May 15, 2013 – After three intense days of training and coaching with world-class angel investors and expert speakers, it all came down to one 10-minute pitch for 11 start-ups eager to take their businesses to the next level.

The stakes were high; on the line were six entries to Innovate Manitoba’s VentureChallenge on June 19, 2013, where $25,000 in cash prizes will be up for grabs along with three expense-paid trips to either the Banff Venture Forum or the Canadian Financing Forum (in Vancouver).

Bootcamp leaders Randy Thompson, Permjot Valia, and Mark Kornak were tasked with choosing six winners based on several criteria, including but not limited to: business potential, entrepreneur coachability, overall pitch and presentation quality, and readiness for angel and/or venture funding.

“It was an incredibly difficult decision,” said Randy Thompson, CEO with VA Angels, Canada’s most active angel group. “There were a few winners that clearly demonstrated preparedness to take their businesses to new heights, and several others with excellent potential and coachability.”

Indeed, the competition was so close that a tie was declared for the final spot in the VentureChallenge.

“For the first time in LaunchPad history, the judges were unable to choose only six winners,” said Jan Lederman, President of Innovate Manitoba.

The end result is that seven LaunchPad start-ups were chosen to move on to compete at VentureChallenge.

“It looks like it will be one of the most competitive events yet,” said Lederman.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Advolve Media – Bryce North & Kris Luinenburg:  Advolve Media has proprietary hardware/software with an interactive mirror technology that plays advertising through glass when users approach mirror. Epicenter AV – Chris Johnson: Epicenter AV allows businesses to increase use and control of AV systems through the installation of a control system. Eyewear Evolution – Sean Sylvestre: Eyewear Evolution is a 3D relationship management platform and virtual try-on technology. Joist – Justin Kathan & Brendan Sedo: Joist is a new tool for contractors that allows them to create estimates, email or print invoices, manage projects, accept credit cards and eChecks, order materials and supplies and export information to accounting systems in real time using mobile or web devices. Prairie Food Innovation – Michael Reimer: Praire Food Innovation is a specialty food distribution business featuring high-nutrition, good-tasting, gluten-free baked products (functional foods). ScheduleAide – Dustin Refvik: ScheduleAide is a proprietary SaaS platform designed to provide professional and trade service providers with web and mobile scheduling tools with unique ability to automate the process of marketing last-minute openings. VastCon – Anuraag Shrivastav: Vastcon is a biomedical company developing cancer therapeutics and diagnostics, with a lead technology consisting of a novel blood test for early detection and population-based screening for colorectal cancer.

Honourable mention for most Coachable and receiving a complimentary spot in LaunchPad 2014 was Sheryl Watt with Sher Care.

Be sure to catch their next round of pitches to our expert panel of judges for some serious prizes at VentureChallenge 2013. 

Congratulations to all of the bootcamp participants, and good luck to the seven finalists in VentureChallenge 2013.

For photos, please see the online article here: http://www.innovatemanitoba.com/news/manitoba-entrepreneurs-narrow-sights-on-capital-funding-at-launchpad-2013/

To schedule interviews or for more information, please contact:

Janice Y. Lederman | President, Innovate Manitoba

janlederman@innovatemanitoba.com | 204.934.2349

JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN DFO AND IISD

May 9, 2013- Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) are pleased to announce that a Memorandum of Understanding concerning the future of the Experimental Lakes Area has been signed effective immediately. This agreement is a major milestone in the transition of the Experimental Lakes Area to a third party operator and is the result of seven months of confidential negotiations between the federal government and IISD.

IISD is a Canadian-based, internationally renowned public policy research institute for sustainable development that champions sustainable development around the world through innovation, partnerships, research and communications.

“The federal government has been working diligently for many months to secure another operator for this unique, world-class facility,” said the Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. “I believe that IISD is well-suited to operate the Experimental Lakes Area with excellent capacity, expertise and international reputation to take on this important work. We are pleased to have worked with IISD to get to this point and look forward to working with them towards a final agreement.”

