Digital Nova Scotia is preparing a submission submisson on Canada's Digital Economic Strategy and will be participating in a joint submission along with all of the other provincial associations in Canada (ICT Federation of Canada).

Digital Nova Scotia would like your input for these submissions. We will be meeting with the ICT Federation to discuss our joint submission on July 5, 2010.

The deadline for input to Digital Nova Scotia's Submission is July 2, 2010. You may send your comments and suggestions to info@digitalnovascotia.com .

The Government of Canada has created a web site for submissions and individual comments at www.digitaleconomy.gc.ca .

We encourage you to send us your comments and suggestions to info@digitalnovascotia.com for our submission and to provide comments and suggestions directly to the Government of Canada at www.digitaleconomy.gc.ca.

The deadline for submissions at the Government website is July 9, 2010.

Michael McConnell

CEO Digital Nova Scotia

Below are the Consultation Questions from the Digital Economy Consultation Web site.

Consultation Questions

Innovation Using Digital Technologies

Should Canada focus on increasing innovation in some key sectors or focus on providing the foundation for innovation across the economy?

Which conditions best incent and promote adoption of ICT by Canadian business?

What would a successful digital strategy look like for your firm or sector? What are the barriers to implementation?

Once copyright, anti-spam and data breach/privacy amendments are in place, are their other legislative or policy changes needed to deal with emerging issues?

How can Canada use its regulatory and policy regime to promote Canada as a favourable environment for e-commerce?

Digital Infrastructure

What speeds and other service characteristics are needed by users (e.g., consumers, businesses, public sector bodies) and how should Canada set goals for next generation networks?

What steps must be taken to meet these goals? Are the current regulatory and legislative frameworks conducive to incenting investment and competition? What are the appropriate roles of stakeholders in the public and private sectors?

What steps should be taken to ensure there is sufficient radio spectrum available to support advanced infrastructure development?

How best can we ensure that rural and remote communities are not left behind in terms of access to advanced networks and what are the priority areas for attention in these regions?

Growing the ICT Industry

Do our current investments in R&D effectively lead to innovation, and the creation of new businesses, products and services? Should we promote investments in small start-ups to expand our innovation capacity?

What is needed to innovate and grow the size of the ICT industry including the number of large ICT firms headquartered in Canada?

What would best position Canada as a destination of choice for venture capital and investments in global research and development mandates?

What efforts are needed to address the talent needs in the coming years?

Canada’s Digital Content

What does creating Canada’s digital content advantage mean to you?

What elements do you want to see in Canada’s marketplace framework for digital media and content?

How do you see digital content contributing to Canada’s prosperity?

What kinds of infrastructure investments do you foresee making in the future? What kinds of infrastructure will you need in the future to be successful at home and abroad?

How can stakeholders encourage investment, particularly early stage investment, in the development of innovative digital media and content?

Building Digital Skills

What do you see as the most critical challenges in skills development for a digital economy?

What is the best way to address these challenges?

What can we do to ensure that labour market entrants have digital skills?

What is the best way to ensure the current workforce gets the continuous upskilling required to remain competitive in the digital economy? Are different tactics required for SMEs versus large enterprises?

How will the digital economy impact the learning system in Canada? How we teach? How we learn?

What strategies could be employed to address the digital divide?

Improving Canada’s Digital Advantage

Should we set targets for our made-in-Canada digital strategy? And if so, what should those targets be?

What should the timelines be to reach these targets?