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August 15, 2016 Vol. 19, NO. 21

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Visionary concept Local entrepreneurs part of team developing breakthrough system to restore sight to visionimpaired people. > PAGES 2-3

Invest Ottawa co-chair David Ritonja says he’s thrilled with the calibre of candidates vying to become the agency’s next chief executive. PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON

Invest Ottawa searching for a star Economic development agency says ‘really good names’ in mix to fill CEO position Diverse group of more than 100 candidates in the running to usher organization into a new era at Innovation Centre > PAGES 8-9

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Suzanne Grant and Michel Pigeon are two of the three founders of Australian-Canadian biotech startup iBIONICS. PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON

Biotech startup eyes breakthrough for vision-impaired clients Joint Canadian-Australian venture uses diamonds, lasers to restore sight to people with retinal diseases — and is projecting annual revenues of $500 million after three years

BY ADAM FEIBEL

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2016

adam@obj.ca

OBJ.CA

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joint venture between entrepreneurs in Ottawa and scientists in Australia sees huge potential in its technology that would restore sight to people with blindness using diamonds and lasers.

The company, iBIONICS, is developing a bionic eye system to restore vision in people with retinal degenerative diseases using a diamond retinal implant and laser-beam glasses.

The firm’s founders believe the business will eventually take in revenues of a halfbillion dollars per year.

Before that, they’ll have to raise at least $100 million to commercialize the product and market it globally. That

number may be high, but the firm’s founders say that in the biotechnology industry – in which Sydney-based Cochlear is nearing $1 billion in annual revenues from its own implants for hearing restoration – it’s quite feasible.

The new startup is indeed directly inspired by Cochlear, which was named one of the world’s most innovative companies by Forbes in 2011 and has used its technology to restore hearing in more than 300,000 deaf patients since 1981.

“The challenge that we thought we’d undertake was to see if we could do for eyes what they had already done for ears,” says Steven Prawer, a Melbournebased scientist who conceived the idea for iBIONICS and, after meeting with tech expert Michel Pigeon while visiting Ottawa, co-founded the company with

him and Suzanne Grant, a successful local entrepreneur who was recruited as CEO. Here’s how it works: the person wears a pair of glasses equipped with a small camera that captures the image data.

The glasses send that information via a laser beam to the diamond implant at the back of the eye, which then converts the data into electric signals that artificially stimulate the retina.

“The technology is almost perfect,” says Mr. Pigeon, the startup’s COO. “It has all these beautiful properties, and the technology is really disruptive …

If you have something that’s highly differentiated and best-in-class, then you know you have something big.”

In Canada alone, about 500,000 people live with significant vision loss, and every year another 50,000 or more

lose their sight, according to the CNIB. Vision loss costs the Canadian healthcare system an estimated $8.6 billion a year and results in billions more in indirect costs such as lost productivity, the organization has noted.

“Our goal isn’t just to alleviate the pain of blindness, it’s also to have a product that’s so cost-effective that it actually saves society money,” says Mr. Prawer.

The company’s main competitor, Second Sight, has paved the way by proving that people can get some form of vision back using eye implants, says Mr. Prawer. But the current technology requires a long and complicated surgery and does not have a high level of acuity, he says.

His company has been consulting with Dr. Flavio Rezende, a Montreal

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surgeon who has garnered attention for his work with existing “bionic eye” technology. The firm says its product will be quicker in surgery, achieve a much higher resolution and also be safer and cheaper than what’s currently on the market.

These days, the company is in the process of optimizing the product’s design and is conducting pre-clinical trials of the surgical technique in Montreal. After plenty more development and testing, iBIONICS hopes to reach the in-human clinical trial stage within 24 months. Beyond that, it would need product approvals.

“We’re looking at coming onto the market in five years,” says Ms. Grant.

To get to market, the company will need about $50 million in funding, she says, while the total estimated $100 million will get the firm to the point where it’s operating at a global scale.

After the first three years on the

market – the product would sell for roughly $75,000 per unit, though those are early estimates – the company projects revenues of $500 million per year.

“Our focus is on helping blind people – that’s our mission, that’s our vision,” says Ms. Grant. “At the same time, that’s not possible without having a really good business model and investment model.

And there’s a really good return-oninvestment opportunity here.”

While the firm is still a few years away from emerging on the market, Ms. Grant says she believes iBIONICS is part of an emerging sector of the health industry that has tremendous potential.

“The big hype about wearables two years ago is what we’re coming upon with implantables,” she says. “We’re just at the cusp. And, this is an opportunity for Canada to step up and to be delivering innovation, solutions and new business to the world.”

until the Ottawa branch becomes self-sufficient in late 2017, according to a media release.

Mealshare hopes to have more than two dozen participating restaurants in Ottawa by Labour Day.

CHANGE LOG SHAW CENTRE PARTNERS WITH YOUTH CHARITY STARTUP Ottawa’s downtown convention centre has signed on as a founding partner of Mealshare Ottawa, the new local chapter of a national social venture working to end youth hunger.

The organization partners with restaurants to offer particular items that, when a customer orders them, will result in Mealshare also providing a meal for a youth in need – it’s a “buy one, give one” scenario, as the firm describes it. The Shaw Centre committed $5,000 toward the organization’s startup costs

CALENDAR

Rise of the Young Pros Thursday, Aug. 18 at 6:15 p.m.

Shopify, 150 Elgin St. Info and registration at eventbrite.ca

Startup Garage Rally Thursday, Sept. 8 at 4:15 p.m.

City Hall – Jean Pigott Place, 110 Laurier Ave. Info and registration at eventbrite.ca Building a Culture of Innovation Friday, Sept. 16 at 9 a.m.

