Canada has gone from ‘leader’ to ‘backwater’ in global digital economy competitiveness, say critics
Industry Minister Tony Clement has said that by 2020, Canada will boast a “globally competitive digital economy.” While one policy analyst says it’s possible, opposition critics are wondering why Canada isn’t becoming more competitive sooner. The year “2020 is way too late. We’ve gone from being a leader to basically being a backwater, and for […]
Canada at ‘competitive disadvantage’ in funding innovation, say industry stakeholders
Changes to Canada’s tax regime are working to attract flagging foreign investment to Canadian innovation, but firms are still having a hard time accessing funds for their new ideas, say business and industry insiders. “We have a good research base in this country. When you have the resources to drive the research you can do […]
Ritz says agriculture ‘backbone’ of Canadian economy
Agriculture is the “backbone” of Canada’s economy, says Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, whose top priority is to put farmers first after years of governments developing agriculture policy without input from farmers in the industry. “For far too long, policies were dictated by politicians to farmers in rural Canada. We’ve taken a different approach—we’re working with […]
Canada could be on leading edge of world competitiveness in agriculture sector: Agriculture Committee
The House Agriculture Committee released its comprehensive report on the competitiveness of the Canadian agriculture industry recently, noting that while Canada is losing market share, it has the resources, knowledge and people to remain “at the leading edge of world competitiveness in the agriculture and agri-food sector.” Conservative MP Pierre Lemieux (Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, Ont.), Parliamentary secretary […]
Canada should have national food policy, say political parties’ agriculture critics
Canada needs a national food strategy, but governments don’t have the political will to create one, say opposition MPs, however, the government says just because agriculture policies don’t have a “food strategy” label it does not mean the government doesn’t have one. “It’s unbelievable that we as a country don’t have a national food policy […]
Are agriculture numbers telling us to do something differently?
“Men, women and families who produce primary food are barely surviving economically, and too often they are not surviving at all. There is no way of avoiding the conclusion that many are locked in a deep and continuing economic crisis.” The preceding statement was presented to federal and provincial ministers of agriculture in a 2005 […]
Improving competitiveness and food sovereignty go hand-in-hand
“Competitiveness” is often assumed to be about market liberalization and deregulation. In Quebec, the agricultural sector, in particular, but also the public, at large, is increasingly aware that liberalization and deregulation can backfire. That is why food sovereignty has become an unavoidable issue when improving competitiveness is on the agenda. Food sovereignty is a nation’s […]
Feds need a food strategy
After years of deteriorating farm income, mounting debt and ill-designed income stability programs, can life on Canadian farms get worse? It certainly appears so. The government is forecasting that the price of many farm commodities will decline in 2010. And despite a complete overhaul by the Conservative government, farm income programs are causing the same […]
Orphan crops can turn into winners, say IDRC experts
The food security of a billion people on the planet is threatened by climate change, increased demand, and volatile prices. In the face of these grave threats, the recent G8 and G20 meetings reaffirmed the need to take urgent action to assure food security for the world’s most vulnerable. One of the ways of achieving […]
Feds need to tap into global innovation opportunities
Although the federal government is doing a good job at investing in research and development, Canada is still in the bottom half of OECD countries when it comes to innovation and both businesses and governments should be looking at different ways to tap into global innovation opportunities, say experts. “I think the first thing that […]
