ottawa then there were in thelate nineties, and some of thesecompanies have grown 40% or50%, and in some cases 100% inthe past year.

The whole industry has re-structured itself, says Dale. Wehave a lot of smaller companiesand they dont do everything any-more. Design work can be out-sourced, manufacturing is gone.The companies that are out therenow are a lot more nimble and Ithink they have tremendous po-tential for growth.

The problem is that you need

people to grow, and Dale predictsthat we may be headed for askilled worker shortage that willstall Ottawas new-found high techmomentum.

It seems this is not a revelatorynotion in the high-tech communi-ty. According toAccentures re-cent online survey of Canadian ex-ecutives, 76% of respondents wereconcerned about their ability to at-tract and retain skilled talent. Itseems Ottawa companies will facesome tough recruitment and re-tention issues to sustain our re-cent, and quickening, growth.

One concern is an apparentskill-set mismatch between un-employed tech workers and Ot-tawas market needs. As the mar-ket changes focus from large tosmaller-sized companies, so the

skills required to run them will bedifferent. Soft skills, like leader-ship and communications, are indemand along with the latest tech-nology skills. While you couldhave lived in a purely technical en-vironment before, when youre ina small company you cant, saysDale. You have to understandhow to work with a customer. Youneed to be multi-faceted, multi-

skilled.Another issue is the youngergenerations disenchantment withcareers in high technology. Theymay be wired with the latest gad-gets, but when it comes to choos-ing a job, technology has becomea dirty word.

The University of Ottawa is re-porting much lower enrolment inits computer science courses. It isable to house 250 students but, todate, only 60 are enrolled. Youngpeople seem less interested in theindustry because of its volatile his-tory and assumed lack of security.TheSoftware Human ResourcesCouncil, which studies nation- wide employment issues that af-fect information technology work-

ers, has been talking about the de-cline in enrolment in computerscience and certain engineeringfaculties for at least two years now,and theyre reporting that its atdangerous levels.

We have to reinforce the factthat technology is here, its aliveand its a good career, says Dale.We have to talk to the parents,the kids, the teachers. Right now,we are working with Ottawas uni-versities and colleges to build aprogram that will be geared to-wards that how to get the mes-sage out.

It doesnt help when our politi-cians are not interested in, orwont speak publicly about, hightechnology issues. A minority gov-

ernment leader may think twicebefore voicing support for an in-dustry that once brought havoc toour economy and its investors.Politicians stopped talking abouttechnology when the stock mar-ket dropped. Ive talked to someof their handlers and they say,Well, we cant talk about that. Toomany little old ladies lost theirpension money with Nortel stock.Its a voting issue, says Dale.

Ken Lawless, president of theOttawa Life Sciences Council,also commented on a need forhighly skilled workers. But fi-nancing must be secured first.Lawless says Ottawas life sci-ences sector will need $700 million

over the next five years to supportcompany growth. This means dou-bling yearly intake of venture cap-ital for the industry to truly thrive.

Even though Ottawas biotechsector hit record VC levels in 2005,it needs to secure more interestfrom international particularlyU.S. sources. Ottawa compa-nies must increase the quality and

depth of their VC deals and en-gage more angel investors. Thiswill help attract and retain theskilled workers who will furtherbiotech research and develop-ment in the capital.

There is a lack of critical talentand we need help to become com-petitive globally, says Lawless.We have a large internationalnetwork of expatriates, approxi-mately 3,000, working outside ofOttawa and they are waiting tocome back because of the qualityof life here. But we have to enticethem.

Biopharmaceutical researchcompanyLiponex Inc., estab-lished on discoveries made byDr. Daniel Sparks at the Uni-

versity of Ottawa Heart Insti-tute, completed a successful IPOin September of 2005. Accordingto president and CEO, Bill Dick-ey, this helped to lure KennethSokoll, an expatriate and award-

winning researcher working inthe United States, to Liponex asits new VP of drug development.

Were looking for Canadianswith international experience.But we need to be somewhatcompetitive, especially sinceU.S. dollar salaries are gener-ally higher. As an IPO, weraised enough to stabilize us

with two years of researchmoney. I have no doubt that

was a comfort for Ken. If youdont have solid financing, itstough to convince someone tomove.

Luring the expats:one who returned

ITs rebounding with vigourbut skill shortage is high hurdleand youth isnt ready to jump

Susan Johnson

Jeffrey Dale Ken Lawless

The companiesthat are out there

now are a lotmore nimble andI think they have

tremendouspotential for

growth.

We have toreinforce the

fact thattechnology

is here, itsalive andits a goodcareer.

Well, we canttalk about that.Too many littleold ladies losttheir pensionmoney withNortel stock.Its a voting

issue.

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Dave Scollonoins the OCRI EntrepreneurshipCentre as manager of the Ottawa

Capital Network.He recently re-ceived his MBAfrom U of Ottawaand is now pursu-

ing his CFA desig-nation. Davespent 20 years in

he high tech sector in various en-gineering and financial positions.He has worked at Nortel and JDS,as well as acting as an adviser to anumber of local technology com-panies. Coming to the Entrepre-neurship Centre is sort of a transi-ion for me, he says, and ahance to give back to the com-

munity.

Richard Timmons,ormerly withVoIPshield, is ap-

pointed chief operating officer atEMCON. He hasa deep back-

ground in the se-curity and com-puter communi-cations sectors.Previous posi-

ions include CEO ofIntelligentPhotonics Control and generalmanager ofCyberSafe Corpora-ion in Seattle, which acquired Sa-

gus Systems , a company heounded in Ottawa in 1996. Richards a licensed professional engineer

and holds an MSc in informationystems. Raised in a mining com-

munity in Labrador, he first cameo the capital region to ski racealpine) in the Canadian National

Junior Championships. I liked Ot-awa so much, he says, I decidedo come here for university. An

all-around athlete, Richard alsoplayed semi-pro soccer. He stillkis recreationally and canoes andn the summer.

Klocworkappoints Ian Gordon as vice pres-dent of product management and

Tom Milleavice president of sales.Before joining Klocwork, Ian wasvice president of marketing andproduct management at CredantTechnologies, a security software

ompany he co-founded in Dallas,Texas. He earned a BSc in systemsdesign engineering from Waterlooand received his MBA from Wil-rid LaurierU. Resident in Ottawaor more than 20 years, Ian takes

ime to ski and bicycle with hisamily and play with old cars.

Tom was director of sales for fed-eral and southeast US business atAttachmate before moving toKlocwork. He has held senior po-itions at IBM and Lotus, where he

was vice president and generalmanager for the Americas.