The Code Factory, 100 Gloucester St. Info and registration at eventbrite.ca IoT613: Ottawa’s Internet of Things Conference Thursday, Sept. 29 to Friday, Sept. 30 Canadian Museum of Nature, 240 McLeod St. Info and registration at iot613.com

BY INVEST OTTAWA

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he summer is finally here and although it’s the perfect time for vacationing and lounging by the beach, the Ottawa ecosystem never takes a day off! Here are a few of our highlights from the past months: AccelerateOTT More than 400 people gathered in the Horticulture Building at Lansdowne for our fifth annual AccelerateOTT. The tuned-in insight paired with the sunny skies and unbeatable company made for the perfect day. Thank you again to all speakers and sponsors; as well as anyone that came out, shook hands, and exchanged business cards. We couldn’t have done it without you.

“This project will open doors...”

- NAVDEEP BAINS, MINISTER OF INNOVATION, SCIENCE, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

ICBY Announcement In June the Federal Government announced an injection of $8 million into the Innovation Centre at Bayview Yards. Adding to the $30 million already invested by the Province and the City of Ottawa, the new dollars will be used to develop key programs and resources within the building.

“This project will open doors for a number of small and medium-sized businesses in high-growth sectors,

and will lead to the development of innovative products and technologies here in our Nation’s capital,” says Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development. The Innovation Centre is on track to open fall 2016. #HUSTLESHUTTLE Invest Ottawa was front and center at this year’s International Startup Festival, as thousands gathered to network and showcase the future of innovation. More than two dozen Ottawa startups ferried down on the #HustleShuttle to join the festivities and feature their business within the IO tent.

Our ambassadors were peppered with questions regarding Ottawa’s ecosystem and how we can help grow their company. The event was a smashing success with more people beginning to understand that Ottawa (home to hundreds of startups and 68,000 tech workers) is a key player in the innovation economy. #WhyOttawa Chalk Campaign If you walked through the streets of Ottawa over Canada Day Weekend, it was hard not to miss some great facts about our Nation’s Capital, pulled from our very own #WhyOttawa presentation. The stencils made a lot of buzz on social media and drove many people to our revamped WhyOttawa site. This mini-campaign was a precursor to the talent acquisition campaign we plan to launch in the coming months. The campaign will play a key role in helping Ottawa maintain its momentum in driving Ontario’s innovation economy.

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Introduction to Discovery Driven Entrepreneurship Friday, Aug. 19 at 9 a.m.

Invest Ottawa, 80 Aberdeen St. Info and registration at investottawa.ca/events

Makerspace North Open House Saturday, Aug. 27 at 10 a.m.

Makerspace North, 250 City Centre Ave., Bay 216 Info and registration at makerspacenorth.com

Invest Ottawa Summer Report

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2016

Events Calendar Scaling Women Entrepreneurship in Canada Thursday, Aug. 18 at 1 p.m.

Startup Canada, 56 Sparks St. Info and registration at eventbrite.ca

HEALTH STARTUP LAUNCHES COURSES FOR DEMENTIA TREATMENT Invest Ottawa portfolio company Fit Minds launched a new program this month that continues its rollout of cognitive health products and services for the treatment of dementia. The new program offers family members an online course with advice, activities, information and other resources to help build a “support structure” for the individual for which they care. In early 2016, the startup launched its individual cognitive stimulation therapy program, which is now being used across Canada by Retire-at-Home Services. In June, that program entered trials at the Brain Injury Association Peterborough Region as a potential treatment option for traumatic brain injuries.

Politicians and local business leaders in front of future Bayview Yards Innovation Centre

GO GLOBAL

Kevin Bidner, CEO of Ottawa-based Hotel Communication Network, says the company is on the verge of making a breakthrough in the international market. PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON

Ottawa firm calls high-tech hotel tablets a suite growth opportunity MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2016

Company says recent deals with major chains in United States will pave way for guest communication system to spread worldwide by the beginning of the next decade

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BY DAVID SALI david@obj.ca

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he way Kevin Bidner sees it, the hotel industry has been stuck in the ’60s for far too long.

Aside from the odd change, such as the addition of free WiFi and larger, flatter TV screens, the amenities travellers find in today’s rooms aren’t much different than those their fathers and grandfathers were offered decades ago, the Ottawa entrepreneur says.

Mr. Bidner and his partners are out to change that with technology they say

is set to revolutionize the hotel industry.

Their company, Hotel Communication Network, makes computer tablets that offer guests instant access to an array of information and services from online food ordering to last-minute tour bookings.

The Ottawa-based firm recently achieved a milestone when it locked up deals with four of the world’s largest hotel chains – Fairmont, Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott – at their biggest properties in San Francisco. Before the year is out, HCN’s tablets will be featured in more than 7,000 rooms in one of the mostvisited cities in the United States.

But Mr. Bidner, the company’s CEO, says HCN’s foray into San Francisco is just the beginning. The firm is also making inroads in Chicago, where its tablets can be found at major brands, including Hilton, and is planning on rolling out its technology in a third U.S. city before the end of 2016.

HCN has faced its share of roadblocks since the idea was first hatched more than a decade ago, but Mr. Bidner believes the company is finally on a sure path forward.

“We were going into an industry that’s quite averse to technology,” he says. “It’s been many, many slow steps to

get up to where we are today. We’re still just climbing the mountain to the point of the breakthrough, which is kind of imminent now.

“I have a saying: ‘If you don’t start too early, when the time is right, you’re too late.’”

The hotel industry has been burned in the past by technology it thought would enhance the guest experience but never found favour with the public, says Mr. Bidner.

For example, some hotels tried to offer guests access to information and amenities such as room service via television, while others launched mobile

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apps. But neither of those routes ever achieved an adoption rate of more than 10 per cent, he explains.

“It seems so natural, but the truth is nobody will download apps,” Mr. Bidner says with a chuckle. “People will not use television as an interactive device. Everybody has that usage pattern already ingrained in them of TV being an entertainment device.”

what types of services each guest is looking for.