"The Experimental Lakes Area complements IISD's work in freshwater management and, if the Experimental Lakes Area does come to IISD, we would ensure it remains an independent, world-class research facility that continues to produce leading-edge freshwater ecosystems science in the public domain and in the public interest," said Scott Vaughan, CEO and president of IISD. "IISD has been working with the federal government for several months to get to this point. This is not a finished deal but is an important step, and we look forward to working with Ottawa, Ontario and Manitoba going forward."

Today’s announcement of the Memorandum of Understanding between the federal government and IISD provides a framework within which an agreement can be negotiated that will enable IISD to proceed as the operator of the unique, world-class Experimental Lakes Area.  In order to facilitate the smooth transition of the facility, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and IISD require this agreement to address past and ongoing responsibilities, remediation of the lakes and the site, the transfer of material assets needed to operate the site, operational support, data sharing and other matters.

As an important part of this agreement, Fisheries and Oceans Canada will conduct a sampling program over the summer of 2013 as part of the transition to maintain important scientific research and ensure that long-term data sets can continue uninterrupted.  Fisheries and Oceans Canada will work with scientists who have active research at the Experimental Lakes Area to support their needs for the upcoming summer research season, including monitoring activities and requirements to access their equipment.

IISD will continue discussions with the landowner, the Province of Ontario, on an agreement to operate the site going forward. Both Fisheries and Oceans Canada and IISD are committed to ensuring that these discussions

Waste Disposal Grounds Regulation 150/91

Conservation and Water Stewardship held a public consultation on April 15, 2013 to discuss the Waste Disposal Grounds Regulation 150/91. Ashley Keep, Solid Waste Management Coordinator, Environmental Programs and Strategies led the discussion, with input from Dean Kasur Manager, Environment Section, Environmental Programs and Strategies.  The session was facilitated by John Fjeldsted, MEIA Executive Director. Participants were encouraged to offer industry feedback to assist in defining amendments to the regulation.

The presentation can be viewed here.

You are invited to submit comments and suggestions to admin@meia.mb.ca by May 10, 2013

For further clarification on the discussion: The Waste Disposal Grounds Regulation, pursuant to The Environment Act, came into effect in 1991 and has not been amended since. An amended regulation will address issues in response to the Office of the Auditor General report released in 2007. An internal review has been conducted and Conservation and Water Stewardship are now seeking external consultation to assist on drafting potential changes to the regulation. Industry feedback is sought on items such as solid waste management facilities, including transfer stations, composting facilities, and landfills. Amendments could also define enhanced technical and environmental requirements for development, operation, monitoring, and reporting for waste management facilities. The scope of this review would also include the consideration of requirements for material disposal bans, open burning, landfill gas, leachate management, scales and operator certification.

BEIJING — As Gov. Jerry Brown tours some of China's economic hubs this week, he is breathing the kind of heavy, soiled air that blanketed Los Angeles decades ago.

The soot and smog that are byproducts of this country's industrial progress are choking its people and threatening its economy. Chinese leaders are talking openly about the need to clean up the air, and to learn how from California.

So Brown and a large delegation of business and political leaders have come to lend a hand, as well as to leverage China's need into business deals.

Brown made his agenda clear not long after he arrived in Beijing, a city so gridlocked in traffic that parts of his schedule are being upended to account for the time he spends trapped in it.

"We're from California," the governor said, addressing the dozens of delegates at a lavish dinner Tuesday in a restaurant that 400 years ago served as a palace for a Qing Dynasty prince. "We're not interested in politics. We're interested in business."

On Wednesday, he held a private meeting with Environmental Protection Minister Zhou Shengxian. They signed a nonbinding agreement "to enhance cooperation on reducing air pollution," the first such accord between China's government and a U.S. state and one of several Brown is scheduled to secure while here.

Under the pact, California will help China set up institutions to regulate air quality, similar to those the state has established, and the two nations will engage in research projects "of mutual interest."

Later in the day, the governor addressed about 250 businesspeople, mostly Americans, in a ballroom at the Peninsula Hotel, where the shops sell Louis Vuitton and Chanel. The first question concerned pollution.

"The fact of the matter is, that can be cleaned up," Brown said. Compared with the days when Los Angeles was dense with smog, "the air is well over 90% cleaner… with millions of more cars on the road," he said.

