B.C. business leaders discuss falling competitiveness and promoting diversity
Credit to Author: Joanne Lee-Young| Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2019 01:37:15 +0000
There is an increasing gap between the amount of investment per worker in B.C. compared with other parts of Canada, the U.S. and other countries such as Australia, Japan and Germany, a panel discussion about building business competitiveness in the province heard Wednesday.
Canadian businesses invest only about $15,000 per worker, according to Bill Robson, president and CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute, citing first-half-of-2019 research, at the B.C. Business Summit in Vancouver on Wednesday.
This is compared with businesses across the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, investing about $21,000 per worker, and businesses in the U.S. investing about $26,000 per employee. In B.C., that number is a paltry $12,900 per worker, he said.
After years of a competitiveness gap that had been closer, the difference has slipped more sharply in recent years, he said, due to changing tax and regulatory regimes.
“Investment in people, in ideas and in physical capital. We need to make investment a priority in order to move ahead,” said Kevin Milligan, a professor at the University of B.C.’s Vancouver School of Economics.
Business leaders gathered Wednesday to discuss a variety of other issues they face, including making sure the voices of younger leaders and those with insights into other demographics and international markets are considered.
“How do we position B.C. to thrive?,” asked B.C. Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin, who convened an afternoon panel. “How do we engage deeply and engage with people whose views are different. How do we reach across boundaries?”
“Not long ago, diversity was mostly focused on gender diversity,” said Sue Paish, chairwoman and CEO of the Business Council of B.C.
This year, she said, the council’s board made a governance decision that mandates six members of its board be under age 35 so that conversations it has about “housing affordability, transportation and tax policy” lead to decisions that include the “young people who have to live with (them.)”
Earlier in the day, Tamara Vrooman, president and CEO of Vancity, asked a panel of young business leaders to talk about suggestions for companies, as well as for the generation of business executives and owners who will come up behind them.
“Test your parental leave,” said Salima Remtulla, vice-president of operations and corporate strategy at the Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel. “The take-up (of parental leave) by men is much, much lower.”
“Bet on young people. Hear their ideas,” said Minh Ngo, founder and principal of The Visual Scribe, which helps companies visualize their strategies with sketches. “How can you err on the side of creativity?”
“Learn to fail … it’s terrible not to fail. The world doesn’t care if you have a gold-star sticker. It’s ready to give you a punch in the stomach,” said Ted Lau, CEO of digital marketing company Ballistic Arts Media Studios.
“I really stress the importance of mentorship,” said Chief Willie Sellars of the Williams Lake Indian Band. “We have to surround ourselves with great people … mentors can do a lot for your trajectory in life.”