Ladies and gentlemen, the information revolution is transforming Canada and the world. Creating a global economy. Whole new information industries have sprung forth. They are not only a force in themselves, they are transforming our traditional industrial sectors. From mining, to car-making, to telecommunications to farming.

In this new economy, we have to do more than adapt to keep up with change. Because the societies that will prosper the most, the societies that will have the best quality of life, the highest job creation, the best future for their children, will be the societies that lead this new information revolution.

Canada must be a leader, not a follower. And we are in a unique position to accomplish just that.

Why? Because our entire history is a story of human spirit and ingenuity conquering geography. The Canadian Pacific Railway. The Trans-Canada Highway system. The development of telecommunications and satellites. All of these have been about overcoming distances to link a people, and build a nation.

That same approach has already made Canada a leader in the current technological revolution. And that gives us a big advantage. Look at the facts:

We must work to build on that advantage in partnership with the private sector, governments and our national research network. We need to do it with a nation-wide vision. And we have to do it fast. Because we are in a global race. A race in which speed wins.

Today, I want to issue a challenge to you in municipalities -- to Canadians everywhere -- to join us in achieving these national targets:

Ladies and gentlemen, doing all of this together will make Canada the most connected country in world by the year 2000. That is what Connecting Canadians is all about.

And we are well on our way. Just look at the progress we have already made together in just a few short years.

Look at the Community Access Program, which we launched in 1995. It is helping Canadians living in rural, remote and Aboriginal communities build their own on-ramp to the information highway. It's helping eliminate the obstacles of time and distance that have long forced too many Canadians to leave home to get a good education and better opportunity.

Connecting these communities will help them:

So far, more than 2,000 rural and remote communities have been hooked up. And our goal is to have 10,000 rural and urban public Internet sites in place by the end of the year 2000.

SchoolNet is one of the greatest success stories of all. Established in 1994, SchoolNet is about linking Canadian students to the Internet, to each other, and to the wider world of knowledge and skills that it provides.

Our goal has been to link every school and every public library in Canada to the Internet. Look where we started in 1994. Zero. By 1995 we had linked 3,000 schools. By 1996, 7,000. By the end of last year, more than 13,000. And by the end of this year, we will have linked up every one of the 16,500 schools in Canada, and all of the 3,400 public libraries.

Each month, SchoolNet receives about 3 million hits. And I am told that the French version "Rescol," may be the largest source of French-language learning resources on the entire Internet.

An offshoot of SchoolNet, Computers For Schools, is reaching beyond connecting schools to connecting classes. It has delivered 65,000 computers into Canadian classrooms. All of them donated by governments and the private sector. A few months ago, I myself, had the pleasure of delivering computer number 50,000 to Grant Park High School in Winnipeg. There is plenty more work to do. To connect everyone of our classrooms, we will need 185,000 more computers.

But for Canadians to dominate the Information Age, we need more than the widest possible distribution of computers. Those are the vehicles. But the information highway itself needs to be smooth and built for maximum speed. Because in the information race, speed wins. Speed in moving data. Speed in doing business. Speed in research.

That is what CANARIE is all about.

Established in 1993, CANARIE is a cooperative venture -- led by industry -- that is developing the next generation of information highway technologies. It has already connected researchers in every province and territory. In 1997, it created the CA*Net -- our commercial Internet. It is well on the way to developing a new, faster model, CA*Net2. And we will invest an additional $55 million in CANARIE to build the fastest network in the world: CA*NET3.

Volunteer groups play a key role at the community level in delivering services. VolNet is about enhancing the role they play. Over the next three years, we will invest in the establishment of a network that will connect 10,000 of these vital agencies to the Internet and each another.

We also want to increase the availability of Canadian content on-line -- content that reflects Canada. Our values, achievements and aspirations. And that also promotes new and innovative ways of learning, growing businesses and delivering services.

Here are some of examples of what we as a country are already doing:

One of the fastest lanes on the information highway is being set aside to handle electronic commerce. Where deals are done with the flick of a switch.

A recent study by the World Trade Organization suggests revenues from cybertrade will exceed $300 billion by 2001. Our goal is to make Canada a global centre of excellence for Electronic Commerce.

But we will only succeed if consumers are comfortable with the new technology and what it can do for them. And here, it is interesting to note how willing Canadians are to use some of these new electronic tools. Did you know that, on a per capita basis, Canadians use debit cards ten times more than Americans? We don't need to worry about pushing Canadians. We need to make sure we create the framework from which these things can happen as consumers in Canada want them to happen.

The same goes for the services Canadians receive from their governments. Putting governments on-line connects Canadians to each other in a new and more immediate way. While giving businesses and consumers ready access to the information and services they need.

Here are some examples:

Our ultimate goal is to have a single national Internet strategy, with links to all governments. Ladies and gentlemen, if there is one thing that unites your organization -- that unites all Canadians -- it is the belief that community is important and that we should all be able to contribute to Canada while living in and contributing to our local communities.

This is where our whole agenda for "Connecting Canadians" comes together: in the "Smart" Communities initiative. It uses the information highway and technology to link people and organizations together. To share ideas and address local needs.

In the new economy, it's not where you live that counts, it's what you know. As the new economy grows, you won't have to go to the big city to get the good high paying jobs. If you have the knowledge and skills, if your community is connected to the information highway, you can get your chance without having to leave home.

Many communities across Canada are already positioning themselves to become "Smart."

There is:

The City of Calgary has just won the bid to host the SMART 2000 Conference.

And today, I am pleased to announce the creation of a Smart Communities Blue Ribbon Panel. Its mandate is to propose ways in which information technology can help make Canadian communities "Smart."

The Panel will be chaired by David Johnston, former President of McGill University, and will include members who are leaders in key sectors. Its mandate is to work with you -- municipal officials across Canada. To look at what each of us -- federal, provincial and municipal governments and the private sector -- can do to help our cities and towns prosper in the information age. At how we can work together to achieve "Smart"Communities.

The Panel will also provide expert advice on how we can achieve the goal of establishing at least one world-class "SMART" community pilot project in each province, in the North and in an Aboriginal community by the year 2000.

Ladies and gentlemen, ultimately, the new information economy, the Internet, Connecting Canadians -- all the jargon -- is not about technology or computers. It is about people. About giving people the tools to build better lives for themselves and their children. Stronger communities.

The community of Rankin Inlet is an inspiring example. And I will let the people speak for themselves. (video)

My fellow Canadian leaders, this is the future.

The future we can help create. It is not just within our grasp, it is already at work across our country. In some ways it is a bold new world -- and a little frightening. But if an old stump speaker like me can give a high tech presentation like this, then anything is possible.

But in other ways, there is nothing new about this challenge at all. It is as old as Canada itself. It is the same challenge we met in constructing a railway that bound a nation the observers called "a triumph of politics over geography and common sense." It is the challenge we met in creating the most advanced telecommunication industry in the world. It is the challenge we met in launching the post-war industrial boom half a century ago.

It is a challenge Canadians are up to. And it is one they want us to achieve working together. All levels of government -- all sectors of society.

A new National Dream for a new Millennium.