Brian Hurley's Blog | Category Archive

Smart Phones, New Politics

January 10, 2010 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Purple Forge Ottawa Citizen – Smart Phones, New Politics

brian hurley, iphone, john craig, Politics, saas, smart phones

Ottawa University #8 in Research Income in 2008

November 10, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Research Infosource published a report titled “Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities List 2009 Analysis“.

Ottawa University came in #8… unfortunately Carleton University didn’t make the list.

Canada, Creative Class, Economy, Ecosystems, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Innovation, Ottawa, Regional Economic Development, Technology, Trends, Universities

Canada, carleton university, ottawa university, research income, Trends

Pharmaceuticals to Replace Telecom as Canada’s Top R&D Spenders?

November 10, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

RESEARCH Infosource released a report last week titled “Canada’s Top 100 Corporate R&D Spenders List 2009 Analysis“

Canada’s communications/telecom sector was the number one R&D spend – with 2008 research spending on associated products and services representing 40% of total industrial R&D. Of the top 100 R&D performers, 15 were from the communications/telecom sector.

In 2008, Nortel was the number one R&D spender. Nortel spent more on R&D than number 2 Bell and number 3 Magna combined.

Next year’s report will likely see the pharmaceutical sector replace communications/telecom products as the leading performer of R&D in Canada. According to RESEARCH Infosource -

The full effect of the deteriorating world economy will be reflected in next year’s Fiscal 2009 corporate R&D spending results. It is hard to envisage better overall performance than in 2008. For one thing, it appears that Canada’s perpetual R&D spending leader (Nortel Networks) will be absent from the list in 2009. In consequence, total corporate R&D spending will undoubtedly be affected – in a downward direction.

The full report from RE$EARCH Infosource is available here and is worth reading.

Business, Canada, Canadian Politics, Creative Class, Economy, Entreprenuerism, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Information Technology, Innovation, Ontario, Ottawa, Regional Economic Development, Trends

bell, magna, Nortel, pharmaceutical, R&D spenders, telecommunications, Trends

Key Economic Indicators

November 7, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

CIBC publishes two documents that provide a good summary of key economic indicators for US and Canada:

The Economist publishes weekly indicators.

BMO publishes three reports:

Business, Canada, Economy, Europe, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Trends, United States, US

BMO, Canada, cibc, economic indicators, Economic Trends, The Economist, United States

US at 17.5% Unemployed and Underemployed

November 7, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

The New York Times published an article on November 6th that talked to the point that the “broader measure of unemployment stands at 17.5%“.

The 17.5% rate includes the officially unemployed, who have looked for work in the last four weeks. It also includes discouraged workers, who have looked in the past year, as well as millions of part-time workers who want to be working full time.

The actual rate of underemployment may be even higher since the official government definitions and measures of unemployment miss other underemployment cases.

According to wikipedia, in economics, the term underemployment has three different distinct meanings and applications. All meanings involve a situation in which a person is working, unlike unemployment, where a person who is searching for work cannot find a job. Underemployment can mean:

The employment of workers with high skill levels in low-wage jobs that do not require such abilities, for example a trained medical doctor who works as a taxi driver.
“Involuntary part-time” workers — workers who could (and would like to) be working for a full work-week but can only find part-time work. By extension, the term is also used in regional planning to describe regions where economic activity rates are unusually low, due to a lack of job opportunities, training opportunities, or due to a lack of services such as childcare and public transportation.
“Overstaffing” or “hidden unemployment”, the practice in which businesses or entire economies employ workers who are not fully occupied—for example, workers currently not being used to produce goods or services due to legal or social restrictions or because the work is highly seasonal.

Former U.S. labour secretary Robert Reich has said that he believes the Unofficial U.S. jobless rate could be as high as 20%.

Duration of unemployment in US rising

Business, depression 2.0, Economy, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Jobs, Trends, Unemployment, United States, US, US Politics

Economic Trends, U.S., underemployment, unemployed, United States

Social Networking + Mobile = Next Killer App

October 26, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Morgan Stanley recently published data on key economy and internet trends. The presentation is available online at various locations, including SlideShare below:

Some key highlights:

Mobile internet usage will be bigger than most think
Apple Mobile share should suprise on upside near-term
Next generation platforms (social networking + mobile) driving unprecedented change in communications + commerce

apple, mobile, morgan stanley, social networking, Trends

Social “Things” and E-democracy

October 26, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Social networks and services offer interesting possibilities for the future of e-democracy.

