How can we find common ground to solve common problems when we have different backgrounds and are in competition for power?\u00a0That is the atmosphere we felt within the House of Commons on February 4, 2016. This year\u2019s Fellows had an opportunity to attend Question Period and to hear Minister of Finance Bill Morneau respond to inquiries about the government\u2019s fiscal policies, including the anticipated federal budget deficit.<\/p>\n
We came to this Question Period racking our brains to understand how the public policies on innovation that we\u2019ve been working on for the last year with Action Canada would be received, discussed and possibly adopted on Parliament Hill.<\/p>\n
We believe that fostering innovation can lead to higher standards of living, and that Members of Parliament can approve policy to accelerate innovation, leading to these desirable outcomes. But based on the debate we heard, making innovation policy is not \u00a0easy.<\/p>\n
With a federal budget deficit, it becomes more difficult to agree on priorities and what to fund first. The day before our Parliament Hill visit, we attended a dialogue on How Ottawa Works, presented by Graham Flack, Deputy Minister at Canadian Heritage. This dialogue taught us that the process and inner workings of central agencies and line departments in order to design policies are challenging and complex.<\/p>\n