Canada failing to adapt to data-driven economy: Senate report
Ottawa – A new Senate committee report calls on the Canadian government to urgently update and refocus its policies for incentivizing and retaining business investment in an increasingly digital and data-driven economy.
The sector of businesses that create wealth through digital, data, intellectual property and other intangible assets is growing much faster than the more traditional, resource-based sector. However, current government policies and programs have not adapted to this reality and business investment has been lacklustre in recent decades, the Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy found.
The committee’s report, Needed: An Innovation Strategy for the Data-Driven Economy, makes six recommendations to the government to help encourage higher investment and productivity growth in Canada.
One key recommendation calls for updates to the federal intellectual property strategy; Canada needs a modern and robust regime that fosters the acquisition and retention of intellectual property. The committee also recommends that the government develop a national data strategy and data governance framework.
The report calls on the government to encourage more ambitious thinking in the development of Canada’s innovation policies. Without a comprehensive strategy and targeted policy changes, domestic and foreign investment in Canada — and standards of living — will continue to erode.
Quick Facts
- The Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy began studying business investment in December 2021. The committee’s interim report was released in June 2022.
- Between 2002 and 2019, labour productivity grew by an average of 22.1% in the digitally intensive sector, compared to an average of 6.3% in the non-digitally intensive sector, according to Statistics Canada.
- In 2021, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) projected Canada will have the lowest per-capita GDP growth among OECD member countries between 2020 and 2060.
Quotes
“The world is entering a new era centered around the innovation-based and data-driven economy. Other countries have already moved to strategically adapt to this new reality. Canada will be left behind if it doesn’t do the same.”
- Senator Pamela Wallin, Chair of the committee
“Catalyzing higher levels of business investment in digitally intensive sectors requires government to update its laws for data usage, privacy and competition, and to urgently adopt a focused strategy around a robust intellectual property regime, modernized procurement policies, agile regulatory reform, the establishment of national data standards and the development of new capital streams.”
- Senator Colin Deacon, Deputy Chair of the committee
“The committee also heard that the success of an innovation strategy based on intangible assets requires efforts in entrepreneurship education and the development of digital and data management skills among the Canadian workforce.”
- Senator Diane Bellemare, member of the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure
Associated Links
- Read the report: Needed: An Innovation Strategy for the Data-Driven Economy
- Follow the committee on social media using the hashtag #BANC.
- Subscribe to email alerts for Senate committees.
- Sign up for the Senate eNewsletter.
For more information:
Jérémie Spadafora
Communications Officer | Senate of Canada
343-550-6111 | jeremie.spadafora@sen.parl.gc.ca