Canada’s Economic Action Plan invests in the jobs of the future in southern Ontario

TORONTO, ON — Southern Ontario will strengthen its position as a leading centre for medical research and see new jobs created with the development of the KidsArm robotic surgical system, the first paediatric technology of its kind in the world.  The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology and for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), announced a $10 million investment from Canada’s Economic Action Plan at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto.

“Our government supports scientific research because it creates jobs, strengthens the economy and improves Canadians’ quality of life,” said Minister Goodyear. “This investment will reinforce southern Ontario’s place as a world leader in medical research and innovation, and provide opportunities to export made-in-Canada technology to hospitals worldwide.”

“Through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, our investment will help create more than 80 highly-skilled jobs, which will inject millions of stimulus dollars into the southern Ontario economy,” said Peter Kent, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas) and Member of Parliament for Thornhill.

The Centre for Image-Guided Innovation & Therapeutic Intervention (CIGITI), SickKids’ cutting-edge medical, engineering and research centre, will develop KidsArm in partnership with MDA, Philips and other companies. KidsArm is an image-guided medical robot designed for paediatric patients, which enables surgeons to safely and efficiently perform less invasive surgical procedures and cut down the average time of procedures by up to 90 per cent.

“At SickKids we encourage innovations that translate knowledge from the lab into clinical practice,” said Mary Jo Haddad, President and CEO of SickKids. “This project is a prime example of how research and technology can be transformed into clinical applications, which lead to improved health outcomes for our children.”

“The mission of our Centre is to imagine, innovate and provide health care differently from today,” said Dr. Peter C. W. Kim, Director of CIGITI, Paediatric General Surgeon and Senior Associate Scientist in Developmental & Stem Cell Biology at SickKids, and Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto. “With this critical and timely investment from the federal government, we plan to develop the next generation of surgical robots, medical imaging and simulation technologies for the care of children and babies. This investment will help transform health-care and education through innovative technology development while building intellectual capability and economic capacity in Ontario and in Canada.”

Funding for this project will come from the Southern Ontario Development Program and will go towards purchasing the core foundation equipment that will be adapted for KidsArm. This project is expected to create more than 80 research, engineering and manufacturing jobs at the Centre and partnering companies who will provide the imaging, robotic and simulation equipment. Once complete, SickKids will commercialize the technology to generate revenues that will be re-invested to further research at the Hospital, helping to sustain innovation over the long term.

The project is also funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation (MRI) and SickKids Foundation. For additional information on CIGITI, visit www.cigiti.com.

For additional details on the Southern Ontario Development Program, please refer to the program backgrounder, visit the FedDev Ontario web site at www.feddevontario.gc.ca, or call 1-866-593-5505. For additional information on Canada’s Economic Action Plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.