Editor’s Note JUNE/JULY 2015 VOLUME 2, No. 5 The Future is Near


ball gazers. A decade or so ago, tech futurists told us that we would soon enjoy the benefits of teleportation, such as that seen on Star Trek — so far, only photons have been teleported. They said we would have chip im- plants in our brains for total mem- ory recall (a highly questionable benefit) — as of today, nada. And let’s not forget the coruscating promise made in our childhood of George Jetson’s flying cars. Cars do fly, but firmly grounded on freeways. That’s why in this special techno-


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logical issue, we focus on things on the cusp — products and developments where the technology is not far from the market. We look mainly at Canada because, as will be seen from our stories, Canada leads in many areas of technological innovation. In our first feature, Robert G. Parker, a member of CPA Canada’s information management and technology advisory committee, looks at the impact of self-driv- ing cars on our near future. In “Home, James,” p. 28, he writes that autonomous cars “will change just about everything: infrastructure needs, the nature of jobs, the economy and healthcare.” He predicts that commercial drivers will be the first affected; there will also be fewer auto body shops and insurance underwriters needed. He adds, “As the number of devastating automobile accidents decreases, the need for trauma doctors and nurses will also be reduced.” When will these some- what scary changes happen? Not too far in the future — many carmakers are cur- rently testing cars that can drive themselves in cities and on highways, and some are ready for the road. Please read this utterly fascinating look at near tomorrow. “Technological change is accelerating at a dizzying pace,” writes contributor


Steve Brearton in “Innovation Nation,” p. 34. Brearton was asked to go where no one has gone before and find unheralded Canadian leaders in different technological fields. He has outdone himself. We present a selection of Canadian companies developing marvels such as unmanned asteroid mining vehicles, food scanners that detect allergens, and fusion energy sources. This is wonderful stuff that readers cannot afford to miss. What’s the next big computing thing? Quantum computers, that’s what. So what


is quantum computing, you ask? Read the article to get the full idea, but the quantum scale in physics is the tiniest known scale where things can be in two places at the same time — mind boggling — creating the potential for computers that operate at astonishingly “impossible” speeds. Read science writer Dan Falk’s brilliant investigation into “Quantum Valley,” p. 42, a place in Canada that might turn out to be the next Silicon Valley.


Okey Chigbo editor


2 | CPA MAGAZINE | JUNE/JULY 2015


ROGNOSTICATING about techno- logical tomorrows is a favou- rite pastime of tech crystal-


EDITOR Okey Chigbo ART DIRECTOR Bernadette Gillen ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR Kevin Pudsey SENIOR EDITORS Bernadette Kuncevicius, Tamar Satov ASSOCIATE EDITOR Yvette Trancoso ASSISTANT FRENCH EDITOR Marie-Josée Boucher EDITOR, WEB EDITION Margaret Craig-Bourdin MAGAZINE WEB PRODUCER Alan Vintar EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Harriet Bruser DIRECTOR, LANGUAGE SERVICES Jane Finlayson EDITOR, PROFESSIONAL MATTERS Mara Gulens CONTRIBUTORS Taryn Abate, Yan Barcelo, Craig Bell, Mary Teresa Bitti, Dwayne Bragonier, Steve Brearton, David Descôteaux, Cathy Hutchinson, John Lorinc, Fiona Macfarlane, David Malamed, David Trahair, Lisa van de Geyn, Karen Wensley QUALITY REVIEW TEAM Antonella Risi, CPA, CA; Juli-Ann Gorgi, CPA, CA


PUBLISHER Nicholas Cheung, CPA, CA, CIPP/C


SALES AND MARKETING MANAGER Brian Loney, (416) 204-3235, bloney@cpacanada.ca ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES


Alexandra Garant, (416) 204-3397, agarant@cpacanada.ca Martin White, (416) 726-7435, marty@monetizingcontent.ca QUEBEC ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Serge Gamache, (450) 651-4257 sergegamache@videotron.ca ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Michael Marks (416) 204-3255 CIRCULATION MANAGER Annette DaRocha (416) 204-3367


CPA MAGAZINE EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD: Chair: Nancy Cheng, FCPA, FCA; Vinetta Peek, CPA, CMA (Hon.), FCMA; Michel Magnan, FCPA, FCA; Fred Clifford, CPA, CA, CPA (Ill.); Debra J. Feltham, FCPA, FCGA; John Redding, CPA, CMA


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