OTTAWA — The federal government announced Friday it has selected six innovation leaders to host the roundtable discussions taking place this summer as part of its national consultation on digital and data transformation.
Officially launched June 19 by the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED), the Canada-wide public consultations are designed to help the government understand how Canadians want to drive innovation in a data economy, prepare for the future of work and ensure that citizens have trust and confidence in how their data is used, according to a news release announcing the selection of the six roundtable hosts.
Many of the digital innovation experts chosen were part of the Innovation Agenda consultations in 2016 that supported the development of the federal government’s Innovation and Skills Plan, announced in Budget 2017.
The six digital innovation leaders are:
- Janie Béïque, Executive Vice-President, Investments, Fonds de solidarité FTQ
- Dr. Arvind Gupta, professor of computer science at the University of Toronto and former president and vice-chancellor of the University of British Columbia
- Sarah Lubik, Director of Entrepreneurship for Simon Fraser University
- Carole Piovesan, lawyer with McCarthy Tétrault
- Mark Podlasly, founder of Brookmere Management Group
- Ilse Treurnicht, former CEO of MaRS Discovery District
From early August to mid-September, these innovation leaders will host roundtable discussions in cities across Canada with participants from business, academia, civil society and other sectors. Roundtables are planned for Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Waterloo, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec, Fredericton, Halifax, Charlottetown, St. John’s, Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit.
For more information about the National Digital and Data Consultations, including how to attend a roundtable or submit comments online, click here.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
