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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

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High speed internet is now so integral to our lives. Accessing government services, health care, education and employment now depends on adequate and affordable internet. There has been substantial progress, but Indigenous and northern communities still lack the speeds needed to fully realize societal and economic benefits. Low-income households also struggle to afford monthly internet bills. What can governments do to bridge this next frontier in closing the digital divide? Join the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) on June 18th (in person in Ottawa or virtual) for a lunchtime conversation with Ian Scott, former chairperson of the CRTC, Bill Murdoch, chair of the First Mile Connectivity Consortium working to improve First Nations broadband infrastructure, and Elisha Ram, Senior ADM with ESDC's Income Security and Social Development Branch. IRPP president and CEO Jennifer Ditchburn will moderate the panel discussion and Q&A. https://lnkd.in/grBtXjEQ

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Thank You Colin Deacon for leading this discussion paper ... Here is a quote from the work - "Despite the billions in funding dedicated to promoting business innovation, Canada received a ‘C’ grade on the Conference Board of Canada’s 2024 Innovation Report Card, ranking us 15th out of 20 countries. This Government has consistently emphasized innovation as a priority, yet results remain underwhelming considering our collective potential." Canada needs innovation to keep the number of jobs up (63% of Canada's workforce comes from small businesses with less than 100 employees, 21% in the 100-499 category and only 16% from the 500+ club - StatsCan March 2023) .. innovation is one way to help create jobs. ISED needs to hire entrepreneurs to help get the program right ... the civil servants need to have metrics that really measure what counts, all the civil servants in the program need to understand how payroll and cashflow might impact the small and medium businesses they work with and KPIs to show they are on track. Here is the discussion paper ... Senator Deacon is looking for comments... please read and comment.

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I want to say out loud that several of these folx are my most trusted collaborators, others are new leaders to our shared network. But ALL are experts in this space who usually teach longer (more costly) courses and private client programs. This is a low time/cost commitment that will pay you MAX dividends. How to join a board? What’s the commitment of time and expectations? Going beyond “governance” rules, because many real people (not just the wealthy, powerful or ‘connected’), join a small charity or nonprofit board to support a vision, a cause, a community or leaders they believe in…so how can you be not just productive but a GOOD board member? Join these experts and get the scoop.

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A few current and valuable resources for understanding both quantum computing risks and opportunities, with notable Canadian 🇨🇦 contributions, as we prepare for commercially viable offerings. Something we all need to embrace. 1. Canadian Forum for Digital Infrastructure Resilience (CFDIR) established by ISED Canada in 2020 to support public-private collaboration to enhance the critical digital infrastructure of Canada. ( https://lnkd.in/gk-CKfjW ). Guidance for quantum resilience for top use cases involving cryptography all geared to help organizations to shorten learning curves. 2. An update on the "Quantum Threat Timeline Report", just published Dec 2024, ( https://lnkd.in/gy8fg2jb ). A 5-14% probability of quantum computing (QC) risk in 5 years, and 19-40% QC risk in 10 years.  Authors: Michele Mosca and Marco Piani   3. "The Quantum Decade", by the IBM institute for business value. Highlighting top problem classes and uses cases across many business verticals in the opportunities with QC, including: simulation, search/graph, algebra, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and differential equations. Thanks for sharing this book Manav Gupta. My favourite example was on Boeing using QC to model corrosion on the surface of metals. #quantumcomputing #QC #quantumadvantage #RiskEmbrace #evolutionQ

