Minister Bains hosts first Innovation Roundtable with Canadian Delegates at Digital Economy Conference in Mexico
ITAC ATTENDS INNOVATION AGENDA ROUNDTABLE
June 28, 2016
Ottawa, ON – The Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) was invited by the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) to join the Canadian delegation from June 21-23, 2016 at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) 2016 Ministerial Meeting on the Digital Economy: Innovation, Growth and Social Prosperity in Cancun, Mexico along with participating in the first Innovation Roundtable for Canadian industry delegates to review ISED’s vision.
ITAC was pleased to participate in the first ever Innovation Roundtable hosted by The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) to review six areas of action: promoting an entrepreneurial and creative society; supporting global science excellence; building world-leading clusters and partnerships; growing companies and accelerating clean growth; competing in a digital world; and improving ease of doing business.
“The Canadian ICT sector has clearly identified four areas that ITAC needs to continue to promote and see investments from its partnership with the government. Focus on government transformation and digital adoption, continue developing skills locally and attracting talent globally, work with Canadian businesses to help them scale to better compete and expand globally and take the lead role in spurring adoption across all sectors to develop a modern and digital economy,” stated Robert Watson, President and CEO, ITAC. “The Innovation Roundtable with Minister Bains gave ITAC the opportunity to stress that for an Innovation Agenda to be successful for Canada, we need to support government becoming a model user of digital adoption and recommended that a Digital Leadership Advisory Council be created for Canada.”
ITAC will be supporting the Innovation Agenda consultations over the summer through collaboration with ISEDs innovation leaders while continuing to be a strong partner throughout the consultations and ensuring the tech sector has a voice during consultations and the development of Canada’s Innovation Agenda. Minister Bains was quoted in Mexico saying the race is on and ITAC completely agrees! This is the tech sector’s time to work with government to build a digital nation.
As Canada’s national ICT business association, the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) champions the development of a robust and sustainable digital economy in Canada. A vital connection between business and government, we provide our members with the advocacy, networking and professional development services that help them to thrive nationally and compete globally. A prominent advocate for the expansion of Canada’s innovative capacity, ITAC encourages technology adoption to capitalize on productivity and performance opportunities across all sectors.