The future role of government

Recommendations

To help Canadian governments achieve and maintain a high level of digital equity and literacy throughout the country, we’ve developed targeted recommendations. These are organized through four levers: people and leadership; policy and processes; technology; and collaboration.

People and leadership
How can we transform Canada’s governance and leadership structures to achieve digital equity?

1. Invest in cross-jurisdictional alignment on digital skills development

As the skills needed to effectively navigate the digital world continue to evolve, it’s essential Canadians keep theirs up to date—and the earlier they start, the easier it will be for them. Digital literacy must begin when children are young to enhance their ability to adapt to future workforce needs. However, there isn’t a consistent way to teach digital literacy across the country, as provinces and territories are responsible for designing their own curricula. And while some jurisdictions are incorporating digital skills in primary and secondary education, students risk falling behind the rapid pace of technological change. Moreover, the lack of nationwide standardization in the digital uptraining and retraining of workers in various sectors exacerbates the risk of falling behind. In addition to inconsistent training approaches, Canada lacks a standardized way of measuring digital literacy.

By aligning federal, provincial, and territorial governments’ approaches to digital skills development and measurement, experts across the country can share best practices, establish national measurement standards, and consider what skills may be needed in future.

Note: The Future Role of Government series includes an article on reskilling and right-sourcing , which is intrinsically linked to digital equity and literacy.

 

2. Enhance competition enforcement

The rise of large global technology firms has significant impacts. These firms’ market dominance is underpinned by their large-scale collection and use of personal data, giving them a competitive advantage and creating network effects that reinforce their dominance.⁷ While this can create better products and services for users, it also means there is diminished competition in the technology sector and people can be locked into these platforms due to lack of commercial alternatives.

One way of protecting Canadians is through competition policy. Such regulation is currently under federal jurisdiction only, limiting Canada's ability to regulate anti-competitive behaviour in the digital economy that can hurt consumers because it’s easier for companies to challenge claims in the least-strict provincial or territorial jurisdiction.⁸ Other countries, such as the United States and Australia, have both federal and state jurisdiction on competition laws, a layered approach to antitrust enforcement that may be more robust because it allows subnational governments to bring forward additional resources and a localized market perspective to federal authorities.

In 2022, the US House of Representatives passed an antitrust bill, the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act, that gives states greater power in competition cases by allowing state attorneys general to keep antitrust cases in the state where they’re filed. This prevents Big Tech companies from choosing the location of the court deciding their federal antitrust case—which can lead to a home-court advantage that Big Tech companies enjoy in certain states.9

 

The federal government could empower cross-jurisdictional regulation and enforcement of competition in Canada to foster a stronger tech sector and provide digital choice for citizens.

Policy and processes
How can Canada future-ready its policies and regulations, and lead the world on digital equity?

1. Continue to expand connectivity

Canada continues to face major connectivity challenges when it comes to the speed, quality, and affordability of broadband. As noted earlier, however, the gap facing historically underserved populations is steadily closing, with the federal government aiming to enable universal access to high-speed internet by 2030.

But connectivity challenges could look quite different 10 or 15 years in the future. As the technology bar continues to rise, Canadians may face new kinds of disparities in access to the digital world, such as advancements in telecommunications technologies becoming inoperable with earlier devices. Regardless of the type, affordability challenges will likely persist.

Canada does have public internet providers. Incorporated in 2017, YorkNet is a York Region-owned corporation that plans, builds, operates, manages, and maintains a high-speed, dark-fibre network across that region of Ontario.10 It maintains and expands the telecom network to support economic development and innovation by providing cost-effective and open-access fibre connectivity for businesses and residents. Such public providers can help lower prices through increased competition.11

 

A proactive approach to setting connectivity targets ensures no Canadian is left behind as technology advances. Some examples of tactics governments can use include setting affordability targets (based on disposable income) for broadband and future connectivity technologies, or even becoming a public provider to assure price certainty.

