Issue #39

May 17th, 2021

Join us - share and network, discover and learn

Economic Resilience & The Innovation Ecosystem

WEBINAR

FRIDAY - 4PM MT MAY 21st

COPY THIS  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85896241732

To view former webinars CLICK HERE

Highlights of the April survey of economic resilience were featured on Friday's webinar HERE with specific focus on how resilience differs by:

o Region: Calgary, Edmonton, and Other. The Calgary Region while still weak is the most resilient of the three Regions.

o Sector: Industry, Profession, Public Services. Alberta's overall Resilience is viewed as highest when Industry is prevalent particularly in Energy, Agriculture, and Manufacturing as in the Calgary Region and lowest when Public Services prevail as in Education as in the Edmonton Region.

The apparent recovery of Energy and Agriculture is uplifting for the economy overall.  But as Energy goes, so goes the overall economy - an indication of the continuing interdependence of Energy on the overall Alberta economy. Public Service representation while important is a weak overall contributor. Weakness in Education is serving as a constraint on Alberta's overall economic resilience particularly in Edmonton though Education is a contributor to resilience for Regions outside Edmonton and Calgary.

This week's Friday May 21st webinar HERE will feature a discussion of the effectiveness of Alberta's innovation ecosystem. Here is an introductory highlight.

The webinar Friday May 28th will conclude presentation and discussion of survey results of economic resilience featuring conclusions and citing recommendations.

IN THE NEWS - Think About it!

Besides continuing angst about Covid, did you catch these disconcerting events this past week:

ENERGY and SECURITY. Mideast tensions increased as violence erupted between Palestine and Israel. Michigan is proposing to shutdown of Enbridge's Line-5 fueling eastern Canada and the U.S. mid-west. Economic recovery in the U.S. is increasing the demand for energy. The ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline shutdown fueling the eastern U.S.  All are contributing to a spike in the price of oil.

Think about it. There are a multitude of consequences that these events are triggering including increased attention to issues of cybersecurity, usage of bitcoin for ransom payment, energy transportation options/ infrastructure, the prospect of again seeing $100/ barrel oil, policy management of rate of transition to clean energy, and voter sentiment to shortages in fuel and heating supplies.

INFLATION and LABOUR.  Speculation in the US - and elsewhere that the combination of pent-up consumer demand and labour shortages during recovery will lead to higher wages, higher than expected inflation, and a rise in interest rates that may not be just short term. 

Think about it. Any sustained rise in interest rates would have significant implications for mortgage holders, senior's on fixed income, public debt payments.

PRIVACY and BIG TECH. Facebook and other social platforms collect and use personal data for targeted online ads. Deliberations in Europe about personal data usage are getting serious. North American governments are watching. The EU is concerned that U.S. government surveillance may not respect the privacy rights of EU citizen when their personal data is sent to the U.S. for commercial use. 

Halting this practice would be "devastating" to Facebook's European market and may trigger similar action where "personal data" is used for commercial purposes.

Think about it. It is not only Facebook and social media that are collecting personal data AND it is not only for commercial purposes that personal data is collected. How important is "privacy" and who cares? How far reaching could personal privacy "concerns" and public protection go?  What are the ramifications for businesses AND  governments that collect, use, disseminate "personal data"?