“As a hotel, we can very strategically market certain elements to our guests that are meaningful to them,” says Bernd Pichler, director of rooms at the Fairmont San Francisco, which has an HCN tablet in each of its 592 units.

HCN’s technology allows hotels to get instant feedback from guests on what

“It’s been many, many slow steps to get up to where we are today. We’re still just climbing the mountain to the point of the breakthrough, which is kind of imminent now. I have a saying: ‘If you don’t start too early, when the time is right, you’re too late.’”

– KEVIN BIDNER, CEO OF HOTEL COMMUNICATION NETWORK

T

he Ottawa MacdonaldCartier International Airport Authority (OMCIAA) may be a private not-for-profit corporation, but when it comes to governance, OMCIAA holds itself accountable to the region it serves through the oversight of its diverse Board of Directors.

Chair Susan St. Amand plays a key role as the liaison between the Board and the corporation’s senior management team, through CEO Mark Laroche.

St. Amand ensures the Board approves the strategy and longterm objectives of the corporation, while Laroche manages YOW’s day-to-day operation.

Why is this important to the residents of our region?

“This demonstrates our commitment to being a community-based organization with the oversight to ensure we are best serving OttawaGatineau’s interests through all that we do,” said St. Amand. “Our nominations process focuses on skills requirement and a genderbalanced approach.”

OMCIAA’s Board of Directors follows guidelines enshrined in its by-laws, some of which are: • Each director has a fiduciary duty to the Airport Authority.

• Include professional representation nominated by all three levels of government as well as community and business organizations.

• Directors shall not be elected officials or government employees.

• Each director must file a Conflict of Interest declaration and meet Conflict of Interest rules.

• Each director must adhere to the Authority’s Code of Business Conduct and the Public Accountability Principles for Canadian Airport Authorities that are in force across Canada.

Susan St. Amand, Chair, OMCIAA

The selection process ensures that the Board of Directors collectively has the skills and knowledge necessary to carry out the duties of the Board with experience in the fields of law, engineering, accounting and management. The Board’s Governance Committee ensures each candidate has no possible conflicts of interest.

Each director serves for a three-year term and can stand for re-election, but can’t serve more than three terms. Ten of 14 of positions on the Board are filled by eight external selecting bodies, in addition to the Minister of Transport and Province of Ontario, while the Board fills the remaining four to round out the skillset.

“As Chair, it’s my role to ensure the entire organization is charting the right course by way of the Authority’s Strategic Plan, while Mark and his team steer the ship, to provide safe, secure and quality transportation services, and serve as Ottawa-Gatineau’s gateway to the world,” St. Amand said.

To learn more about YOW’s governance, please read the annual report at https://yow. ca/2015AnnualReport.

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services they like and don’t like, he notes.

It also makes it easy for managers to immediately alert customers to urgent situations such as fire alarms or nearby road closures, eliminating the need to slip paper notices under every door.

“There’s no (other company) out there that does the same thing,” says Mr. Pichler, who has helped advise HCN on ways to improve its product.

The devices are now found in 12,000 rooms in Chicago and San Francisco and will be installed in 3,000 more before 2016 is out, Mr. Bidner says. By 2020, the company expects its tablets to be a fixture in 270,000 rooms across the United States and tens of thousands more around the world.

Mr. Bidner predicts that kind of market penetration will fuel staggering revenue growth. While HCN is projecting revenues of slightly less than $500,000 for 2016, he believes the company will be doing nearly $100 million worth of business annually within four years.

“The leaders are coming towards us now, and it’s a follow-the-leader industry,” he says confidently. “These are ultimately very achievable numbers.”

Originally launched in 2005 and funded by a mix of venture capital, government grants and the founders’ own cash, HCN has doubled its headcount to 35 in the past year and is about to move out of its current digs on Lancaster Road to a larger office just down the street.

Although he believes HCN is on the verge of becoming an international powerhouse, Mr. Bidner says the company will always remain true to its roots.

“We’re happy to stay Canadian and happy to stay in Ottawa.”

Airport Authority holds to the highest standards for good governance

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2016

In contrast, he claims more than 80 per cent of guests in rooms that have HCN’s tablets use the devices multiple times during a visit. Even in screen-saver mode, the tablets continue to show information such as popular shopping destinations or last-minute specials on tours that have unsold seats.

The company is now launching other innovations, such as an app that will give users access to a live concierge service anywhere in a city, and Dine-In, a feature that lets guests use the in-suite tablet to order food from nearby restaurants and have it delivered for less than the cost of room service.

“Every hotel loses money on room service – a lot of money,” says Mr. Bidner, who predicts most chains will scrap the service entirely within the next five years.

“It’s one of the biggest pain points in the industry. That is a huge boon for HCN because we’re in the right place at the right time.”

The company says one of its biggest keys to future success will be its ability to generate revenue from a wide range of sources.

HCN leases its tablets to hotels at a monthly rate of $1 to $5 per unit, depending on which services properties choose to offer. The firm also believes there is big money to be made from advertising – the firm’s patented technology allows trade-show exhibitors to target campaigns to specific rooms where convention visitors are staying, for example – as well as service fees from partners such as restaurants and tour companies.

Hotels also see massive potential value in the information they gain about customers who use the devices because they now have a way of tracking exactly

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Time for Canadian governments to embrace open-source software While Australia, Britain, New Zealand and the United States have developed forward-thinking policies on key 21st-century technologies, Canada continues to lag behind, Ottawa consultant Mike Gifford says

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2016

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ustin Trudeau arrived at the White House in March for his first official visit as prime minister at almost the same time the White House announced its release of a draft policy for the U.S. federal government on reusable and open-source software.