2. Ensure equitable access to technology

By 2035, it’s expected that the average number of connected devices per person will be 111, a massive increase from 6.4 devices per person in 2020.¹² However, many Canadians still don’t have all the devices—such as smartphones and computers—they need today for work, education, or essential online activities. Looking to the future, the specific technology needs of citizens may change, but the gaps will likely persist. For example, instead of smartphones, people may face unequal access to artificial intelligence (AI) or other emerging technologies that open opportunities in education, economic participation, and health care.

That gap could have life-and-death implications. In a study examining the impact of AI on waiting times for COVID-19-related urgent care in Brazil, for example, a digital solution implemented to automate patient registration was found to reduce wait times by 12 minutes per case, for a total time savings of 2,508 hours.¹³ In urgent care settings, equal access to such emerging technologies could make all the difference.

To address the potential disparities, the Minister of Finance could introduce a targeted tax credit for internet-enabled devices for underserved groups, similar to the pandemic-era remote-work tax deduction for devices needed for work or education. This would particularly benefit low-income and other underserved groups.¹⁴

3. Become a leader in privacy protection

Many Canadians feel there are not enough privacy protections in place for them to feel confident accessing digital services or participating in e-commerce. As a result, there is a severe trust deficit in their interactions with private companies when it comes to data privacy. The majority of respondents to a 2022-2023 Privacy Commissioner of Canada survey found that Canadians have “not much trust” or “no trust at all” in telecommunications and internet companies (57%), retailers (61%), Big Tech (64%), and social media companies (88%) to protect their personal information.¹⁵

At the same time, respondents have a “great deal of trust” or a “fair amount of trust” in the Government of Canada (81%), banks (75%), and law enforcement (75%) to protect personal information.¹⁶ This level of trust in public institutions presents an opportunity for governments to establish an ecosystem that facilitates trust across both public and private sectors.

Declaring privacy a human right would strengthen Canada’s privacy laws to be on par with leading global legislation, such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and help organizations build trust with Canadians. As privacy threats like algorithmic decision-making and the surveillance economy evolve, adopting an approach of ongoing public consultation and privacy protection improvement could position Canada as a global leader in privacy protections.

4. Protect Canadians from online harms

Many people experience discrimination and cyberbullying when they’re online, which impedes their ability to safely and fully participate in the digital world.¹⁷ Additionally, misinformation and disinformation have far-reaching effects across society. As digital spaces develop, such as into the metaverse, the risks of online harms increase.

Governments will therefore need to update online safety laws to balance protection from harm with respecting freedom of expression. This will require further investment in research initiatives for cybersecurity and in digital infrastructure to protect citizens, and the establishment of a more accessible and user-friendly reporting mechanism to register instances of online abuse or harmful activities. Legislative obligations should also be flexible and adaptable, so they don’t become quickly outdated.

5. Adopt a more agile approach to digital policymaking

A fundamental shift in the approach to digital policymaking to one that emphasizes agility, experimentation, and closer alignment with the development (and risks) of new technologies would build on Canada’s history of innovation in this space; its 2017 Pan-Canadian AI Strategy was the first national AI strategy in the world. Additionally, the country’s continued global leadership in digital policymaking, such as its founding membership in the 29-member Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, will further advance innovative practices.

Examples of agile governance are policy labs, regulatory sandboxes, and greater collaboration between regulators and innovators. The EU Policy Lab, the UK government’s Policy Lab, and Denmark’s MindLab are all models of successful institutions that enable collaborative and experimental policymaking that encourage the involvement of non-traditional policy actors, such as civil-society organizations and small-scale innovators, to enhance trust beyond the public sector and across industry.¹⁸ A Canadian version could well result in improved everyday lives for people living in this country.

Technology
How can governments use technology to protect Canadians in the digital world and ensure equitable access?

1. Guarantee access to high-quality broadband in rural and remote areas

Some areas in Canada lack reliable, high-speed broadband.¹⁹ While this gap is steadily closing thanks to investments from government and telecommunications firms, it persists in some places. One way to help bridge the divide until the infrastructure is ready is through more advanced technologies (e.g., low-Earth orbit satellite and fibre-optic internet) that can provide ultra-fast internet, although these options remain prohibitively expensive for low-income groups.

