The Government of Manitoba is establishing an Innovation and Productivity (IP) Task Force to provide strategic advice regarding the safe and secure implementation of new and emerging technologies to support the economy and promote data-driven decision-making, Innovation and New Technology Minister Mike Moroz, co-chair of the task force, announced last week.
Co-chaired by Entrepreneur and Philanthropist Jim Balsillie, co-founder and chair of the Council of Canadian Innovators, Founder of the Centre for International Governance and Innovation, and former co-Chief Executive Officer of BlackBerry, the IP Task Force will engage with government agencies, industry experts, researchers and Indigenous communities to ensure best practices are followed.
The Department of Innovation and New Technology is currently considering implementing technologies like artificial intelligence, developing intellectual property policy, and developing sovereign cloud strategies to ensure data storage and processing are governed and handled securely without the need to travel through jurisdictions that may not have the same protections or safety requirements in place.
Moroz added that this effort will position Manitoba as a leader in 21st-century digital governance and economic competitiveness by developing new data strategies, intellectual property commercialization, and sovereign cloud initiatives.
Other members of the task force include:
- Adam Herstein, Partner at Pitblado Law;
- Clara Buelow, Director of Marketing and Communications, Manitoba Chamber of Commerce, previous lead on the Digital Manitoba Policy Initiative;
- Jacqueline Keena, Managing Director, Enterprise Machine Intelligence Learning Initiative
- Gerry Price, president, Price Industries;
- Prof. Gautam Srivastava, Professor of Computer Science, Brandon University;
- Debra Jonasson-Young, Executive Director of Entrepreneurship, Asper School of Business; and
- Dr. Ernest Cholakis, Founder, Cholakis Dental Group.
The IP Task Force's mandate includes creating a strategic plan that will guide Manitoba’s innovation and productivity initiatives as the global marketplace continues to evolve. Moroz noted that the task force is expected to deliver the plan to the minister later this year.
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