By Lori Enos E-Commerce Times
02/23/01 10:08 AM PT
Canada and the UK said they intend to
promote global participation in online shopping.
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The United Kingdom and Canada digitally signed a pact Thursday
promising to cooperate on developing e-commerce and
e-government initiatives.
"It is through collaborative efforts such as this that we
cultivate a secure environment for the growth of electronic
commerce," said Brian Tobin, Canadian Minister of Industry.
Tobin added: "By addressing key issues such as privacy,
consumer protection and security online, governments can help
promote cross-border electronic commerce and the growth of the
information society internationally."
As a symbol of the countries' resolve, the document was signed electronically.
Tobin and Lucienne Robillard, President of the Treasury Board
of Canada and Minister Responsible for Infrastructure,
digitally signed the document from Ottawa. Across the pond in
the UK, the document was digitally signed by Britain's State
Cabinet Office Minister Ian McCartney and Patricia Hewitt,
Minister for Small Business and Electronic Commerce.
Driving Force
The "Joint Statement on Global Electronic Commerce and E-Government,"
recognized that electronic commerce "will be one of the
major driving forces of the 21st century: enhancing productivity
and innovation, creating jobs and new markets, improving the
quality of services in private and public sectors, and offering
consumers greater choice."
The governments of the UK and Canada pledged to
"work in concert" with the private sector,
other governments, civil society, and international
organizations to foster an international environment that
supports the growth of e-commerce.
The two countries plan to create this environment by building the
confidence of consumers and users in e-commerce, establishing
ground rules for the digital marketplace and enhancing the
information infrastructure.
The pact also provides that the two countries will work to
maximize the social and economic
benefits of e-commerce. In addition, Canada and the UK said they intend to
promote global participation in e-commerce.
Business Duty
Although the UK and Canada believe that
government has a role in creating a favorable
environment for e-commerce --
by optimizing private sector innovation and minimizing
regulatory barriers -- they acknowledge that "the private sector
should lead in stimulating the growth of electronic commerce
through investment and innovation in products and services."
One way that the governments plan on becoming model users of
information technology is by beefing up their e-government
initiatives.
The pact calls for governments to work together
to "transform their respective governments through the
widespread adoption of online service delivery."
UK Hurdles
The development of an effective e-government strategy is
especially important for the UK, whose e-government initiatives
received a failing grade from Forrester Research last
week. Forrester said
that the failure of the British government's
current e-government strategy is jeopardizing a potential
US$5.35 billion in cost savings that could be gained through e-commerce.
"All government agencies suffer from gaps in knowledge and
understanding, and the inability to implement innovative
services is holding the government back," Forrester analyst
Caroline Sceats said.
According to Forrester, by mid-2002, the UK "will drop
the go-it-alone strategy , opening up business processes and
service opportunities to new partners."
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