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One would think so. Doing open source consulting in Montreal I've discovered that Canada is pretty backwards on average when it comes to having access to lots o

One would think so. Doing open source consulting in Montreal I've discovered that Canada is pretty backwards on average when it comes to having access to lots of forward-thinking companies to trade with. Many investments seem to be very focused on cheapness and "deliverables" with bad specs as a preferred approach to software development, when most engineers have acknowledged for a long time that working iteratively is better. The Canadian environment is extremely fertile for exploitation by US companies though, and we're having some success working with them already. It helps that the exchange rate is favourable. I would like to see much more competition and American money around here if only to teach the crusty old guard what it means to be innovative. I'd love to see services overtake natural resources as a main export because it would be more sustainable and it would improve the lives of regular people a lot more than, say, unrefined oil or softwood lumber do.

guiomie 11y ago
"I'd love to see services overtake natural resources as a main export because it would be more sustainable" ... this was always something that bothered me with the Harper government, this complacency to rely on the resource sector. But then, another part of me feels like this is also a cultural problem, Canada was funded on exporting its resources and has always evolved like this, from fur trade, to wood, to oil ... There is the MARs initiative in Toronto, but I don't what it will lead to. I really feel like funding/moving startups that don't require a specific geography could gain in Canada. Maybe the currency needs to stabilize first. "American money around here if only to teach the crusty old guard what it means to be innovative"...I totally agree, I deal with big vendors, and smaller alternatives would be great.

guiomie 11y ago

"I'd love to see services overtake natural resources as a main export because it would be more sustainable" ... this was always something that bothered me with the Harper government, this complacency to rely on the resource sector. But then, another part of me feels like this is also a cultural problem, Canada was funded on exporting its resources and has always evolved like this, from fur trade, to wood, to oil ... There is the MARs initiative in Toronto, but I don't what it will lead to. I really feel like funding/moving startups that don't require a specific geography could gain in Canada. Maybe the currency needs to stabilize first. "American money around here if only to teach the crusty old guard what it means to be innovative"...I totally agree, I deal with big vendors, and smaller alternatives would be great.