Experts expect national digital economy consultations to rival scale of copyright consultations

Industry insiders say they expect the federal government’s upcoming consultations on a national digital economy strategy to play out on a scale similar to last summer’s copyright consultations. “They are going to hear and experience a lot of emotion from Canadians,” Tom Copeland, chair of the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP), said in an interview. “Ultimately though, they have done this before, and really taken no action, or waited years to take action. We can’t afford to wait any longer.” Copeland said he expects the upcoming consultations to feature town hall-style meetings and roundtable discussions, much like those held during the government’s copyright consultations in the summer of 2009. The copyright consultations proved popular with Canadians, garnering 143 submissions from organizations and 8,012 submissions from individuals. Individuals could make comments to cabinet ministers at public town halls, watch the discussions online, and submit comments electronically. “They need the public’s input. That’s certainly something that has been lacking in the past. Copyright was the first time in a long time that we really had a grassroots involvement in a lot of things. We see it in health care and education to some extent, where we get the public involved, but we don’t often see it a federal level, where the public gets a chance to really voice their opinions,” Copeland said. “Certainly the idea of these broad consultations is here to stay. The Internet has forced that on us.” Industry sources who spoke to The Wire Report expect the government to release a discussion paper toward a digital economy strategy in late April or early May, just before Industry Minister Tony Clement makes a keynote speech at the Canada 3.0 conference in Stratford, Ont., on May 10. Clement said last month that the government will release a discussion paper “very shortly” and that it “will go to the country.” Experts agree that a national digital economy strategy is a much broader topic to cover than copyright, however. “They have to cover much more ground,” Bernard Courtois, Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) president and CEO, said in an interview. “I think they will use a range of ways to get input, but I think they will need more structured submissions about what exactly is to go into a digital economy strategy. They’ve had a lot of input. They’ve had a lot of consultations.” Copeland also expressed concern that the government has taken a “piecemeal” approach to digital issues. “ did the cross-country tour and talked to a lot of people, but I think anything to do with a digital strategy not only has to be all-encompassing, getting as many Canadians involved as possible, but it also has to encompass a lot of things that, to date, the government has only looked at on a piecemeal basis,” he said. “If we keep banging away at these things individually, I’m not sure we’re ever going to come up with a strategy.” Insiders expect the consultations to touch on broadband access, information and communication technologies (ICTs), productivity, investment, innovation, digital literacy, telecommunications, and skills training with new technologies. Clement, Heritage Minister James Moore, and Human Resources Minister Diane Finley will be involved in the consultations. The government is also expected to appoint an advisory panel to analyze and report on the consultation submissions and comments. The Canadian Press reported this week that the government will accept comments on the discussion paper by mail, email and Facebook. Sources say the consultations are likely to be held in late summer or early fall—but they will have to happen early enough that the government could consider the recommendations and put together a strategy that could be included in its 2011 budget. Industry Canada is also planning consultations on opening up the foreign ownership restrictions for the telecom sector, but has not yet announced them. Although foreign ownership will come into play in the digital economy strategy consultations, the issue will be studied in a separate consultation. kfournier@thewirereport.ca

Experts expect national digital economy consultations to rival scale of copyright consultations

Broadcast | April 8, 2010

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