WITH the recent collapse of Canada-U.S. trade talks, the economic, political and social changes are coming at business leaders on a daily basis.

While you cannot control the pace of these changes, you can control the pace of response and timing of actions your organization takes. This is a time for thoughtful analysis and careful action, not chasing the latest trends.

Artificial intelligence, for example, can write articles, create images, draft emails and perform seemingly countless other tasks. But is this new tool solving a current business problem?

Successful companies know they must develop a strategy before launching any tactics. Otherwise, the strategy is based on “hope” — and we all know hope is not a strategy.

Industry analysts talked in circles on a recent webinar as they discussed the implications for agriculture of Canada’s deteriorating relationship with its largest trading partner.

On one hand, panellists for the hastily convened Canadian AgriFood Policy Institute event acknowledged the futility of negotiating on quicksand: a deal made today with the United States might be sucked into the muck tomorrow.

But on the other, webinar panellists speculated with varying degrees of optimism over what it will take to get negotiators back to bargaining.

This disconnect isn’t unique to this cluster of analysts. However, it underscores the difficulty of coming to terms with the seismic shift in America’s attitudes towards Canada.

While standing over our almost-ready grilled-cheese sandwiches in these dying days of the summer break, I play an episode of the podcast 99% Invisible, an American production that dives deep into the hidden designs of everyday living and the “why” and “how” of the systems we live among.

The episode caught my eye because of the big maple leaf in the accompanying image. Beyond the astonishment that our country provides grants and incentives for artists was a discussion of the MAPL test: the metric by which a piece of music is deemed Canadian enough to be included in our Canadian content regulations.

In order to pass the MAPL test, a recording must achieve two of the following: First, was the music composed entirely by a Canadian? Second, is the performing artist a Canadian? Third, was the performance recorded in Canada? And finally, were the lyrics written by a Canadian? The podcast discussion continues in predictably American fashion: how quaint we are, how obscure our tastes in music and how famous a Canadian musician can be without even disturbing the radio waves south of the border.

For all its problems, loopholes and criticism, this regulation of Canadian radio content, or CanCon, has been successful in promoting Canadian music and weaving a healthier cultural “fabric.” It’s no wonder, then, that the issue of “discoverability” of French-language content on American streaming sites was part of the deal-breaking suggestions during recent Canada-U.S. trade talks. CanCon, in the modern era of siloed non-Canadian streaming services, is losing its power to influence the listening (and viewing) habits of Canadians, as more and more of our digital lives are dictated by U.S. commerce.

Eight years after Shared Health was created, the revolving door in its executive ranks should prompt a more fundamental question than who gets the next job.

The real question should be: why does Shared Health exist at all?

The provincial health authority has been plagued by an exodus of senior executives in recent years, including CEOs, vice-presidents and chief financial officers. It’s now looking for its fourth CFO since 2023.

There may be perfectly reasonable explanations for the departures.