More effort to advance Indigenous reconciliation is seen as a necessity if Canada is to have any hope in effectively tackling inequalities, inequities, and systemic racism. On top of that, the lack of advancement of Indigenous reconciliation is argued to be contributing to the lack of trust and social cohesion in the country. Further, a few Survey Participants make the argument that Canada’s colonial past and lack of Indigenous reconciliation in the present will affect its ability to exert global influence on questions of human rights in the future. Moreover, one Accelerator brings forward the idea that by advancing Indigenous reconciliation, Canada would be better positioned to learn from the Indigenous knowledge of the lands and environment passed on from generation to generation which would assist in the fight against climate change. Business leaders have clearly identified pressing global challenges: the question then becomes: will they take action to help overcome them? Fortunately, the Survey Participants voice numerous arguments as to why business leaders should act.
2) Business is Critical to Solving Today’s Toughest Challenges “Global climate change is probably the toughest problem we’ve ever had to face, beyond any world war, because solutions are extremely complicated, they are global in nature and they call for cultural, economic, and political change and there’s no single jurisdiction that can solve it.” – Martin LeBlanc, co-founder and CEO of Caprion Biosciences Survey Participants point out that there is a need for a holistic and concerted effort to solve the global challenges facing this generation as they are complex and consequential. For these reasons, many Survey Participants argue there needs to be a full-court press in order to have a chance to overcome these challenges. The logic is clear: to tackle great complex challenges, the world will need to enact great holistic collaboration. Upkar Arora, CEO of Rally Assets, is of the opinion that “The problems we’re trying to solve cannot be solved by one party, alone.” Michael Trebilcock, Professor of Law and Economics at the University of Toronto, is of the same point of view, “The challenges we face are so daunting - which will have such an impact on the economy and employment - it’s up to people, governments, and corporations to mitigate the negative impact of these challenges.” There is rarely unanimity among the Survey Participants. Arguably the closest the Survey Participants come to reaching a unanimous consensus is on the fact that businesses need to play a role to combat climate change and reduce inequalities and inequities. This is a departure from the traditional view that it is the responsibility of governments to tackle societal challenges while businesses devote their efforts to generating wealth and innovation. Michael Sabia opines that the world cannot wait for governments to solve these problems and that everyone needs to step up, “This is more a thousand points of light than it is two silver bullets”. Lisa Kimmel declares, “Government alone can’t solve all of the ills of society.” Danny Murphy, the President of D.P. Murphy Inc., advocates for an approach in which governments and businesses collaborate, “Businesses and government need to work together more so than ever before for the betterment of society.”
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