E-democracy is a combination of the words “electronic” and democracy.” E-democracy represents the use of information and communication technologies and strategies by democratic actors within political and governance processes of local communities, nations and on the international stage. Democratic actors/sectors include governments, elected officials, the media, political organizations, and citizen/voters.

To many, e-democracy suggests greater and more active citizen participation enabled by the Internet, mobile communications, and other technologies in today’s representative democracy as well as through more participatory or direct forms of citizen involvement in addressing public challenges.

E-democracy is a relatively new concept, which has surfaced out of the popularity of the internet and the need to reinvigorate interest in the democratic process. Access is the key to creating interest in the democratic process. Citizens are more willing to use Web sites to support their candidates and their campaign drives. In the United States just over half of the population vote, and in the United Kingdom only 69% of English citizens do so.

The goal of e-democracy is to reverse the cynicism citizens have about their government institutions. A key element of moving towards e-democracy is increasing the ability of citizens to engage their representatives to share their suggestions and opinions in a dynamic manner.

E-democracy is the first step in moving towards participatory democracy.

Participatory democracy, is a process emphasizing the broad participation of constituents in the direction and operation of political systems. Participatory democracy strives to create opportunities for all members of a political group to make meaningful contributions to decision-making, and seeks to broaden the range of people who have access to such opportunities. Because so much information must be gathered for the overall decision-making process to succeed, technology may provide important forces leading to the type of empowerment needed for participatory models, especially those technological tools that enable community narratives and correspond to the accretion of knowledge.

Both e-democracy and participatory democracy will evolve in steps. Each day we see government organizations providing more and more information and services online. We also see politicians’ increasingly reaching out to their constituents with new and emerging tools such as Twitter and Facebook to share information and solicit opinions.

New technologies will be a major factor in helping us collectively move towards e-democracy and participatory democracy — for example the widespread use and increasing adoption of online tools such as social bookmarking, social networks, social media are increasingly popula – and point to future possibilities for e-democracy.

I believe the evolution, adoption and proliferation of these new e-democracy and participatory democracy technologies will be driven by a new breed of politicians.

Political candidates looking to unseat incumbents will increasingly look towards e-democracy and participatory democracy as a means to reach out and engage disenfranchised voters and constituents. Using new technologies will allow these candidates to talk directly to what is important, to hear both the “silent majority”, as well as the “vocal minority”. Incumbent politicians, stuck in the old ways of engaging constituents and votes may well find themselves swept away by more progressive and innovative candidates. The beginning of meaningful e-democracy and participatory democracy will start at the polls in the coming elections.

—-

refs:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-democracy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participatory_democracy

Best practices, Canada, Canadian Politics, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Information Technology, Innovation, Universities, US Politics, Web 2.0

advocacy, democracy, e-democracy, federal, internet, mobile, municipal, participatory democracy, political, provincial, social bookmarking, social media, social networking, state, voting

Carleton and Ottawa University Publish World Leading Research on Zombie Plagues

August 18, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

A recently published research paper from professors at Carleton and Ottawa University has determined that

A zombie outbreak is likely to lead to the collapse of civilisation, unless it is dealt with quickly. While aggressive quarantine may contain the epidemic, or a cure may lead to coexistence of humans and zombies, the most effective way to contain the rise of the undead is to hit hard and hit often. As seen in the movies, it is imperative that zombies are dealt with quickly, or else we are all in a great deal of trouble.

The research is said to have possible real-life applications to modeling allegiance to political parties.

The full text of this world leading research is available online – When Zombies Attack

For those looking for more practical advice:

Check out this app to spread word of the coming Zombie outbreak – ZOMBIEGRAM.

Canada, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Ottawa, Universities

government funded research, z-plague, zombie

Lead to Win Reception

June 17, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Lead to Win held a reception on Monday evening for participants and supporters. Special guests included the Mayor of Gatineau and the acting Mayor of Ottawa. Both expressed their support for the Lead to Win program and new businesses the participants are hoping to launch.

Mayor of Gatineau, Marc Bureau

Acting Mayor of Ottawa, Michel Bellemare

Participants at the reception commented on the strong and growing support from the community for the Lead to Win program.

