Two Burlington corporations given repayable loans by the federal government - reporter thinks there was something for him as well

By Pepper Parr

April 5th, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

We got a little bit behind on this one.

The federal government sent a pair of Cabinet Ministers to the city to do a short quick announcement on some funding that came out of the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario – FedDev for short.

Burlington’s MP Karina Gould and Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for FedDev Ontario visited virtually to leave behind $2.9 million with two Burlington corporations.

Elaine Gerrie spoke for the company when the funding announcement was made.

The first, Gerrie Electric Wholesale Limited got $1.4 million as repayable contribution that will help the consolidation of its new distribution operations in the 76,000-square-foot facility that will open in late May.

The “Karie” a pharmaceutical dispensing device developed by Burlington’s AceAge

AceAge Inc., a healthcare technology company, has developed and commercialized the Karie™ in-home medical device that organizes and dispenses medication. The easy-to-use system allows patients to schedule medication refills and deliveries, which has become increasingly beneficial during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It also reminds users to take their medication, which is dispensed with the push of a button, and uses smartphone technology to alert family or caregivers when a patient has missed a dosage. With a $1.5-million repayable contribution, AceAge Inc. will scale its operations to meet increasing demand in Canada and Europe by growing its development and support teams.

This investment will also help the company launch its technology in the United States.

These funding announcements are part of the political process; the politicians want the public to know all about the good news.

Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for FedDev Ontario

Once the announcements were made the Zoom session was open for questions.  My name pops up on the screen and I ask my question – I get to ask a follow up question.  Then on to the next reporter.  Turns out that I was the only reporter on the call (typical of the Gazette) so I asked if I could get in another question.

Nope, said the facilitator and then Minister Joly brought her hand up to her mouth with the palm facing up and I swear she blew a kiss goodbye – given that I was the only reporter on the call it just had to be for me.

I was so surprised that I wasn’t able to move fast enough to grab a screen shot you’ll just have to believe me.