Canada 3.0 has Nothing on Other Leading Countries
The Canada 3.0 Digital Media Forum that took place in May 2010 set out ambitious goals for the future of our digital economy. Fifteen top priorities were listed which are thought will help us to achieve our targets of a digital nation by 2017. It is widely believed that Canada will become a leader in the digital arena as posted on the Financial Post. One of the many speakers at the Forum, Tony Chapman, also believes that Canada will be a "Launch Lab" for the digital revolution.
However, it seems as though Canada is all talk and no action when it comes to our digital economy. The Canada 3.0 forum was just a discussion on our digital future. Though there were many great idea's at the forum, no actions were made to forward Canada's progress towards a digital nation. Micheal Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, recently pointed out on his blog that Canada has no leadership or obvious source of funds for a digital strategy. Therefore, although the ideas are there, we have no true strategy for achieving our goals. Geist commented that:
Canada has inarguable lost considerable ground in comparison with many other countries around the world that were quicker to identify and implement digital strategies.
New Zealand is an excellent example of a country that is far ahead of Canada as a leader in the digital arena. Just visiting their website shows how much more advanced their strategy is. The website immediately lists what their strategy is, funding, resources and leadership for achieving a digital nation. Australia also has a similarly advanced strategy.
Though it is thought that Canada is and will continue to be a leader in the digital arena, when compared with other countries we are lagging behind in the digital revolution. We must speed up the process if we wish to remain ahead.