EllipticSemiconductornames Stephen Yee VP of sales.With more than 15 years experi-ence in the semiconductor andEDA industries, Stephen most re-

ently served as VP internationalales at Numerical Technologies,

which has sincebeen acquired bySynopsys. He isan avid automo-bile enthusiastand regularly at-tends Ottawa Sen-

ators games. Stephen holds a

BEng (electrical) from Concordia.At the same time Elliptics founder,Al Hawtin, is un-dertaking a newrole as the com-panys VP of mar-keting and busi-ness develop-ment. He is a cy-cling enthusiastand recently pedaled through the

wilds of Costa Rica. His hobby, hesays, is keeping [his] ancient cot-tage standing. Al has a BSc in elec-trical engineering from Waterloo.

Grant Lynds,after almost six years at Nortel, act-ing as litigation counsel most of the

time, joins the Ottawa office ofGowlingsas a partner and will prac-tice in the area of IP litigation. Grantearned his law degree from Queensin 1995 and was called to the OntarioBar in 1997. He also has a mathe-matics degree from Dalhousie Uni-

versity and a mechanical engineer-ing degree from the Technical Uni-

versity of Nova Scotia. Workinglargely in the areas of US trademarkand patent litigation, he was admit-ted to the New York Bar in 2001

Mitelappoints Doug Michaelides asnew global vice president of mar-

keting and namesGilles Rousso re-gional vice presidentof Mexico, theCaribbean and Latin

America. Dougspent 20 years atNortel before mov-

ing toAllstream, where he was se-nior VP of market-ing. He has a BSc inelectrical engineer-ing from U of T andan MBA fromYork.Gilles joined thecompany in 1992 andhas been instrumen-tal in expanding Mitels presencein Latin America. He holds a BScfrom Roger Williams Universityin Rhode Island and an associatesdegree in industrial engineering

from the University of Lowell inMassachusetts.

Chris Nantesjoins Nortel s global portfoliobrand management group as se-

nior manager ofmarketing strategy.Previously with Bellin Ottawa, he spentseven years in vari-ous engineering andmarketing positions

there. Chris volunteers with theCanadian Association for Dis-abled Skiing, plays guitar, singsand is an avid golfer. He attendedDalhousie in Halifax, where heearned an MBA.

Rob Hayamijoins RightAnswers in Ottawa asregional sales manager for Cana-da. He previously held sales andbusiness development positions

with Databeacon an d Corel .Based in New Jersey, RightAn-swers provides IT help desks with

self-service applications designedto reduce support calls and maxi-mize the ROI from existing supportand knowledge management soft-

ware. Rob is a 12-handicap golfer, amusician, whitewater canoeist andsnowboarder. He earned a bache-lor of commerce degree from theU of Ottawa.

Tim Walkeris named new director of customersupport and professional services

forPointShot Wire-less,which specializesin wireless solutionsaboard trains. Before

joining the company inJanuary, he held a

similar portfolio atWorkstream. Previously, he workedat Entrust, Bridgewater SystemsandNortel, in a number of support,testing and product managementpositions. Tim plays guitar and hasgigged with local rock bands. Heholds a bachelor of applied mathe-matics degree from Waterloo.

Liquid Computing,a computer server developer with70 employees, has hired ChuckColford as director of strategic pro-

ject delivery and Dr. Iwao Toda asAsia-Pacific strategic advisor.Chuck is a cofounder ofTrigenceCorp., where he remains a mem-ber of the board of directors. In

2000, while at Nortel , he wasawarded the Carrier Business GMAward of Excellence. He holds anengineering degree from the Uni-

versity of New Brunswick. Iwaowas most recently a fellow in thelaboratories ofFujitsu. Prior to

joining Fujitsu, he was an executivevice-president of research and de- velopment at NTT. Iwao holds aPhD in electrical engineering fromthe University of Tokyo. He hasbeen a visiting professor at UCBerkeleyand several prominentJapanese universities.

CTHRB,the Canadian Technology HumanResources Board has appointedFred Lougheed andMurray Grayas acting co-executive directors,replacing Bob Cook, who retiredin 2005. Fred, a graduate of Mo-hawk College and a certified en-gineering technologist, will headthe CTHRBs marketing and out-reach program. He is a past pres-ident of both the Canadian Coun-cil of Technicians and Technolo-gists and the Ontario Associationof Engineering Technicians andTechnologists. A graduate of Al-gonquin College, Murray will over-see work on Canadian technologystandards used for professional de-

velopment and occupational de-scriptions. He has over twenty

years experience in Manufactur-ing, Sales and Marketing.

Bill Crickis appointed director of engineer-ing at Fidus Systems, where hell

oversee the work ofmore than 40 design-ers. Bill has over 25

years experience as atechnology engineer,

both with start-upsand at Nortel. He

sails out of the Lac DeschenesSailing Club on the Ottawa Riverand likes to ski. Bill holds a bache-lor of applied science degree inelectrical engineering from Wa-terloo.

Frank Guerrerais named chief technical officer offinancial services at Solace Sys-

tems. He previouslyserved as CTO andexecutive vice pres-ident with Hyper-Feed Technologiesand as a VP withReuters America.

He has designed global tradingfloor networks and electronic trad-ing systems for large financial in-stitutions, including State StreetBank, JP Morgan andFidelity In-

vestments. Frank is the proudowner of a Hanovarian Cross rid-ing horse and is an avid sports fan.

Renee Lortonis named senior VP and GM of per-

formance manage-ment applications atCognos. She previ-ously served as se-nior vice presidentand general manag-er at PeopleSoft.

Earlier in her career she workedforPricewaterhouseCoopers asglobal chief information officer offinancial advisory services. Work-ing out of Cognos Washington DCoffice, Renee will report to senior

VP products, Peter Griffiths, whosplits his time between Ottawa and

the UK.

national capital SCAN, February 2006 5

Re/Max metro-city realty ltd.

Mike LucciRealtor for busy

people.

Tel: 613-596-5353www.buysellottawa.com

Congratulations

on your

premiere issue.

orbits

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE IN AND AROUND OTTAWAS HIGH TECH COMMUNITY

Youre holding the pa-per and we hope youlike it. But youre goingto love the SCAN web-site. Its not quite thereyet, but at www.nation-alcapitalscan.ca youcan leave your nameand well let you knowas soon as we get it to-gether. The website willbe a daily affair, withnews and analysis,blogs, RSS feeds and avariety of media. Ourobjective for the futureis to morph from a printpublisher that also pro-duces a website to anelectronic publisherthat also prints a paper.We look forward to in-teracting with you incommunity forums andon community weblogs.If you have any sugges-tions to make as wecomplete the sites de-sign, please Emailchristian@nationalcapitalscan.ca.

www.nationalcapitalscan.ca

Stephen

Al

Doug

Gilles

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6 national capital SCAN, February 2006

Outsourced electronic designs...That work first time.

