From Cybersecurity to CETA
Welcome to the 17th issue of the Digital Policy Salon briefing.
This week, we to return to our regular format, including our updates on COVID-19 and tech policy. If you missed our Spotlight Series on British Columbia last week, you can read it here.
Our first perspective piece this week provides a statistical overview of diversity in the Canadian digital economy in 2019, while the second is the final installment of our Future of Canada series examining the ongoing impacts of the pandemic on telehealth, remote work, and cybersecurity. Building on the theme of the “future of work,” our two interview pieces this issue take apart two different consequences of remote labour. One examines mobility in a low-commute era, while the other explores the challenges inherent in digital labour for vulnerable populations.
Finally, our featured research this week looks to the world: an overview of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) highlights key European trade partners and opportunities for Canada to increase digital economy exports. We hope you enjoy this week’s issue. If you like this newsletter, don’t forget to check out our upcoming special event on cybersecurity talent, demand, and workforce development featuring a panel of Canadian cybersecurity professionals.
- Tyler & Faun
COVID-19 and Tech Policy Updates 🇨🇦
Supreme Court rules in favour of genetic non-discrimination law
The Supreme Court ruled in favour of Bill S-201 — Canada’s genetic non-discrimination law — earlier this week. Having been passed by the House in 2017, the Bill was challenged by the province of Québec for infringing on the province’s legal jurisdiction. S-201 makes it a criminal offence for employers, companies, and other third parties to demand genetic information from individuals as a condition of service or contract agreement.
AI, AI tools top of mind for Canadian watchdogs
Canada’s Competition Bureau assumed presidency of the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network late last month. Among other things, the Bureau hopes to explore the potential benefits of AI as an investigative tool, as well as its use by businesses in misleading consumers.
Public discussion regarding the safety and ethics of facial recognition software continued this week, as Clearview AI terminated business with the RCMP, its last remaining client in Canada.
Tech in the workplace and education brings new challenges and new solutions
UK hospitals have begun using augmented reality (AR) to facilitate the world’s first virtual rounds — doctors wearing AR glasses examine patients, while students watch remotely, allowing for larger, more remote cohorts.
A new study by organizational behaviour specialist, Mahdi Roghanizad, warns that video calls may bypass social triggers vital for establishing trust, with possible implications for cohesion and productivity among fully virtual teams.
BC government launches digital services card and online identification system
BC residents can now use virtual service cards to verify their identities and access provincial services remotely. The province is allegedly the first government to deploy such a system in North America.
Masks, vaccines, and antibodies tests
The first round of Canadian antibodies testing began this month, as Québec-based biopharmaceutical company Medicago initiated the first human trials for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. Meanwhile, a new study from the UK suggests that an individual’s immunity to COVID-19, if at all possible, may disappear within months.
Masks have become mandatory in a variety of public and indoor settings in provinces and municipalities across the country, and some businesses are using made-in-Canada AI solutions to help track compliance. - Mairead Matthews | email
Our Perspective
Digital Economy Annual Review 2019: Part 3
ICTC is pleased to present the Digital Economy Annual Review 2019, a report that explores broad trends over the past year in Canada’s digital economy with respect to economic impact, the labour market, technology adoption, and talent supply.
This 2019 review will be presented through a three-part blog series.
The report utilizes historical data starting from 2009 through to 2019.
Canada’s ICT talent supply grew increasingly diverse in 2019. Women, youth, older workers, and immigrants all represented a higher share of the workforce than 10 years ago, led by immigrants and older workers. Gains among women and youth were modest. All groups, with the exception of newcomers, continued to be underrepresented in ICT employment, compared to the wider Canadian economy. Unemployment rates for all groups in ICT were less than half of those in non-ICT roles.
In 2019, women represented 26.5% of ICT workers. This was a small increase from 24.8% in 2009. Notably, female representation across the wider Canadian labour force dropped in the last 10 years.
Youth represented 8.1% of all ICT workers in Canada in 2019, up slightly from 7.8% in 2009. Over the same period, older workers jumped to 13% from 9%.
The share of immigrants among ICT professionals grew to 37% in 2019 from 26% in 2009. While immigrant employment has grown quickly throughout the Canadian economy, this trend is even more pronounced in tech. The vast majority (95.7%) of immigrants employed as ICT professionals live in Canada’s most populous provinces: Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta.
