August 1996. I am sitting on the plane approaching Vancouver, holding my breath, looking out the window. Down there, I see a magical landscape of a fairy-tale-like city immersed in greenery with impressive bodies of water, bathing in the lazy afternoon sun, all wrapped around by a range of spectacular mountains. I am stunned and fall in love with the city before stepping onto its grounds.
What awaits me here?
Benefiting North American Clients: Roland DGA on its Strong Cross-Border Collaboration
Roland DGA, the Americas subsidiary of Hamamatsu, Japan-based Roland DG Corporation, profiles their work in Canada which is supported from their headquarters in Orange County, California. You may recognize the Roland name for their musical instruments – Roland DG shares a history with Roland but now operates independently, as a leader in wide-format inkjet printers, vinyl cutters, engravers, and 3D milling machines. In this issue, we interview Don Ross, Roland DGA’s National Sales Manager for Canada, on the cross-border collaboration between Roland DGA in the United States and its regional office in Canada to support its Canadian business.
Permeable Paving: Stormwater Management For The Future
With the predicted increase in precipitation and storm events over the coming decades, the issue of how to effectively manage stormwater is becoming more pressing than ever before. From the water we drink, to the snow that we play in, and the tennis courts we socialize in, all are affected by permeable paving. Groundwater is our source of drinking water, and precipitation can carry harmful chemicals - once those chemicals fall onto the ground and pavement, without a proper filtration system which is included in a permeable solution, those chemicals go back into the environment, including the air and the land. Permeable paving systems help safeguard our health by safely disposing of stormwater runoff.
Our Interview with Consul General Susan R. Crystal of the U.S. Consulate General Toronto
More Bloom than Gloom in the North American Economy
The last two years have thrown one curveball after another at North American business—Covid, supply chain disruption, rising US-China tensions, and the biggest war in Europe since 1945. These events have heightened uncertainty and raised the specter of a return to 1970s stagflation--or worse. But these fears are overblown. While there will be imbalances to work off, both the US and Canada are well-placed to emerge stronger from these trials.
Canadian Companies Love Creating in the LA Region, Now Global LA is Here to Welcome Them
I grew up in the suburbs of Washington DC in the 1990s. It was an idyllic upbringing in a sheltered, middle-class neighborhood just 15 minutes from downtown DC. In high school, I participated in any kind of activity that would have me. Somehow, that ended up including the high school choir, which was an essential validation of any meager talent I had since my older brother was an accomplished singer. The best part of being in the choir is that we got to go on an exchange trip to another city - and that year we went to Toronto.
Our New Business Environment Should Accelerate Canada-U.S. Trade
The COVID pandemic has transformed the global economy and one of the major consequences will likely be a strengthening of the already robust trading relationship between Canada and the United States. The pandemic has changed the way we work, disrupted global supply chains and accelerated technology adoption, among other effects. The war in Ukraine has given added impetus to many of the changes and injected geopolitical uncertainty into the economy.
LEVERAGING SUPPLIER DIVERSITY FOR ENHANCED DEI
Over the last several years, businesses of all sizes have made diversity, equity, and inclusion a bigger priority—and with good reason. DEI initiatives allow companies to create a space in which underrepresented or marginalized people have fair access to resources and opportunities and feel welcomed and accepted within that space. Let's consider the internal and external benefits that are motivating so many companies to make progress.
OUR INTERVIEW WITH MARTINE HEBERT - DELEGATE GENERAL OF QUEBEC AT THE QUEBEC GOVERNMENT OFFICE IN NEW YORK
Launching Our New Cross-Border Insights Website
This week we are excited to launch a new way to access the wonderful content our members have been sharing with us. We have created a sister website to maplecouncil.org focused exclusively on member articles and videos. Our new site, MAPLE Insights, provides an easier way to mine our content library to access content on a variety of topics.
DOING DEALS IN CANADA POST-PANDEMIC - RECENT COURT DECISIONS GIVE IMPORTANT GUIDANCE ON MACs AND ORDINARY COURSE COVENANTS
The COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench into a large number of mergers entered into in late 2019 and early 2020. Not surprisingly, some buyers wanted to walk away or renegotiated their deals. Out of those challenges, two important court decisions emerged in Canada that, for the first time, addressed the meaning of a “Material Adverse Change” and what the typical covenant by the target to act in the “ordinary course of business” really means. The courts also addressed whether a target can recover the lost premium the shareholders would have received if a transaction closed.
MAPLE INTERVIEWS ERIC EIDE - MANAGING DIRECTOR AT THE ALLIANCE FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA INNOVATION
CONNECTING WITH PASSION TO BUILD A LINK AMONG THE AMERICAS
Future-focused Growth: Economic Transformation and Opportunities for Alberta
Major financial institutions are projecting Alberta will lead Canada in economic growth in 2022. Doubling down on investment attraction throughout the pandemic has led to billions in private investment across agriculture, energy, technology, and financial services to flow into Alberta.
Invest Alberta’s clients were part of this journey, announcing $19 billion in investment and over 5,000 jobs last fiscal. As Alberta continues to grow its pipeline of high-impact, high-value investment, new announcements and growing government steps to keep Alberta competitive are paving the way for emerging sectors and continued investment in technology, fintech, agriculture processing, hydrogen and more.
Making Purpose a Priority
We're back to Daylight (Saving) Time, and with the change come fiscal year endings, beginnings, and the inevitable examination of achievements, goals, (un)realistic expectations, strategic planning, and KPIs. Annual reports, meaningful work, tangible impact, making a difference, and all the good words a PR team can think of to demonstrate brand delivery. One of my top-of-mind questions, though, goes beyond being on-brand — since most companies try to make that a priority: how are we doing with on-purpose efforts?
How the Rise of Blockchain and Crypto Requires Innovative Quality Engineering
2022 will bring huge momentum as adoption of blockchain and cryptocurrency become mainstream for the financial, regulatory, and fintech industries as well as B2B and B2C applications. Speed of adoption may vary among sectors, but one thing is for sure, all businesses should be planning for the possibility of modifying their digital platforms and core systems to achieve Crypto readiness.
An Interview with Chelsea Peet and Aaron Pinto, Consuls & Senior Economic Officers, Ontario Trade & Investment Offices in San Francisco and New York
International Business Development at the Consulate General of Canada in New York in 2021
Thank you for the opportunity to describe to your readers what the Government of Canada has been doing in support of Canadian businesses during the past year. Despite continuing to address the challenges of COVID-19 during 2021, the International Business Development team at the Canadian Consulate General in New York was able to make considerable progress in advancing Canadian commercial interests in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware. We brought over 180 high-potential new Canadian business clients to market to connect them with sources of capital for fundraising, investors, mentors, distributors, agents, sales partners and customers.
Economic Snapshots of the Middle Market: Jobless Claims in Canada and the U.S. and Canada's Trade Surplus
When and Where to File Patent Applications
North America remains a global center for innovation. In 2020, out of 388,861 U.S. patent applications filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), U.S. inventors filed 183,147 and Canadian inventors filed 7914.[1] In other words, roughly half of the patent applications originated in the U.S. or Canada. However, the USPTO is just one of many patent offices throughout the world. In general, a patent is only valid in the country (or, in some cases, countries) where the patent office that issued it has responsibility. With so many patent offices around the world, how does one decide in which offices to file a patent application for any given invention and select the correct timing for the patent filings?