"There is a solid capacity for managing water and water technology in Canada," said Rick Findlay, vice-chair of the Canadian Water Network. "We do play on the world stage – and we could play a bigger role, of course," he added. According to the World Health Organization, more than 3.5 million people die each year from water-related diseases worldwide. However, noted in this Globe and Mail release, Canada has a significant number of companies providing technology for cleaning water. Industry grew up around the Great Lakes precisely because of the availability of water, observes David Henderson, managing director of XPV Capital Corp.. The Great Lakes cluster, as Mr Henderson calls it is the largest concentration of water-related companies in the world, in an area that includes southern Ontario, as well as U.S. states bordering the lakes. Examples of Canadian water purification companies include: H20 Innovation, Kontek Ecology Systems, Imbrium Systems and Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies.

Read more : Canada has the largest concentration of water-related companies in the world

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz wrapped up another series of trade missions to advance Canada’s agriculture objectives, this time to the first G20 Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting, the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the Global Research Alliance Summit. « Our Government is working to ensure that Canada’s agriculture industry remains competitive and innovative, » said Minister Ritz.

Read more : Government of Canada promotes open trade & innovation on world stage

NS Premier, Darrell Dexter, left for the U.S. to promote the province’s life sciences and energy industries, and meet with Michelin executives. While in Washington, the premier will attend the world’s largest biotechnology conference, addressing delegates at the opening of the Canadian pavilion and the National Bio-Economy Roundtable. "Nova Scotia’s life sciences industry holds tremendous potential for creating high-value jobs and improving the province’s competitiveness on the world stage, key components of our jobsHere plan, and ultimately, for growing the economy and making life better for Nova Scotians," said Premier Dexter. Nova Scotia is home to more than 50 companies in such commercial areas as pharmaceuticals and vaccines, and nutraceuticals, medical technologies, bio IT and bioproducts.

Read more : Nova Scotia Premier to promote the province in the U.S.

Saskatchewan is the top-ranked Canadian jurisdiction for oil-and-gas investments, according to an annual survey from the Fraser Institute. The province was applauded for its government’s long-term stability in energy policy, low royalties and clear regulatory frameworks. On the global front, Saskatchewan ranks 11th out of 136 regions.

Read more : Saskatchewan ranked top Canadian spot for energy investment

Reuters reports that bank M&A in Asia is set to accelerate as small and inefficient lenders in the region look to attain scale and drive shareholder returns. In addition, cross-border deal activity will likely be limited by the foreign ownership restrictions in many countries in the region with an estimated $16 billion worth of live or planned deals between banks, bankers say. Overall, dealmaking in Asia grew at a healthy pace in the first half of 2011, driven largely by the material and industrial sectors and showing buyers were unfazed by slowing economic growth in China and India and rising interest rates in many parts of Asia.

Read more : Bank deals seen driving Asian M&A

A new wave of investment groups is flooding the ETF market in Canada; Vanguard Group and PowerShares are joining First Asset Capital in offering ETFs in Canada. BMO Western Canada ETF head Mark Webster, responding to Vanguard’s announcement, said: « Obviously it’s a huge competitor, but the reality is that when you have somebody of that stature coming into the Canadian marketplace, it’s going to attract a lot of attention to the ETF world, and all the participants are going to be beneficiaries. »

Read more : New players entering Canadian ETF market

TIGA points to the report for the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, which revealed that Canada was successfully attracting investment and jobs away from the UK and that the Canadian games industry was enjoying significant growth fuelled in part by tax credits. The report, Canada’s Entertainment Software Industry in 2011, showed that Canada itself has been notably successful in attracting investment and skilled personnel from jurisdictions like the United Kingdom. It also found that the Canadian games industry is expected to grow by 17% over the next two years.

Read more : UK games developers ‘lured’ to Canada

Pratt & Whitney is showing interest in a Mirabel site to build and test its next-generation engine, a move that would bolster the Montreal area as one of the world’s premier aerospace centres. Quebec prizes its aerospace companies, which make Bombardier jets, Bell helicopters and CAE flight simulators, among hundreds of other products. The aerospace industry has just under 40,000 direct employees in the province.

Read more : Mirabel, Québec, emerges as aerospace ‘magnet’

ABBYY, a provider of document recognition, data capture, linguistic technologies and professional services, announced a new office in Kanata, Ontario and the appointment of Brian Mackintosh as the ABBYY Canada Country Manager. In order to support the needs of Canadian partners and customers in the enterprise and SMB markets, as well as federal and provincial governments, ABBYY Canada plans to hire field sales and technology support staff in the coming quarters to facilitate growth within the region.

Read more : Russian firm, ABBYY, expands Canadian operations

U.S. Bank announced the Canadian launch of its Payment Plus tool, which replaces traditional payment methods with cardless accounts that use dynamic credit adjustment, single use accounts or straight-through processing to pay vendor invoices.

Read more : U.S. Bank launches Payment Plus for business customers in Canada