Federal and provincial ministries should fund the continued development and adoption of cutting-edge technologies to provide faster internet at more affordable prices.

2. Enable digital credentials to reduce barriers

Canada does not have a national digital credentials solution that would allow people to safely verify their identity online when accessing services, making it complicated to conduct business and disadvantaging people who face barriers to accessing services in person. One reason Canada lacks such a solution is because there is a lack of public trust in how their personal information will be used. To build trust, public consultations to hear citizen and business concerns should be held to ensure the ecosystem is trusted and informed by their needs. This initiative will require a coordinated effort by federal and provincial governments, since a common digital credential ecosystem would allow provincial/territorial interoperability.

3. Protect Canadians against harmful uses of AI

AI is increasingly being used by public sector organizations in ways that can provide enormous benefits to citizens—and in ways that could cause them harm. While governments can use innovative technologies like predictive policing software and facial recognition to improve their service delivery, this usage must be accompanied by a regulatory framework that protects people from harm and privacy breaches. Canadians should be able to benefit from using innovative technologies by the public sector while retaining the right to contest automated decisions when their information is used in a way that is biased, inaccurate, or otherwise inappropriate.

Collaboration
How can governments collaborate with each other and non-government actors to align and scale best practices?

1. Encourage public-private collaboration on digital access

To ensure everyone has affordable access to the internet, the public and private sectors will need to collaborate. Governments will have to, for example, support private-sector and non-profit organizations in providing subsidized broadband and devices to lower-income and underserved groups. Importantly, these underserved groups should be engaged through public consultations to ensure efforts are reaching those most in need.

Approved in 2021, ConnectTO is a Toronto-based program that leverages city resources—existing fibre assets, buildings, lights, sidewalks, and boulevards, for example—to improve high-speed connectivity in underserved areas of the city.

 

2. Bridge existing lifelong learning approaches

Many digital literacy training options already exist across Canada for people who are no longer in the education system, from micro-credential courses to on-the-job training to non-profit programs. Yet these opportunities are often fragmented and uncoordinated, leaving many people not knowing which training opportunities are right for them. While there are some supports, particularly for the unemployed, a more coordinated and collaborative approach is necessary to ensure people of any age or employment status can improve their skills. Critically, this must be done in close partnership with private sector organizations, many of which are seeking talent with specific digital skills.

The federal government could work with provinces, territories, Indigenous communities, and training providers to map existing digital skills programs across the country and create an up-to-date and accessible database for people to search for programs to upskill or retrain themselves.

Conclusion

If governments across the country take action in all the areas addressed here, we can achieve a future state where:

Access
Every person, regardless of income or geographic location, will have access to affordable, high-quality internet, and a minimum of 100 Mbps download/20 Mbps upload by 2030. They will have the technological devices they need to fully participate in the economy and society, including work, education, and other essential activities. And as technology continues to advance, they will have access to the devices they need to keep pace.

Participation
Canadians will have the digital literacy they need to thrive, starting with a foundation laid during their primary and secondary schooling and then built upon throughout their lifetimes. As a result, Canada will have one of the most digitally skilled workforces in the world, with all workers able to actively and meaningfully participate in the economy.

Ecosystem
Canadians will benefit from a more secure digital ecosystem that has robust and active safeguards to protect their safety and well-being against harmful online content. This strong ecosystem will restore the trust of Canadians in their privacy, giving them confidence that they have meaningful control over how their data is used by the organizations they engage with online. They will be empowered to access online services, both public and private, using a secure, trusted, and interoperable digital credentials system.

And Canada will be a global leader in shaping key digital policies, rather than a follower of examples set in other jurisdictions.

Together, we can build a digitally equitable future where all people and communities in Canada can fully realize the potential of digital technology and succeed in today’s digitally driven economy and society.

Endnotes

Thank you to our key contributors, Sarah Short and Eric Jackson.