[Advisors] The federal budget and broadband as infrastructure

[Michael Gurstein]

Tks for this Garth.

M

-----Original Message-----
From: advisors-bounces at tc.ca [mailto:advisors-bounces at tc.ca] On Behalf Of Garth Graham
Sent: March 23, 2016 12:22 PM
To: advisors <advisors at tc.ca>
Subject: [Advisors] The federal budget and broadband as infrastructure

Once again, it’s time to examine the chicken entrails of a federal budget to see if there’s any future for community-based broadband as essential universal infrastructure in Canada.  The short answer is no.

There are 4 matches to the word Broadband, including the following:
   - Access to better, more reliable BROADBAND connections will provide Canadians in rural and remote communities with new opportunities to participate in the digital economy
   - Investing up to $500 million over five years, starting in 2016–17, for a new program to extend and enhance BROADBAND service in rural and remote communities.
   - an additional $255 million over two years starting in 2016–17 to the First Nations Infrastructure Fund to support investments in a range of complementary infrastructure such as roads and bridges, energy systems, BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY, physical infrastructure to mitigate the effects of natural disasters and fire protection services.

In other words, broadband is viewed as infrastructure only in the digital divide sense of those who still have limited physical access. The sense that a national strategy for the uses of ICTs for development might still be necessary for meeting the objective of economic growth is completely absent.

There are 15 matches to the word “digital,” each qualified by a variation of the following;
   - Improving access for rural communities to the DIGITAL ECONOMY
   - Under the heading of repositioning Canada in a shifting world economy, "Shifts in technology—toward cleaner economies and more DIGITALLY CONNECTED ones—also cannot be ignored.
   - Under the heading of innovation strategy, "To drive growth, to improve the livelihoods of Canadians and to create jobs in areas including manufacturing, DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY and renewable energy, Canada must be on the leading edge of this change..”
   - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to accelerate the DNA analysis and DIGITAL RECORDING of the department’s collection of over 17 million physical specimens of insects, plants, fungi, bacteria and nematodes.
   - to provide $50 million over two years, starting in 2016–17, to Canada Health Infoway to support short-term DIGITAL HEALTH ACTIVITIES in e-prescribing and telehomecare.
   - to invest $675 million in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Radio-Canada to disseminate and support world-class Canadian content and to provide Canadians with better access to programs and services in the DIGITAL ERA.
   - 	• To create social-issue documentaries, animation, and DIGITAL CONTENT, Budget 2016 proposes to provide the National Film Board of Canada with $13.5 million.
   - In the DIGITAL ERA, Canadians have high standards for the service they receive. Dealing with the Government should be no exception. In this budget, the Government proposes measures to improve the quality and timelines of critical client services at the Canada Revenue Agency, takes important steps toward evolving online services through Canada.ca, and sets out to establish new performance standards to promote a better client experience for Canadians when they interact with the Government.
   - in the context of expanding open data initiatives, "Budget 2016 proposes to provide $11.5 million over five years to double the Treasury Board Secretariat’s budget for open government activities. This funding will allow the Treasury Board Secretariat to enhance its capacity to support engagement with Canadians, to design and deliver an ambitious open government strategy and to accelerate the provision of DIGITAL CONTENT.”
   - The Government has committed to increasing its engagement with provinces and territories, putting more focus on DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS….

In other words, some federal agencies have found that the word digital is a key to the money for programs, but the idea of having any national capacity for broadly relating government to society in the context of a digital economy is absent.

There are 2 matches for the word “Internet.”
   - to develop, in collaboration with provinces, territories, research institutions and other stakeholders, a nationwide Canadian Cluster Mapping portal. The availability of cluster mapping data—such as the composition of regional economic performance and patterns of business relationships—through a user-friendly, INTERNET-based tool will help to inform the design and delivery of programs by all levels of government.
   - This document is available on the INTERNET at www.fin.gc.ca

With all of the the irony I am capable of mustering, perhaps the darkest hour is just before the dawn?

GG
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