A coincidence, sure, but in this information age, it highlights how far behind Canada is in adopting a forwardthinking open-source software policy.

The U.S. government is very clear on this.

“By harnessing 21st-century technology and innovation, we’ve found new ways to tap into the collective knowledge of the American people and make it easier to share data, improve tools and services and return value to taxpayers,” it says.

It is clear to governments around the world that leveraging open-source software can promote innovation and collaboration across government agencies. Increased co-operation and innovation is happening within and

between countries too. There is wide support in the private sector for opensource software, and the internet is built on it.

There is little evidence of this from Canadian governments, however.

Not only does the U.S. federal government’s new policy state that new custom code paid for by the government be made available for reuse in the government, it goes further to state that a portion of that new custom code be released to the public as opensource software. This is surely the type of sharing that all governments should encourage.

This will have a major impact on companies that deal with the U.S. government. The government is still technology neutral, but there will be increasing pressure to start engaging in open-source communities. It will be harder for custom code to be either owned entirely by the state or by the state or contractors.

That intellectual property will not be

locked into proprietary deals but will be free for people to build upon. This will be a real advantage to small and mediumsized enterprises that can leverage opensource software to compete with larger companies.

Like most internet-based businesses today, OpenConcept uses open-source software. Back in 1999, we didn’t have the resources to pay additional licensing fees or establish certifications with a big brand before starting. We began with tools that were free for us to use, modify and distribute to meet the needs of our clients. Because we were standing on the shoulders of others in the industry, we could deliver high-quality products for our clients at a fraction of the costs.

We wanted not just to use this technology but also influence it. We realized that there was an opportunity to make the Drupal Content Management System the most accessible for people with disabilities. Working with this community, we’ve done that and managed to make three per cent of the

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR We welcome opinions about any material published in the Ottawa Business Journal or issues of interest to local businesspeople. Only letters with the writer’s full name, address and telephone number will be considered for publication. Addresses and phone numbers will not be published, but they might be used to verify authenticity.

Letters can be e-mailed to editor@obj.ca.

Ottawa Business Journal is published by

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Mark Sutcliffe PRESIDENT Michael Curran All content of Ottawa Business Journal is copyright 2016.

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Mike Gifford is the founder of OpenConcept Consulting, an Ottawa-based team of web development consultants specializing in open-source development with Drupal.

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MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2016

internet more accessible in the process.

Open-source software allows small knowledge-based businesses to succeed and innovate. If we are to see real change in Canada, we will need to foster leadership with open innovations here too. There is already a bustling opensource community in Canada; we just need our government to step up to the plate and get involved.

Barack Obama is the United States’ first “tech president,” and we need Mr. Trudeau to be Canada’s first tech prime minister. He already has some experience in coding C++, so this shouldn’t be so hard.

Fortunately, there’s a strong model which has been adopted by the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand that we can emulate. Much of the technology that governments need is already built with open-source tools, and much of it is already hosted for free on Github. Anyone is free to start using the code (or policy) without asking anyone for permission.

“The U.K. government gave us all of the open-source code for the gov. uk website and we’ve based our gov. nz website on that and it’s established a really good relationship between our team here and the U.K. team in the ongoing development of those platforms,” Colin MacDonald, the chief information officer for the government of New Zealand, said recently. “That was fantastic and we really appreciate it.”

The biggest barrier within the government of Canada is culture. If government procurement is allowed to favour proprietary tools in Canada, we will be fostering communities of consumers rather than producers. If Canada is going to be an IT leader, we need to be producing and innovating in order to better meet the needs of Canadians.

With more emphasis on exports to the United States, isn’t it key to keep a close eye on CIO.gov and see what we can do to leverage their best ideas and keep in step with their innovations? Why don’t we have a https://CIO.Canada.ca site like so many others looking at government digital transformation?

There are good people in the government who have terrific experience with open-source communities. Without clear leadership from the top, as we have seen in other countries, we just won’t see widespread adoption.

Citizens want to see government be able to innovate. There is a strong mandate for openness in the PM’s mandate letters. As citizens, let’s encourage them to not overlook open source.

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP INNOVATION CENTRE ON TRACK

Invest Ottawa co-chair David Ritonja says the agency is looking for a CEO who can bring local economic partners together. PHOTO BY MARK HOLLERON

‘Really good names’ vying for vacant Invest Ottawa post Head of committee hiring next CEO says ‘diverse’ group of more than 100 candidates in the running for top job at city-funded agency

BY DAVID SALI

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2016

david@obj.ca

OBJ.CA

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s the city’s main economic development agency, Invest Ottawa is responsible for selling the world on the merits of doing business in the nation’s capital.

So it makes sense that the agency’s search for a new chief executive shouldn’t be limited to within Canada’s borders, says the man leading the committee charged with hiring a replacement for former CEO Bruce Lazenby.

“Some really good names are coming in,” says David Ritonja, a vice-president of Nokia’s North American operations

who also co-chairs Invest Ottawa’s board of directors. “(Global executive search firm Boyden, which is vetting the candidates) is trying to be as diverse as they can on who fits that role.”

More than 100 applicants have already thrown their hats into the ring, Mr. Ritonja says, and he expects a few more to submit their CVs before Boyden starts to whittle that number down to a more manageable long list by the end of the month.

Key Ottawa industry players have been working the phones and using their business contacts in an effort to entice some “heavy hitters” from outside the country to apply for the post, he adds.

“Whether we can make that real or not ultimately depends on if the fit

is there,” Mr. Ritonja says, explaining that it does not mean deserving local candidates will be given short shrift.

“We are prepared to really see if we can entice some key names that would potentially be out of Ottawa,” he says.

“If somebody’s at a point in their career where they have a rock-star name and are looking to give back to the community, that would be the ultimate type of person we would be looking for.”

Whoever Invest Ottawa’s next leader is, he or she will be replacing a very familiar face.

