Research & Innovation on the Brain in Western Canada
Ignoring the movement towards knowledge economy would be 'at its peril'
Erika Sherk
With natural resources pumping millions of revenue dollars into Western Canada’s economy each year, it’s not surprising that there is something of an obsession with oil, gas, wood and rock.
However, warnings that the region can’t rest on its resource laurels are starting to ring louder. The global economy is merciless in its speed and non-renewable resources have the “non” prefix for a reason. There are those who have read the writing on the wall and their message is getting clearer: Western Canada, and all of Canada in general, needs to step up to catch up, and research and innovation are the tickets to long-term success.
The knowledge economy needs to be kick-started, to be put on “economic steroids” according to one analyst. Literally, the information in people’s brains put to use commercially – the knowledge economy – is, according to its advocates, the only way for the coming generations to prosper.
“I think we ignore it at our peril,” says Rob Roach, director of the West in Canada project for the Canada West Foundation. “If we don’t take advantage of it, someone else definitely will.”
To be an economic leader, to launch a successful start-up, to be the first to market with a revolutionary product – all require brain power. Canada has been given failing grades in innovation by the Canadian Conference Board (CCB) for the past three decades and it could fall further as the developing world progresses at lightning speed. Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia have worldclass research in its universities and labs, but according to one B.C.-based former federal industry minister, the region “sucks” at commercializing the research.
The brains keep draining out of the country and the start-ups that survive get snapped up by foreign firms. A bleary picture, maybe, but those urging the region to step it up are still hopeful. The three provinces have an incredible opportunity, they say, to become world leaders if people realized how much there is to gain. And how much there is to be lost.
► For these and other stories, click to subscribe and save 40% off the cover rate.
► Back to Current Issue index.
-- Advertisement -- 
| Sep 04 |
|||
| Latest Posts | All Posts
|
|||
| Other Blogs |
|||