Prorogation and the ICT industry – what it means to us

Linda Oliver
Vice-President, ITAC

One of ITAC’s goals in 2010 is to monitor Parliament Hill and Queen’s Park on behalf of our members, keeping an eye on the bills and key characters that will affect the way ICT companies operate in the near future. It might seem ironic, then, that we start this when Parliament has been prorogued, essentially halting all progress on the passing of bills through the House of Commons and the Senate until March. 

On March 3, we will see the reopening of Parliament and a Speech from the Throne, meaning Parliament is back in session. Then on March 4, Prime Minister Harper will unveil a new budget. Like Bernard and many others in the ICT industry, I hope that in and around all this we see a clear commitment to a Canadian digital economy action plan. Until then, though, all committees have been dissolved and all bills have died on the order paper – this means the process of having each individual bill passed will start from scratch in March, regardless of how close to passing the bill had come. 

A look back on a year punctuated with crisis… a look ahead with optimism for the ICT industry

Bernard Courtois
President/CEO, ITAC

Another new year is upon us; and while some will take this time to focus on setting goals and new beginnings, others will seize the opportunity to reflect on the past year to contemplate lessons learned and how one’s life, and world, have changed. In this seasonal spirit, I thought I would discuss the most pertinent issues and occurrences to affect the ICT industry in 2009, and what I think the industry can expect from 2010 and beyond.

Inevitably, the most notable impact on the ICT industry this year had to be that of the recession driven by the financial crisis. About a year ago, things looked bleak, and governments around the world were driven to stimulate the global economy. Governments became acutely aware of the need to find where economic growth would come from, and as a result, much of their attention was turned toward ICT.