The Chinese have expressed eagerness to adopt more clean technologies and use them to enlarge that part of their economy. The nation is ranked by the accounting firm Ernst and Young as the world's most attractive market for renewable energy projects.

And California, which bet heavily on the development of clean technologies, wants to export them as widely as possible. The embrace of California know-how by the world's most populous country — and recent convert to green energy — can help bolster the state's reputation as an international environmental trailblazer.

As Brown talks about environmental protection with officials in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong, he is expected to find receptive audiences for the California prescription: regulations that foster cleaner-burning power plants and factories, requirements for more energy from renewable sources and an emphasis on conservation.

"Everybody's got to do the maximum. China is key," Brown told reporters recently. "They're crucial to even our plans."

China is more open to help from California than from elsewhere, experts say.

"California is perceived in China as a leader in cleaning up the environment without any ulterior motive," said Yunshi Wang, director of the China Center for Energy and Transportation at UC Davis. "If these requests or demands come from Washington or Brussels, there's some attitude in China that it's some kind of effort to slow them down economically."

 

China is responsible for burning nearly half of the world's coal and producing nearly a quarter of the carbon dioxide, a gas scientists say is a leading cause of global climate change. Those emissions have grown as the nation's economy has boomed over the last decade and more people have pushed into the teeming cities from rural areas.

That movement and the country's growing prosperity have made China the largest car market in the world. But much of the clean-air technology in new cars is counteracted by China's dirty fuel. Brown had remarked on his arrival that the masses of bicyclists he saw here in the 1980s seemed to have been replaced with drivers.

"It looks like any city in Europe or the United States," he said. "There's been a radical transformation."

Even on days with relatively good air quality, like the ones cold winds brought to Beijing this week, many residents wear surgical masks when they go out. Growing citizen anger, evident in violent protests over the last year, has spurred the government — unwilling to impose strict environmental regulations in the past — to action.

"Air pollution has moved to the top of the policy agenda here," said Barbara Finamore, who is based in Hong Kong as Asia director of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

By Anthony York, Los Angeles Times

Source:  Los Angeles Times    http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-brown-china-environment-20130411,0,159929.story

 

 

 

Manitoba's farm families are encouraged to register as hosts for the fourth annual Open Farm Day, an event that connects the public with farmers for a hands-on experience to help them gain a better understanding of the agriculture industry and of where their food comes from, Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Minister Ron Kostyshyn announced on April 5, 2013

"Farming is an important contributor to our province's success and we want to show Manitobans how our farmers bring fresh produce, primary crops and a variety of livestock and other foods to consumers across the province and around the world," said Kostyshyn.  "By opening the farm gates to the public, we can showcase Manitoba agriculture and give farmers an opportunity to directly market their products."

The deadline to register as a host is April 30.  This year's Open Farm Day is set for Sept. 15.

Last year, 51 farms participated in Open Farm Day, attracting over 4,600 visitors.  Farm sites can include fruit and vegetable producers along with crop and livestock farms.  Agri-tourism, horticultural operations and agribusinesses related to farming are also invited to take part.  Many farm families provide demonstrations, recreational activities, tours and commentaries on farm life.

"On-farm experiences provide fun, educational activities that are welcome additions to increase Manitobans' awareness of our province's diverse agriculture industry," said Kostyshyn.

Host farms will be provided with farm gate signs, posters and map brochures giving directions to the participating farms.  In addition, the host farms will have an opportunity to be featured in videos that can be used for additional marketing purposes.

Farmers wishing to participate in Open Farm Day can call Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives at 204-821-5322.

Conservation and Water Stewardship  held a public consultation on March 18, 2013 to  discuss the proposed amendments to the Contaminated Sites Remediation Regulation 105/97.  Dean Kasur Manager, Environment Section, Environmental Programs and Strategies led the discussion and he, along with Mike Gilbertson, Director, Environmental Programs and Strategies, welcomed input from the participants prior to finalizing the amendments.

The presentation can be viewed here. You are invited to submit comments and suggestions to admin@meia.mb.ca by April 12, 2012