It’s time Canada considered a national digital strategy: NFB and CRTC chairs

As other middle power countries like Britain, France and New Zealand gear up to create national digital strategies, there are calls in Canada for the federal government and industry leaders to create a similar strategy here – one that encompasses everything from broadband infrastructure to content creation and intellectual property. The idea, floated by the chair of the National Film Board in February, is now finding support at the highest levels of the CRTC. CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein told a Heritage Committee hearing last month that Canada needs a national digital strategy as part of a holistic plan to improve the prospects of the broadcasting industry. In February, Tom Perlmutter, government film commissioner and chair of the NFB, also told the CRTC new media hearing that the search for new broadcast policies on new media platforms—while important—cannot be carried out in the “absence of an overriding national policy.” In an interview with Tech Media Reports, Perlmutter said increased access to broadband means that the digital revolution is affecting every sphere of life and requires a fundamental rethinking on the part of government and industry for Canada to remain competitive. “We have no overall view about the digital revolution. We have no kind of planning,” he says. Enacting a national digital strategy should start with the recognition that the digital sphere requires a different foundation and approach because it is a knowledge-based industry, says Mark Goldberg, a consultant with the Toronto-based telecommunications firm Mark H. Goldberg and Associates.. He suggests that a national strategy would identify crucial objectives on delivery of products derived from the digital industry. “ new economy is not in the business of processing raw resources and reassembling them. A knowledge economy--the product is brain-power—and how do you ship information out?” Rather than being guided by a national strategy, Goldberg says Canada has taken a piecemeal approach to issues: the Telecom Review Panel examined the make-up of a potential telecom strategy; the CRTC is considering whether new media should be regulated; and, the House of Commons is dealing with legislation for intellectual property rights and privacy. For Perlmutter, it’s as much about having a national vision as a national strategy. “We need to ensure that the infrastructure meets the needs of today and tomorrow — which means advanced digital networks, broadband and wireless. We need to cross digital divides between the digital haves and have-nots. We need to ensure broad-based digital literacy. We need rich Canadian content that is both multi-platform and cross-platform, and unique creations for specific platforms. We desperately need training for new modes of production. We need to evolve our business and financing models. We need to figure out how to create international digital co-production partnerships. We need to work at building strong digital brands that will capture the imagination of our audiences. Most of all, we need a vision,” he told the CRTC’s new media hearing in February. Who should spearhead a national digital strategy? Goldberg says the strategy needs the endorsement of several agencies including industry, but stresses that Canadian Heritage and Industry Canada should take the lead since they have a history of working together, a view Perlmutter agrees with. “What we really need to do in the next stage is bring some of the key players together and start a think-tank process and start the kind of exchange,” says Perlmutter. Once a strategy has been drafted, Goldberg says one of the fundamental challenges will be to ensure that it is implemented and not allowed to gather dust like the Telecom Review Panel Report. “We have spent a fair bit of time developing the Telecom Policy Review Panel Report, most of which has not been implemented.” In January Britain released its national digital strategy. Dubbed Digital Britain, the strategy lays a path for Britain to revamp its knowledge-based economy. Its key objectives aim at upgrading infrastructure, creating dynamism in investment, creating content specifically for Britain, a fair and universal accessibility to digital and developing infrastructure and skills. Last fall, France released its strategy called France Numerique 2012. Loaded with more than 150 recommendations, the strategy is designed to restore growth and modernize France. It also aims to increase broadband accessibility to all French citizens by 2012 at affordable rates—less than US$46 per month. New Zealand’s Digital Strategy, was also released last fall and contains provisions to boost the economy, create sustainability and vibrant communities. Goldberg says while it is important to study these strategies, it is also important to develop a strategy that is unique to Canada, one that encompasses Canadian realities. “We have certain strengths and we have certain requirements that are unique to us,” he says.

It’s time Canada considered a national digital strategy: NFB and CRTC chairs

News | 04/06/2009 1:29 pm EDT

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