James Tonn

From Connecting Content to Catching Criminals. In 2016, Systemscope Inc. and our partners worked with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada | Innovation, Sciences et Développement économiq, specifically Corporations Canada, and the 13 provinces and territories to conceptualize the Multi-Jurisdictional Registry Access Service (MRAS). I know, but think of it like Buckley's ... the name isn't great, but it works. MRAS pulled together 3 elusive services to connect Canada's disconnected business registries, whose absence was causing red tape and barriers to inter-provincial trade. This included federal search, extra-provincial registration, and change notifications across the pan-Canadian system. MRAS is a "data interoperability broker" that holds no information, but allows all registries to talk to each other while still abiding by their own policies, business rules and processes. This was very exciting for the federal/provincial/territorial (FPT) partners because this problem had been identified as a barrier since the Agreement on Internal Trade of 1994. Through the right balance of business transformation, data innovation, agile digital prowess and a whole lot of change management and governance, the MRAS beta was born in 2018. Now that we're in 2024, two significant elements have presented themselves. The first is that after 6 years in Beta, the provincial/territorial partners have agreed to declare the latest update, with extended search and advanced filtering, the first production version of MRAS! Congratulations to all of our FPT partners for this significant milestone in a journey that began with #TheTrainHasSailed. The second element is in response to the Cullen Report (2022) recommendations to mitigate money laundering, human trafficking and terrorist financing through the implementation of beneficial ownership information associated with Canadian company registrations. We have been using agile experimentation to work with participating FPT partners to use MRAS as a foundation for beneficial ownership in Canada. Having completed the first two phases of exploration and design, we are moving toward a third phase to continue to push this agenda. The journey continues, and is a reflection of some of the core philosophies that we embrace as leaders in transformation: 1) Fall in love with the problem, not the solution. 2) Transformation transcends business, service and digital through to mindset. 3) Digital is easy. Change is hard. Focus just as much on the emotional journey of users and stakeholders as you do on the digital transformation. 4) Own it like your career depends on it, because it does. 5) Agile doesn't mean fast. "Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast." #gcdigital #fpt #servicetransformation #agile #systemscope #aml #atf

11

Today's Orbit Policy's Deep Dive newsletter looks at: 📈 New data on R&D spending in the Higher Education sector - and how Canada's strong performance there is important but not enough to yield economic and societal benefits. 🤖 The race between AI and regulatory capacity in the US. While Canada's regulators haven't been hobbled in the same way - we are still in the same race to establish guide rails for emerging technology and our attempt to do that is currently in limbo. 🚢 Another important global trend - the move to de-risk supply chains. We're seeing that play out in Canada with billions being spent on EV and battery supply chains, as well as tariffs on Chinese EVs - but this is a trend that goes far beyond any one sector and will have major impacts on our economy over years to come. You can check out the full post here: https://lnkd.in/g3-kKkCc

8

Great opinion piece. "...it is increasingly clear that you can’t have a thriving innovation economy without industrial policy." (FYI - Industrial policy is government policy to encourage the development and growth of part of the economy in pursuit of some public goal.) For the future of Canada: AI, the environment, food security, housing, military, education, and healthcare all need industrial policy that is focused on the public goal of protecting the natural world. A larger discussion, but this public goal definitely includes the military, space exploration, education and healthcare.

5

2 Comments

🔔 Heads up, #Ottawa! Just two days left to RSVP for the First Ottawa Innovator Network of Canada (Inc.) Town Hall on June 6th. The government's detrimental Capital Gains Tax will be discussed, but we're setting the stage to get Ottawa's tech ecosystem back on track and drive prosperity for the nation. For too long, we've sidelined our own talent in favour of foreign solutions. Ottawa, with its strategic role in procurement and economic development, must lead the nation's 21st-century economy. It's time for our policies and institutions to put Canadians at the forefront, building the next wave of innovative companies. Join us for a no-nonsense Town Hall on Ottawa's role as a tech hub and its impact on Canada's economy. 🗓️ Date: Tuesday, June 6 at 5:00 PM 📍 Location: The Collaboration Centre, 150 Elgin St, Downtown Ottawa 🎟 RSVP Here: https://lnkd.in/g8JhqDGi What’s on the Agenda? Community: Pierce Ujjainwalla (Knak), Margo Crawford, MBA, ICD.D (Business Sherpa Group), Thomas Park (BDC & Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA)), Alexandre L. (Rain Technologies Inc.), and Laura Dhillon Kane (Bloomberg). Networking before and after the panel discussion: Mix with industry leaders, tech enthusiasts, and government influencers. Limited Space: So RSVP now to secure your spot. The Canadian economy has its challenges, but there are massive opportunities ahead. Let's come together and organize for a better future. See you there! cc'ing: Yasir Naqvi 🇨🇦, Anita Vandenbeld, Jenna Sudds, Marie-France Lalonde, Mark Sutcliffe, François-Philippe Champagne, Pierre Poilievre, Anita Indira Anand, Justin Trudeau, Chrystia Freeland, Randy Boissonnault, Jean-Yves Duclos #Innovation #Tech #Networking #CanadaTech #FutureForward

