Provincial Small Business Venture Capital Programs

BEWARE THE WALKING DEAD: Tax Incentives for Angel Investors Twenty-five years ago, the government of British Columbia introduced the SMALL BUSINESS VENTURE CAPITAL ACT. After a quarter of a century, it’s probably time that we reflected on how effective that program has been. The BC venture capital credit is the granddaddy of all the provincial … Read more

BDC Decline in Number of Canadian Entrepreneurs

Canada’s Business Development Bank weighs in on the ‘decline in the number of Canadian entrepreneurs’ A few days ago, I came across several articles in the Globe and Mail on a new study by the BDC and the University of Montreal. The study addressed a supposed decline in the number of Canadian ‘entrepreneurs’. “The study … Read more

VIRTUE SIGNALLING IN CANADA’S PARLIAMENT

VIRTUE SIGNALLING IN CANADA’S PARLIAMENT Anthony Rota resigns as Speaker of the House of CommonsPublished September 26, 2023 On September 26th of this year, we were treated to a media frenzy surrounding the Speaker of the House’s decision to honour a Ukrainian army veteran from the Second World War. Yarolslav Hunka was born in Urman, … Read more

THE NEW CPA COMPILATION STANDARDS

CPA Canada explains the New Compilation Standard – BING IMAGE CREATOR

THE NEW CPA COMPILATION STANDARDS CPA CANADA ROLLS OUT NEW STANDARDS FOR COMPILATIONS In 2021, CPA Canada introduced a new standard for compilation engagements. For accounting practitioners that work with small business clients that will mean increased work – and likely increased fees for their clients. Failing that the practitioners will absorb the cost and … Read more

Unicorn Kingdoms – Rishi Sunak and 4 Other Countries

The Unicorn Kingdom A SURVEY OF FIVE COUNTRIES (AND THEIR STARTUP ECOSYSTEMS)(HUNTING FOR UNICORNS – PART 2) Hunting for Unicorns – Youtube.com According to CB INSIGHTS there are over 1,200 unicorns around the world. A unicorn company, or unicorn startup, is a private company with a valuation over $1 billion. As of July 2023, there … Read more

BC’S VENTURE CAPITAL TAX CREDITS – DO THEY MAKE SENSE?

BC’s Venture Capital Tax Credits – Do They Make Sense? (Hunting for Unicorns – Part 1) Government Incubators – Youtube.com About ten years ago, I invested in a VCC in the Province of British Columbia. ‘VCC’ is the acronym for a VENTURE CAPITAL CORPORATION as defined by my province’s SMALL BUSINESS VENTURE CAPITAL ACT. BC’s … Read more

CHINA’S ROLE IN THE DRUG TRADE TODAY HAS EERIE PARALLELS TO BRITAIN’S ROLE IN THE OPIUM TRADE IN THE 19TH CENTURY

China and Britain Face Off During Boxer Rebellion – DALL-E Image Creator

Today, Canadians are embroiled in a political scandal involving Chinese interference in our elections. I was watching the National News on CBC about a young Canadian who died of a drug overdose linked to Bromazolam . According to the story: Still, the source of the majority of synthetic drugs flooding North American markets isn’t hard … Read more

Why Fear AI

veterinary surgeons implant microchips in sheep (Microsoft Bing Image Creator powered by DALL-E)

CONSPIRACY THEORIES AROUND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE My wife bumped into a tradesman in the gas station who’d done some work for us on a renovation before the pandemic. During the pandemic like most of us, he got a little weird. While he and my wife were in line paying for their gas, he began spouting his … Read more

Would You Invest in Char Technologies

This company was featured in a recent article in the GLOBE AND MAIL – Canada’s National Business NewspaperThe headline was: Canadian companies face unexpected tax burdens after going public on stock exchanges “Canada has been the worst-performing advanced economy in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development since 1976. Governments of all partisan stripes have … Read more

Unicorns Do Not Exist

The Unicorn - Scotland's National Animal

Unicorns don’t exist. So why are there so many of them? Unicorns are supposed to be mythical beasts. Yet, according to a 2019 article published in the World Economic Forum, there were 326 of them in 2017. And if the new PM of the United Kingdom has his way, we can expect to see more … Read more