Mr. Lazenby became one of the local business community’s best-known advocates in his five years on the job, often referring to himself as the city’s “VP of sales.”

Transforming a 75-year-old former city maintenance facility into a state-ofthe-art hub of innovation is a mammoth task that doesn’t come without its hiccups.

But all things considered, the people in charge of making sure the new Innovation Centre at Bayview Yards meets its mid-November opening target couldn’t be happier with the way the project has progressed.

“We’re feeling very positive about the stage that we’re at right now,” says Windmill Development Group co-founder Jeff Westeinde, who co-chairs the facility’s board of directors with former Nordion CEO Steve West.

The $30-million makeover is on time and on budget, he says, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been a few headaches along the way.

A floor in the facility’s incubation wing had to be completely rebuilt because of structural integrity issues, and some floors and ceilings needed additional fireproofing. Water, sewer and electrical systems also needed to be overhauled throughout much of the structure, which was built in 1941.

“All of the usual pressures that you get on this type of a project,” Mr. Westeinde says, sounding every bit the veteran property developer.

He praises the job that local contractors Morley Hoppner and architect Barry Hobin’s firm have done in redesigning and rebuilding the site.

Still, he knows plenty of critics are questioning whether the facility will really help boost innovation or nurture the next Shopify.

Mr. Westeinde understands the skepticism, but he doesn’t buy it.

“Place matters,” he says. “Anybody knows that certain places make you feel certain ways. If you’re in a 1950s vintage, 20,000-square-foot government building with cubicles versus the headquarters of Shopify, that vibe has a very different impact on human beings. Creating a place that was specially designed to create these (collaborations), that, to me, is invaluable.”

David Ritonja, co-chair of the building’s anchor tenant, Invest Ottawa, agrees.

“The thing that this gives is a common focal point, a meeting point, where you can actually start enabling some things,” he says.

“It’s a neutral place in the city to facilitate innovation. If you want people from an innovation mindset to stay here, they want to see that the ecosystem is there to support them. When you look around the world, tell me leading cities that don’t have innovation hubs. It’s part of a wider ecosystem.”

The former chief executive of enterprise software firm FreeBalance never missed an opportunity to boast about the capital’s wealth of highly educated talent or its renowned research facilities, and Invest Ottawa’s new boss will be expected to continue to promote the region’s merits to potential business partners across the globe.

But the next CEO will also be ushering in a new era for the agency, which will be moving to brand new headquarters in the Innovation Centre at Bayview Yards when the $30-million facility opens its doors in mid-November.

In addition to Invest Ottawa, the building will include a global cybersecurity hub, a digital media lab and a makerspace with such technology as 3D printers to help budding entrepreneurs put together prototypes of their products. It will also feature thousands of square feet of meeting space.

As the face of the anchor tenant, Invest Ottawa’s new chief executive will need to be adept at bringing all those different partners together, Mr. Ritonja says.

He also says that person will need to build closer relationships with other economic catalysts, such as

“If somebody’s at a point in their career where they have a rock-star name and are looking to give back to the community, that would be the ultimate type of person we would be looking for.”

- DAVID RITONJA, CO-CHAIR OF INVEST OTTAWA’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS, ON THE HUNT FOR FORMER CEO BRUCE LAZENBY’S REPLACEMENT

Kanata’s L-Spark accelerator and the Centre of Excellence for Next Generation Networks, a consortium of industry, academic and government research leaders aiming to bring new communications technologies to market more quickly.

“Because there are so many players involved in economic development in the city, if I had to define what Invest Ottawa 2.0 needs to become and evolve to, it’s collaborating with these things that we have been building on in the last five years that Bruce was CEO,” Mr. Ritonja says.

“It’s one thing to have each of these successes on their own. If we can tie them together and leverage benefit across them, then you have a huge

opportunity to really potentially take the city to the next level.”

The successful candidate doesn’t have to be a superstar entrepreneur who built a startup into a $100-million company from scratch, he says. But he or she does need to possess plenty of business acumen.

“To me, that’s critical,” he says. “The end constituent that gets the benefit is industry because we’re the ones that hire and employ people.”

The nine-person hiring committee – which also includes Denise Amyot, the CEO of Colleges and Institutes Canada, Ottawa Chamber of Commerce chair Marie Boivin, You.i TV founder Jason Flick, Algonquin College president Cheryl Jensen, AOC Technology CEO

Cyril McKelvie, Givopoly co-founder Susan Richards, Stratford Managers CEO Jim Roche and Innovation Centre co-chair Steve West – will pare the initial list of candidates down to a short list of about five next month.

Mr. Ritonja says the Invest Ottawa board would like to have a new CEO in place by early October, several weeks before the agency is scheduled to vacate its current home on Aberdeen Street in Little Italy.

It’s a responsibility the committee is not taking lightly.

“It’s a very complex role,” Mr. Ritonja says of the CEO’s job. “It’s not just innovation. We also have the invest and trade side of this. There’s a lot of things that we do at Invest Ottawa.”

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EDUCATION Algonquin College pulls plug on money-losing Saudi Arabian campus

BY JACOB SEREBRIN Special to OBJ

A

lgonquin College is pulling out of Saudi Arabia.

The Ottawa-based postsecondary institution began operating a men-only campus in Jazan, on Saudi Arabia’s southwestern coast, in 2013. It was part of a five-year deal with a Saudi government agency.

The college said on Aug. 11 it plans to pull out of the country before the start of the new school year.

“After more than a year of negotiation, we were unable to come to an agreement that would have met our financial objectives,” Algonquin College president Cheryl Jensen said in a release. “We have said from the beginning that the Jazan Campus must be financially viable for us to continue operating.”

“After more than a year of negotiation, we were unable to come to an agreement that would have met our financial objectives.”

