Honourable senators, yesterday at Government House, the Governor General’s Innovation Awards were presented to five amazing Canadian projects and the innovators that inspired them.

Sweet Dreams is a Social Impact Bond funded program designed to keep mothers and children together, rather than having children forcibly removed because of child welfare concerns. The mothers must commit to a plan to safely parent. Sweet Dreams has kept 53 of 54 families intact.

With the financial support of Conexus Credit Union; Eric Dillon; the Mah family, Wally and Colleen; Donald Meikle; and the EGADZ Saskatoon Downtown Youth Centre, and inspired by Senate Medal recipient June Draude, who launched this first-ever Social Impact Bond in all of Canada while serving as the Saskatchewan Minister of Social Services, together they have used this innovative financial tool to change lives and futures for the good.

Innovation is spurred by a desire for change, to dream bigger, and they have. Let me mention now the other award winners: Dr. Garnette Sutherland of Calgary who developed a new generation of MRI imaging; Jad Saliba, founder of Magnet Forensics, advancing digital evidence in human trafficking and terrorism investigations; Joelle Pineau of Montreal, a leader in using AI for robot-assisted health care; from Burnaby, B.C., Chief Ronald Ignace and Dr. Marianne Ignace, who are using Western scientific knowledge to research and capture Indigenous wisdom and knowledge from the past; and SmartICE, from Newfoundland and Labrador, a social enterprise to help Inuit communities adapt to unpredictable ice conditions, a project led by Trevor Bell, Shelly Elverum, Jenny Mosesie and Shawna Dicker.

Congratulations to the 2019 Governor General’s Innovation Award winners.