The Short Report - August 19, 2020: Blocked vaccine was made with Canadian tech, Competition Bureau takes on Amazon, and more

COVID-19 & PANDEMIC RECOVERY

Statistics Canada reported record gains in Canadian manufacturing sales, which climbed 20.7 percent in June to $48.7 billion as production ramped up again post-shutdowns, exceeding economists' expectations. Motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts industries led the increase. “Beyond this initial bounce, the pace of recovery will still likely moderate,” wrote Royal Bank senior economist Nathan Janzen in a report. - The Star

Theralase Technologies entered a sponsored research agreement with the University of Manitoba's Medical Microbiology department to develop a coronavirus vaccine and therapy using the company's patented and proprietary light-activated Photo Dynamic Compounds. - Yahoo Finance

The underlying technology for a COVID-19 vaccine currently being blocked from entering Canada for human trials by China’s customs agency was originally developed by Canadian researcher Dr. Frank Graham and licensed to the Chinese company CanSino Biologics by the National Research Council (NRC) three months ago. - iPolitics

The outlook for Canada's startup community may be better than expected, as the pandemic inspires innovative supports for startups at accelerators and incubators, governments and agencies, and industry associations and nonprofits. - Bereskin & Parr

CANADIAN COMPETITIVENESS

Citing concern that reduced wholesale rates would undermine investment in high-quality networks, Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains sided with telecom giants in their appeal of the CRTC's decision to lower the rates that large providers can charge for access to their high-speed broadband networks. - MobileSyrup

The Competition Bureau of Canada is investigating Amazon.ca to determine if the site is engaging in anti-competitive practices that harm Canadian consumers and companies, such as by enacting policies that compromise the ability of third-party sellers to succeed on Amazon's marketplace without using its "Fulfilment By Amazon" service, or by trying to influence consumers to purchase products it offers for sale over those offered by competing sellers. - CBC

RESEARCH & INNOVATION

Quebec's agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced nearly $2.2 million for two companies to deploy advanced agricultural technology such as optical scanning to optimize growing techniques. Newswire

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) announced more than $96 million in funding through its John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) to support 377 new research infrastructure projects at 55 institutions across Canada, including more than $22 million under the CFI’s Infrastructure Operating Fund. - CFI

THE GRAPEVINE

Janet King will retire from her position as Associate Deputy Minister for Public Services and Procurement Canada as of August 18, 2020. King contributed significantly to the government’s scientific and regional development agendas and the advancement of Northern policy in roles at Natural Resources Canada, Health Canada, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, Industry Canada, at Western and Economic Diversification, and as President of Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency. - R$