Brock University today received more than $16 million from the Government of Canada and Government of Ontario for two major projects that will significantly improve Niagara\u2019s capacity to drive innovation into our community and accelerate the University\u2019s capacity to meet its GHG carbon intensity reduction target.<\/p>\n
The news came in a joint announcement at the Brock campus in St. Catharines by the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Canada\u2019s Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and the Honourable Deb Matthews, Ontario\u2019s Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development.<\/p>\n
The Brock LINC will be a striking two-storey innovation complex that will provide much-needed space to nurture Niagara\u2019s growing culture of innovation. It will provide students with the space to experience and experiment with entrepreneurship and will add a strategic asset within Niagara\u2019s innovation ecosystem that supports a greater number of research and development partnerships between Brock and Niagara\u2019s businesses and social organizations.<\/p>\n
The LINC\u2019s contemporary design will dramatically change Brock\u2019s iconic Schmon Tower, converting an open-air pedestrian mall into a modern, purpose-built 41,000-square-foot innovation centre that places research, commercialization, entrepreneurship and innovation at the entranceway to the University.<\/p>\n
The federal government\u2019s Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund today committed nearly $8.5 million toward the $19-million Brock LINC.<\/p>\n
This once-in-a-generation investment by the Government of Canada is a historic down payment on the government\u2019s vision to position Canada as a global centre for innovation.<\/span><\/p>\n Minister Bains and Minister Matthews also announced a $5.2-million federal investment through the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund and $2.6-million provincial investment in priority upgrades for Brock\u2019s co-generation facility and associated utility distribution system.<\/p>\n Brock\u2019s co-generation facility provides a reliable and energy-efficient source of electricity, cooling and heating for the University. However, Brock\u2019s energy needs, associated with its growth and increased research activity, exceeds what the facility can supply, both electrically and thermally. At the same time, some of the infrastructure has reached its end-of-life. The investments announced today will ensure the long-term viability and efficiency of Brock\u2019s co-generation facility. They will help Brock meet its own sustainability targets while also putting the University in a better position to contribute to sustainability and climate change goals locally, provincially and nationally.<\/p>\n Minister Bains said today\u2019s announcements represent the federal government\u2019s determination to enhance and modernize research facilities on Canadian campuses and improve the environmental sustainability of these facilities.<\/p>\n \u201cThis once-in-a-generation investment by the Government of Canada is a historic down payment on the government\u2019s vision to position Canada as a global centre for innovation,\u201d said Bains. \u201cThat means making Canada a world leader in turning ideas into solutions, science into technologies, skills into middle-class jobs and start-up companies into global successes.\u201d<\/p>\n Minister Matthews said investing in Ontario\u2019s students \u201cis an investment in our future.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur government\u2019s support of new state-of-the-art facilities at Brock University will help equip the young people of the region with the skills they\u2019ll need to be leaders in new industries and build up the economy,\u201d said Matthews.<\/p>\n Tom Traves, Brock\u2019s Interim President, agreed that today\u2019s announcements represent a huge investment in Canada\u2019s future, and are particularly important to the Niagara region.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the Brock LINC, we will be much more able to help innovators make Canada a world leader on intellectual and economic fronts,\u201d said Traves. \u201cAs well, today\u2019s funding lets Brock be part of the effort to help make Canada a leader in lowering the carbon emissions that are damaging the Earth\u2019s environment.
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