All iPhone users know the feeling. The relative calm of a Sunday morning is broken by an unwelcome notification: a stark reminder of the previous week known as the Screen Time Report. 

If you do know this feeling, now is likely the best time to plug our Clubhouse show, Vancouver Tech Morning Coffee, currently (but not forever!) on the iOS-powered panel platform. 

If you don’t know this feeling—or how joyous it is to start your Tuesday workday with something from William’s record collection—be thankful you’re not going to receive a judgy notification come Sunday. This was a week to stare at a screen. Screen Time Report be damned. 

Amidst all the hoopla this week—or perhaps creating the hoopla—were a pair of budgets. First was the Federal budget coming just after lunch on Monday. 

Best photojournalism

Sarah Fischer @SarahFischer__

Holy cow! Can anyone say OMNIBUS?? #Budget2021

April 19th 2021

35 Retweets120 Likes

Best somebody think of the journalists!

The Beaverton @TheBeaverton

Several journalists crushed from weight of a single copy of the federal budget #Budget2021 #cdnpoli

April 19th 2021

21 Retweets163 Likes

Luckily, William was not one of these journalists. He emerged in the shape of an accordion resembling a character from a Bugs Bunny cartoon. Once unwound, he read (I’m sure) every single word in the 700+ page document. After he could read it, of course. 

Best mood

Erin @erin_gee

just put the damn PDF online already

April 19th 2021

4 Likes

A glutton for punishment, William was back at it again on Tuesday. Roughly 24 hours after the Ottawa unveiling, it was Victoria’s turn. The budget itself was underwhelming.

Best same energy

William Johnson @notionport

Reading done, and here's everything in the BC budget for the #BCtech sector: .

April 20th 2021

5 Retweets41 Likes

Best reaction gif

Vivian Chan 🦄 @vchan

@notionport

April 20th 2021

3 Likes

Best are you forgetting anything?

Dan Burgar VR/AR @dburgar

@jjhorgan @KahlonRav You forgot Tech/Innovation and VR/AR!

April 20th 2021

7 Likes

Joining William in reviewing the budget was, amongst others, the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. They even crafted a report card. Despite an overall B- grade, Competitiveness received a C+.

Best C(+)s Get Degrees

Greater Vancouver Board of Trade @BoardofTrade

The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade has issued a letter grade for the provincial budget released today. The overall mark is a B-, find out why in our comprehensive analysis. B.C. budget invests in pandemic response, maintains business supports but sets aside vision for economyboardoftrade.com

April 20th 2021

3 Retweets5 Likes

If the Vancouver Tech Clubhouse room were to grade the budget, an F seems the likely score. A panel discussion, which turned spicy at times, spent the better part of an hour admonishing the BC Budget. The chat resembled the divine for some. 

Best hallelujah!

John Barclay @johnbarclayiii

@notionport @raywalia @jilliantipping @dburgar @kari_lamotte @joinClubhouse This has been great. When talking about the BC budget, I yelled out “Preach” a few times when @raywalia was speaking. His words are particularly on-point for BC’s life sciences and biotech community.

April 22nd 2021

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A panellist on that Clubhouse chat, BC Tech Association President & CEO Jill Tipping, set the tone before the chat even happened, tweeting a timeline that appears a little top heavy. This may just be recency bias, I can’t help but think something has happened between 2014 and present day in “The Emerging Economy.” 

Best 15th century innovation 

Jill Tipping @jilliantipping

@notionport @raywalia @dburgar @kari_lamotte @joinClubhouse Really looking forward to tonight’s chat and wondering anew at my favourite ever government diagram of tech, innovation and the emerging economy. Surprisingly little happened in the last 22 years!

April 22nd 2021

2 Retweets7 Likes

With the cheat sheets published and report cards graded, we can put a bow on what feels like a week to end all weeks. Commentators would be hard-pressed to call the pair of budgets unanimous victories for the tech community. But as we’ve seen over the past year, tech and innovation thrive in uncertain times. Plus, Tech Twitter and Tech Clubhouse will always have the industry’s back.