Standard of living, quality of life rely on innovation, innovation relies on engineering design
Global quality of life has advanced since the industrial revolution—this advancement is the result of continuous innovation. World population growth, diminishing non-renewable resources, social inequity, and escalating environmental challenges all require global scale innovations or our collective quality of life will not be sustained. Collective global innovation has never been more critical. Canadians have contributed […]
City councils strike back in broadband battle
OTTAWA—The Canadian battle over broadband services has taken an unexpected turn in recent weeks as Bell’s effort to win high-profile support for its appeal of a crucial ruling issued by Canada’s telecom regulator appears to have backfired. After support from Toronto Mayor John Tory and Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson for the telecom giant came to […]
It’s time to reconcile infrastructure, because it’s 2016
The federal Liberals’ commitment to increase infrastructure investment to $125-billion over the next decade could transform Canada for the better. Realizing the program’s full transformative potential, however, requires as much focus on how funding is spent, as on what is spent. Above all, the new program should support and reward municipalities with modern, structured, and […]
We can’t afford to put off e-prescribing
Like many other Canadians, I was proud to learn Canada was named second best country in the world in which to live at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last month. Our high standard of living, our celebration of diversity, and our position as a high-tech industrial society are just a few of the […]
The long game starts now
There’s a reset happening in Canada. Despite the oil slump and struggling loonie, a new federal government in Ottawa has spurred some fresh thinking about the future of Canada. Optimistic, hopeful thinking. That combination of harsh reality and hopeful thinking requires us to be both ambitious and manage our expectations as we look for ways […]
Critics look forward to budget for details on Liberal innovation plan
Canada needs a wide-spanning and visionary plan for innovation in the near future that involves more than just government grants and tax incentives, innovation critics told The Hill Times. So far, the Liberals have not elaborated on their innovation plans much past what they announced during the election campaign, which was to spend $200-million a […]
The cause for fairer science, because it’s 2016
OTTAWA—When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made his famous remark—”because it’s 2015″—about gender parity in his newly-appointed Cabinet last year, it attracted a lot of attention at home and abroad. He followed it up with a high-level panel on gender parity at Davos where he promoted women’s rights across the spectrum of society, including science and […]
Bring environmental, social considerations to infrastructure investment
Some $125-billion in federal infrastructure spending over the next 10 years is a big number, but when measured against our needs, even $125-billion won’t be enough. We also need institutional investors to step up and invest in Canada. But how do we turn our infrastructure requirements into attractive investments? The answer is simple, we must innovate. […]
It’s time to build an inclusive innovation eco-system
Canada has always been a country of innovators, but as countless recent reports and studies have shown, either Canada is slipping, or the rest of the world is catching up and overtaking us. Providing the enabling conditions for the entire Canadian innovation ecosystem to grow and compete at all levels is critical. In order to […]
More government grants is not the solution
One of the key observations when it comes to evaluating Canada’s innovation performance is that compared to our peers among industrialized countries, we spend more public money than average, but a lot less private money. We are actually at the very bottom of the ranking for venture capital investment and business R&D. Yet, over the […]
