FBO conference examines national desire for change

To borrow from Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist, CIBC World Markets, if good news is bad news, then the recently held Food and Beverage Ontario’s (FBO’s) annual conference in Toronto had a lot of good news about the economy and the political landscape.

A scarcity mindset fuelled by uncertainty is driving a real desire for change among Canadians, said David Coletto, chair and CEO of Abacus Data. Cost of living, inflation, housing, and affordability are worrying Canadians, according to surveys conducted by Abacus between June 2023 and May 2024. Coletto shared that only 24 per cent of Canadians believe the country is headed in the right direction. Further, 72 per cent think Canada’s immigration targets are too high. On the bright side for the F&B processing sector, 70 per cent of Canadians support imposing a Grocery Code of Conduct.

Coletto believes this desire for change among Canadians will likely culminate in a change of government at the federal level. This was echoed by Althia Raj, national columnist, Toronto Star, and At Issue panelist on CBC. She shared with the audience the cultural, social and political anxieties (think wars, supply chain issues, inflation, etc.) that are driving this desire for change. Raj also highlighted the polarization happening in Canada and the disinformation campaigns perpetuating it: No one (read politicians) is worried about the consequences of lying or twisting facts, she said.

When giving an overview of the current economic situation, Tal was brutally candid: Canada is in a per capita recession. As widely expected, the Bank of Canada (BoC) cut interest rates by 25 basis points yesterday after four years. While this is welcome news, Tal warned that BoC must be careful and align rate cuts with the U.S. Federal Reserve System as the markets are integrated. If are rates end up lower than the U.S.’s, the Canadian dollar can crash, warned Tal.

The final speaker of the day was Ajay Agrawal, founder of the Creative Destruction Lab, Toronto. He explained the importance of companies adopting artificial intelligence (AI), a technology unique for its ability to learn and improve itself with use. Agrawal explained that at its core AI is a prediction tool, but the fascinating thing is that problems that weren’t considered a prediction issue are now being solved with prediction. For example, driving, email replies, inspection, HR, fraud detection, and translation. Ever since ChatGPT exploded on the market, governments and businesses have been trying to make sense of its potential. However, “no one knows what to do with this technology,” he said. Agrawal suggested that instead of focusing on inputs, such as how to govern the use of AI, it would be helpful to focus on outputs. For instance, set a target of using AI to increase productivity by 20 per cent with a payback period of two years. He encouraged companies to develop short- and long-term strategies. Agrawal said that while Canada was a leader in AI research, it has been a laggard in the technology’s commercial deployment. To rectify that, the Creative Destruction Lab is creating a program to accelerate the adoption of AI in food and beverage manufacturing with the help of FBO. Companies will work in cohorts and work towards improving productivity by 20 per cent without making any changes to workflow.

This year’s annual conference was attended by more than 270 industry professionals including members of Meat and Poultry Ontario, who decided to merge their annual conference with FBO.