REGINA - You didn’t see a lot of panic about the tariff situation from those in attendance at the Food, Fuel and Fertilizer Global Summit this week in Regina.
Instead, the mood at the two-day event put on by the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce was one of quiet confidence. Presenters throughout the two days gave the sense that despite the uncertainties created by the ever-changing tariff situation from the USA and China, that businesses and entrepreneurs would be able to figure it out.
One of the presenters on the final day Thursday was Kristjan Hebert, who farms in the Moosomin area. During that presentation he provided his perspective on what the outlook was, and used one word that came up a lot during the two days: "opportunity".
“I think the opportunities are endless,” Hebert told the audience, pointing particularly to the current unstable economic situation.
“The main piece is, volatility creates opportunity. If everything was the same, life would suck… It’s the volatility that create the opportunity.”
Hebert said ten years from now we would look back on this time and “say that this six months to 12 months of volatility might have been one of the best things for the North American economy. It forced us to look at things, what can we do different, what have we done right, what do we need to multiply, who do we need for new friends, and who do we need to continue to get along with. And the entrepreneurs will figure that out.”
Prabha Ramaswamy, Chief Executive Officer of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce, spoke of the confident general mood of the 400 or so people in attendance.
“What is interesting is at a time when we face much uncertainty, at a time when we're not quite sure what tomorrow may look like, Saskatchewan is poised to tackle this situation head on,” Ramaswamy said.
She said that what she heard at the summit was “really a focus on opportunities.”
“In the face of a crisis, this province and the people in this province and the leaders in this province and industry and business in this province are actually able to see opportunities. I don't know if that happens anywhere else in Canada or in the world, but yesterday's conversation was all about the things we can do to strengthen Canada's economy and how we can probably position ourselves better on global stage through market diversification.”
One important theme that emerged, she said, was a theme of collaboration.
“We all need to come together and we need to lead together, whether that's cross-sector, industry leaders, policy makers. They were all in the room together and really wanted to foster collaboration.”
Ramaswamy believes the event at the Delta Regina, which focused on “solutions-based conversations” around trade, infrastructure investments, energy, food security, was another successful one for the Chamber. She believes they have been able to “showcase the Saskatchewan advantage and also put a spotlight on Saskatchewan's role in securing Canada's place in this volatile global economy.”
Ramaswamy said one of the specific outcomes from the summit will be a post-event policy report, with calls to action and some recommendations.
