For Canada to survive, we must bring back high-value-added manufacturing.

Canadians are considered risk-aversion.

Every high-valued manufacturing job creates four more jobs in Canada.

Canadian industry must be poised to lead Canada out of its disastrous economic situation and the onus rests upon zealous entrepreneurs who are not afraid to put their ideas and money on the table. Many in the manufacturing industry will be the future entrepreneurs of Canada. Many will be wildly successful, many will fail. Some will try again, and again until you find your place in the world of successful ownership.

As a result of downsizing, poor planning, and a plethora of other factors we are all too aware of, the Canadian industry, which is one of the most technologically advanced in the world today, has suffered arguably more than any other country in the world. The number of truly gifted professionals that are being unused in Canada or that are taking permanent flights southwards is, quite simply, a national embarrassment.

This call to support entrepreneurism is a call to those who can help capable individuals left by the wayside, to rise from the rubble and lead Canada to the forefront of international growth. We are looking for a ripple of productive economic activity. Every piece of the economic puzzle exists in Canada; we have the know-how and the investment capital. What we lack is the gumption to take the bull by the horns and realize our opportunities. The economic pie is massive and if Canada is to survive the next century, it will need to grab a significant piece.

Let us make one issue clear; our survival depends not on government intervention but on the initiative and ingenuity of Canadians. Entrepreneurship is about creating wealth. It is about building and growing much more useful enterprises. New wealth and economic growth in the future will come from commercializing new technologies and growing our smaller and medium-sized companies into international competitors. There is a multitude of available opportunities for individuals interested in exploiting opportunities.

It is precisely here that we within our industry can cause the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people. The process is quite utilitarian and extremely logical. Each one of us must decide whether we are interested in aiding in the creation of a vital and organic economic community or simply continue accumulating, rearranging, and manipulating wealth.

Experience shows us that real wealth which is those products, that are tradable and exportable means a great deal more to an economy that inflates real estate prices. The question must be asked as to what the current and established manufacturing companies will do and whether are they going to promote the existence and success of such wealth-creating enterprises in Canada.

Although money knows no boundaries, economic peaks and troughs have significantly stronger currants with national economies. One of our superordinate goals must be the preservation, as well as creation, of jobs and the increased ability to maintain the development and commercialization of products in Canada by Canadians.

An extra effort must be undertaken to explore the options of management buyouts, joint ventures, technology transfers, and most of all, start-ups.

Entire divisions are being cut from fat corporations no longer interested in mass production, leaving many attractive and more lucrative market niches upon which to capitalize. It is precisely these types of wealth-creating ventures that drive the Canadian economy and its tax base.

Real estate flips do not create real wealth. We in the industry have been too preoccupied with the safe money game. There is a growing urgency that we get our hands dirty with the real crux of economic activities. We must help and support start-up manufacturing ventures. Do not wait, get involved today

By: Mark Borkowski is president of Toronto-based Mercantile Mergers & Acquisitions corporation. He can be contacted at www.mercantilemergersacquisitions.com