– ALGONQUIN COLLEGE PRESIDENT CHERYL JENSEN

When the project was first announced, the college said it expected the for-profit campus in Saudi Arabia to generate $4.4 million in profits.

However, financial statements filed to the college’s board of governors show that Algonquin College – Saudi Arabia had a net loss of $1.4 million during the fiscal year that ended on March 31.

The campus also had losses of $1.4 million during the 2014-15 school year, according to Algonquin College’s website.

It returned a profit of almost $80,000 during its first year of operations.

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The transfer of the campus’s operations from Algonquin to the Saudi government’s Colleges of Excellence program will cost about $4.3 million, which “will be funded through existing international and ancillary contingency reserve funds,” the school said in a release.

“International operations at the college are not funded by the provincial government,” said Doug Wotherspoon, Algonquin’s vice-president of international and strategic planning.

“I think it’s important that taxpayers

NOVEMBER 10, 2016

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understand that revenues from other non-funded operations will offset any losses incurred by our Jazan campus.”

Algonquin also has for-profit operations in China, India, Montenegro and Kuwait.

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Algonquin president Cheryl Jensen. FILE PHOTO

2016

OTTAWA’S 2016 BUYING GUIDE

TECH Halogen Software in the black in Q2

BY JACOB SEREBRIN Special to OBJ

O

ttawa-based Halogen Software is reporting quarterly profits for the first time.

“I’m pleased with our performance this quarter,” Halogen CEO Les Rechan told investors during a conference call on Aug. 4 to discuss the company’s secondquarter results. “We’ve delivered on our commitment to profitable growth and continue to make moves here early in Q3 to improve our short-term efficiency and longer-term profitability.”

The company, which sells human resources software-as-a-service, reported net income of $283,000 during the three-month period that ended on June 30. That’s compared to a net loss of $2.3 million during the same period last year.

Halogen reports in U.S. currency.

“Our net income performance in the quarter versus the same period one year ago primarily reflects our revenue

growth, efficiencies we are generating in the business as well as a positive foreign exchange impact,” said Pete Low, the company’s CFO. Revenue for the quarter was $18 million, up from $16.1 million last year.

Recurring revenue, a key metric for the company due to its subscriptionbased business model, was $16.6 million during the quarter, an increase of 14 per cent from the $14.6 million it reported for the same period last year.

Halogen’s adjusted earnings were $1.91 million, compared with a $1.1-million loss during the same quarter in 2015.

International revenue, which the company considers to be any revenue generated outside of North America, was $1.9 million, a six per cent increase from the $1.8 million it reported at this time last year.

Revenue from Europe, the Middle East and Africa grew 12 per cent year-overyear, while revenue from the Asia-Pacific region dropped five per cent.

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The Rideau Centre unveiled its new 230,000-square-foot expansion on Aug. 10 with a gala affair that featured plenty of fine food and fashionable patrons. PHOTOS BY MARK HOLLERON

New Rideau Centre wing offers ‘international experience,’ mall execs say MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2016

Downtown core ‘coming into its own’ thanks to projects such as mall’s $360-million expansion, general manager says after Rideau Centre unveils new four-storey section anchored by Simons

OBJ.CA

12

T

he Rideau Centre officially cut the ribbon on its $360-million expansion project on Aug. 11, a massive redevelopment designed to bring a more “sophisticated” shopping experience to the city’s downtown core, mall executives said.

“Ottawa has been growing up, I think, for a few years,” Rideau Centre general manager Cindy VanBuskirk said after the media had a sneak peek at the new four-storey, 230,000-square-foot portion of the mall on Aug. 10.

“Projects like ours, LRT, Arts Court, the new Andaz hotel in the (ByWard) Market, I think that’s all about a city that’s really coming into its own. In

particular, I think this development will have such a significant impact on Rideau Street and will really be a linkage between (the University of Ottawa), Arts Court, Rideau Street and the ByWard Market.”

The expansion is anchored by Quebec-based retailer Simons, which opened its first Ottawa location with a 100,000-square-foot store in the space occupied by the former Ogilvy building.

The store’s first floor sits behind the facade of the historic Ottawa department store, which was restored brick-by-brick as a tribute to the site’s commercial past, while the giant windows in Simons’ second-floor cafe offer prime views of

“Shoppers are very astute today. They’re very sophisticated, and they’re looking for an international experience. That’s what we’re trying to provide here.”

– CADILLAC FAIRVIEW EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT OF DEVELOPMENT WAYNE BARWISE

the Chateau Laurier and ByWard Market.

Among the other key attractions is a pedestrian space called Ogilvy Square, a joint project between the City of Ottawa and Rideau Centre owner Cadillac Fairview that runs along Nicholas Street

from Rideau Street to Besserer Street.

Simons CEO Peter Simons said the redevelopment – and in particular public spaces such as Ogilvy Square – provide a breath of fresh air to the whole neighbourhood.

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“I can see the potential, I can see the vision of the street,” he said. “That’s an exciting thing to be part of. I think people will enjoy coming down to this space. I think there’s a lot of elements coming together.”

The expansion includes a total of 28 retail spaces, 21 of which are new to the mall. Among them are international brands such as Anthropologie and Massimo Dutti that are making their Ottawa debuts.

Cadillac Fairview executive vicepresident of development Wayne Barwise said the expansion will provide a more cosmopolitan shopping environment for the mall’s 19.5 million annual visitors.

“Shoppers are very astute today,” he said. “They’re very sophisticated, and they’re looking for an international experience. That’s what we’re trying to provide here.”

Bridgehead CEO Tracey Clark said she was happy to bring a high-profile Ottawa brand to the new space as well.

Her coffee chain opened its 20th Ottawa location and first in the Rideau Centre in a prime spot next to the Rideau Street entrance.

