Speech
August 27, 2008
Speaking Notes for Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation, John Wilkinson
Early Researcher Awards
Bloorview Kids Rehab
August 27 2008, 10:45 a.m.
“Life is the development of what you have, with an acceptance of the things you cannot change.” – Dr. Hugh MacMillan
Check against delivery.
INTRODUCTION
It’s great to be here this morning.
I’d like to thank Sheila Jarvis, President and CEO and Dr. Colin Macarthur, Vice President of Research of Bloorview Kids Rehab… for hosting us here this morning…
I’d also like to acknowledge and welcome
- Sheldon Levy, President of Ryerson
- Mark Rochon, President & CEO of Toronto Rehab
- Christopher Paige, VP of Research of the University Health Network
And everyone else that has taken the time to join us here this morning. I see familiar faces from York University, the Women’s College Hospital, and the University of Toronto…
First and foremost, I want to thank everyone for the work you do ... day in and day out ... to make this province one of the most innovative places in the world.
Ontario is committed to supporting research and innovation as a means of turning global challenges into our next generation of jobs – and most importantly, into better healthcare, a cleaner environment and a higher quality of life for Ontario families.
Ontario’s $3 billion dollar Innovation Agenda is about making investments in our greatest asset – our people and our best ideas – to make this province healthier, greener and to strengthen our economy.
HISTORY OF INNOVATION AND LEADERSHIP
Ontario is fortunate: in communities right across this province, we have a legacy of research leadership – people with the talent to tackle global challenges.
We don’t have to look any further than Bloorview to find extraordinary examples of inspirational and pioneering innovators.
Let me tell you about one from our past… who I was just chatting about with my colleague Kathleen Wynne recently – of course Kathleen is our Minister of Education and the MPP for Don Valley West, and although she cannot be here to join us today she sends her regards and best wishes.
This example we were discussing… was an all-star athlete, devoted father, physician, polio survivor and ultimately, the namesake for this very centre.
I am, of course, speaking about Dr. Hugh MacMillan.
Confined to a wheelchair after contracting polio in the prime of his life, Dr. MacMillan transformed his challenges into opportunities for innovation and hope.
As the Assistant Administrator for what was once called The Ontario Crippled Children’s Centre – the forerunner to the Bloorview that we have today – his goal and his passion, was to help children to achieve their full potential – no matter what physical challenges they faced….
And to create a legacy of research and innovation that would push the boundaries of rehabilitative science.
I’d like to submit that Dr. MacMillan’s professional dedication… positive attitude… and approach to his life and his work… has had a profound influence on rehabilitative therapies for children, and a profound influence on a new generation of researchers here at Bloorview, across our province, and around the world.
And, that’s exactly why we are here today, to announce new funding to create similar opportunities between our top researchers and our next generation of top researchers… through Ontario’s Early Researcher Awards program.
EARLY RESEARCHER AWARDS
This program supports gifted, recently appointed Ontario researchers in building their research teams of graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and research associates.
That ensures that researchers have the hands they need to move their research forward….
Just as importantly, it gives their team members the opportunity to hone their skills and conduct cutting-edge research … further developing our tremendous pool of talent in this province.
That’s important. Because talent is the fundamental element of innovation.
And, now more than ever, Ontario needs to innovate.
ECONOMIC IMPERATIVE
Ontario is being challenged by a slowing US economy, high oil prices and a high dollar. But our economy remains resilient… and we will get through this, together.
And we'll keep strengthening the things Ontario families depend on — like our schools, hospitals and environment — to keep building a great quality of life and improve our economic advantage.
The best way we can do this, is by investing in our greatest asset — our people, and our ability to turn ideas into reality… into products and services that are in demand around the world, that will give us better healthcare, better jobs, a cleaner environment… and a higher quality of life.
TODAY’S ANNOUNCEMENT
That’s why I’m pleased to announce Ontario is investing in 66 new Early Researcher Awards across the province, totalling $9.24 million.
I am also pleased to announce that today we are investing over $3 million in 22 of these projects which are happening here in the GTA.
One of these extraordinary projects is being lead by Dr. Tom Chau, working right here in this lab at Bloorview Kids Rehab, where we are gathered this morning.
Dr. Chau is doing truly inspiring and groundbreaking work to help children who are trapped by severe physical barriers, to interact with the world around them.
This means that bright, energetic children, who are acutely limited in their ability to move or speak, are being given the ability to express themselves… to communicate with their families… to compose music… and to begin to realize their potential.
Dr. Chau’s work brings the prospect of a brighter future to these children and their families...
A brighter future for our communities and society as a whole.
INVENTING A BRIGHT FUTURE
Through the Ontario Early Researcher Awards, we will work together to help strengthen Ontario’s research and commercialization capabilities in areas as vital as health science and advanced medical devices -- including the work being done right here at Bloorview -- as well as clean technologies, digital media and communications technologies.
The goal of this program is to improve Ontario’s ability to attract and retain the best and brightest research talent from around the world.
Today’s investment will ensure that leading Ontario researchers have the resources they need to build their research teams of graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, research assistants and associates from across Canada and abroad.
The Bloorview Kids Rehab research project is expected to create jobs and training opportunities for three post-doctoral researchers, focused on pushing the boundaries of science to create the next generation of advanced medical devices – and new possibilities -- for children, and families of children with severe disabilities.
Across the GTA, today’s investment means cutting-edge research jobs and training opportunities for as many as 74 undergraduate and graduate students and post-doctorate researchers, while at the same time, engaging as many as 1,099 high school students each year, giving them an inside look at real research and inspiring them to consider a career in science and technology.
Across the province, the projects we are supporting will engage as many as 6,700 high school students each year, and create research and training opportunities for as many as 225 students and post-doctorate researchers… building the talent Ontario needs to turn difficult challenges into tremendous opportunities.
As Ontario’s Minister of Research and Innovation, I’m proud to tell you that to date – through Ontario’s Early Researcher Awards, we have supported Ontario’s up-and-coming global research leaders to the tune of $47.2 million.
Thomas Edison once said “If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.”
Today’s investments will ensure that talented Ontarians, at research institutions across the GTA, can realize all that they are capable of.
I fully expect that we will continue to be astounded by what Dr. Chau and his research team – along with the other 21 research teams across the GTA and across our province -- will achieve.
CONCLUSION
You know, in previous centuries, there was a very simple formula for prosperity.
If you could find a local solution to a local problem, you would gain a local market and enjoy economic success.
But in the new millennium, that formula fails to address the reality of globalization.
Our government believes that the new formula for economic success is simply this:
In the face of a global problem, if we can focus our global research excellence, and attract global capital in coming up with even a slice of a global solution ... the global market will beat a path to our door.
It means that, when it comes to talent, it’s no longer good enough to be best in the city ... or best in the province ... or even best in the country.
We need to strive to be best in the world.
As Dr. MacMillan once said “Life is the development of what you have, with an acceptance of the things you cannot change.”
In these times of tremendous change, Ontario will not only survive ... but thrive ... based on the minds and ideas and success of the people we are supporting here today.
Thank you.
See also:
- News Release: Driving the Innovation Economy in the GTA
- Backgrounder: Strengthening Ontario’s Innovation Economy
