| 1. |
Ontario's knowledge network.
- Ontario has seventeen research universities including the University of Toronto, McMaster University, Queen's University, University of Waterloo, University of Western Ontario and University of Guelph - all of which conduct cutting-edge research in chemical engineering, biochemistry, materials sciences and related fields.
- Top scientists from the public and private sector often work together, sharing both the risks and the rewards.
- Ontario's universities produce thousands of graduates each year in chemistry, chemical engineering, biology, computer science and business, providing a constant supply of new talent for growing chemical companies.
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| 2. |
College-industry collaboration keeps chemicals skills training on the leading edge.
- Ontario's 24 colleges of applied arts and technology produce industry-ready graduates with practical skills, much of it learned on state-of-the-art equipment.
- Colleges in our chemical clusters offer two and three-year programs in chemical laboratory, chemical production engineering, materials engineering and environmental sciences.
- Relationships between Ontario colleges and companies can go beyond employee recruitment and training:
- Colleges offer specialized training developed collaboratively with industry associations or individual companies.
- The Suncor Energy Foundation recently donated $1 million to establish the Suncor Sustainability Centre at Lambton College in Sarnia to serve as a showcase for promoting renewable energy ideas.
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| 3. |
Regional Innovation Centres (RICs) help bring together leading scientists for cross-disciplinary research collaborations, often in partnership with industry, at labs such as the:
The Regional Innovation Centres are members of The Ontario Network of Excellence (ONE), a collaborative network of organizations across Ontario that promote commercialization.
Our incubators, research parks and technology transfer offices such as MaRS and Ontario Centres of Excellence work with industry partners to move discoveries from the lab to the marketplace as quickly as possible.
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| 4. |
More R&D costs qualify for tax credits in Ontario.
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Ontario |
United States |
| Wages and salaries |
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√ |
| Capital equipment |
√ |
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| Materials |
√ |
√ |
| Overhead |
√ |
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| Contract expenses |
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65% - 75% |
Canada's R&D tax incentive program ranks among the most generous in the world. And businesses of any size can make a claim. The result? The real cost of $100 in R&D spending can be reduced to less than $42.
Generous R&D tax incentives mean lower innovation costs and a better ROI.
The cost per researcher in Ontario is among the lowest of the OECD countries. Between 1999 and 2007:
- the ratio of operating profit to revenue averaged 57% higher for industrial chemical companies in Canada than in the U.S.
- net profits to revenue averaged 54% higher.
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| 5. |
Our operating cost advantage.
As an export-driven, manufacturing economy, we recognize that our companies need a tax and regulatory environment that helps them compete successfully in global markets. That's why:
- Ontario's combined provincial and federal corporate income tax rate is lower than that of any U.S. state, Japan or France.
- Ontario's employer payroll tax rates (total of pension, health and unemployment) are the lowest of all G7 countries.
- Provincial capital taxes are being eliminated.
- Ontario has eliminated all fuel taxes on biodiesel products.
- Employee health care benefits cost Ontario manufacturers about half as much as their U.S. counterparts.
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| 6. |
Access to North American markets.
- Ontario lies near the centre of North America's $17 trillion marketplace. Our pipelines and transportation infrastructure move chemical and plastics products from the plant to the customer quickly and efficiently.
- Made-in-Ontario products have secure access to U.S. and Mexican markets under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
- More than $14.2 billion of Ontario chemicals - over two-thirds of the industry's output - was exported in 2009.
- Within a day's drive of southern Ontario you will find:
- 65% of the entire Canadian Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
- 60% of the North American plastics resin market
- 54% of U.S. payroll
- key manufacturing sectors-automotive, pharmaceuticals, agri-food and packaging
- large and growing consumer markets
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| 7. |
Secure access to traditional and bio-feedstocks.
- An extensive pipeline grid brings natural gas, petrochemical liquids, chemical intermediates and crude oil to Ontario for processing and upgrading.
- Bio-feedstocks are readily available - corn, soy, agri-waste and forest biomass. Farmers in southern Ontario produce 2.4 billion bushels of corn and 1.5 billion bushels of soybeans every year.
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| 8. |
A skilled, loyal and productive workforce.
- According to the Chemical Industry Association of Canada, the average length of employment for chemical workers is 11 years in the Greater Toronto Area, more than 19 years in Sarnia and more than 20 years in Eastern Ontario.
- Thirty four percent of employees in our chemical industry have a university degree.
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