Canada will have a National Digital Strategy this spring. But will we have to wait a year for it to be funded?
In his appearance before the Parliamentary Industry Committee on Tuesday [see video on CPAC.ca], Industry Minister Tony Clement said that the comprehensive national digital strategy should be released in the Spring, about a year after the consultation was launched.
The challenge will be whether the government will be prepared to fund the implementation of that strategy. Yesterday, Finance Minister Flaherty announced that the federal budget will be announced in 3 weeks, on March 22. A quick scan of the Treasury Board’s Government Expenditure Plan [pdf, 2.1 MB] doesn’t reveal any hints that there will be new investments to fund any new programmes.
Although the Digital Strategy is being released sometime in the Spring, it won’t be before the Budget is released. As a result, will Canadians have to wait until 2012 before there is substantive funding to move forward with a meaningful implementation of plans?