“Local is a movement everywhere,” she said. “I think it’s great that Cadillac Fairview and other large mall developers and owners look to have local content because it’s what people are after.”

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THE LIST

OBJ.CA

14

TOP FEDERAL VENDORS IN THE NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION (NET VALUE OF ALL CONTRACTS AWARDED IN 2015-16)

Name of vendor

Buyers

Total value of contracts awarded

No. of contracts awarded

1 2

Commissionaires Ottawa

PWGSC; DND; Veterans Affairs Canada

$472,267,166

11

Commissionaire services; professional services/program research analysis; human resource services; commercial security guard and related services

General Dynamics Canada Ltd.

DND; PWGSC

$292,372,342

30

ADP software; Radar equipment; echo sounders, sonar systems; underwater sound equipment; radio and television communications equipment; informatics professional services; human resources services; technical engineering and maintenance services; miscellaneous communications equipment; expert systems development; product/material – design, development, formulation, modification; military (R&D);

3 4 5

Babcock Canada Inc.

PWGSC; DND; Fisheries and Oceans Canada

$175,149,815

12

Human resources services; submarines; marine architect and engineering services; ships and vessels – repair, refits and conversions; radio and television communications equipment

PCL Constructors Canada Inc.

PWGSC

$155,155,804

12

Construction of other buildings; construction of commercial buildings

IBM Canada Ltd.

PWGSC; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; Canada Border Services Agency; DND; Treasury Board of Canada; RCMP; Canada School of Public Service

$110,423,784

56

General office help; informatics professional services; ADP software; automatic data processing equipment, system configuration; informatics systems integration; temporary help services, general office support; ship and marine miscellaneous equipment – repair; human resource services; social media monitoring;

6

Lockheed Martin Canada Inc.

DND; PWGSC

$95,842,988

32

Radio and television communications equipment; systems integration of informatics commodities and services; informatics professional services; engineering services; ship and boat propulstion components; armament training devices – repair; antennas, waveguides and related equipment; radar equipment; electronic countermeasures, countercountermeasures and quick reaction capability equipment; electrical and electronic assemblies, boards, cards and associated hardware – repair

7

S.i. Systems Ltd.

PWGSC; Citizenship and Immigration Canada; Canada Border Services Agency; RCMP; DND; Employment and Social Development Canada; Health Canada

$88,148,321

50

Business services; general office help; informatics professional services; temporary help serivces, general office support; business services; human resource services; threat and risk assessment services

8

Oracle Canada ULC

PWGSC; Canadian Food Inspection Agency; Canada Border Services Agency; Citizenship and Immigration Canada; Environment Canada Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

$70,598,225

29

ADP software; informatics professional services

9 10 11 12

EllisDon Corp.

PWGSC

$62,542,205

16

Engineering services – construction management; masonry work; general contractor services; construction of commercial buildings

EllisDon and NCC Dowland, in joint venture

PWGSC

$49,145,250

1

Construction of other buildings; construction of commercial buildings

Accenture

PWGSC; Employment and Social Development Canada; Canadian Food Inspection Agency

$42,155,222

18

Project management services; informatics professional services; human resource services

Thales Canada Inc.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada; DND; PWGSC

$39,366,235

25

Radar equipment; miscellaneous communications equipment; optical sighting and ranging equipment; product/material – design, development formulation modification; military (R&D); marine hardware and hull items; military communications (research); semiconductor devices and associated hardware; microcircuits, electronic; electrical and electronic assemblies, boards, cards and associated hardware; informatics professional services; air conditioning equipment; marine architect and engineering services

13

Calian Ltd.

PWGSC; Citizenship and Immigration Canada; DND; Aboriginal Affairs & Northern Development Canada; Employment and Social Development Canada; Correctional Service of Canada; Canada Border Services Agency; Environment Canada

$38,453,915

74

Temporary help services; general office support, professional and technical; business services; informatics professional services; business training; training and curriculum development; firearm training; educational services, N.E.S.; technical/vocational training; training design; consulting services; human resource services; nursing care services; safety training courses; technical engineering and maintenance services; medical/dental clinic services; end-to-end learning services; health and welfare services; health and allied services; informatics professional and consulting services; software development and implementation; military (R&D)

14

CGI Information Systems and Management Consultants Inc.

PWGSC; Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada; Citienship and Immigration Canada; Department of Foreign Affairs, Trad and Development; Industry Canada; DND; RCMP; Canada Border Services Agency; Employment and Social Development Canada Office of Infrastructure Canada; Department of Justice Canada

$37,570,607

34

Human resource services; ADP software; informatics professional services; general office help; temporary help services, general office support; ADP input-output and storage devices; system design, development and testing; ADP input-output and storage devices – maintenance

Products/services sold

WND = Would not disclose. *Did not respond to 2016 survey – using data from previous years.

Should your company be on this list? If so, please send details to research@obj.ca This list is current as of xxxxxx. © 2016 by Ottawa Business Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced by any method in whole or in part without written permission by Ottawa Business Journal. While every attempt is made to ensure the thoroughness and accuracy of the list, omissions and errors sometimes occur. Please send any corrections or additions by e-mail to research@obj.ca. OBJ lists are primarily compiled using information provided voluntarily by the organizations named. Some firms that may qualify for the list are not included because the company either failed to respond to requests for information by press time, because the company declined to take part in the survey or because of space constraints. Categories are drawn up in attempt to gather information of relevance to the Ottawa market. Research by Patti Moran. Please send questions and comments to research@obj.ca.

FOR THE RECORD People on the move

Contracts The following contains information about recent contracts, standing offers and supply arrangements awarded to local firms.

Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology 1385 Woodroffe Ave. Description: Geomatics technicians training Buyer: DND $946,137 CVL Information Solutions Inc. 198 Lacroix Ave. Description: SMMS TBIPS Buyer: DND $841,533 Canadian Space Services Ltd. 2336 Craig’s Side Rd. Description: Removal of radome and antenna Buyer: DND $727,255 Lar-Mex Inc. 5509 Canotek Rd. Description: Fume hood replacement Buyer: PWGSC $497,500 Protak Consulting Group Inc. 343 Preston St. Description: Business process consultant Buyer: PWGSC $465,628 Fox Translations Ltd. 1897 Baseline Rd. Description: Translation services Buyer: Statistics Canada $392,957 B-TA Systems Inc. 2500 Lancaster Rd. Description: Miscellaneous electrical and electronic components Buyer: DND $392,439

Atwill-Morin (Ontario) Inc. 9 Antares Dr. Description: Supreme Court – front stairs rehabilitation Buyer: PWGSC $365,860

The Masha Krupp Translation Group Ltd. 1547 Merivale Rd. Description: Translation services Buyer: Statistics Canada $324,592 FIA Group 360 Maloney E. Description: Roof replacement and clean-up, building 2A Buyer: Industry Canada $303,591 University of Ottawa 800 King Edward Blvd.

Description: Military (R&D) Buyer: DND $280,000

E-djuster announced that Dennis Squibb has joined the company as director of strategy and operations. Mr. Squibb will lead the expansion of the company’s industry partners and clients in the United States, with a secondary focus on supporting e-djuster’s Performance Excellence Guarantee program.

Tessier Translations 228 St-Joseph Blvd.

Description: Translation services Buyer: PWGSC $195,457

AFO pub-April-May-June 2016-v1.pdf

Francis Canada Truck Centre Inc. 3818 Russell Rd. Description: 5-ton single-axle truck with dump box and a slide-in sand spreader Buyer: Transport Canada $174,947

Hats off Randy Taylor and Debbie Weinstein of LaBarge Weinstein LLP were selected by their peers for inclusion in the 11th edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada. Mr. Taylor was selected for the third consecutive year in the field of corporate law. Ms Weinstein is being recognized for her work in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions law, securities law and venture capital law.

The Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on a peer-review evaluation.

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Tessier Translations 228 St-Joseph Blvd.

Description: Translation services Buyer: PWGSC $244,321 Enterprise Rent-A-Car Canada Ltd. 2300 Stevenage Dr. Description: Vehicle rental Uplands Buyer: DND $230,000 Enterprise Rent-A-Car Canada Ltd. 2300 Stevenage Dr. Description: Vehicle rental Uplands Buyer: DND $220,000 PrecisionIT Inc., IDS Systems Consultants Inc. and PrecisionERP Inc., in joint venture, operating as ITSJV 12 York St. Description: Canadian army network operations centre support Buyer: DND $203,160

WORKSHOPS

ONLINE COURSES

MJ

SINCE 1905

CJ

Tannis Trading Inc. 2390 Stevenage Dr. Description: Groceries, miscellaneous Buyer: DND $270,068

PART-TIME

SLE PREPARATION

CM

CMJ

N

Eastway Tank Pump & Meter Ltd. 1995 Merivale Rd. Description: Tank truck Buyer: PWGSC $171,082 Conoscenti Technologies Inc. 384 Bank St. Description: Canadian army network operations centre support Buyer: DND $147,578 DEW Engineering and Development ULC 3429 Hawthorne Rd. Description: C17 initial spare parts Buyer: DND $146,407 Altis Human Resources (Ottawa) Inc. 102 Bank St. Description: Senior engineering graduate Buyer: DND $141,891 Seguin Morris 620 Vernon Description: Maintenance of the electrical power line in Lac Philippe sector Buyer: National Capital Commission $110,166

Ottawa

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613.234.9470 | WWW.AF.CA/OTTAWA

This data is part of the Ottawa Business Growth Survey. Conducted by Abacus Data and made possible by Welch LLP, the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce and the Ottawa Business Journal, the survey gathered input from hundreds of local businesses. A free 36-page report can be downloaded at www.ottawabusinessgrowthreport.ca.

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“The tourism sector in Ottawa is entering an extremely exciting period.

With major events in 2016, highlighted by One Young World, and heading into Canada’s sesquicentennial celebrations in 2017, there has never been a greater opportunity to leverage even greater visitation for the future. To top it off, many of Ottawa’s key attractions and festivals are spearheading a cultural renaissance in the capital. With the strong alignment of local partners, and a powerful marketing engine, there are many reasons to be optimistic about our community’s future from a tourism perspective.” — MICHAEL CROCKATT, PRESIDENT & CEO, OTTAWA TOURISM

15 OBJ.CA

Prologic Systems Ltd. 2255 St. Laurent Blvd.

Nelligan O’Brien Payne welcomed back Erin Walkinshaw and Jill Lewis as new associate lawyers with the firm. Both articled with the firm in 2015-16. Ms. Walkinshaw will be practising in the firm’s family and estates law group and Ms. Lewis will be joining the labour and employment practice group.

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2016

Tessier Translations 228 St-Joseph Blvd.

Description: Translation services Buyer: Statistics Canada $376,290

Description: Junior geomatics analysts Buyer: DND $333,398

Jordan R. Bianconi has joined Bassi Construction as director of business development and real estate. Mr. Bianconi brings 10 years of commercial real estate experience to his new role.

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ARTHAUSCONDOS.COM | 613.909.3223 | SALES@ARTHAUSCONDOS.COM *Offer limited to qualified purchasers of 2 bedroom units or more at ArtHaus Condominiums. Limited time offer that is subject to change and may be withdrawn without notice. Offer may not be combined with any other offers. Savings shall be applied as an adjustment on final closing. Ask sales representative for details. Valid for a new purchase only, from August 1st to August 31st, 2016. © DevMcGill All rights reserved 2016. Specifications are subject to change without notice. Rendering is artist’s concept.

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