Op-eds and opinion pieces from Senator Deacon

OP-EDS

2024

August 15th, 2024
“If a room is increasingly filling with smoke, it’s important to slow how quickly that’s happening. But remember, things are still getting worse, just more slowly. At some point, you’ve got to start to clear the air. The same is true for greenhouse gases.”
In this piece, Senator Deacon discusses how to craft programs and policies that will catalyze the investment needed to scale existing and emerging technologies for carbon dioxide removal. To enable the success of innovators in this space, Senator Deacon argues that Canada needs an entrepreneurial approach that involves political leaders, government officials, regulators, and academia to enable the success of private sector innovators in this space. Click here to read the full piece.
May 6th, 2024
In a rapidly digitizing world, citizens have grown accustomed to seamless and convenient digital services in all aspects of their lives - except government. Canada is falling behind global peers in terms of digital government service delivery, all while the number of public servants is at a record high.
Read Senator Deacon’s Op-Ed on the matter here.
February 5th, 2024
In this Op-Ed co-written by Senator Deacon, Minister Anand and Senator Woo, the authors outline initiatives and reforms that can transform our regulatory system and reduce red tape. Click here to read more.

2023

October 16th, 2023
Canadians are at the wrong end of a data vacuum, and this needs to change. In this Op-Ed to the Hill Times, Senator Deacon and Bob Fay (Managing Director of Digital Economy at Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)) offer suggestions for a whole-of-government approach needed to give Canadians control of their data. Click here to read more.
March 1st, 2023
Members of the Senate of Canada demonstrated solidarity and support for Ukraine’s heroic efforts to repel Russia’s heinous and illegal invasion by presenting a signed Canadian flag to a delegation from the Ukrainian Embassy. The embassy intends to deliver the flag to the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada.
Click here to read more.
February 1, 2023
Innovation will never convert into productivity growth unless we constantly modernize our regulations, empowering businesses to implement innovative new practices that also protect consumers. In this opinion piece, Senator Deacon opines on substantial regulatory modernization challenges.
Click here to read more.

2022

2021

March 24, 2021
In this Hill Times piece, Senator Deacon explores the social and economic opportunities for building Canada-made ethical, systemically inclusive AI solutions.

2020

2019

February 13, 2019
Excerpted from his most recent op-ed, Senator Deacon discusses the opportunities for Canada to increase our global competitiveness, productivity, and prosperity through investments in Canadian innovation and knowledge mobilization across the globe.
"If a Canadian innovates but no users benefit, did the innovation ever really happen?
This "tree falling in the woods" analogy focuses on an important question: if we cannot reliably generate social benefits and economic opportunities (jobs and wealth, in other words) from our exceptional research capacity, are we putting our future investments in discovery research at risk?"
Excerpted from his most recent op-ed, Senator Deacon discusses the opportunities for Canada to increase our global competitiveness, productivity, and prosperity through investments in Canadian innovation and knowledge mobilization across the globe. Click here to read more.