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Government announcement
9 February 2018

Quebec takes measures to become a leader in the sharing economy


📣Création d’un groupe de travail sur l’économie collaborative 📣 Qu’est-ce que l’économie collaborative? C’est la…

Posted by Dominique Anglade on Friday, February 9, 2018

Creation of a working group

QUÉBEC CITY, February 9 2018 – The Government of Quebec is establishing a working group on the sharing economy to identify the best practices to adopt to make Quebec a sharing economy leader on the international scene.

Dominique Anglade, Deputy Premier, Minister of Economy, Science and Innovation and Minister responsible for the Digital Strategy also announced today that the task force is ready to begin work.

In addition to its Chair, Guillaume Lavoie [1], who teaches a specialized course in the sharing economy and public policy at the École nationale d’administration publique (ENAP), the group will have two members: Christine Fréchette, President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Montreal East, and Nolywé Delannon, Assistant Professor in Corporate Social Responsibility at the Faculty of Business Administration at Université Laval.

Quotes:

The sharing economy is set to grow rapidly over the next few years. It already has a measurable impact on the way we produce, consume, fund and learn. By taking the lead to identify the most effective way to harmoniously integrate this type of economy, we are outlining a new, avant-garde Quebec that places innovation at the heart of its activities. The Quebec economy is known to be in constant transformation and, once again, we intend to be equal to our reputation for excellence!

– Dominique Anglade, Deputy Premier, Minister of Economy, Science and Innovation and Minister responsible for the Digital Strategy

Around the world, the emergence of collaborative practices is profoundly transforming economies and societies, and is creating extraordinary challenges for government bodies in their approach to regulation. We must succeed in creating a framework that reconciles innovation, fairness and the common good. With my deep desire to continue to serve, I agreed to chair this working group with great enthusiasm, because its mandate goes hand in glove with my commitment to modernize and strengthen our public policy.

– Guillaume Lavoie, lecturer at the ENAP and Chair of the working group on the sharing economy

I am delighted to take part in this initiative on the sharing economy, a new reality that calls for reflection and appeals to our creativity. Novel ways to organize economic activities have emerged in recent years. As a society, we must guide these developments, since they will become more present as we innovate technologically. At the same time, it will also be important to maintain a regulatory framework that ensures equity between new stakeholders in the sharing economy and those in the so-called traditional economy.

– Christine Fréchette, – President of the Chamber of Commerce of Montreal East and member of the working group on the sharing economy

The sharing economy is at the heart of major changes that are transforming the relationship between businesses, governments and civil society. It requires an in-depth reflection on our choices as a society. The government has a central role to play in overseeing these changes, especially to protect the most vulnerable. As a researcher focused on corporate social responsibility, I am excited about the prospect of reflecting on the best ways to stimulate innovation in a fair and inclusive environment.

– Nolywé Delannon, Assistant Professor of Corporate Social Responsibility at the Faculty of Business Administration at Université Laval and a member of the working group on the sharing economy

Key points:

– Initiatives in the sharing economy are generally highly innovative business models, and can be recognized by several aspects:

– They are based on horizontal rather than vertical organization, or are decentralized;

– They enable the sharing of goods and knowledge;

– They link individuals, whether through platforms or other means.

– The establishment of this working group is the result of a mandate given by the Premier, Philippe Couillard, to the Deputy Premier, Minister of Economy, Science and Innovation and Minister responsible for the Digital Strategy, in order to provide a better framework for sharing economy initiatives in Quebec.

– The group will hold ongoing consultations, particularly with experts and individuals from different fields, such as academia, social organizations, innovation, business, the environment, transport, real estate and finance. A broad public online consultation will also be held mainly during March. The group’s final report is expected in May 2018.

– In Quebec’s Digital Strategy, the creation of this group is mentioned as part of an effort to modernize and strengthen our public policy, which relates to the digital transformation of our society.

– In its Tax Fairness Action Plan , published in November last year, the government reiterated its approach to the sharing economy, which is to ensure that initiatives associated with the sharing economy are governed by regulations and legislation that keep innovation, security and fairness in balance.

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Appendix 1

Biographies of the Chair and members of the working group on the sharing economy

Guillaume Lavoie

  • Lecturer at the ENAP, he acts as an expert on economic and public policy issues.
  • Over the past two years, he has given more than 140 talks on sharing economics in Canada and abroad.
  • He has vast experience in public policy, public diplomacy and international relations acquired both in Canada and abroad.
  • Former municipal councillor for the City of Montréal, he was also appointed member of the Raoul-Dandurand Chair of Strategic and Diplomatic Studies and an international observer.
  • A committed social entrepreneur, he is the co-founder of the Collège neo-classique and founder and former CEO of Mission Leadership Québec.
  • He has a Master’s of Public Administration from the ENAP, a Bachelor’s in Industrial Relations and certificates in Administration and Law from Université Laval. In addition, he attended Executive Education courses at the London School of Economics and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
  • He has extensive experience as a media analyst, especially in the field of American policy and international news.
  • He is a Fellow of Action Canada and the Jeanne-Sauvé Foundation, and has been named Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C.

Christine Fréchette

  • Previously Director, Public Affairs and External Relations at Montréal International, she has been President of the Chamber of Commerce of Montreal East since December 2016.
  • She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Société de développement Angus and has also served on the boards of directors of many organizations in the fields of gender equality and international relations.
  • In addition to having led a North American non-governmental organization (NGO), she has been engaged in policy activities and academia, and has acted as an American policy analyst for the Quebec media.

Nolywé Delannon

  • Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Business Administration at Université Laval, she is also a member of the Faculty’s Board of Directors.
  • She specializes in corporate social responsibility and the interaction between companies, the government and civil society.
  • A founding member of the corporate social responsibility interdisciplinary lab at Université Laval, she is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research and Information on Community Enterprises and member of the Labour Standards Advisory Committee.
  • She has a PhD in Business Administration from HEC Montréal and a Master’s of Political Science from the Université Paris1 – Panthéon-Sorbonne.
  • Formerly President of Force Jeunesse, she has also won many academic distinctions.

Appendix 2

Mandate of the Working Group on the Sharing Economy

The working group on the sharing economy has the mandate to answer the following questions and formulate recommendations.

Four questions:

  1. How can the government further the understanding that the population and government bodies have concerning the sharing economy and the impacts it has on society as a whole?
  2. How must the government address the arrival of practices and business models specific to the sharing economy in the context of the impacts it has on practices and business models that exist in the so-called traditional economy?
  3. How should the entirety of the Quebec Government (ministries, Crown corporations, agencies, municipalities) structure and adapt its practices in order to better respond to the challenges posed by the emergence of collaborative practices and enterprises, while ensuring the respect of its authority, a fair business environment, the security of the populace and the common good?
  4. What approaches and initiatives can the government take to position Quebec and the Quebec Government as a pioneer and leader in the field of the sharing economy, particularly to foster the emergence of local champions?
  5. During its work, the working group on the sharing economy also has the mandate to contribute to a better understanding of the issues among members of the government and external stakeholders, as well as to participate in and enrich the public debate on these issues.