Cybersecurity, Healthcare, and Our New Office Environment
As provinces in Canada begin to reopen their economies and evaluate the implications of opening too soon or too quickly, we find ourselves as a nation rushing forward in the hopes of a speedy economic recovery. As policy makers weigh the benefits and risks of reopening public parks, schools, and various public services, corporations also find themselves considering new ways of conducting business. These considerations present new challenges. As cybersecurity issues foster important dialogue surrounding the health and wellbeing of public and private infrastructure, its implications in daily operations cannot be overstated.
Some businesses are evaluating the benefits of preserving their social distancing protocols (except for online retail/sales) in light of having received positive feedback. Whether the motivation is to protect staff in anticipation of a second wave of COVID-19, or to increase revenue, the value of digital infrastructure and safety remains consistent. While online sales in Canada continues to experience a dramatic increase, a higher volume of potential risks to personal privacy also occurs.
This final installment of the Information and Communication Technology Council’s (ICTC) “Future of Canada” series explores the issue of cybersecurity, workplace safety, and the implications of technology on the future of Canadian healthcare. Click through to the full article for their full insights.
Special Events
Join Us For a Virtual Panel
Monday, July 23rd, 2020–2:00–3:00 PM EDT
Join the ICTC research and policy team behind the report, Searching for Hidden Talent: Experience and Expertise in New Brunswick’s Cybersecurity Community, as they highlight their findings followed by a virtual panel discussion with industry leaders from the New Brunswick Cybersecurity Community.
This report, Searching for Hidden Talent: Experience and Expertise in New Brunswick’s Cybersecurity Community evaluates the magnitude and type of demand for cybersecurity personnel in the province of New Brunswick, a recognized cybersecurity hub within Canada.
Event Overview:
- New Brunswick Labour Market Research and Analysis Project Overview
- Expert Panel with Andrew Jefferies (Deloitte Canada), Kathryn Cameron (Beauceron Security) & Jamie Rees (WorkSafeNB)
- Questions and Answers period
You will have the opportunity to directly engage with our speakers on this content through an online chat. Click the link below to secure your registration today.
Interviews in the Field
The “Future of Work” and Digital Livelihoods for Vulnerable Populations
As part of ICTC’s Technology and Human Rights Series, ICTC spoke with Dr. Andreas Hackl, Lecturer in the Anthropology of Development at the School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh. Kiera Schuller, Research and Policy analyst with ICTC, interviewed Andreas about his research on digital labour and refugee livelihoods, and the digital economy, international development, and vulnerable populations.
Kiera:
Anthropologists are not typically the first professionals that people think of when they think of expertise on the digital economy. How does having an anthropological lens shape help you uniquely see, understand, and research the digital world?
Dr. Hackl:
Anthropology as a discipline has largely neglected the field of research that is digital labour and topics like online work. While there has been quite a strong digital anthropology focus, it has targeted mostly social media, identity, cultural engagement with online media, etc. The sphere of the digital economy, including digital labour, the gig economy, ride-sharing, etc. hasn’t been looked at much by anthropologists. Yet, on the other hand, anthropology has a unique strength of combining an analysis of (a) how digital forms of work are organized and structured and (b) the local, grounded experience of people who are doing this work or doing this training, which is key. A particular benefit of anthropology is the ability to do research on the ground for extended periods, to really embed in a community and understand people’s perspectives. Unfortunately, a lot of existing and current research on digital labour and work lacks this bottom-up perspective from people’s life-worlds. We need more of this.
Kiera:
What is digital labour and how does it differ (or not) from traditional labour?
Dr. Hackl:
‘Digital labour’ is the term that is used to talk about a new form of labour but, in many ways, still carries several trends from traditional labour. For example, digital labour shares many of the same problems that traditional labour does: problems of informality, lack of security, sometimes being indecent work (particularly, for example, in the online gig economy). However, the means of connecting employers to employees have changed: they have been digitized. Yet, at the same time, software engineering, programming, and new tech-driven jobs are also changing the character of work and producing new kinds of work. For example, one thing that is different is scale. Platform work is a great example: platform work is rooted in the process of outsourcing tasks from the Global North so that they can be done by individuals in the Global South. Many platforms are now global in scale, causing workers from all over the world to compete with each other online. So, the scale of competition in the [digital] economy has increased.
