B4| REPORTONBUSINESS O THEGLOBEANDMAIL| WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER13,2019
OPINION&ANALYSIS
DILBERTA
mbitious projects of grand
scope that create profound
change are inherently chal-
lenging. But that is not a reason to
shy away from innovative joint
partnerships between public in-
stitutions and global companies.
So it’s heartening that the tri-
partite government agency Wa-
terfront Toronto could come to
an agreement with Google sister
company Sidewalk Labs to con-
tinue efforts to turn 12 acres of un-
derused real estate on the down-
town lakefront into a sustainable
smart city called Quayside, envi-
sioned with driverless cars, heat-
ed pavement to melt snow and
sensors that would gather un-
precedented data on how resi-
dents go about their lives.
Such disruptive ideas are
bound to be controversial. But
they also come with many bene-
fits. And to compete globally, the
city, province and country need
to take part.
Collaborating with global part-
ners helps ensure that we build
our experience and influence as a
world leader. Companies such as
Google parent Alphabet Inc., Ub-
er Technologies Inc., Microsoft
Corp., Amazon.com Inc., Thom-
son Reuters Corp., LG Electronics
Inc., Johnson & Johnson Inc.,
Bayer and GE Healthcare have all
expanded their presence in the
GTA in recent years. Toronto is at-
tractive, no doubt, because of its
talent, research depth, invest-
ment climate and burgeoning
tech sector – which includes
homegrown startups Deep Ge-
nomics, WealthSimple Inc., Blue J
Legal, Ritual and others. Their
presence also helps attract capital
and talent in engineering, trans-
port, green tech and construction
technology that benefit the city.
The Quayside project brings
new approaches and ideas that
challenge existing conventions.
As with many innovations, the
most challenging aspects are
sometimes among the most ben-
eficial to the public.
And among the most challeng-
ing was how to deal with the data.
Sidewalk and Waterfront have
now agreed to treat the data gen-erated in the Quayside project as
a public asset and in accordance
with all current and future data
standards set by all levels of gov-
ernment. This result is praise-
worthy.
Having access to new streams
of data will be an enormous bene-
fit to researchers and academics,
who can look for patterns and
trends to make improvements in
areas such as energy delivery, in-
frastructure, transportation,
waste management, water and
other services.
Think, for example, of the
amazing value of the Ontario
health data available at ICES (for-
merly the Institute for Clinical
Evaluative Sciences).
Created in 1992, ICES is a repos-itory of patient-level Ontario gov-
ernment-health records going
back to 1986. (I was a founding
scientist in the initiative.) Al-
though it is not a public-private
partnership, the organization en-
ables public and private research-
ers across the province to study
the data to solve questions about
the effectiveness of the health-
care system and the social deter-
minants of health.
Several important changes in
the health-care system have re-
sulted from this research, includ-
ing the improvement of services
for people with mental-health
difficulties, access to primary-
care practitioners and treatment
for patients addicted to opioids.
For those working at ICES, theprivacy of citizens’ data is guar-
anteed and guided by Ontario’s
Personal Health Information
Protection Act and its regula-
tions.
The grand scope and ambition
of ICES also drew concerns when
first envisioned. But these were
resolved, and today, ICES data
continue to deliver health-care
improvements for Ontario and
beyond. Likewise, efforts should
be made to overcome the chal-
lenges of other global partner-
ships that can deliver innova-
tions to allow us to have health-
ier, happier and more environ-
mentally friendly communities.
This seems to be a challenge
worth embracing for the city,
province and country.SidewalkLabs’Quaysideprojectisachallengeworthembracing
VIVEKGOELTORONTO
OPINIONVice-president,researchand
innovation,andstrategicinitiatives
attheUniversityTorontoanda
professorintheInstituteofHealth
Policy,ManagementandEvaluation
attheDallaLanaSchoolofPublic
Health.Hewasafoundingscientist
attheInstituteforClinicalEvaluative
Sciences(ICES)andfounding
presidentandCEOofPublicHealth
Ontario.
F
or the past 40 years, Cana-
dians have accepted China’s
planned economy as just a
phase in its development. As Chi-
na engaged with the rest of the
world, we expected it would
change, adopt liberal values and
become more open and demo-
cratic. But when Xi Jinping pre-
sented his China Dream on
becoming President in 2013, it
became evident that his model of
state capitalism and managed
markets is fundamental to the
Chinese system.It is we who
must change and learn to live
with China.
The U.S. administration chal-
lenges this model, defining China
as an assertive rival who does not
play fair, distorts markets, appro-
priates foreigners’ intellectual
property and restricts investors’
market access. Canadians are
caught in the midst of this inten-
sifying rivalry between their two
largest trading partners.
