Ensuring Competitiveness and Accountability with OntarioBuys

Issue Since the piloting of the OntarioBuys program three years ago we have raised concerns regarding the procurement procedures developed by the OntarioBuys. Specifically under OntarioBuys there was the creation of shared-service organizations (SSOs). One such SSO is the Ontario Education Collaborative Marketplace (OECM). Under this SSO there are number of stipulations that are unrealistic…

Driving Innovation through Experiential Learning

Issue Performance in strategic sectors of the economy requires individuals equipped with the specialized skills to leverage new technologies and develop new applications that respond to emerging opportunities in the marketplace. Research shows that these specialized skills can best be conferred through experiential, hands-on learning that provides students with exposure to – and an opportunity…

Ensuring Competitiveness and Accountability with OntarioBuys

Issue The OntarioBuys program is a provincially-funded shared-service organization (SSO) and an example of this problem. Under its organizational sphere, SSOs have developed RFP procurement processes that include stipulations which reduce the competitiveness of small and medium sized business in bidding on provincial contracts. Of the many SSOs, the Ontario Education Collaborative Marketplace (OECM) is…

Fixing the WSIB

Issue The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) has become a vast provincial government bureaucracy that is quickly becoming a danger to the Ontario government, taxpayers, businesses and insured workers. In fact, over the course of the last 25 years, the WSIB have had significant challenges fulfilling its obligations. Background In the 2009-2010 Annual Report…

Highway 69

Background In 1998 the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety identified that investments in highways can generate productivity growth, play a critical role in regional development and generate a more efficient economic structure including improvement to the nation’s trade. In particular, studies have determined that highways have at least two important impacts…