Canada urgently needs to take action in creating a digital economy built on a strong, high-tech foundation; the world economy is going digital and Canada cannot afford to be left behind in a 3.0 world. In fact, we have the opportunity to lead the digital revolution.
Traditional sectors in the Canadian economy have been suffering and unemployment rates growing as we face new economic realities. We need to seize the opportunity to transform the basis of our prosperity. The Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) states in its 2008/2009 Annual Review, “... as business restructures, ICT [Information and Communications Technologies] will drive much of the change. Countries that understand this and strategize accordingly will do much better than those who miss this crucial shift.”
Recent forums held to strategize and share opinions on digital media have highlighted the opportunity Canada has to lead in the digital economy while identifying gaps that need to be swiftly addressed.
A Canada 3.0 digital media forum in Stratford, Ont., concluded that the country has the ability to lead by commercializing innovation, and an Industry Canada conference in Ottawa heard about many opportunities for innovation in legislation, marketing, research and development, and high-tech manufacturing. If we are to lead in the global digital economy, there's much to do and no time to waste.
What is a digital economy?
A digital economy exhibits the following: open access to digital content, equally for all citizens from anywhere at any time; ability to confidently participate in online commercial activities without risk; innovation through R&D in high-tech companies; a pipeline for “knowledge worker” education and employment; and an environment of fair play for content creation, ownership and protection.
Digital media takes current computing and content digitization to the next level – known as 3.0 – spanning everything from making broadcast-quality content available on mobile devices, to digitizing medical records to improve the quality and speed of health care.
Countries whose government, business, education and entertainment content is not available digitally will lag in the 3.0 world.
Is Canada falling behind?
At the Industry Canada conference, keynote speaker Terry Matthews, chairman of Mitel and March Networks, noted that, whereas Canada “used to be considered No. 1 or 2 in areas such as proportion of the population with regular Internet access, or percentage of schools connected to the Internet, or extent of government services available online, recent international rankings ... indicate that we're now well down the list in every area.”
A recent study by the Canadian Coalition for Tomorrow's ICT Skills indicates that students who perceive the ICT sector as “interesting, fun, cool and creative” are more likely to seek a career in the field. More than 70 per cent of students surveyed believe that ICT jobs offer average or better-than-average job security. Canada needs to tap into the opportunity to cultivate a computer industry work force and ensure that innovation and the “wow factor” are there for the next generation of workers.
Another hurdle is that much of Canada's knowledge and creative output remains on shelves in books, journals, government publications, research reports, films and TV productions, and archives. Less than 1 per cent is online. We must mobilize our knowledge resources while supporting and encouraging those creating new content.
What's at stake
Missing the opportunity to lead in the digital economy would be like leaving money on the table. The Council of Canadian Academies has identified new media as having great momentum and one of the highest growth potentials for Canada – second only to the oil sands. The digital media sector globally is one of the fastest-growing industries in the knowledge economy, with a projected value of $2.2-trillion (U.S.) over the next five years.
