Panel: Community Visions Following the reports on the first day's concurrent dis- cussions, Dennis Lewycky introduced the first set of panelists. Jean-Claude Parrot Jean-Claude Parrot, Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), began by commenting on what is happening in communities across the country: closures of post offices, the CBC, schools, and hospitals, and the loss of funding that many community organizations are experiencing form the context for the issue of access to the information highway. The unregulated market economy "doesn't care too much about people", added Par- rot. He presented a quote to the audience: "The businessman of the future will need no chauffeur, for radio controls will oper- ate the car at his will ... Restaurant table service will be automatic. When the soup is finished; you say merely 'bring in the fish' and the fish comes in from the kitchen by himself." Parrot then explained that the quote was printed in MacLean's magazine in 1924 as a prediction of what would be achieved through radio by 1975. He described it as an illustration of the "exaggerations made in the name of our fascination with high tech gadgetry". But any technological change has both positive and negative impacts. Though optimists claim that this new technology may have created jobs faster than it has destroyed them, there is cause for concern in four areas: * Information technology is all-pervasive. No new sector is emerging to provide jobs for those displaced by the technol- ogy. * The introduction of information technology is happening at a faster pace than earlier new technologies, leaving less time for adjustment and training. * Information technology makes work more portable, reducing the demand for labour while increasing its supply. * Current levels of unemployment hardly provide an environment conducive to more job destruction. The issues associated with the information age symbolized by the term "information highway" can all be reduced to one: power. Who has it and who doesn't? Who owns and controls the physical infrastructure and content and who doesn't? If access to the information highway is increasingly going to define individual and group membership in society, then the highway must be regarded as a public good. If consumerism alone, or predominantly, drives the information highway, its full use- fulness and potential will have been lost. Access to and content on the information highway are two sides of the same coin, said Parrot. Access must be universal and affordable, and must involve an open flow of information. Special needs must also be taken into account, including geog- raphy, disability, language, and the needs of specific groups. In addition, there must be community access points in places like libraries and shopping malls. Parrot commented that often technology creates new needs in the community without meeting existing needs. Parrot said Canadian content must be encouraged. He also noted that privacy must be protected. The information highway can and should be used to enhance education, health care, and the labour movement. The negative consequences associated with the technology include its impact on work; specifically: job dislocation and forced telework. Employment standards and workers rights will have to be applied to ensure that working people do not bear the brunt of the change. However these technological changes are happening at a time when even basic human rights like the prohib- ition of child labour are not being accepted as part of trade agreements. Parrot stressed the importance of maintaining some standards and regulations. Noting that "there is life beyond the information highway", Parrot concluded with some thoughts and questions on which to focus: * "Does the information highway represent empowerment through interactivity or impoverishment through social isolation?" * Will citizenship or consumerism direct its purpose? * Will government be sidelined to the role of facilitating private-sector decision-making? * What are the implications of "carriage and content conver- gence" for access by the FreeNets and SoliNets of the world? * What about user needs, and universal, affordable access? * Will the information highway produce "a virtual democracy or shopping centre hell?" * Telework and home offices may save people travel time; but it also leads to fewer services in the areas of transporta- tion and child care, and longer work hours. * What about protection for a growing number of self-employed creators of information highway content, and adjustment assistance for workers? "Who should the information highway ultimately serve?", asked Parrot. "The answer," he said, "will tell us all we need to know about the information highway. Let's ensure that answer is the right one." Irene Seiferling Irene Seiferling, President of the Consumers' Association of Canada, emphasized the human side and noted that "what you create can dominate you". Consumers, said Seiferling, "determine the economic good". She described them as having "a remote control in one hand and a wallet in the other"; that is, they have choice and they have power. Consumers cannot be separated into a distinct category: they include everyone, said Seiferling. She expressed the hope that a strengthened public lobby would result from the confer- ence. "Strong public dialogue results from a balance of inter- ests," she stressed. Expanding on Dr. Franklin's "cake" analogy, Seiferling said the information highway can be thought of as a cake with a finite number of pieces; and it must be ensured that no one ends up with the crumbs. There is a business cycle that allows for a "natural and necessary" flow of goods, and the information highway can be part of that, said Seiferling. She listed three key principles to uphold: choice, competitive pricing, and an open system. It is important to ensure that big corporations do not monopolize the information highway, she said; however corporations are sim- ply the result of "a critical mass of consumption". Seiferling identified herself and the other two panelists as members of the Information Highway Advisory Council (IHAC), which will issue a report in the next three months. Its key objectives include universal access, affordability, and privacy. Its prin- ciples are as follows: * Government policies should recognize that consumers are best served through competition. * The expanding infrastructure must come through public and private collaboration. * Phone companies must share the risk; but ultimately everyone will bear the cost. Referring to the issue of privacy, Seiferling said the Cana- dian Standards Association (CSA) developed a "model code of priv- acy" which tells businesses how to conduct themselves. Non-busi- ness groups are standing firm on this issue, because the "risk/rewards ratio" is in favour of business. Price is a key issue. Long-distance phone services can no longer subsidize local service, commented Seiferling. Canada currently has a very good communications system, but the country is "poised on the brink of a new world order" and must plan well. Seiferling outlined a "wish list" which included: * A strong consumer voice; * Public funding of a strengthened voice to provide the CRTC with an alternative to the "powerful and almost unlimited" corporate lobby; * A Deputy Minister to concentrate solely on increasing access for all levels of the community. Seiferling called for "co-operation and a spirit of open- mindedness". She concluded with a quote describing the informa- tion highway as "a personalized village square", and expressed the hope that this vision would be achieved. Elizabeth Hoffman Elizabeth Hoffman, Chair of the Steering Committee of the Coalition for Public Information, said the presence of people who work on the "front lines" distinguished the conference as a good one. She began with a description of IHAC as composed of 30 Cana- dians who advise the government on the goals of creating jobs, reinforcing Canadian sovereignty and identity, and ensuring uni- versal access at a reasonable cost. Its five principles and objectives are as follows: * The development and implementation of a strategy for an interconnected "network of networks"; * Collaboration of the public and private sectors in develop- ment; * Competition among products and services; * Privacy protection and network security; * The establishment of an environment of lifelong learning. IHAC is "heavily weighted in favour of industry", said Hoff- man. She urged delegates to talk to the IHAC members attending the conference and convey to them their concerns. Speaking on the Coalition for Public Information, Hoffman said its goals are to provide an effective grassroots voice to ensure that the infrastructure serves the public interest. She urged participants to join the Coalition, adding that even those who cannot afford a membership should inquire. Hoffman thanked Stan Skrzeszewski and Maureen Cubberley for their work on the Coalition's report, which reflects the results of a national public consultation, and is entitled: Future Know- ledge: The Report. A Public Policy Framework for the Informa- tion Highway. The report found that the public recognized the economic benefits of the information highway, but saw in addition that it has the potential to enhance quality of life. The five key areas identified by the public are: universal access; free- dom of expression; privacy; intellectual property rights; and employment/quality of work. Concerns included affordability, and the "absolute necessity that there be a public lane". Gender issues are also very impor- tant. Hoffman commented that the women at this conference repre- sented the largest number of women she had seen at a conference in the past year. Access for people with disabilities and for rural/remote areas are key areas. A national access board would be a good way to examine issues of accessibility. Society is being transformed, said Hoffman, and the public must be involved in the discussion. The Coalition recommends that all parties develop broad public information campaigns. Hoffman outlined four challenges to leave "not with you but with us": * Change how people see us and how we see ourselves. * Change how we do business. * Have an action plan. * Examine where to go from here. Hoffman quoted from a book entitled Reinventing Government, which states: "Empowerment is as old as the frontier. We are a nation of self-help organizations ... And yet when we organize our public business we forget these lessons ... We let the police, the doctors, the teachers, and the social workers have control, while the people they are serving have none." Hoffman warned participants of the dangers of "client-hood", which describes people who wait for others to act on their behalf. In contrast, "citizens" act on their own initiative. "Good clients make bad citizens; good citizens make strong communities," she quoted. Although the public agrees on the principles, they must move beyond agreement and establish an action plan. Hoffman outlined several key points: * There must be a public game plan for guarding the public commons. * Computers must not replace or take money away from programs. * "We have more to gain if we listen to one another." * Issues of privacy must be addressed. For example, hotels keep the numbers of all local and long-distance calls. * Intellectual property laws now being prepared must be care- fully monitored. * What will happen after IHAC? People must design the tools at the grassroots level. The government must change how it communicates with the public, so that people actually get the information. This technology is not just one sector; it is a sector that affects every other sector. Society should always strive to get closer to the ideal of democracy, said Hoffman. She concluded by building on Dr. Frank- lin's "cake" analogy. People know who is symbolized by the icing and who is symbolized by the crumbs; they must convince them- selves and the powers that be that the cake is really an upside- down cake and that those at the bottom should rightfully be at the top. Greg Searle: Response Greg Searle, of the Telecommons Project in Guelph, gave a context to his response by stating that Canadians are building the information highway now in their own neighbourhoods, and are beating both government and industry in setting up the infra- structure. Searle agreed with Parrot that design and access are very important, and that the public must be involved in design. It is also important to find ways of getting government support. If companies were on community networks, said Searle, it would promote community advocacy and enable people to start a dialogue on products and services. In the race to have an impact on the infrastructure, it is important to "stake out an early presence", he said. It would be good to slow the development of the technology; but by no means should community groups stop fighting for access. Searle echoed Hoffman's challenges and added that his organ- ization has encouraged community networks to have a free market mentality so that they would be more sustainable. But it has also urged them toward a democratic mentality. This dual charac- ter sometimes causes confusion, said Searle; but good marketing is community outreach, and good community outreach is