Hardware/Software

FPGA/ASIC

PCB Layout

High-Speed Signal Integrity

613.828.0063 www.fidus.ca

Cyrium drives disruptive innovation

At Cyrium Technologies, Ed-

ward Sloot has assumed thepresidency at an exciting

uncture Cyrium has superb en-ergy-saving technology under de-velopment, and is planning for thenext challenge, going to market.ntroduction was provided byRaj

Narula, senior advisor to Cyriumand a veteran Ottawa technologyentrepreneur. I visited Ed, Raj, and

Mike Manson at theirNationalResearch Council incuba-

tor facilities on Mon-treal Road.

The companyssolar cell technolo-

gy was developedby its founder and CTO,Dr. Simon Fafard a former

senior research officer with NRC who envisioned a disruptive in-novation for the global energy mar-ket. They have recently received$3 million in funding from the Busi-ness Development Bank, TSI ,Chrysalix Energyand Pangaea

Ventures.Their triple-junction solar cell

technology is expected to deliverabout 38% conversion efficiency inspace applications, a 40% jumpover incumbent technologies,

which now deliver 27%. As Slootcomments, This will be thebiggest improvement in solar cellenergy conversion efficiency, inone step, that the world has everseen.

Application opportunities are inspace (satellite power source) andfor terrestrial energy needs (in-dustries, power grids, remotecommunities). In the short term,expensive satellites can be madeto work better and last longer. Inthe long term, the planets global

warming situation can be dramat-ically improved, through replacingthe use of fossil fuels.

We discussed several elementsof their early market strategy,

which have relevance to thosereaders at a similar stage, seekingto win over their first Early

Adopters. In the context ofGeof-frey Moores nine points of mar-ket strategy, Ill relate the Cyriumstory to the first four points, which

have most of the impact on marketsuccess:

1. Who is the buyer?Early adopters in space science

applications will be addressed first.Here the buyers are visionaries,happy to be part of a leading edgetechnology. Cyriums solar cells willbe used in a non-mission critical

way to deliver stand-by/alternativepower to the scientific payload.These applications will provide in-surers with evidence of a new tech-nologys reliability in space. As thecompany develops space experi-ence and gains the endorsement ofsatellite insurance underwriters,Cyrium anticipates a strong mar-ket pull from the commercial satel-lite market, which will consider the

application of Cyrium cells to thecore power needs of new satellites.

2. What is the compelling rea-son to buy?

Satellites are getting power hun-

gry, especially with the advent ofHigh Definition TV. The Cyriumtechnology can deliver more ener-gy per unit of cell area, hence satel-lite designers get more energy forthe higher bandwidth HDTV trans-missions. The overall satellite so-lar panel size can be 40% smaller;hence shorter support arms canattach sufficient cells to the satel-lite, reducing rotational inertia.Shorter arms also save propellantneeded to adjust earth-facing ori-entation, thus extending satellitelife. In addition, Cyriums new tech-nology has better radiation resis-tance, thus less degradation overtime, again extending life of thesatellite.

3. What is the whole product?The Cyrium core product is a

III-V semiconductor wafer de-signed to capture solar photon en-ergy from a wider spectrum (i.e.more wavelength). For scientificreaders, it is gallium arsenide ona germanium substrate. A semi-conductor fab plant will be en-gaged as an outsourced facility todo wafer production. Wafers aredelivered to customers who haveexisting expertise in panel assem-bly, and access to qualified spe-cialty suppliers who do dicing, lay-ering and connections to create asolar panel.

As research continues, the com-pany expects to evolve the coretechnology to include silicon sub-strates, achieving much lowerprice points for a given perfor-mance level enabling expansion

into new markets.4. What partners and allies areneeded?

Cyrium will be engaging key ad-visors with specialized, detailedknowledge and credibility in solarcell technology and associated ap-plications. Their role will be to cre-ate peer recognition through theirrespective networks and extendthe market reach for Cyriumsproducts.

In the future, fields of solar cellscould efficiently feed utility powergrids, powering industries andsmall towns, especially in sunny ar-eas with high annual degreedays. Longer-term success ties into other energy source evolutions for instance vehicles poweredby hydrogen fuel cells, where bil-lions have already been spent on

vehicle designs. The cost of ex-tracting hydrogen is a barrier toadoption of these vehicles, but

floating farms of highly efficient so-lar panels could provide the elec-tricity necessary to extract hydro-gen from water, nurturing an eco-nomical fuel supply to a whole newfleet. Cyrium is aiming its market-shaping disruptive technology atthese bold new horizons, using arealistic market entry strategy todeliver successful innovation forits early customers.

Peter Fillmore is an Ottawa-based market developmentexecutive and sales managementadvisor. Contact him by e-mailfillmore@westpark.com

MarketechPETER FILLMORE

the biggestimprovement insolar cell energy

conversionefficiency, in one

step, that the worldhas ever seen.

Edward Sloot

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By Susan Johnson

If you are a budding entrepre-neur, you are certainly focused on

success. Likely, youre working 60hour weeks with your nose to thegrindstone, so to speak. But, once

your business and financial goalsare in sight, you may take a stepback and decide to give to the com-munity that has given you so much.

As a successful entrepreneur, youhave a unique opportunity to en-rich lives in your locality throughphilanthropy.

The Engage! program, in part-nership with the Community Foun-dation of Ottawa, helps entrepre-neurs and investors make informedchoices about their charitable giv-ing. It also offers administrativesupport, which is a welcomed ser-vice for those donating substantialsums of money. To join the pro-gram, individuals sign a commit-ment to provide financial supportto the charities of their choice whenthe time is right. There is no spe-cific amount or date, only an ex-pressed wish to give.

Engage! is about creating andsupporting our next generation ofphilanthropic leaders, saysCoralie Lalonde, co-founder ofEngage! Launched in September,2005 at the Ottawa Technology and

Venture Summit, the program hasattracted 140 members to date. Asa Community Foundation partner,Engage! is able to provide its mem-bers with a well-established sup-port infrastructure and informa-tion on particular philanthropic op-

portunities.If they are interested in a cause,homelessness for example, we cantell them what is going on with thatissue in Ottawa, says Lalonde.We can tell them about the orga-nizations involved, the types of pro-

jects that are happening, and whoslooking for funding. By partnering

with the Community Foundationwe have all that information.