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Ontario Health Team Governance: WILL COMMUNTY GOVERNANCE BOARDS SURVIVE THE ELECTION?🆘😱🆘🆘😱🆘🆘😵‍💫🆘🆘😱🆘🆘😱🆘🆘😵‍💫🆘🆘😱🆘🆘 Has the Ontario healthcare bureaucrats given up on getting rid of local Community Governance Boards? They got rid of the 14 CCAC Community Governance Boards and kept the 14 local offices. The local office staff became part of Ontario Health, and the 14 Local Community Boards became one centralized Board for an organization the healthcrats rebranded as “Ontario Health at Home” — that no longer was interested in the local communities, and even failed to provide proper “oversight” for the single centralized organization that mismanaged the recent “supply crisis”, which made dying people go without pain reducing drugs. OOPSIE🤷‍♂️🙄”Modernization” strikes again🙄 Then the Healthcrats “modernized” our healthcare system further (who is against modernization?) by eliminating the 14 Community Governance Boards of the LHINs — and redeploying the staff to be part of the growing empire of Ontario Health Regional Offices —and then establishing 58 Ontario Health Teams. While their original plan was to eliminate the founding member Community Governing Boards — who approved the Shared Vision of their respective OHTs — people kept warning the healthcrats that, while they found these Community Boards annoying, and wanted to replace the OHT’s original founding Community Governance Boards with 58 “Super Governance Boards” that they could appoint and control (each with their own CEO and another bloated bureaucracy) , but wiser people kept pointing out that the local community Board members they found so annoying, were in fact key members of each community. They were warned that all the MPPs would jump down their throats if they did it before the expected “premature election” next Spring. So, while most of our CEOs are still focused on being as compliant as possible — and keeping their Boards uninformed about the lack of progress on their OHTs implementation of the Shared Vision they approved five years ago, the plot to get rid of local Community Governance is simply postponed — until after the election, when the 58 OHTs will have their OHT CEOs and OHT staff in place to micromanage and control the CEOs of healthcare organizations. Of course “best practice” COLLABORATIVE GOVERNANCE isn’t being considered and with compliant CEOs, and uninformed Community Boards, it certainly looks like the healthcrats will get their way after the election.🤷‍♂️

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🌐 Stay Compliant with Law 25 in SharePoint! 📜 Check out this insightful article on Quebec's new Law 25 and how it affects your data management and compliance strategies. 🔍 Discover key insights on: What Law 25 entails Best practices for Law 25 compliance using SharePoint Ensure your organization stays ahead of the curve and maintains compliance effortlessly! 👉 Read more here: https://lnkd.in/d89uAuy5 #Compliance #SharePoint #Law25 #ECMInsights

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🔔 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

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ATTN Spatial Computing and Mixed Reality startup founders! We have partnered with Global Affairs Canada, Trade Commissioner Service | Service des délégués commerciaux, Canadian Consulate in Silicon Valley CTA Accelerator, Mixed Reality Silicon Valley program! As part of broader frontier tech investment mission to Silicon Valley - San Mateo with SplitX and Boost VC Deadline to apply - September 10. Over 8 weeks of virtual programming and a 5 day in-market program in Silicon Valley, the Canadian Technology Accelerator (CTA) Mixed Reality Silicon Valley will equip high potential Canadian Mixed Reality innovators with the tools, training, support and connections to secure customers, investors, and strategic partners in the Northern California market. The CTA program is designed to support Canadian startups to expand their technology into Silicon Valley. Investors, partners, and customers are looking for high impact solutions to meet the emerging needs of the market and customers across the following sectors: - Enterprise - Interactive digital media - Digital health and Health care The CTA Mixed Reality Silicon Valley will run virtual programming approximately 2 hours per week from October 2nd to November 13th, 2024. Participants are expecting to be in Silicon Valley (San Mateo, CA) from November 18th to 22nd, 2024 for the 5 day in-market program. The Trade Commissioner Service will collaborate with uniquely positioned ecosystem builders to facilitate and secure meetings with high-quality local investors and potential partners. As a result, the in-market program will include introductions to VC funds, B2B meetings and engagement with C-level executives at major Silicon Valley companies, as well as pitch opportunities and private roundtable discussions. Finally, the program will conclude with an on-line wrap call on December 4th, 2024. Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gHVJK7dD Elodie Masson Armando Matijević

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Looking for a Sunday read? Council of Canadian Innovators | Conseil canadien des innovateurs Director of Policy and Research Laurent Carbonneau has written something SMART: it's a real triple word score. The Innovation Game: What Scrabble Can Teach Us About Prosperity in Canada. It's time to shift our perspective on how we grow innovation and economic development in Canada. For those counting: SMART on a triple word score is 21 points. Well done, Laurent! https://lnkd.in/gH8qMxjZ

