Federal government must build conditions for young entrepreneurs’ success

This commentary was published as an op ed in the Globe and Mail on October 31, 2016. In light of sluggish growth both at home and abroad, the Liberals are seeking recipes to rev up Canada’s economic engine. Ottawa should pay special attention to young entrepreneurs, especially in light of good and bad news. Youth unemployment runs at 13.2 percent – double the national average. Many young people are keen to run their own businesses; entrepreneurship provides a way to express deeply-held values about social and environmental well-being.
But it is not long before young entrepreneurs hit the indomitable brick wall of doing business in Canada. Ottawa can create the enabling conditions to help them succeed – more venture capital for start-up and expansion, a technical resource bank, advice in sorting through roadblocks in international trade agreements and removal of crippling business penalties.
ISBN – 1-55382-679-5