The program “is not about one year, it’s a five-to-10-year plan,” Navdeep Bains said Wednesday, at a virtual event Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) organized to highlight projects from the five consortia of business, academia and non-profits. (The Logic)

Talking point: In a report published earlier this month, the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer said ISED was significantly behind its payout schedule for the initiative, which was likely to generate just over half of the 50,000-plus jobs Ottawa was projecting. The superclusters pushed back sharply, noting the watchdog’s analysis stopped at early March, after which several launched pandemic-focused streams. The five organizations said they’ve allocated a combined $998 million of Ottawa’s and members’ money to projects, while ISED estimates they’ve generated 6,100 net new jobs so far. Protracted negotiations over contribution agreements between the government and the groups delayed their operations, and the department only set performance targets for the program in March.