Lalondes early success (shestruck gold on a technology in-

vestment in 1999) was key to theidea behind Engage! I was fortu-nate enough to be successful in myinvesting but, prior to that, my

work was all-consuming. I didnteven look up to see what else washappening in the world. Countries

could have fallen, she muses.When I was able to take a stepback, I could see what was goingon in my community and got in-

volved.

To give backShe visited Volunteer Ottawa, a

not-for-profit that organizes volun-teer opportunities in the communi-ty, told them what her volunteer in-terests were, and asked to be paired

with particular organizations. Hermotivation was simple. The com-munity was good to me in so many

ways. People who were successfulhelped me when I was struggling.(They) offered me time, energyand mentorship opportunities.

So I wanted to give back to mycommunity in the same way.

While chatting over coffee withfriend and fellow philanthropistDebi Rosati, the two came up withthe idea for Engage! They pulledtogether a team of business lead-ers from Ottawas investment andentrepreneurial communities and,over a year, developed the idea andlaunched it last fall.

Steven Daze, member of theEngage! advisory council and ex-ecutive director of OCRIs Entre-

preneurship Centre, is a huge fanof the program. Its a great, low-risk way for people who are com-munity minded to become awareof issues. Engage! provides an ex-cellent facilitation role, theyreknowledgeable about issues, theyknow where the needs are, andtheir process is efficient.

Lalonde says Engage! is an easysell. Most newcomers are alreadyphilanthropists on some scale.Theyre looking for another levelof support.

David Mann, a retired high-techexecutive, thought Engage! was anideal solution for managing his andhis wife Elizabeths substantial do-nations. In the past few years, my

wife and I would typically donate

five figures to organizations each

year. Our giving was very unstruc-tured. We would usually just re-spond to appeals and at the end ofthe year would say, Well, we gavea lot of money to charity this year.It wasnt very organized, saysMann.

Mann and his wife turned overmanagement of their yearly dona-tions to the Engage! program bysetting up an endowment that dis-tributes monthly contributions tothe charities of their choice. En-gage! also collects tax receipts

from each charity, which, for Mann,is a great relief.Most charities are not bad (for

giving receipts), but you can getone or two that will have you run-ning around in circles. In the end,

you have to give up. To be honest,if the charity is doing a good job, Idont care too much. Though, ithelps to give to others when I doget a tax receipt.

But, more importantly, Mannwas compelled to join the programbecause the fund will continue todonate to the community long af-ter he is gone. Even when I passon, that fund will still be operating,generating income and makingcontributions in the name of ourfamily to various causes, he says.

To me, thats a brilliant notion.

It looks like we are finally get-ting somewhere on the pro-ductivity debate; we are going

o stop using the word altogether.A recent study done for the feder-al Department of Finance byDecima Research (Ottawa Citi-

en , Dec. 27th, 2005) found thatCanadians dont like the word verymuch and are apprehensive aboutts use by politicians and policy

makers. They see it as a justifica-

ion for layoffs, reduced wages, anda lowering of workforce expecta-ions.Terms such as human capital

and physical capital were alsoound to be offensive.

Their apprehension is wellounded. Our politicians have a

habit of spinning their messageso suit their own needs ratherhan to solve any real problems.

For years, they have scoldedCanadian industry for not doingenough R&D even though ourR&D incentives are among themost lucrative in the industrial-zed world. What they dont seemo want to discuss is that we have

an industrial infrastructure thatdoes not need much R&D. It istill too focused on the supply of

aw materials and low-value-added products. The companieshat supply those products areworld-class users of technology-based products and services. Butt is the suppliers of those prod-

ucts and services, not the users,hat are the research-intensiveompanies. Rather than preach

about the need to build a wholenew industrial infrastructure,politicos prefer to tilt at the R&Dwindmill.

They are doing the same withhe productivity debate. They im-

ply that if Canadians would work aittle harder and make more use ofechnology-based products andervices, our productivity woulduddenly rise to meet that of our

rading partners, particularly thatof the U.S. What they should be ad-mitting is that the forces of global-zation are not working in ouravour; we are being left with theobs that have low sales per em-

ployee and/or low gross profits andhese are parameters that are di-ectly related to that thing we call

productivity. Even though we havea healthy trade surplus with theest of the world, particularly withhe U.S., there is not much profitn those sales.

We do a reasonably good job ofreating innovative companieshat could produce higher qualityobs. But a high percentage ofhem get acquired at an early

stage by foreign (mostly U.S.) com-panies and their operations

get integrated withthose of the parent

company and itsother subsidiaries.

The Canadianmandate is typically to

supply R&D services to theparent company at profit levelsthat are the bare minimum to sat-isfy the Canadian tax authorities.

The main reason for not leavingmore profits in Canada is becauseour corporate tax rates are toohigh. And yet we have politicianstelling us they are looking after ourinterests by keeping them that

way. It is interesting that Irelandhad the highest productivitygrowth of all industrialized coun-tries during the last ten years(4.7%) and its corporate tax rate

was the lowest 12 %, or half ofCanadas. If our politicians wantmore productivity, they should low-er our corporate taxes and imple-ment policies that would stimulatethe building of more Canadian-based multinational companiesthat can dictate where the highquality jobs and the profits will beleft. We will still have to leave someof those jobs and profits elsewherebut we can do a lot better than weare doing at the present time.

Worse in techThe statistics seem to indicate

that the higher the level of tech-nology in a given sector, the worseCanada seems to do in it. In a chartproduced by the Conference Board

of Canada and published in theOct. 16 , 2004 issue of theNational

Post, we were about 50% less pro-ductive than the U.S. in the com-puter and electronics sector but30% more productive in the con-struction sector. Could this haveanything to do with the fact thatthe former has a very high level offoreign ownership and is selling toa non-arms-length market in

which transfer prices are con-trolled by foreign owners while thelatter sells mostly to a domesticmarket in which prices are deter-mined by more conventional com-petitive forces?

There is other data that seemsto raise more questions than it an-swers. A report issued byStatis-

tics Canada in Dec. 2005 statedthat U.S.-controlled plants in Cana-da were much more productiveduring the 1990s than domestical-ly-controlled plants, accounting for45% of the productivity growth dur-ing that period. When one consid-ers that over 50% of our manufac-turing capacity is now U.S.-con-trolled, the domestically controlledportion must be a basket case be-cause our overall productivity, rel-ative to the U.S., fell during thatperiod.

