By Richard Chu
BC’s entrepreneurs, executives and their employees will have to work hard to capitalize on the province’s economic opportunities over the next decade.
That was one of the key messages delivered to nearly 200 attendees at this year’s inaugural two-day economic-outlook conference held June 5 and 6 in Whistler.
The Whistler Outlook Symposium examined a host of issues focused on the question: is B.C. positioned to prosper over the next 10 years?
The short answer: yes.
Analysts and economists ranging from Andrew Ramlo of the Urban Futures Institute and Sam Shaw, Encana’s vice-president of natural gas policy and development to Niels Veldhuis of the Fraser Institute and Roger Gibbins of the Canada West Foundation noted B.C.’s vast opportunities and its natural position as the gateway between Canada and Asia for trade, investment and talent.
But poor labour productivity along with complacency and the inability of business and political leaders to adapt to a volatile global economy remain key roadblocks to exploiting that potential.
B.C.’s productivity level has consistently remained low for decades.
According to BC Stats, that productivity is below the national average and exceeds only the Atlantic provinces.
While a significant investment in technology is required to help boost productivity in B.C., Ramlo said business cultures need to do more to promote the sharing of experience among different generations of workers and executives to improve efficiency and processes.
“We need to work on downloading the information from the older generation to the newer one more effectively,” he said.
Gibbins also warned agains being complacent about marketing B.C.’s strengths to the world.
He said the province remains a relatively small player on the world stage so it needs to work continually to attract the attention of potential buyers.
“The reality is, we have to beat the path to the world’s door.
“We’re not alone in having what the world wants.”
Mark Andrew, Pacific Northwest regional vice-president for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, noted that the tourism sector must guard against believing its own public relations about the significance of events like hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics and obtaining approved-destination status from China in boosting our reputation abroad.
While these events will help keep B.C. on the radar of international tourists, Andrew said the province needs to think about the next big global event that will again draw the world’s eye to B.C.
“If you go to Beijing, they see B.C. as being very much like the rest of Canada, which they now have access to. But it’s not as near on the map as Europe or other parts of Asia. We can’t rest on our laurels of the Olympics.”
Andrew also advised that the sector should not neglect its existing tourism markets as it focuses on new markets like China.
“The business from Asia is huge, but the business we’ve got from the U.S., Australia and Europe is even bigger. Australia produces thousands of room nights for [our B.C.] properties because people are coming here for the experience. As we sell the experience, we need to adapt it to lots of different markets. It’s so much more than moose, mountains, Mounties and maple leafs.”
Peter Leitch, chairman of the Motion Picture Production Industry Association of BC, said the various levels of government need to be better co-ordinated to avoid decisions that can deter world-class companies from operating in B.C.
He pointed out that recent changes to Canada’s immigration policy that limit the time foreign workers can stay in Canada are potentially damaging to his industry.
“It will affect us from day one, because, they’ll say, ‘You know, we’re not going to be able to bring up some of our talent, so we might as well not start here.’”
Such deterrents also hamper the industry’s ability to attract the industry’s biggest players like Pixar, Deluxe, and Sony to B.C., which he says is vital to develop the province’s film sector by providing the training ground to improve the skills of the local talent pool.
“It’s one of the most important things we can do, [because] we don’t have the time to train people up to speed as fast as we need to be competitive. The best training you can get is bringing the best companies in the world up here.”
Developing the province’s talent is key to transforming B.C. from being simply a film location into a centre for film production.
While B.C. continues to attract productions from Los Angeles, he said the domestic industry also needs to look at itself as a business.
“We don’t seem to create things to sell to the world market or figure out where the market is before we create them.”
Tim McEwan, president and CEO of Initiatives Prince George Development Corp., noted that skills shortages, infrastructure bottlenecks and inefficient regulation threaten to dampen the potential for growth in the resource sectors across the province.
Skills shortages are already acute in northern jurisdictions like Prince George, where unemployment is at 5.7%.
“We’re near full employment as we speak, so we have to focus on building capacities in aboriginal communities and focus on immigration.”
Pascal Spothelfer, president and CEO of the BC Technology Industry Association, noted that for B.C.’s technology companies to tap the global market, the province’s tech sector must grow to the point where it can effectively export its products and services. That remains a challenge even though the tech sector is among B.C.’s fastest growing sectors.
Spothelfer noted that key challenges to improving the sector’s export potential include a shortage of capital and a dearth of management capable of developing small businesses into medium-sized companies.
“There is a shortage of capital, but we also don’t have enough people who know how to take a company from 10 people to 100. And unless you are a 100-person company, you can’t export effectively. If you can’t export effectively, you can’t grow.”
Speakers emphasized the need for entrepreneurs and business and government leaders to address the roadblocks to B.C.’s prosperity.
Fiona Famulak, president of the Whistler Chamber of Commerce, said, “It’s fair to say that the 16 speakers at the symposium are quite bullish about the prospects for B.C., but there is work to do. Bearing in mind that 98% of our business base is small business, it has to happen at the grassroots.”
In closing the conference, Gibbon said, “B.C. has a great foundation, but it’s up to us to build on that foundation. This means that if we are to be resilient in the face of unrelenting global change, we must be thoughtful of the future. We can’t just sit back and let the future happen to us. We have to step up to the challenges we anticipate and don’t live in a status quo world. I still believe intensely that B.C. has an extraordinary future, but B.C.’s success in a global economy is not a given.”