18

2 Comments

I am pleased to share that ICTC-CTIC’s report (led by Heather McGeer), End to End: The Need for Green and Digital Skills in Canada’s Supply Chain Industry, is now available here: https://lnkd.in/gbicVfQA   It was my privilege to assist a little as a member of the green supply chain advisory committee. The report explores how, to improve efficiencies and environmental sustainability, the Canadian supply chains required to become more digitized, leveraging big data, artificial intelligence, IOT and advanced robotics. Supply chain professionals need to acquire new digital and environmental skills with the right workforce development programs and incentives. With these the supply chain industry can help Canada meet its environmental sustainability targets and goals. 

20

3 Comments

Based on our experience in #crisiscommunications and #externalrelations, we're focusing our next edition of #COREInsights on #reputationmangement. Given the #watercrisis facing residents and businesses of the #Calgaryregion, we've included an analysis of areas for improvement and a series of questions that the #CityofCalgary needs to anticipate and address in dealing with the major #feedermainbreak. And a few other interesting #reputationmanagement pieces! One thing that the #crisiscommunications team and the #CalgaryEmergencyManagementAgency deserves credit for in the updates is the imaging and graphics. It's not easy to do this in a timely fashion and these graphics are clean, professional, and really help people understand where things are located and what the focus of work is. To see what I mean go to the city's main webpage and view their updates. Keep that part up!! To receive your bi-weekly edition of #COREInsights before it's posted on other platforms, make sure you subscribe by going to https://lnkd.in/gBt7vqx4 and enter your email address!

2

What is the real meaning of innovation? The folks at PCMA Canada East Chapter are going to educate, engage, and embrace the answer to that this month between November 24-26 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. I am thrilled to be delivering my session to this audience as an intentional, thought provoking, and important piece of the puzzle. The word “innovation” means to renew. In essence, it means to improve or to replace something, for example, a process, a product, or a service. We have seen change this week from our neighbours across the border, but is this a sign to mobilize our industry and begin to look at new ideas, new thought leadership, and the next generation of event and meeting professionals. We have spent this last year measuring everything from attendance, registration, AI, education, and I can go on and on. But are we paying attention to what matters to the human talent within this industry, what our clients need, or what we really need to change? Don't believe everything you hear, but listen to the speakers at this conference carefully and with an open mind. People come to conferences on purpose, expecting value. All the hype, the stories told, the opinions of others, the judgment suggested by some are not something worth measuring. You don't know anymore what people are thinking or feeling. My session will speak to the trust, safety, and human sustainability we all yearn for but are not paying enough attention to. This conference will do more than just feed you what you want to hear. It will be honest, transparent and authentic because that is the mantra of PCMA and the members who belong to this organization. But don't be silent, don't fear, and don't leave without sharing your thoughts so that you leave inspired, motivated and changed by the content. You matter and you are why we all come together for conferences like this. I am speaking on Tuesday November 26th at 11AM. PCMA Event Leadership Institute Convene Barbara Bruns Palmer Junior Tauvaa Vinodhini Deshetty Tonya Almond, CMP Liz Lathan, CMP

22

6 Comments

I had the good fortune to hear Andrew Coyne's keynote in person Second only to the opportunity to engage Minister Nate Horner and ADM Kate White at the Council of Canadian Innovators | Conseil canadien des innovateurs breakfast, Coyne's keynote was the highlight of the Productivity Summit for me. Alberta's, and in particular Minister Horner's, leadership exploring the issue of Canadian productivity is appreciated. Alberta's leadership is now required to progress this challenge from examination to impact. The key to rapidly and affordably improving Canada's productivity is establishing the circumstances, and specifically access to capital, necessary for IP and innovation based Canadian startup companies to progress rapidly and efficiently to market availability. Scolding from conference keynotes has no impact on the behaviour of entrenched product and service providers. As Coyne identified, the only thing that incites innovation and productivity improvement in an entrenched provider is lean and hungry startups taking away customers because they offer solutions providing greater productivity. Coyne also identified that Canada's, and Alberta’s, current practice of only subsidizing innovation in established companies has at best, and will only ever, realize insignificant progress. Only aggressive and sustained competition incites the necessary changes in behaviour. The absence of risk tolerant early stage (i.e. pre-revenue) funding for startup companies in Canada, (and particularly Alberta, given Alberta does not offer early stage tax credits) is the primary reason Canada's productivity lags our peer nations. We are encouraged by emerging green shoots observed in renewal of the leadership and mandate of Alberta Innovates, and establishment of the Heritage Fund Opportunities Corp.. Alberta Energy Company, the innovative Alberta public/private capital partnership that bootstrapped Alberta’s energy industry and advanced Alberta from one of the poorest provinces in Canada to the most prosperous, provides the template to raise, and place, the capital required for Alberta to prosper by resolving Canada’s productivity crises. And no domain offers greater returns than creating the AgTech necessary for Canada to realize its overwhelming, sustainable, and irreproducible competitive advantage in food exports.

