We are sharing a comprehensive look at Canada's new budget by our member organization, audit, tax and consulting firm, RSM. Last week Canada’s Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, presented the federal government’s first budget in more than two years and the first since before the pandemic. The budget addresses three fundamental challenges: (1) conquering COVID-19 itself, (2) climbing out of the COVID-19 economic recession, and (3) building a better, fairer and more innovative future.

Glenn Yonemitsu, Managing Director, and Rob LaJoie, Executive Advisor, High-Impact Firms at BDC Advisory Services, share perspectives on what resilient leadership in these uncertain times requires. In their article, Glenn and Rob discuss the importance of triaging issues, as a leader determines where to spend his/her time, and then applying a decision making framework to how they respond to issues and pursue opportunities. Resiliency in leadership is about being both fast and good which are both results of being prepared.

From the beautiful and dynamic city of Long Beach, California, we interview the city's Economic Development Director, John Keisler, for an update on one of California's largest cities with approximately 500,000 residents and a $3 trillion economy as it navigates the pandemic. With a booming tech sector, a new Long Beach Accelerator, and major investments from technology companies such as Swift, Relativity Space, and Virgin Orbit among others, there is much to get to know in this market.

Imagine that that your company is getting ready to file a US patent application covering a key product. Before the application has been filed, you ask your US patent attorney about how soon after filing the application you can look forward to receiving the good news of getting a patent. To your surprise, you learn that, in the ordinary course, it would likely take about two to three years, and sometimes even longer. But your company does not want to wait that long. You ask if there is anything that can be done to speed up the examination process to get a patent sooner.

The Province of Ontario, Canada, is home to a thriving innovation ecosystem where we pride ourselves in the belief that we, as a province, become stronger and more dynamic when we incorporate diversity into our way of life. Ethnicity, language, and gender combine to paint a vibrant picture of Ontario’s values – a place where everyone is welcome. In Ontario, more than 200 languages are spoken on a daily basis, and people from over 150 countries have been welcomed to and now call the province home. In our provincial capital city of Toronto, more than 50 per cent of residents are foreign-born.

As so many organizations have, the events of 2020 and what they echoed historically and systemically, caused us to pause and reflect on how we can do better in embracing and living Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in our organization. And as a growing bi-national organization whose mission is connecting people across borders, work that by its very nature is about diversity and inclusivity, our MAPLE Business Council leadership team felt we were overdue to address DEI. We are sharing our DEI commitments because they are integral to our mission and the value we want to deliver to our members and partners.

Is your home network safe? Are you putting your corporate assets at risk while working from home? At 10 months into the ‘new way to work’ with many more such months on the horizon, QA Consultants shares simple guidelines to secure your work from home environment.

We delve deeper into the Canadian economy with one of our member organizations, RSM US LLP, a leading audit, tax and consulting firm focused on the middle market. Joe Brusuelas, Chief Economist at RSM, gives us an in-depth outlook on the Canadian economy in 2021. First appearing in RSM's The Real Economy Blog, we appreciate the opportunity to share Mr. Brusuelas' analysis and commentary for our MOMENTUM readers.

This month, we are honored to share an interview with Nigel Neale, Consul, Senior Trade Commissioner and Director of Trade & Investment at the Consulate General of Canada in New York. John Costanzo, Executive Director of MAPLE New York, interviewed Nigel on the work of his team and some of their recent initiatives promoting economic ties between Canada and New York. We hope this interview provides a helpful window on how Canada engages economically with the New York region and opportunities for New York businesses to consider north of the border.

We are honored to be sharing an interview with the new U.S. Consul General in Vancouver, D. Brent Hardt, who became the senior U.S. diplomat for British Columbia and Yukon in August. In October, we had the pleasure of hosting a fireside chat with CG Hardt at our MAPLE British Columbia Fall Reception. In this interview with MAPLE B.C. Executive Director, Jason Tse, the Consul General outlines the work of his office and the opportunities between the region and the United States. Thank you CG Hardt for the opportunity to expand on our discussion from our recent event together.