Past Lead to Win Alumnus David Vicary, CEO of Weyes Eyes and past CEO and founder of Nakina Systems announced that he had secured seed funding for Weyes Eyes, his second start-up venture. For more on this, please read the related Ottawa Business Journal article.

David Vicary, CEO Weyes Eyes

Photos from the event are available online.

The reception was hosted by Développement économique – CLD Gatineau (DE – CLDG).

carleton university, City of Ottawa, DE-CLD Gatineau, economic development, Entrepreneur, lead to win, ottawa chamber of commerce, Talent First Network

BDC Gas Tank is Filled Up!

June 17, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Industry Canada announced on Monday that they will be providing additional funding for BDC.

The funding allocation includes $350M for BDC‘s venture capital activities that will allow it to make additional direct investments of $260 million over three years in Canadian businesses already in the BDC portfolio, as well as investments in new seed technology companies and later-stage technology companies. It will also allow BDC to commit $90 million over three years to private, independent Canadian venture capital funds.

This funding is in addition to the $75 million in venture capital funds allocated in the Government of Canada’s Budget 2008, which is being used to support the creation of a privately run venture capital fund.

This is great news! BDC has been, and continues to be a key player in helping grow Canada’s innovation, economic growth and economic diversity.

bdc, Canada, industry canada, Venture Capital

INTERESTED IN LAUNCHING A NEW TECH BUSINESS? LEAD TO WIN WANTS TO HELP YOU!

June 7, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Here is a recent call for participants from Dr Tony Bailetti for the 3rd session of the Lead to Win program which starts on July 28th – please spread the word!

INTERESTED IN LAUNCHING A NEW TECH BUSINESS? LEAD TO WIN WANTS TO HELP YOU!

If you are serious about starting a profitable technology business in Canada’s Capital region, we invite you to apply to the next session of the Lead to Win program.

The Lead to Win program is free to qualified applicants – no strings attached, no small print, no surprises. Individuals from 37 organizations are investing to make Lead to Win participants successful for the benefit of the individual and our community.

Details on the program, including past success and testimonials from participants are available at www.leadtowin.ca. If you need additional information over what is at www.leadtowin.ca, please contact:

David Hudson, dhudson1014@rogers.com

Ian Graham, ian@thecodefactory.ca

Ray Barton, ray.barton@vitesse.ca

Rowland Few, rfew@sce.carleton.ca

Serge Lafontaine, slafontaine@arrow.com

Tony Bailetti, Bailetti@sce.carleton.ca

Yannick Bouchard, bouchard.yannick@gatineau.ca

Spaces in the Lead to Win program are limited – so prospective participants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Application instructions are available online at www.leadtowin.ca.

If you know of others who may benefit from Lead to Win, please forward this email to them – help get the word out!

Regards.

Tony Bailetti
Lead to Win Program

Arrow Electronics, Bailetti, carleton, Chamber of Commerce, City of Ottawa, CLD-Gatineau, Entrepreneur, free program, lead to win, OCRI, onconference, Ontario, Ottawa, startup, Tech Business

Nortel Collapse and Kanata Future

June 5, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

“Nortel’s collapse could spell the doom for the industry and trigger an exodus of high-tech companies from north Kanata.”

Business, Canada, Economy, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Innovation, Innovation Hub, Jobs, Local Start-ups, Nortel, Ontario, Ottawa, Ottawa Start-ups, Regional Economic Development, Trends, Unemployment

bailout, Economy, Jobs, Kanata, Nortel, Ottawa, trend

Canadian Small Businesses Outlook Improving

June 3, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Survey results from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business showed some improving outlooks among small business owners polled:

38% considered the condition of their business to be “good”, 18% “bad”, and 44% “satisfactory
18% of businesses were planning to add staff
16% of businesses were planning to reduce staff
Top five business cost concerns: tax, regulatory costs; fuel, energy costs, wage costs; bank account and processing fees; and insurance costs.
Top three business constraints: insufficient domestic demand; shortage of working capital; and shortage of skilled labor
Business Barometer index rose to 60.4% (well below historical norms, but up since last survey)

Business, Canada, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Jobs, Ontario, Ottawa, Regional Economic Development, Trends, Unemployment

business issues, Canada, Economic Trends, Ontario, Small Business, Unemployment

Broadband Infrastructure Projects for Economic Development

June 3, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

A recent report from OECD advocates government policy makers deploy stimulus funds and investment into broadband infrastructure -

Broadband infrastructure, in particular, can be a good target for economic stimulus spending because many projects can be initiated relatively quickly, are labour-intensive, can minimise economic leakages, and may promise stronger marginal impacts on supply and productivity than investing in established networks such as electricity, gas, water and transportation.

