Emerging Economy Dialogue Wrap-up

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The second in our Community Dialogues series was a discussion about the innovation economy. It was a full house, and we had an excellent conversation about the quickly changing nature of work, impact of automation and the pace of governance.

With business, local government and residents representatives in the room, we examined many sides of the issues. A lack of skilled trades people, housing and transit continue to be a challenge for business. The availability of land for expansion of commercial, industrial and residential is limited. To attract new business, or to retain the job-creators that are already here, we must be creative. Citizens want to be part of the solution.

Housing, Transit and Skills Training

Skills training will need to be flexible, because people will be more likely to have many jobs in their career. Community leaders will have to use land with more care, and participants drew on their experiences visiting Europe, noting their compact towns and effective transit systems.

Despite the focus topic was the innovation economy, housing and transit dominated the discussion. In short, people need safe, healthy housing they can afford and a transportation network that does not cause them stress. Currently, that does not exist on the Saanich Peninsula or the Gulf Islands.

Sooner or later the province will blow the dust off the 2011 transit plan and make the needed investments. We will discuss this at a future Dialogue session.

Fair access

Disruption in the market will increase. Taxi’s and ride-hailing services are just one example of change. In essence, we need to get better at providing fair access through laws, regulations and enforcement for both the disruptor and the disrupted. In the long run, we must find the right balance that encourages the innovators, for which we are known, but also respects the incumbents who have made significant investments in our province.

The future is here

The distribution of wealth is an important feature of the conversation. As automation transforms jobs we must respond with supports for the humans that once did those jobs. In short, we will need to redistribute wealth, perhaps by taxing the robots and a basic income for the people to help ease the transition.

In summary, the challenges ahead are complex. It is much more than just the nature of work that is changing, it is also how communities develop and services are delivered.

In the long run, we will continue to engage the public. Communities, neighbourhoods and the leadership need to come together to solve these challenges through collaboration. The status quo is not acceptable, and if we continue to embrace it, we will be left behind.

The conversation continues…

We will continue the discussion in our constituency office. Join us on January 20, 2018 from 10:00am – 12:00pm to discuss healthcare delivery in our riding. What is your experience with the health care system? What are your ideas to make it better? Visit our event page for more information.