WELCOMING ADDRESS BY MICHAEL BINDER, ASSISTANT DEPUTY MINISTER, SPECTRUM, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY AND SCIENCE CANADA NATIONAL FREENET CONFERENCE WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 18, 1993, 9:00 a.m. CARLETON UNIVERSITY Bonjour, mesdames et messieurs, Il me fait plaisir dtre ici ce matin pour lancer la premire conrence du FreeNet. It is indeed a pleasure to welcome you all to the first conference of this kind held anywhere. It is fitting that it be held in the National Capital Region, and at Carleton University, where the Canadian FreeNet movement has started. As I am sure you will be hearing later on, the FreeNet here has been an incredible success -- beyond anyone's expectations. Dave Sutherland tells me that since the system went public in February, nearly 9,000 users have signed up, and modem sales in Ottawa have jumped by 800% -- a good indication of the level of excitement that FreeNet has generated. The first time I heard about the FreeNet, I also got excited. And I still don't know exactly why. There is just something exciting about the idea. Maybe it is the fact that it is a free service to the public? In this day and age, not too many things are free! Maybe it is the fact that a bunch of committed enthusiasts made this happen without government support? Or maybe because it is a new way for people to communicate with each other. It defines for us a new neighbourhood, a new community. One that is a whole lot bigger than we are used to. It allows people to have a new way to make friends -- locally and internationally. The FreeNet lets people make contacts and establish relationships. And we all know how much we need new and innovative tools to allow us to re-establish linkages and relationships among Canadians from east to west across this country. Furthermore, it will also allow us to establish electronic pen-pals with people around the world. It will allow people to share their information, their ideas, their dreams. Maybe it will result in a better understanding among people and nations. Maybe it will bring Marshall McLuban's global village closer to reality. From the perspective of our government, community networks could become a very convenient tool in providing Canadians information about government, to get Canadians more involved in policy discussions. We can truly have a more open government. We now have the physical means of engaging all Canadians in the issues of governance. The networks are also important educational tools. They allow people to develop skills -- skills with computers -- skills in working with information -- skills with telecommunications. They provide us with access to data bases for learning, and for entertainment and this is just the beginning. It was very timely to have our Prime Minister announce yesterday her support to the schoolnet project. A network to connect our schools electronically. Connecting our students to information databases, providing newspaper services, organizing a forum for electronic discussions and debates, as well as providing an electronic E-mail, will all contribute to increasing demands on the networks. Once people become familiar with the networks and the services provided, they will become hooked. Not only that, these services can become addictive, I can spend hours just browsing through the network. I think that is really why I am a strong supporter of FreeNet. It is a project that captured the imagination of the community. People just love it. It sparks them to do things. It sparks them to dial in and spend time on the system. Why? I think maybe it is because there is a part deep inside all of us that wants to reach out and communicate. We like to find out what others are thinking. We like to eavesdrop on other people's conversations, and to butt in when we have something to say. And we all get equal treatment on the network. We are accepted -- or we are rejected -- on the basis of what we choose to say about a subject. And that is true whether one is a government employee, a store clerk, a university professor, or a homemaker. I think the Ottawa Citizen is also an enthusiastic supporter. Just about every month there is a story about how FreeNet impacts the community. I know Peter Calami is going to tell you more about how important he thinks this project is. I assume all of you are believers in community-based networks, or else you would not be here today. It is good to see so many people come together to discuss how to further develop these networks. We have successful FreeNets here in the National Capital Region, and in Victoria, British Columbia, and I understand that there are people here from six or seven other communities across the country who are working on FreeNet organizing committees. I congratulate you, and I wish you success in your projects. If I am right, every community in North America will soon wish to have a freenet. The challenge that will be facing us is how to develop the networks across Canada? How to get them into the smaller communities? Is there a role for government in this? So far you have done very well without major financial support from government. But government can help. Certainly we have a role as a provider of information. We have research labs available to us, and we can provide R&D support. Perhaps we can work together to make the user interface a lot friendlier -- I must tell you it wasn't, and it isn't, easy for the casual user to navigate through the various services. We can help to make bilingual service available on the FreeNets. There may be some regulations and policies that need to be developed, or to be changed - - just let us know how we can help. Alors, il me fait plaisir de vous accueillir dans la capitale nationale et a cette conrence. Je vous souhaite du succes, et j'esp re voir apparatre des seaux communautaires a libre-acces travers le Canada. En terminant, j'aimerais feliciter pour leur travaille les personnes qui ont organise cette conrence. Have a good conference! Thank you very much.