PUBLIC SECTOR
4%#(./,/'9 #(!-0)/. New innovation commissioner Alan Winter has a big job: Find ways for B.C. technology companies to grow LINDSAY KINES
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hen the NDP and B.C. Green Party signed a deal last summer to toss the Liberals from office and set up a minority government, the parties committed to working together on more than two dozen policies. Most of the attention at the time focused on high-profile promises to ban big money from politics or hold a referendum on proportional representation. The agreement, however, also included key planks from the Green Party’s campaign platform that could have a significant impact on expanding the technology sector in Greater Victoria. Among other things, the Greens and NDP agreed to establish an innovation commission and appoint an innovation commissioner to champion B.C.’s tech sector. In February, Premier John Horgan began following through on those commitments by naming Victoria’s Alan Winter as the province’s first innovation commissioner. The former head of Genome B.C. is tasked with advocating for the province’s tech sector in Ottawa and abroad, attracting investment and recommending provincial programs to assist the sector. A few weeks later, Minister of Jobs, Trade and Technology Bruce Ralston introduced legislation to expand the mandate of the B.C. Innovation Council and rename it Innovate BC. The Crown agency will give broader support to the tech sector by making it the single point of contact for entrepreneurs looking to expand or needing financial help, Ralston said. Still to come, the NDP has promised to act on another Green Party idea by establishing an “Emerging Economy Task Force that will look at how to capitalize on the changing nature of business over the next 10 to 25 years.” Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver said the hope is that, by taking such steps, government can find ways to help companies grow and prosper without having to leave the province. “What we are very good at in B.C. is we are very good at having ideas that we get to the $1 million company that we sell,” he said. “What does not happen in B.C. is we take it to the next level, and therein lies the problem. “Sure there’s been a bunch of great successes, but they’ve been bought up and shifted to Silicon Valley. “So one of the purposes and goals here is not to micro-manage the tech [sector]. You cannot micro-manage innovation; innovation by its very definition is bottom up.
“But what you can do is create the regulatory framework that allows it to continue to grow and not crush it.” Winter, who has held senior positions in both government and the tech sector, said the province needs to figure out ways to compete with Washington and Oregon that are more used to having bigger companies. He noted that about seven per cent of B.Cs GDP comes from tech-related industries. “It’s pretty good,” he said. “I mean, that GDP is more than forestry or fisheries.” The GDP from tech in nearby states, however, is much higher, he said. “In Washington, it’s about 20 per cent. “The good news about that is we’ve got lots of potential. We can do more. The issue is that to do more and develop bigger companies that are not just sold south of the border, we have to create an environment here that encourages those companies to grow here.” Dan Gunn, chief executive of the Victoria Innovation, Advanced Technology and Entrepreneurship Council, said it’s too early to say how effective Innovate BC will be. But he said similar moves have worked effectively elsewhere. “Typically other jurisdiction have contributed a great deal more budget and effort to their innovation economies,” Gunn said. “So we look forward to seeing what the matching budget and resources are going to be for this
new organization with an expanded mandate. “But it’s a step in a direction that resembles things that worked in other jurisdictions.” Gunn said there’s definitely a role for government to assist the sector providing it doesn’t try to “steer the ship” too much. “There are certain things that companies need to help them achieve a greater success,” he said. “Whether that’s education or support services, it depends on the stage of the company. “The biggest thing they can do at a more general level is help make sure that it’s easy for us to bring in the talent we need from wherever it comes from in the world, and help us bring in the investment we need from wherever we need it in the world. And the fewer barriers to that, the more efficient and faster the companies can grow. “At that level they have a direct hand on the lever.” Gunn said he believes both the federal and provincial governments are aware of that and are trying to make things easier. He added that the protectionist anti-immigration attitude of the Trump administration in the United States means that more people are looking at Canada as the “Western world democracy opportunity for visible minorities to move and grow. “So I think there’s a real opportunity for us as a country and as a province.”
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