Paul Lucas, President and CEO of GlaxoSmithKline Inc., spoke about one of the main themes of this year’s Ontario Economic Summit (OES) – innovation. Lucas believes that “innovation is a do or die issue for Ontario.”

In Canada, the act of innovation is failing. “If businesses do not act quickly Canada’s standard of living and competitiveness are at risk,” Lucas says. Over the past decade, Canada has only risen 0.7% in innovation and productivity. This is only half the pace Canada attained in the last two decades. As a result of this decline in innovation, Lucas and the Coalition for Action on Innovation in Canada imposed the Action Plan of Prosperity.

“Canada must become a nation of innovators,” Lucas advises with concern of the coming demographic challenge.  Changing demographics (aging population and shrinking workforce) will require Canadians to earn more money for their work. With the decrease in employed Canadians and taxpayers, employers will find it difficult to bring in proficient employees.

The emphasis on the responsibility for innovation lies within the private sector of Canada. Lucas and guest panelists believe that businesses, academia and the government must work together to execute successful innovations in Canada’s economy. “Public sector funding alone is not in the cards for the future,” Lucas predicts, “the government needs to instill the right policy framework, while the private sector is under pressure to increase innovation.”

Dr. Rafi Hofstein, President and CEO of MaRS Innovation, referenced local initiatives for innovation, stating, “Local governments have to help us establish the right ambiance. Every region has unique features that need to be nurtured.” At all levels of Canadian government and businesses, innovation is a necessity in today’s economy.

Written by: Katie Laviolette and Stephanie Porter

The seventh annual Ontario Economic Summit is only halfway through its ambitious schedule, but is already making progress towards its goal – forging a roadmap for Ontario’s future prosperity.

Brining together leaders from a wide variety of business sectors, as well as labour, academia and government, the Summit is tackling the key issues facing Ontario’s economy as it struggles to emerge from the recession.

Highlights from the morning session Tuesday include:

• Summit Co-Chair Ray Tanguay, Chairman of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, reminding the crowd that is was innovative Ontarians who invented ‘just-in-time’ practices.  In his optimistic remarks, Tanguay said the key to success is people – engaging, training and asking them for their solutions to problems.  With the tremendous power of our human resources, says Tanguay, Ontario can overcome its challenges of high costs and the high Canadian dollar.
• Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak calling on the private sector to become the new engine of economic growth, with government focusing on setting the stage for job creation.  Hudak said that energy and transportation policies are really economic policies; investing in lower energy costs and better infrastructure is actually an investment in jobs for today and the future.  If he was Premier, says Hudak, he would focus on basic government priorities and restore consumer confidence with tax breaks for families.
• Paul Lucas, President and CEO of GlaxoSmithKline, telling the packed room that innovation is a “doe or die” issue for Ontario – without improvements in our lackluster performance, our quality of life and economy are at serious risk.  Lucas gave credit to the government and academic sectors for partnering and making enormous investments in innovation.  The challenge, he says, is for the private sector to step up and play a lead role again.

The common thread so far, including the insights from award-winning British economic writer Hamish McRae last night, is the human factor.  All agree Ontario has a tremendous advtange in its well-educated and skilled workforce – an advantage that must be better leveraged and strengthened if we are to recover our competitive edge.

And how do we create this 21^st century workforce?  Stay tuned … that will be the focus of tomorrow morning’s keynote address by Patrick Horgan of IBM Canada …

During the opening evening of the 7^th annual Ontario Economic Summit (OES), Len Crispino, President and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC), applauded all attendees’ for their willingness to come together to map out a path for post-recessionary growth and productivity. It is the collaboration and cooperation at the OES that will secure a future for Ontario.

The keynote speaker of the evening, Hamish McRae – Economist and Associate Editor of The Independent – spoke to delegates about the optimistic future of the Canadian economy. He says, “There is no such thing as a plan, but a mission that can be handed on.”McRae, also outlined the four major global trends, affecting the economy:

• Technology – brings business to an almost level playing field, as communications technologies have become virtually universal
• Demography – The developed world is getting older and the emerging world is “younger.” There are higher pressures in learning how to manage the young and how to utilize the older population
• Government - Governments will have to learn how to work within their means and prepare for the future. Governments cannot operate alone and need help from business communities
• Environment- McRae highly suggests all companies “Go Green.” It is a great advantage in terms of cost for Canadians and instills a strong reputation for business

To conclude the evening, Gordon Pitts – author of Globe and Mail Business Report- facilitated a question and answer period with McRae. Active participation from guests brought up issues concerning Canada’s government, education, “cashless” society, and manufacturing.

Written by: Katie Laviolette and Stephanie Porter

Economists have long acknowledged that economic forecasting is far from a precise science. It’s therefore no surprise that some of the country’s leading economists are at odds over whether a recovery has taken hold, or if we’ve already entered a second downturn.

On the one hand, there are those who believe our economy is facing a better than expected fiscal situation and is showing signs of recovery. The current debate for them is whether we need additional fiscal stimulus or whether the status quo should be maintained. According to a recent article in the Financial Post, “the federal Conservative government plans to introduce three new measures in the coming weeks aimed at boosting the country’s economy and stoking job creation”.  It’s reported that the focus will be on job creation through lower taxes and fiscal restraint as opposed to a heavy influx of government assistance, as has been the case in the United States in recent months.  In a recent blog by Glen Hodgson, Chief Economist at the Conference Board of Canada, predicts that “if spending restraint can be kept on track, the federal government should be able to balance its books a full year earlier than projected. The federal debt-GDP ratio will peak at about 35 per cent in 2010-11—still well within manageable levels and significantly better than every other major industrial economy.”

On the other hand, some economists believe the road to recovery is still a long way away. One such economist is David Rosenberg , Gluskin Sheff’s Chief Economist and Strategist. In one of his articles, he raises “the odds of a double-dip recession in the United States from 45% a month ago to 67%, based on his firm’s in-house economic modeling”, which will of course affect our own economy due to our inter-dependent trading relations with the U.S.

Participants will hear both experts outline their forecasts and provide further insight at the 7^th Annual Ontario Economic Summit (OES) in Niagara-on-the-Lake from November 1-3, 2010.   Some spaces still remain for interested senior-level leaders to attend the OES.

Image: CBC (www.cbc.ca/.../iStock_recession_recovery.jpg)

We are pleased to announce that David Rosenberg, Chief Economist & Strategist at Gluskin Sheff + Associates Inc. will provide a global economic overview at this year’s OES.  OES delegates can expect invaluable insight into the state of the global economy including what might be in store for Ontario, Canada and the world as we continue along the road to recovery.   Also expect some recommendations on how to position our economy for sustainable growth.  Rosenberg has raised eyebrows with his bearish outlook on the economy – recently stating the dreaded “Double Dip” actually began in Q3 of this year.

Prior to joining Gluskin Sheff in 2009, Mr. Rosenberg was Chief North American Economist at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch in New York and prior thereto, he was a Senior Economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns and Bank of Nova Scotia.  From 2001 to 2008, Mr. Rosenberg was ranked first in economics in the Brendan Wood International Survey for Canada, ranked second overall in the 2008 Institutional Investors Survey for the U.S., and was on the Institutional Investor All American All Star Team from 2005-2008. Mr. Rosenberg also ranked 4^thout of 104 economists in the 2009 Thomson-Extel survey of global portfolio managers.

He has made several TV appearances and his articles feature regularly in all the major financial and business newspapers/journals. He is a guest columnist for Globe Investor and Report On Business.

Mr. Rosenberg received both a Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Toronto.