Looking eastward, the TMX Group, owners of the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange and a MAPLE member organization, profiles the resurgence of Special Purpose Acquisition Corporations or SPACs. Last year, the U.S. markets saw 59 SPAC IPOs raise over USD $13 billion and in 2020, we've already seen 178 IPOs raise over USD $65 billion. Thank you to George Khalife, Vice President of U.S. Capital Formation - Midwest at TMX, for providing us a window on the SPAC market.

The daily routines of millions of workers changed swiftly and profoundly in 2020 as many workplaces closed or restricted access due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. For many people who could work remotely, home became the workplace. While not everyone’s experience of working from home has been the same, some commonalities emerged. Many people embraced new-found flexibility through technology-enabled connectivity. The notion that time spent in the traditional office environment is somehow superior to time spent working remotely is increasingly difficult to defend. Several studies have concluded that work productivity actually increases as a result of working remotely. Other research shows that, on average, remote employees worked 1.4 more days every month, or 16.8 more days every year, than those who worked in an office.

This month we are taking stock of something that is absolutely integral to our cross-border focus - currency trends. Our friends at member organization and global payment and risk management solutions provider, AFEX, provide a look back to the beginning of the year when we began what at times feels very much like a roller coaster ride in the currency markets. Los Angeles-based Robert Bollé, Regional Manager - U.S. West Coast for AFEX, provides an excellent summary of the USD-CAD relationship throughout 2020 up to where we are today. His commentary underscores the importance of understanding currency fluctuations given the impact it can have on managing our businesses.

We are also pleased to bring you perspectives on the importance of designing digital user experiences in the realm of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) from Vancouver-based digital design studio and new member organization, POWERSHiFTER. Clearly the pandemic has brought us all closer to the need for continued digital transformation within our healthcare systems and we've seen increased adoption of telehealth and remote patient monitoring. We all experience and appreciate good design when we see and experience it and nowhere is the case for usability and utility more compelling than in the digital tools that help us take care of our health. Scott Lyon, part of POWERSHiFTER's Business Development Strategy team, discusses the process of building digital products to simplify the medical experience in times of COVID-19 and beyond and the potential for inclusive design to improve access to healthcare.

MAPLE New York Executive Director, John Costanzo, interviews Khawar Nasim, Acting Consul General of Canada in New York, on Canada’s Consular roots in New York, the breadth and depth of Canada - New York economic ties and the importance of the recent entry into force of the USMCA trade agreement.

When it comes to banks, healthcare institutions, law offices, and software companies, data and trade secrets become some of the biggest assets. And even for small and medium businesses, these intangible assets have proven to be the most valuable and vulnerable. Unfortunately, you can bet that most of our MAPLE Business Council members are unknowingly exposing their treasure trove of confidential and essential information. We currently live in a “I have nothing to hide” syndrome of careless disregard to information and while this might be a decent motto to live by in your personal life, thinking this way can spell disaster for your business. Remember that we all must protect our bank account pin numbers, trade secrets, financial information, and confidential discussions with lawyers and psychologists- so why would your online data and trade secrets be any different?

We are living in a time of incredible uncertainty. Few business leaders have ever faced a future with “rules of the game” that are so unclear. In the past, the rules of the game have always been known.

How do you set corporate strategy when you don’t know if you can do business in the same manner that you have been doing for the past 20 or 30 years. How do you allocate scarce resources when you don’t know the possible returns from each of your business growth strategy options? What if the rules of the game change tomorrow?

Is it really the right time to seek out new opportunities by expanding to a new country? With all the travel restrictions and drastic changes to immigration policies, you might think its crazy to consider that international expansion right now. Or maybe it’s just being courageous. With the proper perspective it might be just what you need to succeed right now.

As this is a very special month for us having just turned 5 years old, we are also including the full interview with our Executive Director of our new MAPLE New York Chapter - John T. Costanzo. John shares perspectives on Canada-U.S. trade collected over 35 years in the field which includes having led Jericho, New York-based Purolator International. Welcome to MAPLE, John.

While various Canadian tax filing deadlines have been extended due to COVID-19, the tax filing deadline of June 30th, 2020 for non-resident rental property owners remains the same. This deadline is fast approaching and it is critical to file on time to avoid hefty non-resident tax assessments on rental income.