The full report is available here and in interesting to read. A wealth of related data on broadband deployments current as of December 2008 (including pricing, policies, penetration, etc) is available from OECD in detailed excel spreadsheets here.

My sense is that Canada’s economy would certainly benefit more from advancing communications infrastructure projects than it would by having another government building or public works project.

Best practices, Canada, Canadian Politics, depression 2.0, Economy, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Information Technology, Innovation, Innovation Hub, Jobs, Ontario, Opportunities, Ottawa, Regional Economic Development, Trends, Unemployment

broadband, economic development, stimulus spending

Lead to Win Program Update – April 25th

April 26, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

CTV Ottawa News Coverage This Sunday!

Tune-in to CTV Ottawa TECH NOW with Paul Brent on April 26th at 6PM for a special report on Lead to Win!

City of Ottawa, Carleton University and Business – United in Leadership for the Community

Recent press releases on the Lead to Win program:

Media Coverage

Visit the Lead to Win website to see all the latest media coverage on the Lead to Win program.

Free Re-use of Lead to Win Materials for Other Canadian Communities

All Lead to Win program materials (e.g. online tools, learning materials, processes, network) will be made freely available to other communities who would like to re-use, or adapt, the materials, procedures and network for their own regional benefit. Contact us at lead@leadtowin.ca if you are interested.

Spread the Word!

Please spread the word on the Lead to Win program to prospective candidates, community organizations and sponsors.

Can you Help?

If you know politicians or government leaders in agencies who want to join the City of Ottawa, the Chamber of Commerce and Carleton University in taking a strong, visible leadership position to help make a difference – please make them aware of Lead to Win and ask them to contact Dr Bailetti at 613 829 8885, bailetti@sce.carleton.ca

carleton university, City of Ottawa, economic development, entrepreneurs, lead to win, ottawa chamber of commerce, Talent First Network, tony bailetti, unemployed

Ottawa Tech Jobs Melting Away

April 25, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

The Ottawa-Gatineau unemployment rate took a sharp jump recently and currently sits at 5.2%.

Under the surface, the situation for tech jobs is increasingly serious.

In Ottawa-Gatineau technology jobs have been evaporating at an alarming rate - in just the last 12 months, the region has lost 8,800 tech jobs. This represents greater then a 14% loss. Further, Ottawa-Gatineau has lost almost 30% of its regional tech jobs compared to 2000. Ottawa-Gatineau tech jobs peaked at 74,000 in 2000 and are now down to 53, 800 as of March 2009.

Stats Canada has published that during the 2002 bubble burst – 4 out of 5 laid off tech workers did not find work in high tech, and 2 of 5 left the City of Ottawa.

The tech sector is continuing to shed jobs in Ottawa-Gatineau.

Ottawa-Gatineau faces a significant loss of tech capability and associated economic impact/growth for the region.

Lead to Win is focused on launching new technology businesses in Ottawa-Gatineau to retain and create new tech jobs. If you are concerned about the state of the technology sector in Ottawa-Gatineau or are interested in launching a new tech business in the region, you are encouraged to visit www.leadtowin.ca.

Economy, high tech, Jobs, lead to win, ottawa-gatineau, Stats Canada, Technology, Unemployment

High Tech? Ensure You Know About the IRAP Small Project Accellerated Review Process

April 18, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Economic Trends, entrepreneurs, financing, high tech, IRAP, Ottawa, startups

More Beef, Less Bun!

April 18, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

We are in the midst of the worst economic downturn Ottawa has seen, and we are watching our high tech sector melt away.

I find it very disturbing that there are few organizations – other than the Talent First Network and NRC-IRAP – that are stepping up and taking visible, urgent and concrete steps to help out our community.

Talent First Network is aggressively pushing ahead with the Lead to Win program, which has garnered strong community support.

The IRAP team have ramped up their pace, they have streamlined processes to match the urgency of the situation, they are pursuing new programs, and they are on the frontline – engaging the entrepreneurs and high tech businesses who are working to expand existing businesses or build new businesses which will revitalize our high tech sector.

