By Paul West, Director, Global Public Sector at ThinkOn
A quality standard of living is important to Canadians. We embrace opportunity and work hard to level the playing field for everyone, regardless of income, cultural background, or geographic location. In a country as vast as ours, with a population spread across thousands of miles, east to west and north to south, digital services are essential to provide that equality we want to protect.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) designates access to inexpensive, dependable, and fast internet connection as a basic right for all Canadian citizens, in every corner of Canada.[1]
Secure, reliable digital services have the power to transform lives. Everyone needs accessible, secure digital services to bridge the gap between them and the goods and services they need to thrive, including healthcare, education, banking, government services, groceries and other essentials.
Equal Access = Social Equity
In support of social equity, ThinkOn is an enthusiastic contributor to digital education and proud to participate in public/private partnerships to provide digital access for Canadians. We believe every person has the right to secure, reliable access to digital services as a key contributor to quality of life.
The United Nations defines digital inclusion as “equitable, meaningful, and safe access to use, lead, and design of digital technologies, services, and associated opportunities for everyone, everywhere.”[2] As Canadians, we have an obligation to contribute to a secure, open digital environment based on our national values of social equity and inclusion.
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) maintains that Canada deserves world-class, universal digital access, “…the internet in Canada is a powerful force for good—enabling access to knowledge, underpinning commerce and connecting us to communities of interest at home and abroad.”[3]
Canada’s Rural & Remote Broadband Community (CRRBC) also recognizes the importance of education, information sharing and action in bridging the digital divide. Their mandate is to bring public and private stakeholders together to advance the cause of social equity for all Canadians through digital resources, and ThinkOn is proud to be a part of that effort.
As the leader of ThinkOn’s global team of data experts dedicated to community-driven data stewardship, I was pleased to serve on a panel discussion on security and resilience for Canadian communities at the CRRBC 2023 Eastern Conference. This important gathering of digital security and education thought leaders was held at the beautiful Canadore College Campus in North Bay, Ontario, where ThinkOn has established our ThinkOn Security Operations Centre (SOC) for cybersecurity and data research, education, and training.
Working together for a digital future
The ThinkOn SOC provides students with the opportunity to acquire future-forward technology expertise and practical experience in data management, cloud applications and cybersecurity. Ensuring all Canadians have access to the connectivity they need to work, learn, and live is critical to our economy and the social equity we want to protect—and it directly aligns with ThinkOn values as a 100% Canadian-owned company.
“We are thrilled to partner with Canadore College for our new Global Security Event Operations Centre,” says Craig McLellan, ThinkOn’s Founder and CEO. “Building on Canadore’s already stellar program, our innovative relationship will advance cybersecurity education in Canada by providing students with technical training, real-world and interactive experience and financial support.”[4]
At ThinkOn, we believe that equity means opportunity for all Canadians, including First Nations Peoples. “Canadore’s partnership with ThinkOn will help to ensure we are producing graduates with the skills necessary to be successful in the industry,” said George Burton, President and CEO of Canadore College.[5]
Digital access from coast to coast
Canadian governments acknowledge the need to step up their commitment to digital connectivity in an effort to improve quality of life, provide life-saving essential services such as virtual clinics and emergency medical services, implement easy access to standard-of-living tools such as financial services, expand career choices for rural residents, and encourage immigration to rural communities.
A recent Policy Options article highlighted the political promises to connect all Canadian households to digital access, including the Liberal Party’s commitment to provide $6 billion to accomplish cross-country, reliable connectivity by 2030. “Governments have made significant commitments to increase broadband internet access in rural and remote areas, pledging to help those still without high-speed internet.”[6]
Reliable digital access is important to Canadian business—and that makes it essential to our economy. According to Canadian IT services provider, OnServe, having reliable access to the Internet is crucial to their operations, productivity and success as a business, and is a basic right for individuals. “Food, shelter, clothes, and a high-speed broadband Internet connection. Are these the new standards for basic human needs? I honestly think so. Those who don’t have access to a high-speed Internet connection are missing out on more than just Facebook chats and cat memes, they’re rapidly becoming second-class citizens.”
