Canadian Innovators Respond to the 2019 Federal Budget

What we saw:

A commitment to make the Global Talent Stream permanent:

“Canadian innovators welcome the government’s decision to make the Global Talent Stream permanent. The two-week visa processing time has been a game changer for Canadian scale-ups looking to build a team around uniquely skilled workers with global experience from outside of Canada.”

A commitment to address Canada’s skilled-labour shortage through the Canadian Training Benefit:

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Over the past three years, the Government of Canada has taken significant steps to bolster Canada’s innovation economy. These steps have included committing sizeable resources to implement important strategic initiatives such as a national Intellectual Property (IP) strategy, a billion-dollar Innovation Superclusters Initiative, the national data strategy that is under-development, and an updated national cybersecurity strategy, among other programs geared towards helping Canadian innovators…

On the budget commitment to develop a Made-In-Ontario Data Strategy:

“A provincial data strategy will ensure that Ontarians own and control their data so that it can become an engine of prosperity for the province of Ontario as well as a tool that protects our privacy, public safety, democracy and public health. Canadian tech CEOs welcome the government’s efforts to become a leader in the data-driven global economy. The growing scale and scope of data generated by Ontarians creates an…

On the budget commitment to develop a National Intellectual Property Strategy:

“A national intellectual property strategy is long overdue for Canada and is critical to ensuring the success of the government’s innovation agenda. Canadian innovators welcome the creation of an ‘IP Collective’ as a new tool in Canada’s 21^st century digital policy toolkit. The commitment upwards of $85 million over the next five years is a strong start for the government to ensure the value of publicly-funded…

Hon. Charles Sousa
Minister of Finance
Government of Ontario

22 January 2018

Minister Sousa,

Small and medium scaling enterprises in Canada employ over 70% of our labour force. They are the economic engines of our country and provide critical infrastructure that drive our prosperity, acting as a backbone of our communities. 47% of new jobs in Canada are created by domestic high-growth, scaling firms and 46% of Canada’s GDP is generated by scaled, large firms.

As the fastest-growing job…

Waterloo, ON (October 20, 2017) – The leaders of Canada’s fastest growing technology companies welcome the opportunity to engage and be consulted by the Department of Finance on the Government of Canada’s proposed Tax Fairness plan.

In September, the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) asked Finance Minister Bill Morneau to consult with Canada’s tech leaders so that government officials can better understand how technology entrepreneurs rely on tax measures to grow their businesses and…

Good morning.

Thank you, Chair and esteemed members of the committee, for the privilege of appearing as a witness before you.

I'm an IP lawyer and patent and trademark agent with Bereskin & Parr, and an assistant professor at Western University. I also advise the executive of the Council of Canadian Innovators. I work almost exclusively with Canadian companies to help them benefit from their technology through intellectual property.

I've researched and written in this space with the…