Like the R&D debate, the pro-ductivity debate does not seem tobe serving Canadians well. Maybethe time has indeed come to doaway with the P word altogether.

national capital SCAN, February 2006 7

Time to do awaywith the P word

In My OpinionDENZIL DOYLE

Enrolling the next generationof local philanthropists

Arnold Villeneuve

Vice PresidentProfessional Services Division

Arnold.Villeneuve@cirilab.com

Tel: 819.772.9979 Ext: 230Fax: 819.772.4838Cell: 613.833.0984

CIRI Lab Inc.80 Belleau Street, Suite 200, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada J9A 1H1

Tel 819.772.9979 www.cirilab.com

Coralie Lalonde: Made it, stepped back, got involved

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8 national capital SCAN, February 2006

Have we got a deal!We had a deal for you in this inaugural edition.

But as it got closer to deadline we realized that we hadnt reached every-

one in order to explain the deal. So our associate publisher, Samantha

Biron, suggested that we extend it. Good idea.

Its a way to save a buck on advertising costs in national capital SCAN.

Or a lot of bucks. It was offered to advertisers in this issue and now its ex-

tended to advertisers in the next (March) edition.

In short, the deal provides discounts ranging from 5% to 20% to advertis-

ers who start an ad campaign in the March edition of SCAN. If the ads run

three times, the discount doubles to 10%. It doubles again to 20% with a

years campaign (12 insertions). And the discounts are permanent. Twenty

years from now you can be saving 20% off SCANs rate card by taking ad-

vantage of this offer now.

Why take advantage? Nobodys put the basic premise any starker than

the hard-hitting Sun columnist, Peter Worthington, who wrote in his au-tobiographical Looking for Trouble, Repeat nonsense five times and peo-

ple laugh; repeat it fifty times and they get angry; repeat it five hundred

times and they are ready to die for it. Coca Cola recognizes this truth.

And as another eminent Canadian, Sir William Osler, once said, In sci-

ence the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not to the one who

gets the idea first.

At SCAN we believe that convincing the world starts with convincing

your neighbour. Thats why were here, to help you hear, reach, stay in

touch with community.

For further information, please contact

samantha@nationalcapitalscan.ca.

Creating regional wealth: the long and short of IT

Creating the wealth of regionsfrom knowledge is the pathnot yet taken. Every time I

hear In A New York Minute Imeminded of my first visit to therading floor ofFirst Boston Cor-

poration. For me that trading pitepitomized wealth production un-der stress. Today, all of us live withhe stress from t ime compressionhrust upon us by the informationevolution.

Information technologyhas revolutionized the

way we communi-cate and compute.This has enabledus to explore new

ways to embed ex-plicit knowledge into the

physical capital. But this is not allwe need to do to win in the mar-ketplace. The real edge that canhelp us realize the economic po-tential of our region is human cap-ital, worker know-how. Tacit andexperiential knowledge is embed-ded in individuals and involves in-tangible factors such as personalbeliefs, perspectives and value sys-tems in combinations that areunique and not transferable.

Around the globe, rich nations andpoor aspire to the wealth genera-tion of knowledge workers. The

competition for this emerging Cre-ative Class is terrific.

Richard Florida, inThe Rise OfThe Creative Class, describes howscientists, artists, entrepreneursand other self-motivated creativepeople can shape our public andprivate sectors and create region-

al wealth. The author assesses anumber of regional economicstrategies (e.g. attracting compa-nies, or concentrations of educat-ed people, or forging social cohe-sion, trust and community con-nectedness). But he concludesthat regional growth is now drivenby the creative class. He sharesJane Jacobs views on the strate-gic role of diversity of both firmsand people in powering innovationand city growth. As Jacobs sees it,great cities are places where peo-ple from virtually any backgroundare welcome to turn their energyand ideas into innovation and

wealth.Creative people prefer places

that are diverse, tolerant and opento new ideas. These places will gen-erate new combinations, leading tohigher rates of innovation, hightechnology business formation andeconomic growth. Technology, Tal-ent and Tolerances, thus, becomethe 3Ts of economic growth. Heand his colleagues have subse-quently developed an index thatmeasures the creative competi-tiveness of nations according to

their ability to develop the 3Ts (seeRichard Florida, The Flight of theCreative Class). Canada ranks 11th

out of 45 countries. As a communi-ty we will have to do better.

It neednt take a lot of planningand organization. If we just use thetalents were wired with, and act,

we can probably get there withoutsweating it.

One possible strategy for Cana-das capital region might be a Hu-man Capital Commission (HCC) toattract the creative class while theNational Capital Commission(NCC) continues with its mandateto make local lands attractive.Would this be tough to do? Only if

we make it so.Blink byMalcolm Gladwell is

about how we can achieve resultsalmost instinctively, how we think

without thinking, about choicesthat seem to be made in an instant in the blink of an eye.

The part of our brain that leapsto conclusions like this is called theadaptive unconscious, he writes,...a kind of giant computer thatquickly and quietly processes a lotof data in order to keep function-ing as human beings.

Gladwell defines a critical part ofthis rapid cognition as Thin-slic-ing, the ability of our unconsciousto find patterns in situations andbehavior based on very narrowslices of experience. This is an in-trinsic part of tacit knowledge.

He sets out a military exemplarof the collective use of thin-slicing.The U.S. Joint Forces Commandran a war game after DesertStorm. The Millennium Challenge

was to test a set of new and quiteradical ideas about how to do bat-tle. The Blue Team was given

greater intellectual resources thanperhaps any army in history. TheRed Team, which was led by a bat-tle-hardened veteran, decided tomake decisions the way people un-der pressure like firefighters or in-tensive care units do. They size upa situation almost immediately andact, drawing on experience, intu-ition and a kind of rough mentalsimulation. The Red team won. Notin a blink but long before the Blueteam could figure out what washappening.

We shouldnt have to blink morethan once to send the message thatOttawa welcomes the creativeclass.

Fred Belaire is the most activeretiree in Ottawa, advising gov-ernment agencies and major cor-

porations, organizing thought-provoking seminars, lending ahand when a project needs pullingor a gap needs plugging, and

grandparenting. Former secre-tary of the Economic Council ofCanada and chief economist for

Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., hemay be found day or night at

fred.belaire@sympatico.ca

Wealth ofKnowledgeFRED BELAIRE

New approachto thinking greenBy Melissa Orr

With the recent emphasis on en-vironmental issues, and a growing

oncern by consumers surround-ng the depletion of natural re-ources, many organizations have

embarked on research to developnnovative ways of preserving our

environment.Consumers and environmental

organizations that keep a watchfuleye on environmental issues arebecoming familiar with the ap-proaching concept of bioproducts.

