The country’s approaches to trade and competition are outdated and put Canada at a disadvantage in its geopolitical relations, said Jim Balsillie, co-founder and chair of CCI and former co-CEO of BlackBerry pioneer Research In Motion.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
An organization representing more than 150 Canadian tech companies has launched a policy institute focused on economic sovereignty, security and innovation – areas in which it says Canada is dangerously behind as it faces increased threats from countries such as the United States.
In an announcement Thursday, the Council of Canadian Innovators said its new think tank, titled the Canadian SHIELD Institute (which stands for Securing Homegrown Innovation, Economic Leadership and Defence), will bring together industry players, government and policy leaders, within and beyond its existing tech sector scope, to improve Canada’s long-term prosperity and resilience.
The country’s approaches to trade and competition, for example, are outdated and put Canada at a disadvantage in its geopolitical relations, said Jim Balsillie, co-founder and chair of CCI and former co-CEO of BlackBerry pioneer Research In Motion. This has long been the case, but now with increasing threats coming from south of the border, the interest in taking a sovereign approach to policy in Canada is growing and this institute will help bolster it, he said.
“We’ve been saying this for a long time, but Trump has laid it bare,” Mr. Balsillie said. An initial $10-million donation from Mr. Balsillie will get the project started, with the goal being to attract more donations as the organization scales up.
The institute will build upon years of public policy advocacy work by CCI, but with a much broader scope to include other sectors such as health care and housing, said Benjamin Bergen, CCI president.
“It’s pulling in policy experts, it’s pulling in industry leaders, it’s pulling in civil society. It’s really trying to come together as a whole of Canada approach to address the moment that we’re in,” Mr. Bergen said.
Focus areas for the organization are wide-ranging, from sovereign approaches to economic development, to transformative tax policy for global competitiveness, to modernizing governance through institutional reform.
Updating Canada’s trade strategies is one priority for the organization, said Mr. Balsillie. Canada has no equivalent to, for example, the U.S. Trade Representative’s advisory committees, he said, which puts it at a disadvantage during trade talks because the country lacks industry perspective.
The institute, which will have a board and traditional governance structure, will hold events, publish research and make policy recommendations. Mr. Balsillie said the people he’s most excited to see involved as the organization grows are young scholars who will bring fresh ideas to the country’s outdated ways.
“They need a place where they can do their policy research, policy advice and talk about what we need to create a stronger, more prosperous place for a country we all love.”