Outdated technology

My son’s cell phone in Korea is truly a marvelous tool. When traveling the subways of Seoul, the map pops out and tells him where he is on the line or how long it will take him from where he is above ground to reach his final destination.
It also helps him pick the fastest route by knowing how fast the trains are running. It is only one feature of the phone.
The phone also works like a small bank carrying electronic money on it. Just waving the phone as he enters the subway terminal, or hopping a bus, the money is deducted from the balance on the phone. Most stores and restaurants also accept the phone to pay bills.
The phones do all the other things that phones in North America do. You can text. You can surf the web. You can make phone calls. You can take photographs or shoot small video clips. You can keep track of all your appointments.
Watching people on the subways of Seoul with their phones, you suddenly understand how important the tool is.
By comparison, in Canada, our cell phone technology is really antiquated.
Over a decade ago, the government of Korea decided that cell phones were going to be important to the world and they encouraged companies like LG and Samsung to develop new products and technology.
Now they are worried that they have not kept pace with the world and may fall back in cell phone leadership. And they are firing up the companies to develop even more exciting products for the world that will be manufactured in South Korea.
Today Korea is looking to the future. As it did to establish a flourishing car manufacturing industry, a giant ship building industry, the company is encouraging its industrial giants to develop green technology and export it to the world. They see a huge opportunity for the country.
And one of the first areas in the world to buy that technology is Ontario. Dalton McGinty reached a $7 million deal with Samsung to build factories in Ontario to build windmills and solar panels. Yes we will be a leader in creating green energy, but Ontario is buying someone else’s technology.
The government should be commended for seeking green energy. But wouldn’t have been great if research money had been placed with Ontario’s companies and universities to develop this technology a decade ago. Far more jobs would have been created and the province might have been a world leader.
Where are Canada’s opportunities for the future? Where can the Conservative government provide incentives and grants to stimulate those research and development projects?

–Jim Cumming,
Publisher