Technology leaders in Newfoundland and Labrador say they want to see the province bring their “buy local” approach to the tech sector.
Susan Martyn, general manager of enterprise at St. John’s based Vision33 Canada, which implements use of the cloud and software to help businesses grow globally, said that while Newfoundland and Labrador is making a push for residents to rely on the local economy amid economic threats from the United States, there is a blind spot in the tech industry.
“You look at the buy local campaign, it’s incredible and there’s been such a ground swell of support behind it and it’s fantastic to see. But if you look at government I.T. spending patterns in my industry, you don’t see that local support. You don’t see them thinking about local,” Martyn told CBC’s The Signal Thursday.
“If you spend $1 on I.T. here in Newfoundland and Labrador, you could get $1.50 or $2 back in job creation. In, you know, economic impact.”
Others in the sector say the province needs to change its procurement measures to bolster a buy local approach, while cutting down on the red tape between provinces that would make inter-provincial trade more possible.
But Martyn said the province also has a role to play in fostering local connections on top of the bigger companies it works with.
“There’s big corporations coming in, and local vendors are not thought of in the [request for proposals] process and they’re not part of the conversation,” she said. “And that’s where we think there’s a great opportunity to reenter those conversations. To look at the way things are procured, to reintroduce that idea in I.T. for local impact.”
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Jacqueline Lee, CEO of medical technology company PolyUnity, said she wants to see provinces or the federal government take steps to lower barriers to inter-provincial trade while harmonizing procurement standards.
Different provinces have different standards, she said, which can hamper one province’s ability to make positive steps in another.
“Hospitals all share the same similar problems. So when I solve a problem here in Newfoundland or in Ottawa for example, I want to be able to share that product with every other health-care provider across the country that are having the exact same problem,” Lee said.
“There could be a really easy national system where you register as a supplier and any province can then do business with you… It’s just a little bit frustrating that we can’t get alignment faster because of that.”
David Haire, vice-president of the Newfoundland and Labrador chapter of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, said the step is an important one given the need to diversify business with partners outside of the United States.
“No business in this country has the purchasing horsepower of governments,” he said. “When cost is equal, when the quality that you’re getting, the specifications, the requirements are there… can you buy local? We’re in extreme times here.”
TechNL CEO Florian Villaumé said members of the tech sector have had these conversations with the province for some time before the threat of tariffs from the United States — and that government has been receptive.
“I think things now are accelerating because of the current situation. And I think for us, it’s just taking advantage of that opportunity to make meaningful change,” he said.
“We don’t want to do [it] with, like COVID, where we made some changes and then we go back to the old way we’re doing it. I think we need to make those changes on procurement. We have a vision… It’s action time.”
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