CanCon Podcast Ep. 13: Should the Canadian government pick winners?

When Apple stood up to the FBI a few weeks ago, we discussed the global implications of the tech leader’s fight for the security of its platform and the privacy of its users. Startling reporting in the past week, indicating BlackBerry’s cooperation in an RCMP criminal investigation, as well as the potential use of ‘Stingray’ devices by Canada’s federal police force, has brought the debate far closer to home. Again, if forces us to ask: can Canadians have any expectation of digital privacy, and if so, who will enforce it?

While Canadian tech companies are working with the federal government to pick conversations out of the air, the Ontario government is working on picking Canadian tech winners. A buried report unearthed by the National Post raises serious questions about how and why governments spend money to foster innovation.

Tune in as the CanCon podcast team – Igor Bonifacic, Senior Editor of MobileSyrup, Jessica Galang, BetaKit’s News Editor, and Rob Kenedi, TWG’s Entrepreneur in Residence and host of the amazing #smallrooms podcast – slide into your BBMs and suggest a robo-advisor for Canadian innovation funding.

Have some hot takes on our hot takes? Email us, post a comment below with the answer, or better yet, rate CanCon 5-stars on iTunes and post your answer there.