[Advisors] Report of meeting -- InCan - Dec. 8

[Marita Moll]

Report of the meeting at Industry Canada, December 8, 2011.

Participants:

Bruce Winchester, head policy advisor to the Minister of Industry
Marita Moll, Telecommunities Canada
Darlene Thompson, Telecommunities Canada and the Government of Nunavut
Monique Chartrand, Communautique
Patrick Dub=E9, Communautique & Living Labs

This meeting was scheduled to last about 45=20
minutes.  In fact, it lasted almost two hours =96 a=20
huge amount of one-on-one time with someone at=20
that level. We are not sure what it was in our=20
letter that piqued his curiosity.  He did=20
indicate that he usually only met with the big players =96 Bell, Rogers,=
 etc.

Mr. Winchester was extraordinarily candid with=20
us.  This was certainly not a session in which we=20
were listened to politely, patted on the head and=20
sent on our way. From the beginning, he engaged=20
with us constantly at the very practical level =96=20
sometimes even trying to draw us into=20
conversations about other current online issues=20
we were not there to talk about =96 e.g.  broadband=20
in rural communities, the value of satellite=20
connections, the economy in northern areas,=20
etc.  But we had assumed correctly that=20
presenting well documented projects with proven=20
economic value would be the only way to hold the=20
attention of someone in this government.

On the negative side, he was quite clear about=20
how the department felt about this program =96 it=20
didn=92t belong there, it was outside of the=20
mandate, etc. etc.  He volunteered that the=20
department had tried to get the regional=20
development agencies to take it over =96 but that=20
these agencies had declined to take on what they=20
called an =93unfunded mandate.=94 One of the first=20
things he said was =93You=92ve got to lose that name,=20
for starters!=94  There were some suggestions that=20
the lingering perception of this program was that=20
it was more of a social service than an economic=20
driver.  We said that we were there to change=20
that =96 to tell some of the stories that rarely=20
made it to his level.  Darlene Thompson and=20
Patrick Dub=E9, who spoke about northern projects=20
and the =93living labs=94 experiments in Montreal=20
respectively were right on their game. And Mr.=20
Winchester became more and interested in the=20
possibilities that were presented.

One of the lasting comments, for me, was =93You=20
folks need a champion.=94  Of course, he wasn=92t=20
volunteering to take that on.  It was pretty=20
clear to us that the department had no intention=20
of renewing this program.  So that leaves the=20
question, why did he meet with us at all?

Perhaps our good news stories are getting out=20
there.  Even this government needs good news=20
stories =96 small, innovative, creative, locally generated projects.

The meeting ended on a positive note.  Darlene=20
had brought pre-print copies of the book of=20
exemplary projects she has been working on with=20
Clarice for the last few years.  I also had a=20
copy of a booklet of short (one pager) CAP=20
stories.  So we left him with some tangible evidence.

  Final comments:  We do think a spark may have=20
been ignited =96 we are not sure how to keep it going.

Marita, Darlene, Monique and Patrick.