Tackling the digital skills gap: youth without jobs, employers without workers
Canadian youth use sophisticated technology in many aspect of their lives, but are failing to gain the skills to develop that technology themselves, something employers are seeking. This contributes to an unemployment rate for young people that’s almost double the national average. The digital skills gap is a growing problem for which experts are united […]
Tax hikes hobble young people’s job prospects
Canada’s youth are facing an employment crisis. In December there were 40,000 fewer youth jobs than the year before. That’s a three per cent decrease! Most worrisome is that youth have been relegated by the finance minister to a career of insecure part-time and contract work, unable to make a proper life for themselves because […]
The other half of preparing for a Trump era
CALGARY—As much as trade-dependent Canada suffers when the United States shoots itself in the foot, there are still often gains to be had. This is shaping up to be likely with the incoming Trump administration. Anticipating and preparing to seize these opportunities is the other, often overlooked, half of the work that is needed by the private sector, federal and provincial governments to prepare for the incoming […]
Youth Issues
Time to fix the ‘value gap’
In his Hill Times op-ed (“Canadian copyright reform requires a fix on the fair dealing gap,” Dec. 5, 2016) Michael Geist takes issue with the need to address the “value gap” that is hurting Canadian artists, writers, and other members of the creative class. He argues instead that Canada faces a need to address a “fair […]
Morneau’s 2017 budget may be most important in Trudeau’s four-year mandate
TORONTO—Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s budget this coming spring may be the most important budgetary exercise in the four-year mandate of the Trudeau government. The reason is the time lag between the announcement of new initiatives and when they begin to have any real impact. With not quite three years before the next federal election, even […]
Statistics Act changes don’t go far enough
OTTAWA—With the introduction of Bill C-36, An Act to Amend the Statistics Act, the government is moving forward on its commitment to “make Statistics Canada fully independent.” How does the draft legislation measure up to this goal and the expectations of key stakeholders? To begin, let me say that the bill, if passed in its […]
Inclusive innovation: learning from the start-up nation
Inclusivity is a central pillar of the federal government’s Innovation Agenda. By engaging the full spectrum of Canadian society in innovative projects, government can both leverage Canada’s diversity of talent and empower marginalized populations. It comes as a surprise to most, but Israel is the most relevant model Canada can look to for inclusive innovation. […]
Seeing and seizing the endless opportunities of space
The story headlined, “Private sector increasingly involved in space, Canadian government investments remain scarce,” in The Hill Times on Nov. 28 underlines the large role that Canadian space companies play in developing and furthering the country’s space program. While the article focused on the increasing level of private-sector involvement in space, it is important to note that […]
Canadian copyright reform requires a fix to the fair dealing gap
In the decade of lobbying leading up to the reform of Canadian copyright law in 2012, copyright lobby groups had one core message: Canada needed to implement and ratify the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Internet treaties. While many education, consumer, and business groups expressed concern that the digital lock rules in the treaties would harm […]