2

On this Canada Day, a clarion call to stand up and protect Canadian democracy. Some Reflections on Democracy this Canada Day 2024 by Colleen Hardwick (Excerpt) If we want to restore trust, we need to step up our game.   For starters, a healthy democracy needs a functioning and reliable feedback loop that ensures the government listens to its constituents and doesn’t simply dictate to them between elections.   It also needs an informed electorate so that feedback to the government isn’t just an emotional knee-jerk reaction. Unfortunately, a steady decline in independent and local media has led to lower voter turnout and less democratic participation.   Transparency is also vital. If people are able to see a clear relationship between their vote and policy outcomes, trust and accountability are strengthened. We also need ways to verify that people are qualified to participate in influencing decision-making and policy development.   Vancouver is the only major Canadian city to elect its Council at-large. This means ten councillors and the mayor are responsible for representing all 680,000 Vancouver residents in the 115 square kilometres between Boundary Road and the University Endowment Lands. Council members have no connection to any specific geographic area of the city, and therefore no direct way of reflecting the will of the people living in them. The federal and provincial governments each have multiple ridings within the City’s boundaries. Civic wards could achieve the same objective. Ten councillors, each representing one of the city’s ten segments, is one practical solution. Or a hybrid model of five at-large and five ward or constituency councillors. There have been many suggestions over the decades.   We could also have neighbourhood councils, advisory bodies that advocate for their communities at City Hall on important issues like development, homelessness, and emergency preparedness. Neighbourhood councils could become part of Vancouver civic government, with annual budgets funded by tax revenues, and their members elected by their local communities, but donating their time as volunteers. Los Angeles has a neighbourhood council system, established in 1999 as a way of ensuring local government is responsive to the different needs and lifestyles of the city’s rich variety of communities. There are currently 99 neighbourhood councils in Los Angeles, each serving about 40,000 people.   From here in Vancouver we can see Canadian democracy facing many challenges. But we can restore it to health — if we make our voices heard and ensure that government serves the people — not the special interests who have hijacked political processes.   We need more, not less, democracy in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Earth.   The time and place to get involved and fight for it is right here right now. #Canada #Democracy #vanpoli #bcpoli #canpoli https://lnkd.in/gmqR38bi

1

I am excited to share some fantastic news from the 2024 Canadian federal budget. The government has committed to providing $14.5 million over two years to Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada for the Innovation Asset Collective. This funding will allow IAC to continue it's efforts to help Canadian clean tech SMEs grow and leverage IP effectively. This investment is not just a boost for our ongoing initiatives but a pivotal moment to drive forward our strategic vision. Since we were founded, IAC has been dedicated to empowering our members to align their IP strategy to commercial goals. This ensures Canadian companies not only innovate but also own their innovations, thereby increasing their freedom to operate in global markets. Over the next two years, IAC will continue to: Empower Clean Tech SMEs: The dedicated funding allows us to continue our mission of providing IP support to SMEs, empowering them to build effective IP strategies that include risk mitigation. Strengthen Canada's IP Ecosystem: By enhancing the capabilities of Canadian business leaders to develop effective IP strategies, this funding helps solidify the foundation of a resilient and competitive clean tech sector in Canada. Fostering Commercial Success: The financial support will enable more Canadian businesses to implement strategic IP tools that are crucial for scaling and entering new markets. With this funding, IAC can continue to support the growth of innovative Canadian companies on the global stage. The government's recognition of the importance of IP in securing a strong economic future is commendable. We thank ISED for this further investment in IAC.

