The president of the Canadian Retail Venture Capital Association (CRVCA) has warned the Ontario government that if it doesn't restore the Labour Sponsored Investment Fund (LSIF) tax credit and create a new retail venture capital tax credit, the province's innovation agenda is at risk. The Ontario government announced in September 2005 that it would phase out LSIF tax credit. Testifying at Ontario's Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, Les Lyall, president of CRVCA and a senior VP with GrowthWorks impressed on members the current situation. "Total venture capital available in Ontario for early stage new deals decreased 92% between 2000 and 2006. And last year, only 41 companies received first time financing compared to 187 companies in 2000."

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Ottawa-based telecom equipment maker Mitel Networks Corp. is acquiring Tempe AZ-based Inter-Tel Inc., another telecom gear supplier, for US$723 million. The combined company, which includes Inter-Tel subsidiaries Inter-Tel Europe, CTI system provider Swan Solutions Ltd. in West Sussex UK, and small office/ home office (SOHO) equipment seller Lake Communications Ltd. in Ireland, anticipates revenues of over US$800 million – double Mitel's current take, according to an April 26 press release. The merger lets the new-formed firm extend its small and mid-sized business (SMB) portfolio, and expand further into the enterprise space. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2007. Often considered an SMB-focused supplier, Mitel has been trying to improve its enterprise penetration. But lately enterprise-focused rivals such as Cisco Systems Inc. and Nortel Networks have begun a serious push into the SMB arena.

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Struggling wireless cable company Look Communications Inc. has thrown in the towel on its strategic review of operations and shareholder maximization process. The Milton ON-based firm says that it is no longer actively seeking a buyer, but will continue to let interested parties kick the tires.

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Mobile data solution provider Digital Dispatch has announced that its ASP mobile fleet management business initiative eFleet is seeing increased customer additions. To date, the Richmond BC-based company has inked $1 million worth of business for eFleet from 30 customers. Digital Dispatch has also recently signed an agreement with deCarta, a provider of mapping software. "eFleet's dispatch fleet management solution combined with deCarta's mapping expertise provides tremendous business impact for our customers," says Ray fast, ASP Business Unit president. "Our increasing customer base will benefit from optimizing their large investment in mobile fleets through our proven eFleet web-based ASP solution."

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Hawkesbury General Hospital, a 69-bed hospital about an hour east of Ottawa, is implementing an electronic health record (HER) solution. The healthcare facility purchased a system from Emergis Inc., one of the country's primary providers of electronic health records management software and systems. Installation of Emergis' Oacis system will begin this fall and marks the fourth hospital in Ontario to deploy the EHR system. "The deployment of Oacis is the culmination of our strategic IT vision and plan," the hospital's acting CEO and VP of financial and information services Luc Seguin said in a news release.

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