Innovation Centre gets funding to help small businesses get tech savvy

NEWS RELEASE
MP TERRY SHEEHAN
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Communities, businesses and residents in the Sault Ste. Marie region will benefit from growth opportunities as a result of a Government of Canada investments of nearly $770,000. This FedNor funding will assist the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre (SSMIC) in delivering three priority projects in its service area. 

Terry Sheehan, Member of Parliament for Sault Ste. Marie, made the announcement today on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and Minister responsible for FedNor.

Of the total, the SSMIC will receive $700,000 to support the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Network in Sault Ste. Marie and Algoma region.

Through this initiative, the organization will provide funding to high-growth small and medium-sized enterprises to help them adopt digital technologies and solutions; assess ICT trends and talent gaps, and implement solutions to increase skilled talent to support digital industries; and coordinate and deploy local and regional broadband infrastructure projects.

In addition, a FedNor investment of $38,000 will enable Acorn Information Solutions, a division of the SSMIC, to document its business model as a way to share best practices with other communities across Northern Ontario.  

The remaining $31,500 will assist the SSMIC’s Acorn Information Solutions in hiring a youth intern to enhance the Vulnerable Person’s Registry through software updates. The registry is a free, voluntary and confidential service that provides first responders with key information about those residents living at home who would be at greater risk during an emergency, such as a fire or natural disaster.

Quick facts

• The investments announced today were provided through FedNor’s Regional Economic Growth through Innovation (REGI) program, which supports the growth of Canadian businesses, their expansion into new markets and their adoption of new technologies and processes, and the Northern Ontario Development Program, which supports projects that promote sustainable community economic development, and enhance business development and growth.
• Since 2016 and through successive budgets, the Government of Canada has earmarked an additional $62 million for FedNor in support of various initiatives to enable the organization to further strengthen Northern Ontario’s economy and create even more middle-class jobs for Canadians.

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