Jim Balsillie, the former co-CEO of Research in Motion (Blackberry) and co-founder of the Institute for New Economic Thinking, has said that the TPPA would damage innovation in Canada. The implication is that it could damage the Canadian economy and society irreparably. He argues that the agreement locks nations into their current technology innovation status, which for Canada is very low. Consequently Canada will be selling more low-margin traditional goods and importing a lot more high-margin intellectual property goods. He also explains how we are in an era in which all industries, however traditional are becoming IP based. Extrapolating from these points, I would suggest that any country that is not already on par or above the global average in technology innovation should feel very uncomfortable signing this trading agreement. The question to ask ourselves is – Are we ready to be locked in?
The Koboi Project 