(VICTORIA) – Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party (Saanich—Gulf Islands), announced plans to bolster Victoria’s technology industry, acknowledging the importance of the sector to the local economy.
“Victoria’s technology industry generates $4 billion per year for the Greater Victoria economy, and serves as a model of 21st century innovation and prosperity,” said May. “Our Canadian Sustainable Generations Fund incentivizes green innovation, rewards developments in emerging technologies, and will level the competitive playing field with the heavily capitalized startup and technology industry of the United States.”
“The emerging Canadian technology sector already employs more Canadians than the oil and gas sector; and these jobs are local, more sustainable, and often better paid,” said Jo-Ann Roberts, Green Party candidate in the tight race for Victoria. “The rest of the world recognizes the technology sector as the future of employment, and are aggressively funding it. Canada needs to invest now to compete globally. As Victoria’s Member of Parliament, I will advocate tirelessly for Victoria’s technology industry.”
The Green Party plans to work with the industry to establish a nationwide certification program for incubators and accelerators, to ensure money lands in the hands of startups.
The party will expand the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) to include a lower-cost, fast-track program, which would provide smaller, faster injections of investment capital into new startups, allowing them to achieve minimum viable product more quickly.
“The best potential for real Canadian innovation is in software, not hardware,” said Matt Toner, the B.C. Green Party’s new economy critic and founder of Vancouver-based social media company, Zeros 2 Heroes Media. “The tax cuts and credits proposed by the NDP focus too heavily on hardware and don’t solve the problem facing innovation-based startups, namely access to early stage capital, without which new companies cannot survive, much less thrive. The Green plan solves that problem.”
Rules introduced under Bill C-51 make digital security more vulnerable to hacks, causing Canada to be a less desirable destination to new technology companies. The Green Party will repeal Bill C-51.
Greens will form two investment working groups: one dedicated to catalyzing angel-level investment from the private sector using successful models like British Columbia’s Venture Capital Tax Credit (VCC), drawing on funds redirected from the extractive sector and into emerging technologies; the second to address the challenges of keeping successful startups in Canada. “It’s a 21st century, made-in-Canada approach,” concluded Roberts.
“It’s great to see the Green Party taking a very forward-looking stance on issues that impact B.C.’s tech and digital media industry,” said Nels Anderson, founder of Tech Now BC, a site devoted to highlighting BC’s tech industry during the election. “The emphasis on smaller, agile businesses and finding ways to adapt policy to our needs is especially important.”
Green MPs will:
- Create a Canadian Sustainable Generation Fund for innovation technology, education, skills-training, renewable energy, and jobs, capitalized by increasing corporate tax rates to pre-2009 rates;
- Repeal Bill C-51 and its harmful privacy-intruding policies;
- Allocate $1 billion per year towards Green Technology Commercialization Grants to support Canadian entrepreneurs to compete internationally;
- Reduce taxes on small- and medium-sized enterprises from 11% to 9%;
- Enact “Think Small First” legislation to ensure new federal laws and regulations enhance the economic environment for local businesses and entrepreneurs; and
- Provide tuition-free skills-training and education by 2020.
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For additional information or to arrange an interview, contact:
Julian Morelli
Director of Communications
Green Party of Canada
cell: (613) 614 4916
office: (613) 562 4916 (224)
julian.morelli@greenparty.ca
Or
Kirsten Strom
Executive Assistant to Director of Communications
t: 613.562.4916 (200)
Toll Free 1.866.868.3447
kirsten.strom@greenparty.ca