While proximity to the U.S.
brings familiarity, Canadians
have much to learn about China,
beginning with Mr. Xi’s long
game. His goal is for China to be a
global power by 2050 – not by ter-
ritorial conquest, but by influen-
ce and activities that shape the
future global order. Consolidat-
ing his power and inserting the
Communist Party’s control deep-
ly into China’s economic life is in-
tended to maintain political and
social stability regardless of the
economic costs of less innova-
tion, risk taking and investment,
and slower growth than market
forces might deliver.
In today’s complex policy en-
vironment, Canada should have
a forward-looking strategy led by
the Prime Minister. In light of thecurrent uncertainties about the
future of the bilateral relation-
ship, there should be at least five
goals. First, clearly define our
strategic interests as co-oper-
ation and accommodation rather
than zero-sum rivalry. Recognize
the fundamental reset under way
in the China-U.S. relationship,
commit to open relationships
with both protagonists and co-
operate with other like-minded
governments in advocating the
merits of co-existence and reci-
procity.
Second, increase the opportu-
nities for civic and educational
people-exchanges and public
education to increase Canadians’
familiarity with China. Australia’s
use of white papers on foreign
policy provide an example of an
effective way to promote nation-
al discussions. Canada also faces
the challenge of managing the
cooling of relations after China’s
arrests of two Canadians in retal-
iation for the detention in Van-
couver of Huawei executive
Meng Wanzhou.Third, protect our sovereignty
and national security. The policy
debate about security concerns
linked to Huawei’s 5G technology
has intensified in reaction to evi-
dence that the Chinese state ac-
cesses company data and as in-
terest in Huawei technologies has
grown in non-Western markets.
Will the world divide into com-
peting “technology blocs”? Cana-
da’s decision on Huawei as a 5G
supplier is pending, and under
strong U.S. pressure for a ban. The
implications for cybersecurity are
growing in importance. Some ex-
perts argue that our interests
could be better served by co-op-
erating with like-minded coun-
tries to create a multilateral gov-
ernance structure that includes
China, agrees to internationally
accepted boundaries for cyber-
warfare and establishes multilat-
eral rules of conduct in telecom-
munications.
Fourth, deepen our economic
engagement in Asia and China.
There are strong complementar-
ities between Chinese interests in
secure supplies of energy, food
and natural resources and Cana-
dian producers’ interests in se-
cure demand. While Beijing has
blocked shipments of canola and
other goods, lobster sales have
doubled and imports of Cana-
dian goods have increased by 5
per cent over a year earlier. Po-
tential for bilateral trade in ser-
vices sought by middle-class Chi-
nese can also be seen in the Beij-
ing-based Canada Wellness Insti-
tute, a successful medical fitness
facility which opened in 2015 in
China and plans 100 locations
across the country.
Formal trade talks are current-ly off the table due to the diplo-
matic chill from Ms. Meng’s ar-
rest, and because of restrictions
on signatories of the United
States-Mexico-Canada Agree-
ment negotiating free trade with
planned economies. Sectoral
talks are an alternative where of-
ficials have laid groundwork in
seven sectors such as clean tech
and agri-foods. Such talks could
begin by liberalizing trade in
these goods where businesses in
both countries have common in-
terests.
Fifth, manage the bilateral re-
lationship as China becomes
more influential and assertive. In
Confucian terms, Canada is small
and of limited significance. Our
priorities are shifting from en-
gagement to living with China as
it is. We should co-operate where
possible; find like-minded part-
ners and network through multi-
lateral alliancesof governments
and coalitions of civil society;
push back against human-rights
violations and inappropriate Chi-
nese political influence; diversify
trade to avoid excessive depend-
ence on Chinese imports, as is
evident in goods such as canola;
press China to adopt laws and in-
stitutions consistent with global
standards; and impress upon
both Chinese and Americans that
the current drift toward zero-sum
rivalry is in no one’s interest.
Co-existence is preferable, in-
volving both co-operation and
competition. As other middle
powers have found, living with
China requires focus, patience
and determination. Even more so
given Canada’s unique challeng-
es of living between the U.S. and
China.PrimeMinisterJustinTrudeau,left,andChinesePresidentXiJinpingmeetinBeijinginAugust,2016.Inlightofthecurrentuncertaintiesaboutthefutureofrelationsbetweenthetwo
countries,Canadamusthavefocus,patienceanddeterminationinlearningtoco-existwithChina.WUHONG/REUTERS
China’snotchanging,
soweneedtolearn
howtogetalong
Canadaneedsaforward-lookingstrategythatclearlydefinesourstrategic
interestsasco-operationandaccommodationratherthanzero-sumrivalry
WENDYDOBSON
OPINIONProfessoremeritaattheUniversity
ofToronto’sRotmanSchoolof
Management.Hermostrecentbook
isLivingwithChina:AMiddlePower
FindsItsWay.