BCBusiness

WIKIPEDIA APRIL 2019 BCBUSINESS 45 Trade commissioner Camp- bell says she's looking forward to working with Israel to boost inno- vation in Canada. The two coun- tries will aim to increase joint research partnerships between their universities, institutions and companies to advance com- mon knowledge or commercial- ization, she explains. Canada and Israel will focus on "signi•cant opportunities" in clean ener•y and sustainable technolo- gies, agriculture, cybersecurity, oil and gas, aerospace, arti icial intelligence, biotechnolo•y and health, quantum com- puting and advanced manufacturing, Campbell says. W H Y B . C .? The prospect of stronger B.C.- Israel ties coincides with a growing concern among the province's political and business leaders about the state and direction of the economy. Across the ideological spectrum, there's agreement that B.C. must •nd new ways to diversify. Meanwhile, businesses are looking beyond their traditional markets. B.C.'s engagement with China could be at risk from Beijing's geopolitical ambitions and rocky relations with Ottawa, while the U.S. under President Donald Trump has become an erratic and abusive partner. As the province searches for new ideas and relationships, Israel has emerged as a fresh and intriguing prospect. The B.C. establishment also faces warnings that the province and the rest of Canada risk declining competitiveness on the world stage. In its 2018 assessment of the country's R&D, the Canadian Council of Academies (CCA) frets about Canada's "faltering place" in the global economy. "National prosperity, competitiveness and well-being are inextricably linked to the capacity to par- ticipate in and bene•t from research, development and innovation," says the Ottawa- based CCA, which convenes top experts to assess scien- ti•c issues to inform decision- making in Canada. Unlike Israel, Canada has let its research-to- GDP spending ratio go into free fall, from more than 2 per- cent in 2001 to a new low of 1.7 percent in 2015, the CCA notes, citing OECD data. This decline portends a drop in living standards because the country hasn't been upgrad- ing its knowledge base, its people's skills and its technol- o•y for well over a decade. If underinvestment continues, the CCA maintains, Canada will suffer "signi•cant erosion" of its international competitiveness. In B.C.'s case, weak competitiveness has been masked by nearly two decades of rela- tively strong economic growth brought on by the hydrocarbon-led commodities boom of 2000™14, a recent surging real estate sec- tor and a population expansion. Metro Van- couver's housing market peaked last year, with experts forecasting revenue declines that will aœect the economy in 2019 and possibly beyond. Canada's growth momentum has run its course, the International Institute for Sus- tainable Development ( IISD) observed in a 2018 report. The Winnipeg-headquartered think tank looks beyond GDP and trade data to describe comprehensive wealth as the total measure of the country's produced, natural, human, •nancial and social capital that determines its future prospects. With- out drawing much attention, the Canadian economic model has been unsustainable since 2008, the IISD argues in its report. Where does this leave B.C.? Since tak- ing o¢ce in 2017, the NDP-led B.C. gov- ernment has continued its predecessor's work to create the foundation for an inno- vation economy. Last March, the Ministry of Jobs, Trade and Technolo•y relaunched the BC Innovation Council as Innovate BC with an expanded mandate to provide "a single point of contact for tech businesses throughout the province to build capacity, PEAK PERFORMERS! > STEFANIE GRIESER > SHELBY MANTON > FIONA MORRISON > JUAN ORREGO > MAXWELL WEBSTER Congrats to our amazing alumni named top 30 under 30 by BCBusiness VENTURE CAPITAL Known as the tech hub of the Middle East, Israel has more than 6,000 startups, many clustered in Tel Aviv's Silicon Wadi

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