Rideau Hall, Thursday, May 19, 2016

Before I begin, I want to acknowledge that this ceremony is taking place on the traditional territory of the Algonquin nation.

I often end speeches with my favourite line by George Bernard Shaw, but as today is all about innovation, I’d like to start with it!

It goes like this:

"Some people see things as they are and wonder, ‘Why?’
We dream of things that ought to be and ask, ‘Why not?’”

I think that line captures something of the remarkable spirit of innovation that exists in this country from coast to coast to coast.

We dream of things that ought to be.

We ask: why not?

These new awards celebrate that spirit—and in fact, they were born of it.

And what do we dream of with these new awards for innovation?

We dream of a country that honours its most creative, compassionate and entrepreneurial citizens.

We dream of a country that celebrates those who create value, who build more compassionate, inclusive communities, and who meaningfully improve our quality of life.

We dream of a country that celebrates those who reject complacency, opting instead to put their creativity and skills to use in addressing the important challenges of our time.

And why ought we to do that? Why do we celebrate the great innovators who are sitting in the front rows of this ballroom?

We do it for the following reasons:

Because Canada needs models of partnership and principled adaptation of Indigenous culture to help us build a more fair and just society.

Because burn victims need dressings that reduce bacteria and inflammation and speed the healing process.

Because our planet needs better and longer-lasting batteries to help us make the shift from fossil fuels to renewables.

Because diabetics need better ways to maintain blood flow to avoid long-term side effects of this disease.

Because people who have physical limitations or who work in industrial settings need robotic arm technology for mobility.

Because people with brain tumours need quick access to safe and less invasive surgery.

Ladies and gentlemen, these are the ground-breaking innovations we celebrate today.

Each of these innovators dreamed of something which ought to be, and then they asked themselves one simple question:

Why not?

These awards were created to celebrate that spirit of achievement, and to inspire future innovators to use their creativity to help others.

We want to strengthen the culture of innovation in Canada. Some of the world’s top innovators live among us, yet we don’t share our stories or celebrate that fact enough.

By celebrating and sharing our innovation stories, we help to build that culture, to foster it.

I’m so pleased to do so today.

I would like to thank everyone who played a role in establishing these awards, including the members of the selection committee and the advisory committee, as well as the founding partners and the nominating partners.

To the inaugural recipients of the Governor General’s Innovation Awards: thank you for your creativity and congratulations on this well-deserved honour.

May you continue to surprise us with your innovations!

Thank you.