Read the full interview here 🎙
Commuting, COVID-19, and the Shift to Remote Work
By Alexandra Cutean | email
COVID-19 has prompted the world’s largest remote working experiment, with many suggesting that it will remain the norm — at least in some form — in a post-COVID world. Does this signal the eclipse of the daily commute? In some cases, perhaps, but for many Canadians, getting to the office — even on an occasional basis — will still be a reality. Recently, ICTC’s Senior Director of Research & Policy sat down with Antoine Abribat, CEO of carpooling app Commut. Originally hailing from Paris, a city with millions of daily commuters, the Toronto-based entrepreneur discusses digitally enabled carpooling, the sharing economy, and new methods of eco-friendly mobility.
Alexandra:
What are your thoughts on the future of transportation, especially within dense cities like Toronto where it’s costly to own a car, and the cost of living is also high? I know recent trends indicated that car ownership was on the decline in many cities, but now it seems that COVID-19 have turned this on its head. Interest in vehicle purchases has increased in many cities amid fears of public transit.
Antoine:
This is a very interesting area. Ultimately, COVID-19 was a game changer from many perspectives, including this one. We were initially forecasting a decrease of personal car ownership and usage, but you’re right that in the wake of COVID-19, interest in car ownership has grown again.
It’s hard to say what the future of transportation will look like everywhere, but I would argue that the future of the commute in big cities will be a blend of different solutions. Travelling by bike or walking to work is doable for some, but only those who have small distances to travel. If you have to go more than 5km, you reach your limit with a bike. I think the personal car will remain a staple in cities like Toronto, so this is why we want to promote solutions like Commut — car use will be around for some time, but there is no need to add more cars on the road.
Read the full interview here 🎙
What We’re Reading
Canada’s food insecurity problem is about to get worse due to COVID-19, experts say
(CTV News)
Access to affordable and nutritious food is an ongoing struggle for many Canadian families and experts warn that the situation is likely to get worse by the fall because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a survey done in May by Statistics Canada, almost one in seven (14.6 percent) Canadians indicated that they lived in a household where food insecurity was a problem. This number is up from 10.5 percent just two years ago.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought distinct challenges to many sectors of the food supply chain that have reshaped their operations with physical distancing, the use of personal protective gear and equipment modifications — all of which are contributing to rising costs.
Talking Points:
Two years ago, a Stats Canada survey found that 10.5% of Canadians self-identified as living in a household where food insecurity was an issue. Two months ago in May, this figure grew to 14.6%. Today, preventative measures related to food processing — key to curtailing the spread of COVID-19 — are also contributing to a rise in the cost of food. This is something that is likely to significantly impact already financially vulnerable households, especially when measures like CERB eventually come to an end. COVID-19 has uncovered the cracks in our food supply chain and spotlighted the need to re-think existing practices in this space. - Alexandra Cutean | email
Research Visualized
Technology goods accounted for more than 10% of all Canadian exports; technology goods exported to the EU increased by 6% when compared to pre-CETA period. The EU represents considerable potential for Canadian exporters, but a 2019 survey by Global Affairs found that only 9% of Canadian SMEs were taking advantage of CETA, with only another 17% planning to do so. Over a quarter of all businesses surveyed had never heard of the agreement.
Driving these exports was commercial and service industry machinery manufacturing, which increased by $71 million or 20% two years after CETA. Conversely, exports of computer and peripheral equipment from Canada to the EU saw a decline of $66 million during this period.
Our Research
CETA: Strengthing Canada-EU Ties and Scaling the Canadian Digital Economy
The uptick in exports two years after the implementation of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the EU has accrued more to EU businesses than Canadian businesses, suggesting that Canada could more effectively leverage CETA to access one of the largest marketplaces in the world.
From end of 2017 to end of 2018, exports from the EU to Canada increased by 11%, whereas exports from Canada to the EU grew only by 4%.
“While the Coronavirus pandemic continues to have far-reaching impacts on international trade, CETA offers a large and stable market to provision alternative supply chains, scale businesses, and set the stage for a robust economic recovery post COVID-19.” - Namir Anani, ICTC President & CEO
The report includes:
- An overview of the EU’s digital strengths
- EU’s top tech imports and key areas of consumer demand for digital goods and services
- Interviews with EU business leaders that examine the attractiveness of Canada as a trade partner
- Individual EU country profiles to identify market opportunities for Canadian digital businesses
A key study finding suggests that EU organizations would do more business with Canadian tech companies if they had better access to information related to the benefits of working with Canada and a better understanding of Canada’s differing provincial regulations.
Twitter Highlights
Talk to Us 💬
Send your comments, questions, and tech policy insights to:
- Tyler Farmer 🚀 t.farmer@ictc-ctic.ca
- Faun Rice 🦌 f.rice@ictc-ctic.ca
