Future of Work: Attracting Talent in a Post-Pandemic World

As tech firms lay off workers and embrace flexible work-from-home options, they are also re-evaluating plans for job growth and corporate locations. Opportunities persist to attract 3rd-country nationals pinched by the U.S.’s restrictive immigration policies, tech workers who’ve recently been laid off (including Canadians who may be considering returning to Canada) and hiring / managing remote workers.

In this panel, we will gather senior policy, business, and cross-border practitioners to discuss trends from the view of British Columbia, Canada. 

The panellists will consider trends in cross-border business planning and growth; how tech firms are leveraging cross-border opportunities to optimize their talent strategies; and current cross-border tax and immigration policies and considerations. 

Beverages (including Canadian wine and beer!) and hors d'oeuvres will be served, with networking before and after the discussion.

OUR CHESTERFIELD PANELISTS:

Honourable Brenda Bailey, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development, and Innovation, Province of B.C.

Minister Bailey was a small businessperson, tech entrepreneur and change-maker when elected MLA for Vancouver-False Creek in 2020. She was named B.C.’s Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation in Dec 2022. She blazed trails for women in tech as co-founder of Canada’s first women-owned and operated video game studio. Minister Bailey also helped strengthen and diversify B.C.’s creative tech industry as head of B.C.’s interactive and creative digital marketing association, DigiBC. As parliamentary secretary for technology and innovation, her advocacy for a more inclusive workforce opened up new pathways for success for under-represented communities across B.C.’s economy.

Pavan Dhillon, Canadian Immigration Attorney 

Pavan has over 10 years’ experience in immigration law, and is licensed to practice in British Columbia and New York. Dedicated to exceptional client service, she specializes in strategic yet practical advice in all areas of Canadian Immigration law, including temporary and permanent residence applications. She is a graduate of McGill University Law School and a long-time member of the Digital Moose Lounge board, as well as the UC Berkeley Canadian Studies Advisory Board.

Kathrine Richardson, Associate Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, San Jose State University

Dr. Richardson specializes in the mobility and retention of the internationally highly skilled, and how highly skilled foreigner professionals may influence the growth and change of urban systems. Her book, Knowledge Borders: Temporary Labor Mobility and the Canada-US Border Region, examines the movement of high tech and biotech professionals across the Canada-U.S. border under NAFTA (now USMCA) within the binational region of B.C., Washington state, Oregon, and Northern California. In addition to her academic publications, Dr. Richardson has conducted a study on the mobility and settlement of highly-skilled North Americans across the Canada-U.S. border under NAFTA (now USMCA) for the executive branch of the Government of Canada.

David Stewart (Moderator) – Advisory Board Chair, UC Berkeley Canadian Studies 

David is a longtime civic leader for Canadians in the Bay Area, and a board member and former “Chairmoose” at the Digital Moose Lounge. Since 2013, he has consulted on Canada-U.S. innovation projects for clients such as the Kitchener-Waterloo Region, the University of Saskatchewan, Expansion Québec and the Association of University Research Parks Canada. From 2007 to 2012, he served as an academic relations officer with the Consulate General of Canada in Palo Alto. He is the author of a recently published memoir, True North, Down South: Tales of a Professional Canadian in America.