The big question is – Where is the leadership from the other tax-funded organizations? The City of Ottawa, the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation and Industry Canada have spent truckloads of money on the Ontario Centres of Excellence, Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation and The Ottawa Partnership (TOP) – these organizations should be front and center but are virtually invisible.

When it comes to getting results from our tax dollars and leadership from the organizations they fund – it’s time for “More Beef and Less Bun!“ -

In the current economic downturn, I would rather see more of my tax dollars going to IRAP and the Talent First Network. They have the right attitude and they are focused on helping our community.

It’s time for MORE BEEF! LESS BUN!

City of Ottawa, Debacle, economic trend, fiasco, high tech, industry canada, IRAP, less bun, Ministry of Research and Innovation, more beef, OCRI, Talent First Network, TOP

Forget Monorails! The New Snake Oil for Economic Development is Green Tech and Clean Energy!

April 18, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Green tech and clean energy is the new snake oil – and is increasingly being pushed in Ottawa and other communities as “the future of technology” and the source for attracting venture capital, private investment and driving massive economic growth… However the facts paint a different picture!

Venturesource reports steady declines in Venture investment in the green tech and clean energy sectors, with $189 million of Venture Capital invested in 15 deals during the first quarter, down 59 percent from the $457 million invested in 24 such deals last year. This is in comparison to ICT investments, which even in the worst of times are still almost 10 times greater for the same period!

Clean Energy, Green Tech – it walks, talks and looks like a Monorail -

clean tech, economic growth, Economic Trends, green tech, homer simpson, hucksters, industry canada, monorail, ontario ministry of research and innovation, Ottawa, snake oil, Venture Capital

Canadian Unemployment Rate Hits 8% in March

April 12, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Stats Canada has reported that Canada’s unemployment rate hit 8% in March. This is the highest rate in seven years.

In March, Ontario unemployment remained steady at 8.7%, however Ottawa’s unemployment rate rose sharply and is now 5.2%.

More details on Canada’s forecast unemployment rates and trends for 2009 is in this blog.

Comparison of Canada’s unemployment rates with the great depression is in this blog.

Business, Canada, Economy, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Jobs, Ontario, Ottawa, Regional Economic Development, Stats Canada, Trends, Unemployment

Canada, Ontario, Unemployment

13% Increase in Individuals Using Ottawa Emergency Shelters in 2008

March 31, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

The Ottawa Alliance to End Homelessness released it’s report for 2008. The report showed a 13% increase in 2008 compared to 2007, of the number of individuals and families using local Ottawa emergency shelters for increasingly longer periods.

Canada, Economy, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Jobs, Ontario, Ottawa, Regional Economic Development, Trends, Unemployment

Canada, Economic Downturn, Economic Trends, emergency shelters, homeless, Ontario, Ottawa, recession, Tent Cities

Recession Proof Businesses – US Gun Shops

March 26, 2009 by Brian Hurley 2 Comments

According to Reuters, in the first two months of 2009, around 2.5 million Americans bought guns, a 26 percent increase over the same period in 2008. Gun dealers report this rise in sales to be a consequence of fear of social unrest as the ailing economy pushes the newly destitute deeper into misery.

The Orlando Sentinel’s also reports that gun dealers are experiencing shortages of bullets -

Some say it began with the election of President Barack Obama. Others say it’s about the economic downturn or fear of crime. Whatever the reasons, ammunition has been selling like plywood and bottled water in the days before a hurricane.

Eleanor Duckwall’s blog on the nationwide ammunition shortage that has hit the U.S. provides a comprehensive review of the various possible reasons for the ammunition shortage, which may include:

An increase in the size and number of paramilitary police units
An increase in the use of “patrol carbines” in law enforcement
Fears of draconian gun and ammunitions restrictions
Economic instability

Carleton University Poster Session – Innovation, Talent, Commercialization

March 24, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

I attended the Carleton University engineering poster session on Mar 20th. 89 engineering students displayed the results of 36 4th year projects (http://www.sce.carleton.ca/courses/sysc-4907/webforms/posterLocations.php).

