Senator Colin Deacon

Senator Deacon rises in the Senate Chamber to speak to Bill S-6 (An Act respecting regulatory modernization), which is an Annual Regulatory Modernization exercise led by the Treasury Board of Canada to identify and remove legislative 'irritants'. Senator Deacon argues that we need to go beyond just identifying irritants in regulation and strategize on how to increase the flexibility and agility of Canada's regulations in an inclusive and principles-based manner. Doing so would be key to advancing innovation, competition and productivity growth in our country.

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 displaying leadership on this issue, and opportunities such as revised hybrid sittings schedules to push the Senate towards its 2030 net zero goal.

A recent poll from Pollara highlighted that majority of Canadian small business owners and consumers believe that bank fees are too high, while more than half felt stressed with their interactions with banks. Senator Deacon rises in the Chamber to talk about this pervasive problem in the financial sector, and how regulatory reforms like Open Banking can be part of the solution. Click to see more of his speech.

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. Click here to watch this important discussion.

In this article by Samantha Wright Allen, Senator Deacon speaks about the unanimously adopted motion by the Senate to implement a new environmental policy and move ahead with steps to get the Senate towards net zero. Senator Deacon highlights the unique opportunity for the Senate to be a leading national parliamentary body in reaching net zero.  Click here to read more. 

In this opinion piece co-written with Andrew Graham (Founder & CEO of Borrowell) and Mahima Poddar (Senior Vice President of EQ Bank), Senator Deacon argues that advancing Canada's digital transformation - including implementing open banking, privacy legislation - requires urgent, rather than slow sequential action. Click here to read more.

Senator Deacon joins the debate in the Chamber on the motion to extend hybrid sittings until April 2022. He argues that embracing hybrid sittings in the Senate for the long-term is key to becoming not only a competitive employer, but a more productive, inclusive, and modern institution. Click here to see more of this insightful speech.

In this special agriculture policy edition of Hill Times, Senator Deacon writes an opinion piece on the potential of incentivizing carbon sequestration and regenerative agricultural practices. He argues that carbon sequestration can be a viable solution to mitigate climate change effects, enhance the resiliency of Canada’s agricultural production capacity, and increase farm-gate revenue for Canadian producers. Click to read the full opinion.

Senator Deacon shares his personal reflections on his visit to Ukraine in 2019, where he was an observer for the Presidential elections that year. He recounts some of the inspiring experiences with the Ukrainian people, remembering their optimism, courage and strong-hearted nature; and expressed the importance of  Canada's solidarity now more than ever. Click here to see the full speech.