The committee was studying Canada's defence industrial strategy and dual-use technology innovation. Appearing were Jean Belzile, Acting Executive Director of Research at École de technologie supérieure; Sonya Shorey, President and CEO of Invest Ottawa; Anita Pawluk, President and CEO of RaceRocks; Ian Church, Associate Professor at the University of New Brunswick; Robert Huebert, Professor at the University of Calgary; and Ken Doyle, Executive Director of Tech-Access Canada.
Jean Belzile argued that Canada's main challenge is not a lack of research but the slow adoption and integration of innovations into defence capabilities, particularly in prototyping, testing and integration. He recommended strengthening and expanding applied research models like ETS's, which connect researchers, industry and end-users from the outset, to accelerate deployment and avoid Canada bearing research costs while others reap the benefits.
Sonya Shorey emphasized that Canada's 5% GDP defence commitment must be leveraged through a fully coordinated national ecosystem. She recommended a living national inventory of capabilities, integration of existing infrastructure like NRC and NATO DIANA, accelerated lab-to-deployment pathways with integrated procurement, and deeper industry-academic-government collaboration, citing Ottawa-Gatineau's defence innovation hub as a model.
Anita Pawluk described gaps in innovation systems that hinder indigenous SMEs, including eligibility criteria favouring established firms and a missing bridge between technology validation and commercialization. She noted that RaceRocks' validated simulator for the navy had no procurement budget to move to production, and that flexible funding commitments for indigenous businesses were not designed into programs. She asked for consistency: if the government counts indigenous businesses for procurement targets, it should also count on them for innovation investment, with a clear indigenous business pathway.
Ian Church called for improved collaboration among ocean dual-use stakeholders, targeted funding to fill technology readiness gaps, and integrated training. He recommended a dedicated dual-use initiative within NSERC's alliance program and suggested Canada could learn from U.S. naval research structures but should improve by integrating First Nations and Inuit priorities. He also proposed equipping Arctic and offshore patrol ships to collect marine data, serving both military and scientific purposes.
Robert Huebert argued that Canada lacks a robust community of scholars to critically evaluate defence economics, due to funding agencies not prioritizing the field, short-term DND MINDS networks, and universities not hiring in defence studies. He noted that without open studies of past procurement successes and failures, and with poor access to information, Canada cannot learn lessons or properly develop a dual-use strategy.
Ken Doyle proposed a demand-pull model where technology access centres start with Canadian Armed Forces' operational challenges and pull existing Canadian innovations toward them. He recommended two near-term actions: dual-use technology assessments to prototype and validate technologies within six to 18 months, and supplier modernization for defence readiness to upgrade tier two and tier three manufacturers. He stressed that the network of technology access centres already exists and can be deployed immediately, with a goal of completing a first wave of projects by December 31, 2026.
A procedural debate occurred when a Conservative member moved a motion for a study on federal space procurement practices, citing concerns about transparency and value for money. Liberal members expressed support for the motion and criticized the time taken to debate it, noting that witnesses had been kept waiting. The motion was eventually agreed to without further debate.
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