OES presenters have been captured on film speaking to issues of importance to Ontario’s economic future, such as:

• Adaptation
• The Double Dip Recession
• Sustainability in Health Care and Transportation
• Innovation

and much more. These videos can be found at http://occ-oes.com/videos-2010.

The 2010 OES brought together the best and the brightest from the private and public sectors to discuss timely issues impacting Ontario today – and tomorrow.

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce was, once again, proud to host OES, a platform for dialogue where great minds from across the province, country and world come together in a non-partisan venue to discuss Ontario’s economic future.

This year’s speakers included, Hamish McRae, Associate Editor of The Independent and Europe’s leading futurist; Transportation Minister Kathleen Wynne; Leader of the Official Opposition, Tim Hudak; Leader of the New Democratic Party of Ontario, Andrea Horwath; and Glen Hodgson, Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist with the Conference Board of Canada.

Highlights from the session included:

• Rosenberg sharing with the crowd Bob Farrell’s “10 Market Rules to Remember.” Farrell, the former Chief Stock Market  analyst for Merrill Lynch and Company was credited by Rosenberg as a great influence in his success and knowledge in the industry.
• Rosenberg joked that Canadians cannot seem to agree on two aspects; the Canadian dollar or hockey teams. Just as Canadians disagree avidly on the best Canadian hockey team, we cannot, as Rosenberg pointed out, seem to make up our minds as to when the Canadian dollar is at its most satisfactory level. Canadians either see the dollar as too high or too low, making it difficult to find common ground
• Canada, despite facing its own economic challenges, is in a better position than the United States. Investors are more interested in investing in our country as Rosenberg stated the Canadian dollar is expected to continue appreciating which is only beneficial as profits can be gained.

Rosenberg concluded that Canada is in a better economic position than the United States as global investors see Canada as a safe and stable place to invest.

Written by: Elizabeth Morris and Milica Petkovic

The Smarter Regulation panel discussion centered on “Smart” and “Dumb” regulations and the importance of determining what does and does not work. Also discussed was the necessity for the business community to get involved with all levels of government to ensure a better regulatory process. The Honourable John Wilkinson, Minister of the Environment, made the connection between innovation and regulation, and suggested that “we need to think about how to make regulation smarter, how to innovate.”

Ray Tanguay, Chairman of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc., concluded the afternoon session by highlighting some of the key themes that had emerged out of the day and also recognized the significance of communication when he discussed the importance of building relationships between academia, government and business.

IBM Canada utilizes this age of graduates, taking on many interns and hiring new talent. Patrick Horgan, Vice-President of IBM Canada stated that, “The 21st century workforce is about changing the game.” Inevitably, in hiring educated and skilled individuals, this can create “smarter cities and a world-class economy.”

One major challenge of creating a world-class economy, recognized by Horgan, is obtaining critical skills. This involves reversing the trend in the low number of new graduates in core disciplines (science and engineering).  The struggle with family incomes and the incapability to send students to post-secondary institutes is recognized by Patrick (Sid) Ryan, President of the Ontario Federation of Labour. He noted that there should be a “heavy investment in post-secondary education by lowering tuition fees, which allows access to all students in all income levels.”

Institutions realize that it is important to uphold a strong brand image to attract new talent, however strong emphasis was put on the importance of maintaining relationships. Businesses must develop partnerships with post-secondary institutions in order to guarantee the top performers.

Written by: Katie Laviolette and Stephanie Porter

Wynne focused on three key cultural shifts:

• The new economy: Ontario is an “export-driven economy” which relies heavily on the transportation of exports and imports more so than in the past. This is extremely important to Ontario’s transportation infrastructure because 70 percent of Canada’s imports and exports travel through the Ontario/ U.S. border.  It is vital that the transportation infrastructure meets the needs of today’s new economy.
• New focus on the environment: There is an increasing desire to consider the environment when implementing plans and policies. Effort is being made to develop and encourage sustainable models of transport, including electric cars. Wynne described an ambitious goal of having 1 in every 20 cars on the road be electric by 2020. Rebates have already been put into place in order to generate more incentives for the public to make this shift to hybrid vehicles.
• Continued pursuit of safety: Safety has long been a key goal and continues to rank high in terms of importance within the transportation industry. New policies on acceptable blood alcohol levels and the move to deter people from using cell phones and other electronic devices while driving have already been put into effect.

These new policies not only reflect the transportation industry’s desire to stay on top of cultural shifts, but also a need to engage the public, as well as the government. As Wynne stated, the “government is part of the solution but not the whole solution,” an idea that has been expressed throughout the day.

Tomorrow’s keynote address will focus on changes to the global economy and what this means for Ontario.

Written by: Elizabeth Morris and Milica Petkovic

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

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 …

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

As a five time author, Pitts was the winner of Canada’s National Business Book, Stampede: The Rise of the West and Canada’s New Power Elite. Pitt’s diverse understanding of business and economics will have an overall positive impact on the 2010 OES.

The Q&A session will feature Hamish McRae, one of Europe’s leading futurists on global economics, business and society. The inaugural evening will set the stage for what will be an exciting and noteworthy summit that will lay the groundwork for a more competitive and prosperous future for the Province.

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.