Vancouver-based Tekmira Pharmaceuticals, a developer of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, has entered a new research collaboration with Pfizer. The companies will collaborate on evaluating Tekmira’s stable nucleic acid-lipid particle (SNALP) technology to deliver small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules provided by Pfizer. Tekmira will be responsible for preparing the SNALP formulations and Pfizer will evaluate the formulations in preclinical models.
Read more : Tekmira and Pfizer initiate new research collaboration

Hind High Vacuum (HHV), an India-based vacuum technology company, has set up a thin-film solar photovoltaic (SPV) module production line in Canada with a capacity of 10 megawatt a year. The company has also formed a joint venture with Canada’s Solar Source Corporation (SSC) to establish the country’s first thin-film amorphous silicon solar panel manufacturing plant. The plant will be established in Prince Edward Island and have an annual capacity of 120 MW, to be established in four phases, with 30 MW coming up in the phase one. The plant will make panels for the building-integrated, ground-mount and commercial rooftop markets. The joint venture also includes a proposal to build in four phases a 120 MW crystalline silicon solar panel manufacturing facility in Ontario. The total investment on the two projects will be around $240 million.
Read more : India’s Hind High Vacuum sets up solar photovoltaic module production line in Canada

A delegation of 22 businesses and organizations from Atlantic Canada’s seafood industry will head to the International Boston Seafood Show. The annual industry trade show attracts 16,000 top-tier buyers and sellers of seafood from more than 90 countries. The trade mission delegation includes representatives from fisheries, seafood and aquaculture companies and organizations from across Atlantic Canada. The delegates will exhibit in one Atlantic Canadian pavilion to attempt to gain international exposure for their seafood products and services.
Read more : Atlantic Canadian seafood industry to gain international exposure at Boston Seafood Show

The Canadian Budget has proposed to amend the definition of "taxable Canadian property" to generally exclude shares of any Canadian-resident corporation, whether or not the shares are listed on a designated stock exchange, with a few exceptions. As a result of this proposed amendment, the Section 116 Certificate process will not apply to a disposition of shares of a Canadian corporation except where the value of the shares is derived from real property situated in Canada, Canadian resource properties or timber properties. This will eliminate what has long been an irritant to foreign private equity and venture capital investors, particularly those structured as limited partnerships.
Read more : Government of Canada announces significant liberalization of Canadian tax laws applicable to foreign investors in Canadian businesses

In an effort lure oil and gas investment to the province, the Alberta government will modify conventional oil and natural gas royalty rates, promote more innovation and use of new technologies, and reduce unnecessary red tape while improving coordination of regulatory processes. Currently almost one in seven Albertans are directly or indirectly employed by the energy industry. Changes to improve Alberta’s competitiveness are expected to create 8,000 jobs in 2011-12 and then 13,000 more jobs annually across the economy. Over the next 25 years conventional oil and gas development in Alberta has the potential to add $2.5 trillion in new economic activity.
Read more : Alberta to attract oil & gas investors with regulatory and fiscal changes

The province of Ontario has announced plans to be North America’s clean water technology capital. The province will introduce a “Water Opportunities Act” that is expected to create incentives to attract investors and companies to participate in an export-oriented sector that already employs about 22,000 people in the province.
Read more : Ontario looks to build clean water technology cluster

Executives from the Ontario Technology Corridor are in California attending the Game Developers Conference 2010 to showcase Ontario’s digital entertainment companies. Thirty-five Ontario gaming companies are at GDC 2010 to showcase their creations, make business connections, and help gaming investments to the province. Ontario’s entertainment and creative cluster produces $15 billion in revenue and over 200,000 jobs, along with a $12.7 billion contribution to the province’s GDP.
Read more : Ontario Technology Corridor at GDC 2010 in San Francisco to attract gaming companies

Ontario is becoming a magnet for global companies in the green energy sector, drawn by alluring subsidies at a time when incentives are being scaled back elsewhere. Already this year, South Korea’s Samsung C&T Corp and Bosch Solar Energy have said they will set up shop, and more are expected to follow. The provincial supports is attracting these companies as well as the proximity to the U.S. market. Ontario, which is phasing out its coal-fired power stations and looking for cleaner energy options, last October unveiled the richest set of tariffs in North America for feeding power generated by renewable sources into the grid.
Read more : Ontario becoming magnet for companies in green energy sector

The Royal Bank of Scotland said it’s opening an oil and gas advisory in Calgary. The Edinburgh-based RBS said it will open the Calgary office to take advantage of the economic recovery in the city’s oil and gas sector. RBS said this is move is a vote of confidence in the Canadian oilpatch. Calgary will be an extension of the bank’s Houston practice and its oil and gas advisory in the United States, which carries out reserves-based lending, mergers and acquisitions and risk management services for large and mid-cap firms where RBS had previously concentrated on Canadian large caps.
Read more : RBS sets up office in Calgary to target energy sector

Total profits for Canada’s six biggest banks surged to $5.3 billion in the first quarter as loan losses fell and their domestic operations flourished. The positive earnings were driven by strong growth in mortgage lending and other domestic business. Those profits are about 75% higher than they were in the first quarter last year. None had a return on equity below 14%.
Read more : Canadian banks reach profit of $5.3 billion in first quarter