Industry Minister Christian Paradis spoke at the Canada 3.0 conference in Stratford yesterday, providing an update on the government’s digital economy plans. Paradis trumpeted some of the measures in the budget as well as the trio of related laws – privacy reform, copyright reform, and anti-spam legislation (which he indicated […]
Post Tagged with: "digital economy"
Cutting Community Internet Access Program Highlights Absence of Digital Strategy
The CAP was once a foundational element in the federal government’s effort to connect Canadians. In the late 1990s, many did not have Internet access at home and wireless data plans were still years away. Today, the majority of Canadians have residential broadband access as well as wireless connectivity through their smartphones or other devices.
The decision to cut the CAP therefore does not come as a surprise.
Penske File No More? The Canadian Digital Economy Strategy Inches Forward
On the legislative and policy front, Bill C-11 has passed the committee stage and seems likely to race toward royal assent by the summer, last week’s unveiling of the telecom policy (including policies on the forthcoming spectrum auction and foreign ownership) puts to rest a major issue associated with the digital economy strategy, the CRTC recently published its final anti-spam regulations with Industry Canada expected to follow with theirs shortly, the open government initiative has been making considerable progress, and Government House Leader Peter Van Loan told the House of Commons on Thursday that Bill C-12 (the PIPEDA reform bill) may finally move forward next week.
Industry Minister Christian Paradis yesterday took another positive step by convening a federal – provincial ministerial meeting on the digital economy.
Digital Economy Strategy has Become the Federal Government’s “Penske File”
My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) focuses on the lack of movement on the digital economy strategy, arguing that it has emerged as the government’s “Penske File”- the source of considerable discussion and much “work” but thus far few tangible results (for non-Seinfeld watchers, the Penske file has become synonymous for a non-existent work project).
Canada’s National Digital Strategy: Hidden in Plain Sight
Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of delivering a keynote address at the Cybera Summit in Banff, Alberta. The conference focused on a wide range of cutting edge technology and network issues. My opening keynote discussed Canada digital economy legal strategy. While the formal digital strategy has yet to be revealed, I argued that the digital economy legal strategy is largely set with legislative plans touching on lawful access, privacy, online marketing, and copyright.
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