National Science and Technology Strategy is Key to Building Competitive Advantage, Business Leaders Say

May 17, 2007

Canada’s business leaders today strongly welcomed the federal government’s new national science and technology strategy and promised to work closely with political leaders and senior officials in fostering a more innovative and entrepreneurial national culture.

“At a time when workers and companies across the country are facing fierce competitive pressures, it is imperative that Canada launch a more robust national effort to advance the priority of science and technology,” said Thomas d’Aquino, Chief Executive and President of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE).

Mr. d’Aquino was in Waterloo, Ontario, today to attend the unveiling of Canada’s new national science and technology strategy by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Accompanying the Prime Minister were Industry Minister Maxime Bernier, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Rona Ambrose.

Building on the Advantage Canada plan released last fall by Minister Flaherty, the new strategy includes a wide range of specific policy commitments aimed at improving Canada’s competitiveness and productivity through innovation.

“One of the key strengths of this strategy is its focus on creating a strong entrepreneurial advantage for Canada,” Mr. d’Aquino said. “The government has recognized that innovation does not take place in a vacuum. It requires, first and foremost, a competitive and dynamic business environment, supported by forward-looking policies in the areas of taxation, regulation, international trade and investment, and intellectual property.”

Of equal importance is the need to ensure that Canadians have the skills and knowledge they require in order to compete and win in the global economy. Among other initiatives, the government’s new strategy includes commitments to: reduce personal income taxes in order to ensure that Canada attracts and retains highly skilled workers; remove barriers to labour mobility; improve the quality of education; increase the number of research internships in the private sector; and expand support for scholarships to encourage more youth to pursue advanced degrees.

“To build a sustainable national competitive advantage, we first must build a culture that encourages risk-taking and rewards ingenuity,” Mr. d’Aquino said. “As emerging powers such as China and India are transforming the global economy, we as Canadian business leaders are committed to working with governments to make Canada the most attractive place in the world for the private sector to carry out leading-edge research and development.”

Founded in 1976, the CCCE is composed of 150 chief executive officers of major enterprises and leading entrepreneurs across Canada. Member CEOs of the Council lead companies that collectively administer $3.2 trillion in assets, have annual revenues of more than $750 billion, and are responsible for the vast majority of Canada’s exports, investment, research and development, and training.

In addition to Mr. d’Aquino, the members of the CCCE’s Executive Committee are:  Chair, Gordon M. Nixon, President and Chief Executive Officer, Royal Bank of Canada; Honorary Chair Richard L. George, President and Chief Executive Officer of Suncor Energy Inc.; and Vice Chairs Dominic D’Alessandro, Paul Desmarais, Jr., Jacques Lamarre, Hartley T. Richardson and Annette Verschuren, the chief executives respectively of Manulife Financial, Power Corporation of Canada, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., James Richardson & Sons, Limited and The Home Depot Canada.