The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Bernard Davis, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation:

Mr. Speaker, Newfoundland and Labrador is home to an inventive, productive, and competitive innovation ecosystem.

Last month, I started TechTour 2020, by visiting Genesis and Memorial’s Centre for Entrepreneurship, two of the province’s well-known business incubators. I also toured innovative startup companies CoLab and Mysa, both of which were fostered at the Centre for Entrepreneurship, where more than 300 students now avail of programming.

Mr. Speaker, I also visited Virtual Marine Technology and Genoa Design, companies which have grown to become respected global leaders in their fields. Both of these companies were nurtured at Genesis, which has clients and graduate companies generating in excess of $200 million in revenues annually, and are all headquartered in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Other innovative companies I met with included Kraken Robotics, a company developing next generation sensors and robotics to support the ocean economy; and Score Canada, which has developed cutting-edge valve management technologies to aid the oil and gas sector.

I also had the good fortune to visit C-Core and met with some Memorial students who are designing Killick One, the first ever provincially built and operated observation satellite.

Mr. Speaker, through the Business Innovation Agenda and Technology Sector Work Plan, our government is committed to enabling entrepreneurs and helping to create new innovative businesses, and exceptional employment opportunities. And I assure you, there are more great things on the horizon.

I ask all honourable members to help me acknowledge the innovative technology being developed in our province, and recognize the resources and capabilities we have right here at home.

Thank you.