According to George Brook,project director at the Ottawa LifeSciences Council, bioproducts will

hange the way we harvest andonsume energy.Brook defines bioproducts as

products created from a renewableesource, rather than from a hy-

drocarbon source. Simply put, it isreating the same product in a dif-erent and efficient way. These

products are made using compo-nents derived from biological ma-erials known as biomass. Organic

and renewable materials such aswood, plant fibers, ethanol derivedrom starch and methane from

plant and animal waste, are in-aluable biomass.

Presenting at the Christmas

Forestry Seminar in Kemptville,Brook says that bioproducts pro-vide numerous environmental ben-efits such as year round avail-ability, minimal fertilizer require-ments and, most of all, that al-most every component of the prod-uct is used, thereby reducing theamount of waste that is produced.

Byproducts of one company canbecome the starting point for anew product produced by anotherorganization, thereby reducing theamount of waste. Brook uses theerm industrial economy to de-cribe various organizations linkedo each other, creating a sustain-

able bio-network.Canada is blessed with an abun-

dance of natural resources that

can be used as an alternative tothe damaging pollutants that areproduced on a daily basis. EasternOntario is an ideal haven for thedevelopment of bioproducts sinceit contains a vast quantity of bio-mass in its natural greenery, whichremains underutilized.

Still, the question of economic vi-ability is important if this concept ofbioproducts is to be embraced bymajor corporations. Brook has nodoubt that bioproducts will pass thetest of generating substantial prof-it. He argues that with increasingconcerns about climate change andthe high cost of energy, as well asthe development of technology inthis sector, large corporations willbe interested in investing in thistechnology. Brook predicts thatCanada will be redirected into abio-based economy, with the bio-products sector becoming a domi-nant economic engine as we movefurther into the 21st century.

Within the Ottawa region thereare pioneering ventures in intro-ducing new technology into thelandfill cites, as well as using Ot-tawa as a base for alternative en-ergy (see Moose Creek, page 10).The constant debate over what canbe done with the mounting piles ofmunicipal waste is just one of the

issues that implementation of abioproduct system can address,using an environmentally safeprocess.

The OLSCs Bioproducts Busi-ness Network is an initial step inspreading the benefits of the useof bioproducts to major organiza-tions in and around Ottawa. It iscomprised of various organizationinterested in finding inventive

ways to use resources that are un-derutilized. Its primary role is toeducate businesses and the com-munity about the constantlyemerging opportunities in the bio-product industry, as well as to pro-mote cross sector relationshipsand to merge research with com-mercial opportunities.

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national capital SCAN, February 2006 9

By Susan Hickman

When you buy a new computer,hances are you dont contemplate

how youre going to dispose of itwo or 10 years from now. Whileome computer makers, such asBM, have programs to take back

and recycle old models from se-ect customers, there is a near in-inite number of electronic ma-hines collecting dust at the back

of closets, in attics, basements andgarages.

Some outgrown computers areold or generously donated to rel-

atives, friends or charities. And themore creative types have beenknown to convert monitors into fishanks. But for many, what to do

with an unwanted computer is adilemma.

Legally in Ottawa, computersan be put out with other waste

and transported to a landfill site.But in Gatineau computers wontbe picked up, and in various other

urisdictions in North America by-aws are being passed to prohibiteaving computer parts with

household or industrial waste. Andn the final analysis, many com-

puter users are too conscientiouso contaminate the environment

with their used equipment.Michele Glazebrookin Mon-

real admits, We had real troublegiving away our Mac about sixyears ago. At the time, a majorCanadian international organiza-ion advertised that it acceptedomputers for third-world busi-

nesses. But when I called, the con-act person told me they wouldnt

accept anything without Intel ca-pability!

After a few more phone calls,

Glazebrook finally got Big Brothersand Big Sisters to cart it away withother knick-knacks and furniture.

Who knows what happened tot.

Beyond the options of selling ordonating cast-offs, recycling oper-ations are offering alternatives tondividuals and companies who arewilling to pay a fee. In October

004, for example, the Albertaprovincial government initiated anelectronics recycling program, theirst of its kind in Canada. Televi-ions and computer equipment can

be dropped off at more than 75 col-ection sites. And about a year ago,etailers in that province beganharging a nominal environmen-al fee on new electronic items to

over recycling costs.The problem, says Paul

Simms, an environmental engi-neering professor at Carleton Uni-versity, is after collecting the e-waste, what to do with it.

Certain components containheavy metals and other com-pounds that would be toxic to any-one exposed to high enough levels.Right now, the percentage of e-waste going into landfills is verymall, but more and more people

are using computers, the level ofe-waste is rising and in the future,t may be a more significant prob-em.

A group of students in Simmsolid waste management class re-

cently researched recyclingaround the globe and approachedthe City of Ottawawith their find-ings. The city responded positive-ly and may well become involvedin a co- operative venture with stu-dents next year.

The European Union wants tokeep e-waste out of landfills, saysSimms, not only because of the

toxic material, but to reduce thevolume. Many countries makemanufacturers responsible for theend product or add a surcharge onnew products.

Simms believes manufacturersshould make computers easier toupgrade to avoid so much waste inthe first place, combined with amore efficient recycling market.

Randy Coulter, who has beenselling refurbished computers fornearly a decade, opened an elec-tronics recycling plant last monthin Bells Corners.

You have no idea how much ofa nightmare this is, says Coulter,

who has been stockpiling usedelectronics for years, charging hisclients 62 cents a pound to take itoff their hands. I hate waste. See-ing all this stuff being thrown intodumps is disgusting. And peopleare throwing old equipment in rur-

al areas, on farm property. We re-cycle and resell only 10% to 15% ofthe old equipment they bringhere.

The rest is broken down into thevarious components and shippedto a variety of outlets. Mother-boards, for example, go to Noran-da Recycling, which opened abouta year ago. Small quantities of cad-

mium, nickel, lead and silver arechipped and sent to a mine in Que-bec, while steel goes to BakerMetals, where it is crushed withold cars and ends up in Hamiltonssteel mills.

Monitors, which contain leadglass, are more of a problem todeal with, explains Coulter, butthere is a market. Korea, for ex-ample, wants the lead glass for itsauto industry.

Computer Recyclers Inc., inNepean, created the True End ofLife Recycling Program over thepast two years. Metal, plastic,glass, all the components fromcomputer equipment is reclaimed.

Zero landfill, says ComputerRecyclers managerWill Brown.

Disney World in Florida hasbenches made from computerplastics. Everything is recycledand introduced back into the man-ufacturing stream.

