Just recently I read a book called “Fearful Symmetry – The Fall and Rise of Canada’s Founding Values” by Brian Lee Crowley. http://www.brianleecrowley.com/ The book is very interesting for those of us who are concerned with Canada’s place in the world and what our country will be like for our children and (someday) grandchildren. It is also very thought-provoking in terms of what it means about what our children will be like in the future.
The main premise of the book is that until about 1960, Canadians were fiercely proud of their non-reliance on others – especially governments. Then with the conflux of the large baby-boom population spike and the threat of Quebec separation, Canadian governments at all levels began to insinuate themselves more and more into our economy and our lives. The concern raised is that anytime you start to have more “takers” than “makers” in a society, you’re in for a tough time. As a father, I watch with some concern as my children grow up in a society where there is grand expectation that you’ll be taken care of without having to pay your share. Unfortunately the examples are all around them.
But now our country is at a cross-roads. As population growth subsides and our population ages, there will be much greater need for every young, able person in Canada to be gainfully employed at the highest level of their capability. Thus, the need for greater productivity will become even more pronounced. As we work in the IT industry, the majority of what we do is focused on helping organizations deploy technology in order to streamline operations, save money and do things better. We currently have a proposal in front of a customer that can save them millions of dollars a year in lost productivity for many of their staff through automation of some currently manual activities. The unfortunate reality in Canada is that we have lagged the rest of the world significantly in making these kinds of investments. For at least the past 15 years, OECD and other studies have consistently placed Canada very low in terms of investment in productivity enhancing technologies.
If Mr. Crowley’s theories are correct, Canada’s success in the future will depend on companies stepping up these investments. It will be interesting to see if he’s correct – and more interesting to be part of the solution.