Superclusters move toward first projects as Bains says innovation program ‘kicking into high gear’
Canada’s five “superclusters” will spend 2019 getting their not-for-profit entities set up and rolling out their first projects meant to boost sector-wide productivity and collaboration under the Liberal government’s cornerstone innovation program. The federal government reached funding agreements with the five winners of its Innovation Superclusters Initiative last November and December, hashing out what portion […]
What happens to people in the age of AI?
Artificial intelligence (AI) and related emerging technologies will drastically change our society over the next couple of decades. Not only will automated systems soon take over jobs such as truck driving and manufacturing, they will eventually disrupt employment everywhere else, too. The current headlong rush to automate will create some employment in selected sectors, such […]
Here are the building blocks of a good digital strategy
Canada’s future competitiveness and growth prospects are inextricably linked to our ability to seize the opportunities created by the rapidly evolving digital economy. Evolving digital technologies create an opportunity for new products, technologies, services, business processes, societal tools, and organizations to generate new wealth, but they also challenge the existing system of production and our […]
How Canada is building a nation of innovators
The winds of change are powerful and persistent in the global economy. New technologies and new applications of data and digital tools are driving a fourth industrial revolution in economies and societies around the world. We can either put our heads in the sand and lose our opportunity for leadership, or we can take charge […]
Innovation
For rural and remote communities, broadband access is not a game
Over the last decade, Canadians from coast to coast to coast have decried consecutive governments for not doing enough to support rural and remote broadband access. Canadians in these communities should have access to broadband supports—it’s 2019, after all. There are a whole host of reasons given that not every Canadian has access to affordable […]
Why global standards necessary in field of artificial intelligence
This era is plagued with clichés about supporting our entrepreneurial ecosystems, elevating success, and harnessing local talent so they can exceed on the world stage. But what does this all mean? How do we translate these ambitious statements into action that will result in our local companies becoming leaders in the global marketplace? The answer is standards. […]
Canada’s agriculture system on the cusp of a circular revolution
The Canadian agri-food system is one of our best-kept secrets. It is one of our largest employers and is responsible for tens of billions of dollars in exports. It is an engine of economic growth and it means most Canadians spend only 10 per cent of their income on food. The food system also is […]
Canadian science needs non-partisan alliances to weather political winds of change
Today, Canada’s scientific community and its supporting bureaucracies seem to feel the political sun is shining on them. But political seasons change. What happens if political clouds and cold winds return? For politicians, civil servants, and scientists who emerged from the recent Canadian Science Policy Conference (CSPC) held Nov. 7 to 9 in Ottawa, one […]
Here’s Taiwan’s trailblazing digital minister’s advice on how the feds can boost service to Canadians
Audrey Tang is not your typical cabinet minister. First off, she’s not really a politician. Ms. Tang, who has called herself an “anarchist,” was asked to be a minister in Taiwan’s government in 2016 after taking part in a protest movement that occupied its Parliament two years earlier. While some cabinet ministers are adept at […]
