Create a climate to attract best

The ban on accepting Muslim refugees into the United States may have a silver lining for Canada.
Several huge technology companies in the U.S. already are asking the Canadian government to provide special exemptions for their employees to stay in our country.
Taking up the call, Canada’s immigration minister offered up temporary residence to any traveller stranded in Canada as a result of the confusing travel restrictions implemented by the Trump administration.
It is a valuable opportunity for Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted: “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of faith. Diversity is our strength.”
Attracting the brightest to our nation is an opportunity we can’t afford to pass up.
One only has to think that a Syrian-born immigrant to the U.S. fathered Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple. One of the founders of Google, Sergey Mikhaylovich Brin, immigrated to the U.S. as a six-year-old.
When one thinks of the impact that immigrants have on our lives, Jobs and Brin jump to the head of the list.
Technology companies scour the world seeking out the most brilliant minds to create software and products that we don’t even know we need. If international companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Apple can’t bring those brilliant minds into the U.S., locating them in Canadian “tech” cities would solve their problems.
Canada already understands the value of inviting the best minds to our country.
Elon Reeve Musk is a South African-born Canadian-American business magnate. He is the founder of X.com, which merged with PayPal. More recently, Musk has placed his efforts in the design and production of Tesla Motor cars and SpaceX.
Canada has invested in many large companies that encompass almost every type of technology. The growth of Blackberry, and its transformation into a software company working to deliver the most modern technology to the automotive industry, is a success story.
The “crackberry” was the first universally-accepted cellphone and was adopted by industry around the world for its security.
Newer companies, such as “Clearpath,” have developed robotic machines that can go anywhere and are being used in throughout the world. Aieryon Labs has developed live aerial observation systems.
Each year, the list of “Deloitte Technology Fast50” is published listing the 50 fast-growing technology companies in Canada. Those recognized are world cutting-edge innovators in a wide range of fields.
If Canada wishes to be known for technology instead of oil and trees, let’s create a climate to attract the best from all over the world.