Notes for a presentation by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien on the occasion of SoftWorld '98

That is what SoftWorld ‘98 is all about. Bringing the best of the best to Canada. To do what you do best. Find new business. Make new alliances. Build new opportunities. And the tremendous partnership that has made SoftWorld such a success is a fine example of our Team Canada spirit. Governments and the private sector working together to create an international showcase for Canada.

The spectacular growth of SoftWorld should tell the world just how serious we in Canada are about taking a commanding place in the new economy. That is also why I am here.

Like the light bulb, the car and air travel in their time, a virtual explosion of information technologies is transforming our world. Taking the notion of a global economy from dry economic theory to an everyday reality. Where harnessing knowledge and innovation will determine the wealth of nations. And their quality of life.

Nowhere is this more clear than in the rapid growth and development of the Internet. A few years ago, the Net was a quiet electronic playground for academics and researchers. Today, it is on the verge of turning the world economy into a 24-hour convenience store. Whose shelves are lined with every product and service you can imagine.

This slide says it all:

We in Canada have long understood that our future prosperity depends on merging our economy with the information highway. That is why our government has set the ambitious goal of making Canada the most connected country in the world by the year 2000. We have a comprehensive strategy that we call: Connecting Canadians. And this is not an idle boast. We have already built a superb on-ramp.

Connecting Canadians is about global leadership. It's about making Canada a natural magnet for investment, research and development. It's about being able to say that every lane on the information highway leads to Canada.

But we are not alone. We are in a global race where speed wins. To the victor will go the spoils: increased opportunity. Good jobs. Higher standards of living. And a better quality of life.

Why are we winning? Because we have a national vision. Because we are building new partnerships. And because we are making things happen, fast. We understand that speed isn't everything in the knowledge economy, it's the only thing.

Our first priority has been to give all Canadians access to the information highway - North, South East and West. From the biggest cities to the smallest villages. And we are well on our way.

With Smart Communities we are using the information highway to truly bring people together. Individual Canadians, our volunteers and charities, business, and governments. To address local needs. To make their communities more prosperous, safer and better places to live.

In June of this year, I appointed a Blue Ribbon Panel to provide expert advice on how we can achieve the goal of establishing at least one world-class "SMART" community pilot project in each of our provinces, in the North and in an Aboriginal community by the year 2000. I will be receiving their recommendations shortly.

Government On-Line is about governments showing the way. Moving beyond providing access, setting standards and investing in technology. Connecting ourselves to Canadians in a way that shows just how useful the Internet can be. Giving them around-the-clock access to the information and services they need.

Look, even a low-tech guy like me is on line. My web site is averaging over 10,000 hits a day. Not bad! That's more hits than I take from the Opposition in Parliament!

SchoolNet is one of our proudest achievements. It is a public and private sector partnership launched in 1994 to connect all of the public schools and libraries in Canada to the Internet and each other. It is now being copied around the world.

CANARIE is about making sure that as Canadians go online they can travel with an ease and speed that is second to none. It is a partnership of some 120 private and public sector organizations. A cutting edge alliance that is working on the next generation Canadian Internet applications. In our last budget, we announced an investment of $55 million in CANARIE to build the fastest network in the world: CA-NET-3. This is how CANARIE works. (Video)

Ladies and gentlemen, these examples tell you just how serious we in Canada are about tapping the enormous potential of the information highway.

But I have been saving the best for last.

Now, I want to get down to business. Your business. Electronic business. We've heard a lot of predictions about how big electronic commerce is going to be. But the safe bet is that it will grow to about $337 billion US by 2002 . Canada cannot afford to miss the E-com boat. And we won't!

Our government has set a goal of making Canada a world leader in electronic commerce by the year 2000. We want people like you - and companies like yours - to come to Canada first. To think of Canada first before you develop your E-com applications and software. To get in the habit of checking with us first to see if those applications are already up and running here.

We think Canada enjoys some of the best E-com advantages in the world . Some, I've talked about already. Taken together, they are an irresistible lure for companies and people who want to invest in new killer apps.

We've developed a real strategy. A strategy of "firsts." A strategy to build confidence and trust. To clarify rules. To strengthen our Internet infrastructure. And to maximize the benefits for all Canadians.

Many countries are developing strategies to meet some of the challenges of electronic commerce. But Canada is taking on all of them. Our bold and comprehensive vision will make it possible for Canadian business and consumers to seize the potential of E-com first, and fastest.

We call our E-com strategy "The Seven Firsts." And most of it will be in place by the end of this year.

Canadians have had a taste of E-com, and they like it. Did you know that, on a per capita basis, Canadians use debit cards ten times more than Americans? Even my Minister of Industry, John Manley, is buying his groceries on the Internet from Vancouver! Who knows what he'll buy next? Just keep it clean, John!

Of course, Canada is not an electronic island. It won't be good enough to get it right here if we haven't got it right worldwide. E-com is global. No single country has all the levers. No single business has all the tools. If we're going to get it right we need to work together. That is why Canada is pleased to be hosting the next OECD conference on electronic commerce, in Ottawa, in a few weeks.

Ladies and gentlemen. It is easy to get carried away by the new technology that is paving the information highway. For politicians to extol its virtues. But the information highway is about much more than speeches. It's about changing our country and the lives of our people. And I want to show you what is happening right now in one of the most remote parts of Canada.

In our far north, in Rankin Inlet, Canadians are living the benefits of the Internet and electronic commerce. (Video)

I think that video shows what our agenda for Connecting Canadians is all about. It's about extending the frontiers of opportunity for each and every Canadian. It's an agenda for a new millennium. But one that is rooted deep in our history.

A history which has seen us build one of the most prosperous nations in the world. With a quality of life that has just been ranked the best in the world by the United Nations for the fifth year in a row.

With the willpower to restore our economy from what the Wall Street Journal once called a candidate for the Third World to what the Financial Times of London now calls the "Top Dog" in the G-7. With a balanced budget. Low inflation. Low costs of capital. And rising productivity.

With the drive to make Canada the place to be in the new economy. Where even an old dog like me can learn some new high tech tricks.

This is a race, ladies and gentlemen. One that Team Canada means to win. I invite you to join us.