More than 1,600 individuals havedropped off equipment at Comput-er Recyclers over the past coupleof years, says Brown. And the vol-ume is increasing. We are headedtowards our one-million-poundmark and we havent nearscratched the surface.

Rod Bryden, formerOttawaSenators owner and originator ofmany an innovative venture, in-cluding a new company involved

with plasma generators, is keento discuss a technology which

could go a long way to solving theexcess computer problem.

Bryden is chief executive officerofPlasco Energy Group Inc., anamalgamation of Ottawa compa-nies that have been focusing onplasma technology. He says thatplasma generators will be able toproduce the most intense heat onthe planet and turn old computer

equipment into new energy.Chris Gay, Plascos executive

vice-president, explains that plas-ma generators can create amass-less heat that doesnt con-sumer oxygen. A closed vessel,

which allows no emissions to es-cape into the atmosphere, is ableto contain all manner of waste, in-cluding discarded electronics, andin a matter of microseconds,

volatiles will gasify and metals andother non-volatile material willturn into a molten slag. This re-sulting gas will be used to gener-ate electricity and the slag, oncesolidified, will be used as a buildingmaterial.

We take waste that nobody elsewants . . . and end up with energy

and benign byproducts, withoutputting anything into the atmos-phere.

This process of convertingwaste, while first patented some 20years ago, is relatively new in themarketplace, according to Gay.

We have a small research anddevelopment plant in Spain,says Gay, but Ottawa is going tohave our first major facility. Weexpect to be building a plant inMarch or April and producinggas probably by November. Com-puters will be just a part of the 75to 85 tonnes per day that we willbe turning into kilowatts of elec-tricity. Were going to make it

very attractive.

Recycling PCs boosts energy prospects

Some computerparts need recycling even before theyre used.

Innovation and the marketing ofnew ideas globally are the key in-gredients of a healthy economy, ac-cording to the premier. At a Sep-tember 2005 event to promote therecent $50.5 million investment inTorontosMaRS Discovery Dis-trict a 700,000 square foot facil-ity which houses state-of-the-artscience and technology researchlabs alongside technology compa-nies and investment capital firms McGuinty shared his vision forinnovation in Ontario.

Imagine how much more pro-ductive we could be in generatingnew ideas and wealth if our collec-tive efforts were focused wheretheyre needed, because they areclearly not right now. Imagine what

we can do if we all pull together.In his speech from the throne in

October 2005, the premier reiter-ated this vision of taking local dis-coveries, turning them into prod-ucts and services, and marketingthem to the world. To do this, thepremier says Ontario must bolsterits research and development

while making strategic invest-

ments in key economic sectors.

We must be, fast to discover,fast to build and fast to market,McGuinty said during his speech.We need to lay the foundation forspeed here in Ontario. Comparedto other jurisdictions in North

America, Ontario ranks near thebottom of the list when it comesto both private and public sectorinvestments in innovation.

To move his agenda forward,McGuinty launched the Ministryof Research and Innovation inJune 2005. Alistair Glass, cur-

rently the chairman of the TyndallNational Institute in Cork, Ire-land, will assume the role ofdeputy minister on Feb. 13.

Chowaniec says the role of thecouncil will be to advise the min-istry and premier on all aspects ofinnovation, research and develop-ment in Ontario. This includes theexpansion and enhancement ofthe high tech sector, but also non-tech business like manufactur-ing and banking which are nottraditionally R&D-intensive.

Ive been active in trying to getall levels of government to look atthe issues of building and growingcompanies in Canada. Its an area

where well have to expand in thefuture because the world is be-

coming more global and there aremore competitive challenges inhow we grow and use innovation,says Chowaniec. This council willbring to the table the issues thatboth help and impede companiesin terms of growth and creativity.The whole intent here is helpmake Ontario more competitive.

Chowaniec says the councilmembers will have diverse back-grounds including high-tech,manufacturing, and academia to enable well-represented dis-cussions on the challenges of cre-ating and growing companies. Weneed to understand the impedi-ments of success, and what can wedo to remove them, he says.

Fast to discover, fast tobuild and fast to market

ORIC from P. 1

Disney World inFlorida has benchesmade from computerplastics. Everything

is recycled andintroduced back intothe manufacturing

stream.

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10/12

company begins to take steps tobecome an eco-industrial park.

We started with a landfill, but thefocus now is better ways to manage

waste matter, for example extract-ing gases to produce power to heatgreen houses, says Zimmer.

Ray Cot is a professor at the

school of resource and environ-mental studies at Dalhousie Uni-versity. He says the concept of aneco-industrial park is a recent one,

just 12 years old. His research isfocussed on eco-industrial devel-opment with an approach to re-duce the ecological footprint ofbusinesses. He explains that a for-mal standard for an eco-industrialpark has not been adopted yet. Hesays an eco-park is organized sothe wastes of one business becomethe resources of another to reduce

costs and add value from discard-ed materials.

Soil bioremediation isLaFlches first venture toward anagro-eco industrial park that issimilar to an eco-park but pro-duces agricultural material. Thesoil remediation facility consists of

treating contaminated soil from fu-el spills by allowing microbes toconsume the contamination into

water. The finished product is or-ganic soil that can be re-used foragricultural purposes.

LaFlche Environmental isworking with Queens Universi-

tyon an aquaponics project thatis expected to be in operation nextyear. The project uses a green-house facility for growing fish andhorticultural foods for sale.Methane gas is used to producegreen power to heat the water forraising fish. Waste from the fishturns to stable fertilizer for cropsand vegetables. Its time thatbusinesses and communities stepforward and find new ways of im-proving the environment, saysZimmer.

Surviving when good times turn badBy Jennifer Bruce

The volatility of business cyclesin the high tech sector can makeeven the most seasoned manager

worry.Unfortunately, even the best

safeguards and strategies cant al-ways protect a business that hasbegun to flounder. EnterRaj Naru-la, self-professed serial entrepre-neur and advisor to several start-ups in the Ottawa area. Currentlymanaging partner and co-founderofTaraSpan Group Inc., Narulasadvice is straightforward and sim-ple.

Once a company is in financialfreefall, an internal meeting mustbe held in order to draft a brief

statement to clarify the situationfor employees and clients. Control

must be handed over to an outsidequarterback who can assess mat-ters quickly and commit to what-ever measures are necessary tosave the company. In Narulas ver-sion of this two-minute drill,heres the play: have managementcheck their egos at the door; scaledown immediately across theboard to increase efficiency; elim-inate all mid- to long- term devel-opment in order to focus on mar-ket-ready projects which will gen-erate revenue; appoint one teamleader for engineering functions;and schedule daily update meet-ings to ensure all staff membersremain committed to the businessof survival. Narulas believes in theability of people to create their ownsolutions once empowered to doso. Their contributions lay thegroundwork for rapid recovery andrenewed strength for the future.