300

42 Comments

Access to capital 💵 is becoming the most talked about issue in 🇨🇦 when it comes to tech firms identifying their worries for the future (and frankly, right now). We're trying to capture those sentiments in this survey. Filling out would add your voice to over 100+ who have already responded. 🌟 Your voice matters - let us know how you're feeling. 🙏 👇

7

Great to see my 2022 report "Canada's Moonshot: Solving Grand Challenges Through Transformational Innovation" cited in this blog by Tim Draimin for Social Innovation Canada. As Tim argues "Our innovation policy will ultimately determine how well our country navigates a very complex global and national future buffeted by a polycrisis rippling with environmental, social, economic and geo-strategic challenges". I couldn't agree more. In the report, I argued for a shift towards a more intentional approach to our innovation policy toolkit - understanding that not all innovation is equal in its outcomes, and some of the challenges we face will never be profitable areas to focus on unless the government plays a more hands-on market-shaping role. The case for this shift is as strong as ever. You can read the blog here: https://lnkd.in/gBdPskvh And can read my original report for the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship (now The Dais at Toronto Metropolitan University) here: https://lnkd.in/gQwxtY_C

22

1 Comment

ideatealberta.ca is here to help you explore you options, market, and community and an innovator! If you a founder, community, or just a tech curious individual looking to test the latest technology connect with me to learn more. #healthtech #entreprenuership #startup #citizenscience #technology

8

𝙍𝘽𝘾 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙜𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙮 𝙀𝙉𝙂𝙊𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙥𝙨 𝙯𝙚𝙧𝙤 𝙀𝙎𝙂 𝙍𝙊𝙄 𝙞𝙣 𝘼𝙡𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙖 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙨 #RBC got swarmed by righteous green protesters at its Toronto AGM last week. While this got a bit of media attention, the bank wisely decided to hold the event not on Front St in downtown TO but on Dixon Rd in Etobicoke, out in the middle of nowhere. This produced "dozens" of activists, according to Bloomberg. If these activists weren't proxies for shareholders, they had to huddle in the rain outside and listen to the roar of wet traffic from Dixon Rd, Hwy 27, and Hwy 401. If they were proxies or shareholders, they got exactly 60 seconds each, inside the mostly nuclear powered venue, to voice disapproval of RBC's continued financing of oil sands operations. RBC will evaluate the meeting format to see if it can't be tweaked so that anti-oil activists can get their proper say without wrecking the meeting. Maybe this evaluation will result in the bank moving the meeting further into featureless suburbia and cutting mike time to 30 seconds. Bloomberg also reports the bank CEO during the meeting pointed to a March 2024 report where RBC crows about its investments in renewable energy. Predictably, this earned no points from the greens. Maybe that was because on the previous Friday, out in Alberta, where RBC has a financial interest in the Rattlesnake Ridge wind farm, wind farm electrical output, including from Rattlesnake, went MIA during a major grid crisis that saw rolling blackouts. What saved Alberta from the unthinkable was conventional hydro power from BC, coal power from Montana, and coal power from Saskatchewan, in addition to the over 100 other non-wind, non-solar sources of mostly thermal generation from inside the province. As mentioned, wind, including Rattlesnake, was MIA. This disappointed the provincial system operator, which had expected, on the basis of some algorithm, 800 MW more at one point from wind than it actually got. The crisis began at 7:30 a.m., then occurred in earnest around 8:50 a.m. on April 5. The plot below shows RBC's wind farm's dismal performance during that time slot, compared with provincial internal demand, battery storage output, and the principal "singers" in the Alberta electrical choir, which are the BC and Montana interties. RBC should invest in clean energy, but that clean energy should have the attributes of what kept Alberta's lights on on April 5, not what threatened to cut them off. Those attributes are: 1. It can contribute to actual baseload supply 2. It is non-emitting 3. It contributes inertia to the electricity system A 28 minute drive from RBC's AGM venue, at #AtkinsRealis's Sheridan Park campus, hundreds of designers are working on a new #CANDU nuclear reactor. Nuclear checks "yes" for all three of the points above. Hint: the bank should invest in something like that, and stop wasting time, money, and reputation on #renewableenergy.

3

We can do Better together. https://lnkd.in/g3-dtX6Q After the BC Election, David Eby responded to the question most on people's minds: When asked how the interests of British Columbians outside the South Coast would be represented, Eby said he was confident in the MLAs elected in other parts of the province but that the party will need to engage with rural communities to better represent their interests. All parties said similar things about the need to address health care, education, housing, and climate change issues. So, there is a basis to work on those issues. Where they differed was on how to pay for those needs, and how do you meet the interest of rural communities in their quest for survival. Rural communities suffered greatly in the last few years with policies that made getting to work very difficult. For forest communities, access to resources have been restricted due to overindulgence on conservation meaning protection. Life is dynamic. It is not static. We have a choice - conserve the mosaic of our forests by harvesting and managing the old and mature forests or let nature refresh the forests with wildfires and insects. We have proven with that forest management works - we have many lovely young forests with bountiful wildlife after harvesting. Conservation means wise use. That applies to many disciplines. Including more MLAs from rural communities can be beneficial to the whole province. We can do Better.

8

1 Comment