High-tech associations are receiving mixed messages from different levels of government as they lobby for increased financial support and unleash new commercialization strategies.

At the federal level, tech leaders feel buoyed by the recent throne speech, which emphasized the development and application of information and communications technologies.

At the same time, the local tech industry expressed disbelief at proposed budget cuts at the municipal level that threaten key economic development agencies, such as the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI) and the Ottawa Life Sciences Council (OLSC).

Jeffrey Dale, OCRI's president and chief executive, said the draft budget proposal, which could mean cuts of more than 50 per cent in funding, would devastate his agency.

At the provincial level, OCRI members presented last Friday to an all-party committee designed to seek input from across Ontario before the government of Premier Dalton McGuinty tables its budget, expected sometime this spring.

"We will be talking about commercialization, community capacity building and skills development," Dale said prior to the presentation. OCRI members also met recently with Ontario Economic Development and Trade Minister Joseph Cordiano, who Dale said is "focused on small business growth and enhanced commercialization".

In fact, commercialization was the buzzword last week as Dale and other members of a special task force outlined some of the problems inherent in Ottawa's high-tech landscape, including the tendency for firms to place too much emphasis on research and development and not enough on bringing products to market. In an effort to solve such problems, the task force, headed by Eli Fathi, founder of Ottawa-based OrbitIQ, made several recommendations in its interim report.

"There's very little done right now," Dale said of the preliminary effort. "For us to quantify some of these recommendations, we're going to have to get some funding."

Also needed is "the right attitude", Dale added, something he said Prime Minister Paul Martin has in abundance.

"The leader of the country has the attitude which says, 'We're not a country of mountains and moose, we're a country of innovators of technology, creators and exporters'," he said. "It's very encouraging to have (the new administration) start off like that and it's especially encouraging for them ... to focus on the growth of small businesses. That's how we're going to take the research today and make it available on the international stage."

Of particular interest to IT associations was the mention of the development of information and communications technologies in the throne speech, which placed priority on the application of ICTs to "all sectors to build globally competitive firms, from startups to multinationals".

Bernard Courtois, new president and chief executive of the Information Technology Association of Canada, said last week that, while the throne speech had a social agenda, it remains "important that the (government) doesn't disconnect that with progress and science and technology because it's an enabler of everything they're trying to do".

The new federal administration is run on the basis of distributive decision-making, Courtois added, so "there will be quite a bit of power in the hands of commons committees".

"There are ministers, parliamentary secretaries, there are people with advisory roles in the prime minister's office. So there are a lot of people (we need to meet) to get our message across. We'd like to meet with them, but they're still setting up their offices."

Courtois is confident in Martin's abilities to promote technology and the business world.

"If you look at his track record as finance minister, he set objectives that he was comfortable he could meet. People sometimes criticize him for that, but he exercises prudence and set his sights in a way that he can deliver," he said, adding his association will continue to ensure the government stays on course with its plan to phase out the capital tax over several years. The association will also encourage the government to accelerate this process, said Courtois

For Fathi and his task force, there is some caution when consulting with governments on the recent recommendations concerning Ottawa's commercial direction.

"In this case, we're careful to do the consultation," said Fathi. "We believe something has to be done and we have told the government that something has to be done. But, at this point, we need more information from industry people. What we aren't ready to say is, 'Here's an example of what's being done in Norway, Finland, and other places'. So we want to be very quantifiable when we approach the government."

One thing the task force's strategy can't be is national in scope, said Dale.

"Commercialization out west will be based on oil and gas or forestry. Innovation that's happening in Ontario and Quebec may be more based on ICT infrastructure. Each region is different and we need a national model that reflects that."

Some of the task force's recommendations included:

n Create and fund an industry-driven commercialization centre to co-ordinate the creation and funding of regional and industry clusters. Estimated cost: $2 to $3 million per year.

n Fund business faculties at local universities and colleges to continue research on local and global trends and their impact on local economy evolution.

n Create a web database to import municipal best practices on support for commercialization from around the world and have that information shared through a domestic "sister cities" program across the country. Estimated cost: $600,000.

n Create a national policy for increasing available private equity for investments in innovations, encouraging money to go into early stage, VC, mezzanine and buyout funds.