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Thank you Colin Deacon for taking an active role in this important topic. According to Bloomberg, former Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz is examining a list of ideas – including the creation of a pooled fund that would make dealmaking easier for some of them. The challenges of which are well documented, especially where early stage IPO candidates are stacked against inherent transparency challenges. One alternative idea...imagine if...issue private bonds with institutional quality assurance and revenue augmentation (legacy financial services opportunity) could offer a viable option to achieve the goals outlined: Opportunities: Pooled Capital Risk Mitigation Efficient Capital Allocation Support for Local Markets Avoiding High Fees Prevent Performance Dilution Advantages: Revenue Augmentation Customizable Flexibility Control Issuing private bonds with institutional quality assurance and revenue augmentation could provide flexible and efficient alternatives to "fund of funds" models concerns like high fees, performance dilution, and risk management. This would align with the goals of mobilizing domestic investment into smaller opportunities, offering both secure returns for institutional investors and capital for local businesses; and, address structural financial risks associated with VC & PE.

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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

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This week's retrospective edition of Innovation This Week features our top three most-viewed articles of 2024. Research Money's 2024 hot topics included Canada's adoption of #GenAI, Canadian innovation policy's lack of support for #tech business scaling, and the issues surrounding Canadian #IP. Sign up for our free newsletter below to get these headlines and more straight to your inbox! https://zurl.co/swv0F

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The Canadian Public Service Data/AI Challenge drives innovation in #AI. Public servants are encouraged to submit proposals on how the government could better use data to improve services and operations. Since its launch in 2022, the #Challenge has successfully brought one idea to life as a new public service, and the second-round winners are entering the delivery phase. Participants don’t need fully formed solutions — just a strong idea and the willingness to explore its potential. https://lnkd.in/eY977brv

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🚨 Attention: Canadian Federal Public Servants Facing Hybrid Work Policy Changes 🚨 On May 1st, Canada's Treasury Board announced a shift in workplace policy for core public administration employees which introduces a significant impact on the workforce. The new directive mandates that employees must work on-site at least 3 days per week by September 9, 2024, and the IT exemption for telework will no longer be in effect. This decision has sparked concerns among many federal employees. As members of worker's unions, we recognize the importance of collaborative decision-making and the well-being of federal employees. Most unions are taking immediate action by demanding an urgent meeting with the Treasury Board, exploring legal strategies, enforcing existing telework agreements, and mobilizing collective strength with other unions. We encourage impacted federal employees to share their thoughts and concerns in a comment below. Your input is valuable as we navigate this situation together. Stay informed, stay engaged, and let's work together to ensure a fair and equitable workplace for all. #PublicService #WorkplacePolicy #HybridWork #EmployeeRights #Canada

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What a fantastic opportunity to dive deeper into AI with this event from Public Policy Forum: Navigating the Opportunities and Risks of Artificial Intelligence. As the first offering for Western Canada, this is bound to be an interesting and insightful day!

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Federally Regulated Entities Under Scrutiny for Non-Compliance with Accessibility Requirements From Michelle McKinnon at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP- "The Accessible Canada Act and Accessible Canada Regulations came into force in 2019 and require federally regulated entities to, among other things, consult people with disabilities and publish Accessibility Plans. Accessibility Plans must include certain information, including information about barriers facing people with disabilities and solutions to address those barriers. Federally regulated entities with more than 100 employees were required to publish their Accessibility Plans by June 1, 2023, and federally regulated entities with between 10 and 99 employees were required to publish their Accessibility Plans by June 1, 2024." #AccessibilityInTheNews https://lnkd.in/guQFbdzw

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Young Adults Want to be Influencers, not Firefighters. There's $30 Million Available For Universities To Buy Modern Equipment and Learning Resources From The Ontario Government | Gouvernement de l’Ontario. It is about time we begin reinvesting heavily into our first responders... "This investment will help ensure Ontario’s universities are able to give students the modern learning environments they need to succeed... This funding supports universities in continuing to make improvements to key areas such as accessibility and technology-enabled learning." - Council of Ontario Universities Consider how XpertFire could be adopted using those funds! 🔥 👀 "These investments are necessary and help ensure our public college students continue to have the space and training tools to become the health care workers and skilled trades personnel that Ontario needs." - Marketa Evans President and CEO, Colleges Ontario Every agency I speak with is struggling with recruitment & onboarding. Except for those who are willing to adopt new technology. Who are willing to try new, innovative methods. Who are up-levelling the fire service. Those are XpertVR partners. Consider becoming a part of the team & taking your training to new heights! #funding #ontario #postsecondary https://lnkd.in/g9mgCzfY

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