The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
In a keynote speech to a national conference on the e-economy this week, the Honourable David L. Emerson, Minister of Industry, focused on implementing information and communications technologies (ICT) throughout all industries across Canada. "We should aim to make Canada a fully ICT-enabled economy ? a world-leading e-economy that will foster growth and wealth creation to benefit all Canadians," said Minister Emerson. In his address, the Minister challenged executives in Canada's ICT sector, leading national and international economic experts, and academic researchers to partner with government in the creation of a collective strategy for economic strength. He identified Industry Canada's role in promoting ICT adoption as the creation of economy-wide ground rules for e-business activities, and the use of flexible frameworks and smart regulations for business. "The findings of two recent studies . . . clearly show that while there are some positive signs, e-business adoption by small and medium-sized enterprises has stalled since 2002," said Nancy Hughes Anthony, co-chair of the conference. "Given the immense contributions these technologies make to productivity, Canada needs to form a comprehensive strategy for building an e-economy and addressing the adoption lag in this key sector ? that's what this conference is about." David Johnston, co-chair of the conference and President of the University of Waterloo, said, "Canadians are living the e-economy experience when they help their children research homework on the Internet or pay for groceries with a debit card ? and ICT must enable their workplaces too. In the future, Canadians may be living according to the quality of the strategy we are helping to develop here." For additional information on the e-Commerce to e-Economy: Strategies for the 21st Century conference, please visit http://www.e-economy.ca.
