Recommendations

Digital Divide Concept:

• The concept of the digital divide needs to be broadened to more appropriately incorporate the importance of the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) with other skills and activities in people’s daily lives.

Diversity of Access:

• To meet the needs of all Canadians, both those connected and unconnected, information and services must be available through a range of means (e.g., paper, in-person, Internet, telephone) and must be of comparable quality.

Public Awareness:

• The federal government should work with community organizations to increase awareness by non-users of the availability of local access sites, and the services available.

Publicly Relevant Content:

• There is an important need to create more Canadian content, particularly at the local level (e.g., citizenship, social, cultural).
• The various levels of government should provide funding and other support for individuals and not-for-profit organizations to create social, cultural and citizenship content for general access and use in communities.

Benchmarking Modern Technologies in the Home:

• The national census conducted by Statistics Canada should include questions on home telephone, cable television, computer and Internet access.