Today, the federal government announced that 36 innovations from small and medium sized businesses across Canada have pre-qualified as part of the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program. This program was born from Budget 2010 with a mandate to help Canadian businesses test their innovative products and services within the Government of Canada before taking them to market. Making it easier to commercialize research and products has been an issue the Canadian Chamber continues to advocate strongly for. With this support from the federal government, Canadian entrepreneurs will be able to test their innovative products and be given feedback under this pilot program.
India, like the rest of the Asia-Pacific region, represents both a challenge and an opportunity for Canadian businesses. While doing business in India can be difficult, Canadian businesses should consider entering the Indian market as there is a growing demand in India for Canadian goods.
While businesses do business, the federal government plays a necessary role in enabling the private sector to access opportunities. This includes developing a mutually beneficial economic relationship with India.
Today, we issued a report entitled, Canada-India: The Way Forward, which outlines a policy direction for Canada with regards to India that is focused on: ensuring that the Canada-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiations yield a high-quality and balanced result; and, boosting Canada’s visibility in India through political engagement and enhancing exchanges in the areas of investment, energy and mining, higher education and research and tourism.
I’ve recently returned from trips to the U.S. and Asia which have erased any doubts I may have had that Canada’s businesses are operating in a environment that is more complex than ever. Firms are managing in the simultaneous contexts of the uncertainty of the European economic climate, the reality that we cannot tie our fortunes to those of the U.S. to the extent we have in the past and the rising challenge posed by an Asian economic juggernaut. We are in a fight for our economic future against the most innovative competitors we will ever face. Unless we can up our game and improve our competitiveness, it is a fight we may lose for ourselves and future generations.
Today, more than ever, what happens in China represents both a challenge and an opportunity for Canadian businesses. Today, we issued a report that argues that Canada-China ties are quickly becoming one of Canada’s most important external relationships.
In our report entitled, Advancing Our Economic Ties With China: Three priorities for Canadian business, we present three elements to making Canada’s relationship with China more profitable: implementing a strategy of political engagement with China; removing barriers and irritants to more trade and better trade with China; and, improving the investment relationship with China.
Canadian Chamber of Commerce Chair Robert Youden was a keynote speaker at the Saint John Board of Trade’s Outlook Luncheon on Jan. 10. Mr. Youden addressed some of the key factors for ensuring Canada’s competitiveness, including skilled labour, sound economic management, an efficient border with the U.S. and secure and dependable sources of energy. Mr. Youden highlighted the need for our governments and businesses to work together to dismantle the barriers to our competitiveness so that Canada may reclaim its standing in the world.
