Canada is poised to become a world leader in exporting clean technology by 2025.
Here in British Columbia, one of Vancouver’s top intellectual property lawyers thinks we could see a cleantech boom following the global COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think we’re going to see a lot of investment interest in cleantech as a consequence of COVID-19,” says Roch Ripley, partner and Head of the Intellectual Property Group in Gowling WLG’s Vancouver office.
Paired with the ongoing smoke in B.C. due to wildfires, which are becoming more frequent, climate change is staying top of mind.
“It has made people really think about the adaptation that they will have to make to deal with climate change. And because to actually deal with climate change successfully, we will need a lot of international cooperation that will be complex and expensive to fight something that is invisible, which is analogous to COVID-19.”
Over and above climate change in particular, the recession caused by the global pandemic will prompt the government to jumpstart the economy by investing in cleantech more generally, Ripley adds.
In September’s throne speech delivered by the Governor General, the federal government announced their support for a fund to spur jobs and investments in green technology in support of reaching the goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. In addition, the CleanBC Industry Fund is already investing millions of dollars of carbon tax revenue into projects across the province.
“All of these reasons are going to point us towards a big surge in interest and investment in cleantech,” says Ripley, who has been monitoring the number of patent filings related to cleantech.
While there were a flurry of filings 6 to 7 years ago, generally speaking the rate of filing has decreased from that peak, with certain exceptions such as in electric vehicle and battery-related sectors.
Patent applications related to clean technology, renewable energy, and sustainable development will likely be on the rise in the years ahead. “The last cleantech-wide burst of activity we saw was related to government spending in 2008. If we’re starting the cycle, I would expect to see an increase in activity soon.”
Gowling WLG is one of the largest and most respected law firms in Canada, with a reputation for innovative, client-focused service. It offers a diverse suite of business law, litigation and intellectual property services in all of Canada’s key industries, and has a reputation for excellence in client advocacy before courts, tribunals, regulatory bodies and governments in Canada.
“What I’m most interested in is intellectual property and patents,” Ripley says.
“Successful cleantech companies almost without exception invest in patenting.”
Intellectual property and patent filings are crucial to cleantech companies for several reasons, Ripley says.
The first is the sheer cost of developing cleantech. The research, development and capital costs alone can reach into the millions of dollars to create the technology.
“In terms of the cost to protect your R&D investment, it makes sense to patent in the cleantech space,” Ripley says.
There is also the international aspect. With its position as a strategic gateway to Asia, Vancouver is quickly becoming known as a global cleantech hub.
“Considering international IP is a must. Because a lot of foreign markets are interested in cleantech, you want to ensure that you’re protected with international patent filings,” Ripley says.
Lastly, innovations in cleantech usually result in creating tangible equipment that can be sold and inspected.
“Generally speaking, if you’re selling in the market you can’t keep things a trade secret,” Ripley says. “The tangible nature of many cleantech products also means you don’t need to deal with issues that arise when trying to patent more abstract innovations, such as those based in software.”
“For those reasons, developing an innovation protection plan for your cleantech IP is crucial.”
Gowling WLG protects and enforces its clients’ intellectual property assets and helps them maximise their value at every stage of the business lifecycle
“The firm provides everything a company needs to succeed in terms of business-related legal needs,” Ripley says. “From starting your company to growing it, to getting acquired, to international expansion, all while keeping the strategic considerations that affect your business and your technology top-of-mind.”
To learn more about the services offered by Gowling WLG, visit the law firm online at gowlingwlg.com/cleantech.
OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.
Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.
Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.
Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.
Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.
Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.
Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.
According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.
That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.
People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.
That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.
Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.
That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
