Spring is a time of year when new life starts to grow not just for plants but for companies and governments alike. Whether it is the hiring of new employees or an annual federal budget, spring brings out a wide variety of change. This rings true for the Canadian manufacturing industry which has seen its fair share of ups and downs over the years but things are on the rise for the moment. The RBC Canadian Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index was at 50.1 last month after adjusting for seasonal variation, up from 49.3 in March. A reading above 50 represents growth, while a number below means contraction. This expansion is most likely a result of greater demand from the United States, Japan and China. Inventories of finished goods have increased for the first time in 2013.

RBC’s chief economist, Craig Wright,  stated that “while the overall gains made in April were tepid, we expect manufacturing output to pick up, augmenting export activity and supporting Canada’s growth prospects.” So while this growth is indeed small, it’s a sign that things are improving for Canada’s manufacturing industry. Although there are many variables that are out of manufacturer’s hands, one aspect they can control is taking advantage of Canada’s funding programs such as SR&ED or Export Market Access (EMA). If you aren’t already taking advantage of these lucrative programs, contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation.

Environmentally-friendly vehicles have come a long way in terms of technological advancement and efficiency, but as with anything, there’s always room for improvement. The Automotive Innovation Fund (AIF) is a new program that aims to do just that by providing funding for vehicle and powertrain assembly operations associated with significant automotive innovation to support large-scale research and development (R&D) projects to build innovative, greener and more fuel-efficient vehicles.

It’s no secret that the Canadian manufacturing sector has struggled in years gone by, which is why taking advantage of programs like AIF is so important. The program benefits automotive companies by contributing to the long-term economic benefit for Canada, including job creation and retention. With the fund providing automotive firms $250 million over five years, this will be a much needed boost for Canada’s automotive companies; however, in order to obtain funding companies must adhere to strict qualifying activities that provide extensive automotive innovation and R&D initiatives to develop greener, more fuel-efficient vehicles including:

• new product development (e.g., advanced emissions technologies, energy-efficient engines and transmissions, advanced materials, including engineered plastics, and lightweight components and materials);
• leading-edge engineering and design, and prototype development;
• advanced product testing that ensures cleaner, more efficient automotive performance, and reduces greenhouse gases;
• development of new production methods and process technologies, including advanced flexible manufacturing techniques;
• new or expanded facilities to produce leading-edge and more energy efficient vehicles and powertrains;
• substantive investments in new flexible manufacturing processes; and
• introduction of other new transformative production technologies to substantially increase productivity and efficiency (e.g., robotics and advanced IT systems).

While Canada is certainly not the worst offender in terms of fuel-consumption, averaging about 34 MPG in 2010 compared to the United States’ 26 MPG, we are still far behind Europe and Japan’s values of 47 and 43 MPG, respectively. Given time, the Automotive Innovation Fund may be Canada’s answer to bringing our numbers in-line with the current leaders in the fuel-economy arena.

NorthBridge is pleased to announce the launch of our new website, to reflect our expertise beyond SR&ED in helping companies navigate the government funding system. Our goal is to be your in-house government funding resource across four main business objectives: business growth, innovation, workforce development and digital media.

Government funding is essential to securing a competitive advantage in the domestic and international marketplace for companies of all sizes in all industries. The government recognizes that growth, innovation and expansion initiatives encourage Canadian businesses to take risks and continually evolve, pursue new markets, grow the economy and create local jobs.

Our insight across targeted government incentive programs (grants, loans and tax credits) gives us the unique ability to combine alternative Canadian business funding solutions with SR&ED, and to tailor solutions to your business needs. We are here to streamline the government funding process, allowing you to focus on your business.

Water is essential for sustaining life, as well as our economy. With less than one percent of the world’s fresh water currently accessible for direct human use, water supplies are now a major global concern impacting not only our daily lives but also our business strategies.

Throughout last week, thousands of individuals had gathered for the 2012 Green Week conference in Brussels and around Europe with the goal of addressing resource efficiency and a focus on the conservation of water, one of our most precious yet scarce resources.

Over the years, Green Week has flourished into the biggest annual conference on European environment policy, and is dedicated its focus this year on assessing the facts and opportunities that water consuming sectors present in order to develop a “coherent approach to maximize the benefits of current policy framework and minimize conflicts between water policy and other policy objectives” as stated by Janez Potočnik, European commissioner for the environment in his welcoming message.

According to a water scarcity fact sheet provided by the European commission, approximately 247,000 million cubic meters of water are annually extracted from ground and surface sources such as lakes and rivers just in the EU. 44% of abstracted water is used by the energy production sector for cooling processes, although most of the water is returned to the source at a slightly higher temperature. An additional 24% of the abstracted water is consumed by the agriculture and food production sectors, 17% for public water supply and 15% percent for industry and manufacturing.

In comparison, Canadian usage of water is more than nine times greater than that of the U.K., and more than double that of a 16-country average, surpassed only by the United States. Canada’s high usage of water can be at least partially attributed to the low cost of water in such a water rich country. In fact, Canada provides 7% of the world’s renewable supply of freshwater and is therefore, under global hydropolitical pressure to export water, while avoiding negative impacts to the ecosystem and reducing domestic water consumption.

Industry is Canada’s largest water user, employing over half of all water used in Canada for cooling machinery, producing energy, cleaning goods, and as a solvent. Thermal electric power producers account for almost 77% of water usage, followed by the manufacturing industry that accounts for 15% of the water used in Canada mainly for the production of pulp and paper, metals and chemical products. The mining, oil and gas industries make use of just 2% of the total water consumed, while the agricultural industry utilizes approximately 6% of all water used in Canada mainly for the purposes of irrigation; however, when accounting for the fact that agricultural use of water is highly inefficient, returning only 30% of water consumed, agriculture represents the largest Canadian consumer of water (National Roundtable on the Environment and Economy, 2011).

The development of processes with increased conservation of water is now more critical than ever for the Canadian industry, and requires a dedication of corporate resources to conduct research and development of more efficient and sustainable methods of production for reduced water and energy consumption. To mediate the costs of research and development of energy efficient industrial production methods, Canada offers one of the most lucrative Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax incentives around the world allocating over $3 billion to companies in Canada who are creating new or improving existing products and processes.

As one of the highest producers and consumers of water per capita in the world and fueled by generous tax incentives, Canada is optimally positioned to develop the most innovative, efficient and sustainable methods for the conservation of water.

Read more about the SR&ED in various industries

The recent 2012 BC provincial budget has expanded the scope of the BC Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit (IDMTC) to include cutscene productions. IDMTC is a 17.5% refundable digital media tax credit on salary and wages. The program is offered to companies developing interactive digital media products in British Columbia between August 31, 2010 and September 1, 2015.

IDMTC now recognizes cutscene productions in video games as eligible activities, retroactive to September 1, 2010, provided that all other requirements of the credit are met. A cutscene in a video game is a cinematic event or sequence which the player has no or only limited control. Cutscenes often feature on-the-fly rendering, using the gameplay graphics to create scripted events