Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 318 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION OF CANADA ASSOCIATION CANADIENNE DE LA TECHNOLOGIE DE L’INFORMATION ITAC on Digital Economy | Page 3 THE VOICE OF THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY (ICT) SECTOR IN CANADA | www.itac.ca Use e-learning to create inclusive education Similarly, the proper digital infrastructure can literally turn any space into a classroom. The federal government has a responsibility to educate Canadians. This includes educating federal inmates, public sector employees, Indigenous peoples and others: groups with a variety of learning needs, making them well suited to e-learning. Canada is already home to several pioneering online universities, such as Alberta’s Athabasca University. No matter their location—whether downtown Toronto, or Pond Inlet in Nunavut—Canadians can use online learning modules, from schools like these, to further their education. E-learning is also ideal for individuals and communities that: • are underserved; • lack the physical structures and resources to create a traditional classroom setting; • have mobility challenges or are isolated due to geography or circumstance; and/or • are more transient due to floods, fires or other reasons. In every instance, e-learning can help to bridge the gap for those with difficulty accessing educational opportunities the way it is traditionally delivered. Therefore, ITAC recommends an investment of $30 million over three years to Canada Health Infoway, which will help ensure that telehealth delivers preventative and therapeutic benefits to Canadians in all communities. ITAC recommends that federal education programs and initiatives consider the potential of e-learning as a means of bringing education and training to all Canadians. Demystify Technology to Further Adoption Technology changes quickly, and critics have often noted that Canada’s business landscape seems to be “captured by a culture of complacency.”2 To realize the overall economic benefits that stem from technology, government has an important role to play: it must encourage businesses to adopt the technologies that will deliver the greatest economic benefits. On one level, this means governments need to lead by example, prioritizing technology adoption and business process modernization itself.3 It also requires developing strategies to help promote technology adoption by business. These strategies should include: Create a national strategy on the Internet of Things (IoT) The fourth industrial revolution, characterized by the use of sensors, big data and connected or autonomous devices, is blending the lines between traditional verticals. The internet is firmly cementing itself as the horizontal powering innovation and productivity across all sectors. Industries such as automotive, mining and agriculture have been radically transformed by digitization. The proliferation of the internet into these sectors has brought with it a boom in machine-to-machine communication, also known as the “Internet of Things.” Connected technologies—including devices embedded with sensors, actuators and fully autonomous devices—are projected to dramatically change Canadian society and the national economy over the next half-century.4 Competitor jurisdictions worldwide are already adopting national strategies for modernizing their economies to take advantage of the radical opportunities for productivity improvement.5 Ensure cyber security As more of our economic activity moves into digital realms, cyber security has increasingly become the foundational infrastructure that creates trust and enables commerce. The cyber security threat environment moves extremely fast; and, generally speaking, Canadian businesses are both unaware and unprepared for the real threats that cyber attacks increasingly pose to our economic and physical security. ITAC welcomes the Federal Government’s upcoming Cyber Review and will build upon these recommendations during the review’s submission phase. 2 Canadian Council of Chief Executives. From Common Sense to Bold Ambition. 2008. https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cprp-gepmc.nsf/vwapj/Canadian_Council_Chief_ Executives.pdf/$FILE/Canadian_Council_Chief_Executives.pdf 3 ITAC will release a paper on Modern Digital Government in fall 2016. 4 For additional details and recommendations on what Canada can do to take advantage of the opportunities of the Internet of Things, see ITAC’s 2016 report, The Internet of Things: Time for a National Discourse at http://itac.ca/wp-content/ uploads/2012/09/ITAC-Seizing-the-IoT-Opportunity.pdf. 5 For example, in March 2016, the US Congress passed the Developing Innovation and Growing the Internet of Things Act, which creates a national strategy: https://www. congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/2607. 6 https://www.cyberstreetwise.com/cyberessentials The Canadian government needs to do more to ensure Canadians and businesses take cyber security seriously. This should include increasing public education and creating a minimum standard for business, similar to the UK’s Cyber Essentials program.6