good mar- keting. Searle stated that community networks can change the shape of Dr. Franklin's "cake". However, he stressed that communities must get beyond the "network" structure, explaining that networks are a traditional model, and computer technology just modifies the parameters. He urged that communities adopt the concept of "community development" instead. If the community networking movement is weaving together society, he said, then it is essen- tial that "the person at the loom" knows a lot more about society and "significantly less" about the technology. Noting that everything being discussed is political, Searle said people should have been either much more upset or much more excited sooner than this. He challenged communities to develop a vision and become politically active. He also urged all network developers to co-operate. Discussion Marita Moll, a joint founder of the Public Information High- way Advisory Council (P-IHAC), said the organization was devel- oped out of anger at the fact that government was developing policy to the exclusion of the public. There are 30 people on the government's IHAC, only a small number of whom are working to represent the public interest. "We know", said Moll, that there are no jobs coming as a result of this technology, and that there can be no competition as has been claimed. She urged partici- pants to "talk about what matters". Poor communities are trying to develop themselves, with no resources; at the same time, the federal government is pumping money into nothing but the facili- tation of private interests. Moll said she would like to see an agenda come out of this conference. She added that the confer- ence was put on by "people who care", and stressed that "there's no money being made here þ there's money being lost. I want you all to know that." Hoffman suggested that delegates use the conference to form recommendations to take to the federal government. A delegate from Vision TV who said she was wearing her "com- munity hat" expressed discomfort with being defined as a "con- sumer". She said the word takes one out of the role of cre- ator/producer/participant and implies a passive role. It should be obvious, she added, that people who define themselves by what they purchase would lose their privacy to companies researching their spending habits. Seiferling responded that there is a "consumer part" in everyone and that she was urging people to be aggressive rather than passive in that role. Hoffman said she was even uncomfortable with the word "citi- zen", which had been in a quote in her speech, because community members who are not citizens should also be included. On the issue of privacy, she said vendors should be entitled to keep track of larger buying patterns, and do not need to monitor the habits of specific individuals. A speaker who identified herself as a "resident" of a number of different communities said the Internet is useful in its abil- ity to extend dialogue, which is a key way to learn. Commenting on Seiferling's speech, Garth Graham said the recommendation that the shareholders bear the cost is fine "if we're building"; but, "if we're moving into a knowledge sector", then the people who pay will be "you and me". On another point, he advised that literature which refers solely to the information highway's capacity for information should be modified to read "information and communication". This moves people away from the "client" role in relation to the government. Commenting on Seiferling's recommendation that a Deputy Minister be assigned to deal with issues of access, Graham said he would like to meet a DM who wants this kind of interactive communication. A participant from CIDA who said he was speaking as a citi- zen responded to Parrot's comments on the effect of emerging technologies on labour matters. Stating that labour at Canada Post is involved in a head-on collision with the technology, he asked if it is possible that the technology is empowering people to get rid of a service which they feel does not meet their needs. Parrot responded with a brief history of the relationship between Canada Post and emerging technologies. Post office workers have always known that change was coming he said. The problem is that, when the post office started getting involved in communication, the government of the day would not let it compete and would not give it support. Parrot noted that people used to pay their bills at the post office, where they could write cheques which would not go through right away, giving them time to put money in the bank. Now the technology allows for bills to be paid at the bank þ but the bank both charges people for this service and profits on the interest it collects by debiting the account before it pays the bill. Parrot added that Canada Post will still have a role, despite the new technology. A delegate who identified herself as a fourth-year political science student expressed a concern with the discussion of the previous day. She said participants were using the terms "Inter- net" and "information highway" interchangeably, and confusing computer networks with the Internet. Responding to Hoffman's recommendation that they create a national vision, she asked how a national vision could be built when this technology is breaking down traditional state borders. A speaker commented that Parrot had been modest in his his- tory of the post office and emerging technologies. He explained that in the same era in which Parrot was being demonized by the media, CUPW recommended that the employer harness these technol- ogies þ a recommendation which the employer ignored. Referring to a comment from Hoffman about the CRTC, he agreed that the CRTC should take its public responsibility more seriously. Referring to Seiferling's comment about the "Rogers Cable fiasco", he said there is a misconception that when the public can "pick and pay" services somehow get cheaper. A speaker who identified himself as a student and a member of Local Global Access said the information highway should be viewed as an opportunity for the dissemination of information. If information is power, then it is crucial that important infor- mation is disseminated to everyone. Seiferling clarified her comment that shareholders should bear the risk, explaining that she had said they should bear the risk of investing in building the infrastructure, but ultimately the public will bear the cost; and, because the public is paying for it, they should have a say in the decisions that are made. She closed by saying that consumers do not want 500 channels; what they want is a say in how goods and services are packaged and delivered.