Frdric Boulanger, presidentofMacadamian Software Engi-neering, provides a personal ex-ample of how he managed to savehis own company after the post-Y2Ktech bust threatened its existence.Three friends fresh out of universi-ty launched Macadamian in 1997,their combined technical knowl-edge winning numerous contracts

which allowed them to operate at aprofit without having to seek out-side investors. Even the most direpredictions by market analystsleading up to the year 2000 couldnt

have prepared these successful en-trepreneurs for what lay ahead. Butthe outsourcing of a great volumeof IT service contracts to India un-dercut Canadian business, leavingcompanies like Macadamia scram-bling to replace lost revenue fromestablished clients.

Boulanger emerged as the onlyone who believed his future lay

with Macadamian. His main prior-ity through the dark days of thebust was to have his company run-ning in the black again within a

year. To do so required a more se-lective approach to spending, ashis clients now expected a muchquicker return on investment.

Merit and skill were rewarded,rather than seniority, when the in-

evitable decision came to cut staff.Strict budgeting and accountabili-

ty at every level led to reduced ex-penses which made profitabilityeasier to achieve. Looking back,

Boulanger be-lieves that hisinclusive ap-proach tostrategic plan-ning, in whichall staff wereconsulted andencouraged tolook towards

the future of their company, wasinstrumental in creating the boostin morale necessary to makeMacadamian a winner again.

Sometimes, a bold approach isnecessary to turn around a stag-nant yet promising business. In2001, Russell Newbury, now VP ofsales foriotum Corporation, sawpotential in C-Com, an Ottawa-based mobile satellite provider. Atthe time, small and rural commu-nities were being neglected by ca-ble and phone Internet providers.Russell recognized the value of thisuntapped market and implement-ed a daring strategy, including dra-matically raising C-Coms monthlysubscription rates and the price ofend-user hardware. Although re-tailers were sceptical of the pricehike because C-Coms previoussales had been sluggish, the gamblepaid off, with two successive quar-ters of triple-digit revenue growth.

But such a rapid acceleration of

demand proved to be more than C-Coms limited infrastructure couldhandle. The pressure was on thisnewly-successful company toadapt quickly to numerouschanges throughout the business.The extreme jump in sales meantthe quality of client support beganto suffer. Sweeping changes wererequired to regain a firm footing,among them to establish a call cen-tre in Prince Edward Island to han-dle basic customer needs.

Turning around a high tech com-pany requires focus, courage, vi-sion, and adaptibility. These casestudies were recently presented

within OCRIs Partnership Con-ference Series coordinated byDr.Tamas Koplyay.

10 national capital SCAN, February 2006

By Rene Jeffrey

Moose Creek was a big winnerast month in the ongoing battle toeduce waste.

A town on theoad to Mon-real from Ot-

awa, halfway betweenC asselmanand Maxville,Moose Creekgot a $140,000

heque in anew initiativeo reduce

waste production.On Monday, January 23,Andr

LaFlche, president ofLaFlcheEnvironmental Inc., presentedhe cheque. LaFlche Environ-

mental, a waste management com-pany, puts one dollar into what italls the Host Community Fund for

waste reduction every time oneonne of waste is supplied to themn Eastern Ontario. The Moose

Creek community of North Stor-mont received the money becausehis is where the companys wasteacilities are located. The moneyan be spent at the communitys

discretion, including reduction ofax levels.

We cant continue to consumehe way we do now, says Martin

Zimmer, general manager ofLaFlche. Zimmer is responsibleor overall management of landfill

operations and has over 20 yearsof experience in waste manage-ment. He says the Host Commu-nity Fund illustrates one ofLaFlches core beliefs: that com-munity and economic development

go hand in hand with a cleaner fu-ture.

He also says the fund is a wayfor the company to help invest inthe growth of local communities

while implementing innovativewaste disposal solutions. We haveto find new ways of managing

waste in order for there to be aclean, stable and sustainable envi-ronment for our future and the fu-ture of our children, says Zimmer.

With the use of cutting-edgetechnology such as its bioreactor,LaFlche transforms waste into

valuable assets. Waste is laid in-side a natural clay bowl that islined with sophisticated fabric anddrainage stone. This complex sys-tem involves re-circulating the wa-ter from deteriorating waste to en-courage an anaerobic reaction.This causes microbes to act fasterin decomposing waste. The biore-actor decomposes waste in 15 to20 years. The traditional landfillsite takes an average 50 years todo the same thing.

The bioreactor is also an eco-nomic asset to the community. As

waste breaks down, methane gasis created and held under a soilcap. Once there is a sufficientamount, the methane can be cap-tured and used to generate elec-tricity. The bioreactor is expectedto produce enough methane gas topower at least 1,000 homes in theMoose Creek area for over 50

years.The bioreactor is the foundation

for capturing heat and carbon diox-ide, the by-products created whenmethane gas is used as electricity.These by-products will be used forother innovative projects as the

Moose Creek cleans up and wins waste reduction prize

An eco-park isorganized so thewastes of one

business becomethe resourcesof another

Rene Jeffrey

Frdric

Boulanger

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national capital SCAN, February 2006 11

untold sums of money are governedby the myriad of rules and regula-ions that determine and enforce IP

ownership. Weve come a long wayince the first basic copyright leg-slation was drafted centuries ago.

Modern IP law is often a minefield.With all the twists, turns, pitfalls,

and loopholes that companies en-ounter in this brave new world, its

no wonder that the protection of in-ellectual rights has become a keygrowth area for top law firms. AsStuart Ash, a partner in GowlingLafleur Henderson LLP (Gowl-ngs), puts it, If you dont have atrategy to manage and protect yourP, you can be sure youll be playing

a role in someone elses strategy.Getting, and more importantly stay-ng, well-informed about IP is nomall feat, given the complex and

ever-changing nature of patent,rade-mark and copyright law af-ecting the business of technology.

Its not enough simply to build theproverbial better mousetrap. Ifou do so without proper protection,he world may beat a path to your

door, but theres no safeguardingyour IP once they get there. Com-panies or individuals have 12months to protect patentable tech-nology in Canada or the U.S. or itbecomes part of the public domain.Such a short window of opportuni-y puts the onus on creators of newntellectual design to know what

hey have, and take advantage of itbefore its too late.

Protection for initial patents lastsa maximum of 20 years in NorthAmerica. But despite long-standingnternational agreements such asheBerne Convention of 1886, eachountry has its