The rural challenge
In a digital economy, remote working has become an attractive option for the approximately 18 per cent of Canadians who live beyond the great urban centres where on-site work is more readily available.[7]
The ability to work from a remote location can significantly boost the standard of living and increase quality of life for rural individuals by eliminating long commutes, high rents or mortgages, and exposure to health risks such as poor air quality. The option to work from home or choose a location closer to family and friends increases work/life balance and boosts mental health.
Statistics Canada recognizes the importance and challenges of delivering essential services to rural Canadians. “Demographics and the ethnocultural fabric of rural regions are quite varied. This presents challenges when planning and delivering public services across the country, such as ensuring equal access to health care, labour opportunities and infrastructure.”[8]
The Government of Canada Digital Ambition states that “Now more than ever, we have work to do to make it easier for Canadians to interact with the Government of Canada, and we are committed to better serving Canadians in a digital age. This will require modern, integrated systems and an unwavering focus on the needs and experiences of citizens. We have made progress, but we must continue to improve.”[9]
Digital equity in Canada takes world-class data security
Access to public services and reliable digital access for all Canadians depends upon secure connections that protect Canadian data and sovereignty. Citizens who rely on digital access to improve quality-of-life need to know that the information they divulge in public services, banking, healthcare, education, and employment sites is safe from bad actors and foreign influence.
The key to ensuring digital security is data sovereignty. Having ownership of our data means that Canada needs its own strong domestic cloud service provider to guarantee that data storage and management adhere to local laws and maintain data residency and integrity throughout the digital journey.
ThinkOn is proud to provide that service to Canadians by meeting rigorous Government of Canada privacy standards. As the only Protected-B cloud services provider in Canada, ThinkOn reliably delivers seamless migrations of virtualized workloads with full data security, both in transit and at rest, for public service clients in Canada.
Canadian sovereignty and digital inclusion
ThinkOn’s Canadian Sovereign Cloud solution offers rigorous access controls and prevents foreign interference while supporting secure usage and sharing with authorized users. We’re immensely proud of this contribution to the privacy, security, and social equity of citizens—both as a 100% homegrown technology provider and as Canadians.
As the United Nations stated in their recent report, “Digital inclusion should aim to dismantle existing structural social inequalities and enhance well-being for all. We must aim for inclusion that is equitable, so that everyone online has the same opportunities and that marginalized communities are not left behind.”[10]
Universal digital access, sovereignty, and data security go hand-in-hand, and these pillars of a digital-first world are no longer optional in Canada—they are fundamental rights that we must advance and protect.
[1] Terry Pedwell. 2016. Toronto Star. “CRTC declares broadband internet a basic service.” https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/12/21/crtc-declares-broadband-internet-a-basic-service-like-telephone.html
[2] United Nations. “Digital Inclusion.” Roundtable on Digital Inclusion. Last updated, October 2022. https://www.un.org/techenvoy/sites/www.un.org.techenvoy/files/general/Definition_Digital-Inclusion.pdf
[3] Byron Holland. 2019. “Canadians Deserve a Better Internet.” The Canadian Internet Registry Authority (CIRA). https://www.cira.ca/resources/state-internet/report/canadians-deserve-a-better-internet
[4] Cindy Males. 2022. “Canadore College welcomes ThinkOn to its Commerce Court Campus.” Canadore College. https://www.canadorecollege.ca/about/the-canadore-story/canadore-college-welcomes-thinkon-to-its-commerce-court-campus
[5] Ibid.
[6] Staff writers. 2019. “All Canadians deserve reliable high-speed internet.” Policy Options. https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/october-2019/all-canadians-deserve-reliable-high-speed-internet/
[7] Statistics Canada. “Population growth in Canada’s rural areas, 2016 to 2021.” https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/as-sa/98-200-x/2021002/98-200-x2021002-eng.cfm
[8] Ibid.
[9] Government of Canada. “Government of Canada Digital Ambition.” Last modified, August 2022. https://www.canada.ca/en/government/system/digital-government/government-canada-digital-operations-strategic-plans/canada-digital-ambition.html
[10] United Nations. “Digital Inclusion.” Roundtable on Digital Inclusion. Last updated, October 2022. https://www.un.org/techenvoy/sites/www.un.org.techenvoy/files/general/Definition_Digital-Inclusion.pdf