Digital strategy needs focal point at cabinet table, say experts, industry

OTTAWA—Industry Canada's portfolio is too broad and the government needs a focal point in cabinet to lead its digital economy strategy, say industry insiders and experts. “The starting point for any digital economy strategy is leadership. Canada needs digital leaders, including a chief technology officer and cabinet-level attention to the issue,” Michael Geist, Canada research chair of Internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa, wrote in a submission to the government’s consultation on the digital economy. “The not-so-secret reality of the Industry Minister portfolio is that it is simply far too large to give all the issues under its mandate the necessary attention. Manufacturing, automotive, telecom, foreign investment, competition, consumer affairs, Statistics Canada, intellectual property, scientific research and dozens of other issues all fall under the same umbrella.” In an interview, Geist told The Wire Report that Industry Canada’s consultation document, co-authored by Industry Minister Tony Clement, Heritage Minister James Moore and Human Resources Minister Diane Finley, is proof of a lack of leadership on the strategy. “One chapter is written by the Heritage Minister, one chapter is written by Finley, so you get a bit of a mixed bag, differences in tone, and it’s not necessarily a consistent perspective on digital issues,” he said. “We need to ensure there’s a clear point of leadership around the cabinet table that can ensure this is prioritized.” Tom Copeland, chair of the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP), agreed that Industry Canada’s portfolio is too broad. “Within we have geared to looking at, say, the auto industry ... It just seems a bit odd nowadays that we have a traditional, factory-related sector bundled into this digital stuff,” he said. “There have been a lot of people saying the way we are administering our unofficial digital strategy up to this point just hasn’t been working, especially on copyright, where we have the two ministries that have complimentary, but also opposing stakeholders or constituents. It gets to be difficult to please everybody.” In its submission to the consultation, CAIP said clarity could be provided through the creation of a “Ministry of Digital Evolution.” The ministry would oversee the growth of the digital economy and manage policy branches such as spectrum, digital media, copyright and telecommunications, which are now overseen by various government agencies and departments. Copeland said the Digital Evolution Ministry should have been created five years ago, when Canada began to lose ground to other countries’ digital economies. But he cautioned that creating a digital ministry would be complex, given that every department has technology components. The Senate Standing Committee on Transport and Communications also suggested in its Plan for a Digital Canada, released June 16, that the government appoint a minister for digital policy who would take control of Clement’s digital economy strategy. The committee recommended that the new minister receive annual reports from each department outlining their progress in implementing the digital strategy. Richard Schultz, the James McGill professor at McGill University’s department of political science, said a digital ministry would be difficult to manage given the need for collaboration between departments. “Calling something a digital ministry, I’m not sure. You would get into cultural issues that would have to come from Heritage Canada, and stuff from International Trade, and Finance,” he said. Matthew Deacon, a spokesman for Moore, told The Wire Report by email that he is not aware of any plans to create a new ministry. Clement’s spokeswoman, Lynn Meahan, said by email that the government will be considering ideas proposed through the digital strategy consultation. “With consultations now concluded, the government is conducting due diligence to ensure the strategy reflects what was heard during the consultations,” Meahan wrote. Schultz said new ministries can be created “quite easily” by the prime minister, who can move a portfolio from one department to another. But legislation must be passed in Parliament to solidify the decision. Industry Canada, as it is known in its present form, was created in 1995 when the offices of the minister of industry and the minister of consumer and corporate affairs were merged under prime minister Jean Chrétien. The department had received a mandate to regulate the communications industry two years earlier when the government dissolved the department of communications and separated it into Industry Canada and the Heritage Department. Geist wrote in his submission that Industry Canada has outgrown the objective of putting communications and industry under one roof. “While this was the intention in the early 1990s when Industry Canada was formed as a ‘super Ministry’ that merged Consumer and Corporate Affairs with Communications, this experiment has failed. With so many issues demanding attention, it should come as little surprise that many issues either fall under the radar screen or take months to be addressed,” he wrote. Michael Janigan, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), said that, if a new ministry is formed, it should contain a sub-branch to deal with digital consumer issues. “To some extent, things have become unglued in attempting to reconcile consumer interests with industry interests and individual departments. We’re at a stage where even having one central industry minister, who looks over the entire way industry is conducted in Canada, has also come into question. This highlights how there may well be policy issues within industry that are ones that require individual stewardship by someone sitting at the cabinet table and reviewing these matters is their sole responsibility,” Janigan said. He added that, at the very least, there should be a junior minister to deal with digital issues and another to deal with consumer affairs. Geist also supports the idea of appointing a minister of state, or junior minister, to deal with the digital strategy. “Many of our trading partners have created ministerial positions (or at least junior ministers) with responsibility for specific digital issues. For example, Australia has both a Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research and a Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy,” Geist wrote in his submission. Schultz said handing the digital portfolio to a junior minister would be a good solution to easing Industry Canada’s workload. “That could probably be done in a number of areas. You could have a junior minister responsible for communications … that would make more immediate sense,” Schultz said. “It would still make the minister responsible for the overall department, but there would be a focal point.” kfournier@thewireport.ca

Digital strategy needs focal point at cabinet table, say experts, industry

Broadcast | July 21, 2010

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Digital strategy needs focal point at cabinet table, say experts, industry

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