The presentation examined how changes in technology, trade agreements, multi-national organizational structures and government policy have significantly altered the way firms operate; shifting from a domestic to a more global perspective. Important initiatives undertaken by Statistics Canada in response to the increasingly global nature of the economy were highlighted. Key topics included Canada's trade in value-added, characteristics of Canadian exporters, activities of foreign majority-owned affiliates, and our interconnectedness to the rest of the world. The presentation will be followed by a panel discussion with experts and audience questions.
The presentation was followed by a panel discussion with experts and audience questions.
When: Thursday, February 2, 2017, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (noon)
Where: Sandman Vancouver City Centre Hotel, 180 W Georgia St., Vancouver, British-Columbia
Cost: Free
Registration is closed.
Presenter
Anil Arora, Chief Statistician of Canada, Statistics Canada
Anil Arora earned a Bachelor's of Science degree at the University of Alberta, then went on to study computer science and received a graduate certificate in public sector management and governance from the University of Ottawa. He joined Statistics Canada in 1988 and moved up the ranks to become Assistant Chief Statistician of the Social, Institutions and Labour Statistics Field in 2008. After a few years spent as Assistant Deputy Minister at Natural Resources Canada and Health Canada, Mr. Arora was appointed Chief Statistician of Canada in September 2016.
Moderator
Jennifer Withington, Director, International Accounts and Trade Division, Statistics Canada
Jennifer Withington holds a Bachelor of Economics and Political Science and a Master of Economics from McGill University. She is currently Director of the International Accounts and Trade Division at Statistics Canada. Since joining Statistics Canada in 1996, Ms. Withington has worked on a number of programs including the Quarterly GDP, the Consumer Price Index and the Producer Price Indexes.
Panelists
Denis Caron, Chief, International Accounts and Trade Division, Statistics Canada
Denis Caron holds Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sherbrooke. A Statistics Canada employee for 24 years, he has been Chief of the Current Account Section in the International Accounts and Trade Division since 2002. Mr. Caron has represented Statistics Canada at several international meetings and is currently a Bureau Member of the OECD's Working Party on Trade in Goods and Services. He also contributed to developing the Compiler Guide – Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services.
Keith Head, Professor, Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia (UBC)
Keith Head is a professor in the Strategy and Business Economics Division at the Sauder School of Business of the University of British Columbia. He holds the HSBC Professorship in Asian Commerce. After earning a Bachelor of Arts at Swarthmore College in 1986, he completed a Ph.D. in Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1991 under the supervision of Paul Krugman.
Dr. Head teaches courses on international business management and government policy toward business. His research interests focus on international trade and the decisions of multinational corporations. Current projects include a paper on the diffusion of knowledge across countries via professional network connections and a study of how the car industry will shift production in response to changes in trade barriers.
Ronald Jansen, Assistant Director, United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD)
Ronald Jansen studied statistics and psychology at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, graduating in 1984. He then taught statistics and conducted research at the University of Nijmegen, earning a Ph.D. in Mathematical Modelling of Human Information Processing in 1990. Mr. Jansen joined the United Nations Statistics Division in June 1990. He is part of the senior management team in New York and has represented the UNSD on a number of intergovernmental bodies dealing with a variety of topics, such as integrated business and trade statistics. Mr. Jansen leads the thematic area of measurement of international trade and economic globalization, including tourism statistics, and coordinates the management of global statistical standards and compilation guidance in these areas. His branch maintains the UN Comtrade Database.
Martin Monkman, Provincial Statistician and Director, BC Stats, Ministry of Technology, Innovation and Citizens' Services
Martin Monkman holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Arts in Geography from the University of Victoria. Since first joining BC Stats in 1993, Mr. Monkman has gained a wide range of experience using data science to support evidence-based policy and business management decisions. Now Provincial Statistician and Director at British Columbia's statistical office, BC Stats, Mr. Monkman leads a dynamic and innovative team of professional researchers in analyzing statistical information on British Columbia's socioeconomic conditions and measuring public sector organizational performance.
Ken Peacock, Chief Economist and Vice President, Business Council of British Columbia
Ken Peacock holds a Masters in Economics from Simon Fraser University. He is a past president of the Association of Professional Economists of BC and a current member of the BC Economic Forecast Council. He joined the Business Council in 2002 and was an Economist with Central1 Credit Union Prior to that.
Mr. Peacock is the Chief Economist and Vice President at the Business Council of British Columbia, an association representing 260 large and mid-sized companies that together account for approximately one-quarter of all jobs in the province. In this capacity, Mr. Peacock contributes to the Council's work on economic and policy issues of interest to the business community. He is also the author of a number of regular Business Council publications dealing with the provincial economy and related policy matters.