Canadian government needs to have a more unified China strategy across all domains including innovation and research direction
Questions have been raised around Huawei’s funding of 5G research in Canadian universities and whether the government should continue to allow this or not. Stimulating the debate are the current Canada-China geopolitical and trade tensions and the ongoing investigation around the potential national security threat of implementing a Chinese network infrastructure. The decision is still […]
Canadians should be able to pay less to connect
Canadians differ in their views on many topics; that’s what makes our democracy function. But one statement that all Canadians can get behind is that we pay way too much to stay connected. With Digital Access Day here, it’s time to reassess our system and take action. Internet access is not a luxury. Canadians view […]
Social media companies that violate new political ad rules, even inadvertently, will be fined, minister suggests
Canada has a new regime for online political ads heading into October’s election, but in an interview last week the minister responsible expressed some frustration with certain social media companies’ approach to the new system. Instead of agreeing to implement a registry of all campaign ads, as is required by the newly passed election-reform law […]
Privacy watchdog proposing rule change that could see firms revise data-use policies
Companies could soon be rewriting their privacy policies to fit a change the privacy commissioner is contemplating that could mean getting a person’s explicit okay in all cases when their data is to be transferred across the border. Though the proposed change isn’t final, it has some interested people and groups saying that they’re now […]
Confessions of a former digital utopian
Consider this a confession of a former digital utopian. When I was first elected as an MP, I believed that Parliamentarians needed to protect the “open” internet and embrace what we thought of as the digital commons. I swallowed the Silicon Valley line that government regulation would impede innovation. What was at stake was the […]
Digital Privacy and Security
Feds hope low earth orbiting satellites are answer for rural broadband access
In the recent budget, the government announced $1.7-billion for its plan to get broadband access for all Canadian homes by 2030, but how much funding will go to satellites to cover the most remote and northern communities remains unclear. In the 2019 budget, the Liberal government announced $1.7-billion for the Universal Broadband Fund, which will […]
Infrastructure is Canada’s backbone
Critically important infrastructure is too often poorly maintained or lacking in sufficient future planning. Delaying maintenance is a misplaced budgetary economy. Insufficient planning is symptomatic of a lack of realistic forethought. Both represent a much greater cost than is often acknowledged. The railway to the northern port town of Churchill, Man., is a prime example. […]
Growing movement of investors, impact investors taking environmental, social, and governance factors into investment decision-making
When thinking about a sustainability, it is essential to look at the underlying infrastructure on which our economy depends. Roads, buildings, energy grids, sewers, airports, telecommunications are all vital components of a sustainable economy going forward. Yet everywhere our infrastructure is crumbling. It has been estimated that $94-trillion will be needed in infrastructure investment by […]
U.S. security concerns about Huawei are bunk: it just wants to smother competitors, says China’s ambassador
For some time now, there have been rampant remarks that Huawei’s equipment poses threats to the national security of Western countries. The United States was the first to announce that it would exclude Huawei’s equipment from its domestic 5G market. Among the Five Eyes intelligence alliance members, Australia and New Zealand have followed suit, while […]
