Parliamentary report recommends Canada recognize, strategize blockchain industry
“Canada punches above its weight” in blockchain innovation, parliamentarians conclude, but lots more should be done to encourage the industry.
A Canadian House of Commons committee report has recommended that the country “recognize blockchain as an emerging industry,” and take all the steps that entails. There are a lot of steps needed, it said.
The report was released by the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry and Technology after a study that involved five meetings and numerous witnesses and briefs. The report outlined uses of blockchain that included cryptocurrency, supply chain and public sector uses and non-crypto financial innovations.
“Canada punches above its weight,” in blockchain innovation and entrepreneurial capacity, one witness for the committee said. In 2021, 2.5% of large enterprises in Canada used blockchain, while less than 1% of small and medium-sized enterprises did so. Witness estimates of the number of Canadians employed in the blockchain industry in 2020 was put at 16,000, and another witness estimated that cryptocurrency firms employed 13,000 Canadians in 2022.
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