Drawing on best practices, Toronto Region Board of Trade has established the Business Council of Toronto (BCT), composed of an executive table of C-suite executives and three for-purpose partnership councils, each focused on a specific area of challenge and opportunity. This is a collaborative and pragmatic approach to tackling our region’s productivity challenge.
The BCT’s Executive Table recently held its first meeting to discuss progress to date on Partnership Council priorities, including projects which will demonstrate how the business community can drive positive change on productivity. During the meeting, each council chair provided key updates on their activities to date:
The Advanced Manufacturing Council held its inaugural meeting on May 28. Chaired by Frank Voss of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, the meeting also included representatives from AGS Automotive Systems, BDC, AtkinsRéalis, NGen, Siemens Canada, and Maple Leaf Foods.
To date, the Council has also discussed three projects which could serve as initial priorities:
- Develop a technology network to develop resources, workshops and pilot programs for enhancing productivity
- Develop shared training or certification for targeted skills that currently have shortages in the advance manufacturing sector
- De-risk automation technology adoption by showcasing best practices
Next steps for this Council will be to develop a strategic framework guiding its work, in addition to creating detailed workplans and case studies from other jurisdictions for the potential projects mentioned above.
The Council held its inaugural meeting on May 2. Chaired by Derek Goring, CEO, Northcrest Developments, the meeting included representatives from AtkinsRéalis, BLG, Brookfield, CBRE Canada, CIBC Capital Markets, and Enbridge.
To date, the Council has also discussed three projects which could serve as initial priorities:
- Develop and implement a smart grid demonstration project
- Leading a ‘Clean Energy Corp’ moonshot
- Creating a climate technology marketplace
Next steps for this Council will be to develop a strategic framework guiding its work, in addition to creating detailed workplans for the potential projects mentioned above. The next meeting will take place in September.
We also hosted Chris Barry, President of Microsoft Canada, who discussed the impact of AI and productivity. In his remarks, he mentioned Canada’s long history of not adopting new technologies as fast as other countries. This underscores how our continued lag in productive capacity could be seriously helped if the proper resources are allocated to speeding up adoption of new technologies. Barry also remarked on the benefits of AI to enhance workflows and boost productivity, primarily through streamlining tasks to enhance efficiency.
Members of the BCT Executive Table include:
- Chair: Elio Luongo, CEO and Senior Partner, KPMG Canada
- Blake Hutcheson, President and CEO, OMERS
- Jon Ramscar, President and CEO, CBRE Canada
- Meric Gertler, President, University of Toronto
- Derek Goring, CEO, Northcrest Developments
- Mike Greenley, CEO, MDA Space Inc.
- Michele Harradence, President, Enbridge Inc, Gas Distribution & Storage and EVP, Enbridge
- Kieran Hawe, President and CEO, EllisDon
- David Lebeter, President and CEO, Hydro One
- Cyrus Madon, Managing Partner and Executive Chair, Brookfield Private Equity Group and Brookfield Business Partners
- Michael McCain, Executive Chair, Maple Leaf Foods
- Kathleen Polsinello, Managing Director & Partner, Toronto, Boston Consulting Group
- Frank Voss, President, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada
- Darryl White, CEO, BMO Financial Group
Special Advisors:
- Steve Carlisle, Former Executive Vice-President and President, North America, General Motors
- Rod Phillips, Former Ontario Minister of Finance; Vice-Chair of Canaccord Genuity Group Inc.
