Senator Colin Deacon

Old privacy laws. Decreasing late-stage investments for Canadian firms. Burdensome regulatory frameworks. Lack of competition. Government procurement. These persistent challenges continue to stifle Canada's innovation economy. In this interview with The Future Economy, Senator Deacon offers insights on the key strategies needed to overcome these significant barriers to growth, in order to catalyze Canada's global competitiveness and prosperity.

In this edition of the ‘Ottawa Playbook’ newsletter, Senator Deacon speaks to Zi-Ann of Politico, after the Senate's unanimous adoption of Motion 48. As the next steps are decided by CIBA to move forward with sustainability initiatives and setting benchmarks for measuring the Senate's footprint, Senator Deacon reiterates the importance of the Senate’s leadership on this issue, and opportunities such as revised hybrid sittings schedules to push the Senate towards its 2030 net zero goal.

Canada's traditional financial sector continues to ignore underrepresented and underserved communities. With progress advancing in earnest in Canada, how can Open Banking address this problem? In this diverse panel featuring Tabatha Bull (CEO of Canadian Council of Aboriginal Businesses), Isaac Olowolafe (Founder and General Partner of Dream Maker Ventures), Keren Moynihan (CEO of Boss Insights) and moderated by Ben Mulroney (Chief Communications Officer of Orchard Technologies), Senator Deacon discusses the opportunities Open Banking can provide for companies who want to serve underserved communities, and consumers who want better financial services.

In the March 1st edition of Politico's 'Ottawa Playbook' newsletter, Senator Deacon discusses Motion no. 48, which would task the Senate of Canada to adopt a new Environmental Policy Statement and empower the Standing Senate Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration (CIBA) to move forward to implement the recommendations from the Advisory Working Group on Environment & Sustainability's final report. Click on the link to read Senator Deacon's reflections on why this motion is timely and necessary.

In this podcast episode hosted by Digital ID and Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC), Senator Deacon joins Kevin Morris (Strategy and Programs Director at Large Credit Union Coalition (LCUC)), Deborah Moore (Director of Digital Transformation at Celero Solutions) and Steve Pannifer (Managing Director at Consult Hyperion) to share his perspectives on Open Banking and Digital ID. The panelists discuss the interconnectedness of Open Baking and Digital ID, lessons on digital ID and open banking implementation in other jurisdictions, and the necessary actions that federal government and industry stakeholders must take in order to simultaneously enable a digital ID and open banking framework in Canada. Click to listen to more.