The projects ranged from the abstract to the commercially viable, and from simple to complex. The one thing that stood out in general was the high quality of the students. The projects I found most interesting were the ones which struck me as being commercially viable with further development – examples from the poster session included:

An application which linked exercise equipment (in this case a treadmill) into a virtual reality world where the treadmill user could “run” through the virtual reality world and potentially interact with other users around the world
An inexpensive and compact wireless sensors technology that automatically create a wireless mesh communication network to allow easy deployment of sensors (e.g., smoke detector) without the cost of dedicated wires (or even electrical outlet)
An iPhone-based geo-tagged photo blogging application
A Nintendo Wii technology-based interactive projection “whiteboard’

Poster sessions like this can be a great way to help advance commercialization of university work and link local investors/entrepreneurs to ideas and talent.

carleton, Commercialization, students, university

McGuinty Government Announces $250M Fund

March 18, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

McGuinty’s government announced a new fund today oriented towards helping keep Ontario start-ups moving forward in the face of a non-existant venture capital market. The fund will match private investments dollar for dollar. It is said to be based upon a similar model implemented in Scotland.

This is a great step towards supporting innovation and start-ups.

fund, Government, great idea, McGuinty, Ontario, scottish venture, start-ups, Venture Capital

Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters See Increasing Challenges in 2009

March 16, 2009 by Brian Hurley 3 Comments

The Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) Association released a report in late February, that summarized survey results from Canadian manufacturers and exporters on their perceptions of business conditions.

Key trends from the survey include:

A majority of manufacturers and exporters expect the value of new orders to fall over the next three months – 56 per cent say that orders are likely to decrease between February and May. This is a less optimistic outlook than in January when only 43 per cent of companies were expecting new orders to drop in the coming three months.
45 per cent of companies say that employment levels are likely to fall. This is slightly higher than the 42 per cent of companies that expected their employment levels to fall in the January survey.
The credit crunch is affecting smaller companies the most, but larger companies are now reporting difficulty accessing financing. 60 per cent of manufacturers and exporters report difficulties accessing adequate levels of financing including obtaining working capital, extending lines of credit, accessing financing for new technologies and product development.

Business, Canada, depression 2.0, Economy, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Jobs, Manufacturing, Ontario, Sales, Technology, Trends, Unemployment

Canada, capital, CME, credit crunch, Economic Downturn, exporters, financing, manufacturers, Trends

Cities in Ontario at Over 10% Unemployment

March 16, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

An increasing number of cities in Ontario are significantly above the national average of 7.7% unemployment, including:

Windor 12.6%
London 8.4%
Kitchener 9.1%
Hamilton 8.4%
St-Catherines-Niagara 9.5%
Hamilton 8.4%
Toronto 8.3%
Oshawa 8.2%

Ottawa is at 4.6%, but this low number may be misleading due to the outflow of laid-off workers from the city. During past tech layoffs Stats Canada reported that, 2 out of 5 laid off tech workers left Ottawa — with the declining prospects for tech workers in Ottawa, this rate of departures will likely have increased in the current downturn.

Business, Canada, Canadian Politics, Economy, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Jobs, Manufacturing, Nortel, Ontario, Opportunities, Ottawa, Regional Economic Development, Stats Canada, Trends, Unemployment

Canada, cities above national unemployment rate, Ontario, Unemployment

Canada is Potential Leader in Global Technology Revolution

March 15, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

A recent Rand report , “The Global Technology Revolution 2020″, looks at 16 upcoming key technologies and the ability of 29 countries to acquire and to implement. The following chart identified the key technology applications -

Only three of the 29 countries examined by Rand were identified as being able to acquire and implement all 16 key technology applications – the United States and Canada in North America and Germany in Western Europe.

Canada, economic, economic development, germany, key technologies, rand, solar energy, Technology, United States

Ontario Commercialization Network to be Reformed?

March 14, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

The Ontario Commercialization Network Steering Committee Report was delivered to the Minister late February. PWC produced a report on OCN prior to the Steering Committee Report but it was not made public.

The report makes some blunt assessments of serious problems with Ontario’s current approach to economic development and commercialization. Some key findings include:

Lack of co-ordination and sharing across many fragmented organizations
Lack of overall governance
Lack of clear entry-point for clients/entrepreneurs
Lack of metrics and performance targets
Need for better co-ordination between Provincial and Federal governments
Economic conditions demand quick action

Key recommendations include specifics related to:

Fixing the governance model
Fixing the delivery model
Reducing overlaps of products and services within the Province and between the Province and Federal programs

The report was one of the best i’ve seen so far – it cuts directly to the issues and provides some very rational recommendations.