November 16, 2005
No. 219
Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew and Industry Minister David L. Emerson today
announced plans for Canada’s participation in the second phase of the UN World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), which will take place in Tunis, Tunisia, from
November 16 to 18, 2005.
“Canada is proud to be involved in the World Summit on the Information Society,” said
Minister Pettigrew. “Living in a vast country, Canadians understand the importance of
information and communications technologies for social and economic development,
and the need for effective partnerships among government, industry and civil society.
We are proud to share our experiences with the rest of the world.”
“Access to information and communications technologies is critical for social well-being
and economic success in the new global marketplace,” said Minister Emerson. “Canada
is pleased to participate in this summit where we will continue our work with other
governments, industry and civil society in promoting the advancement of ICT access
and adoption in developing countries around the world.”
Canada will be sending a delegation led by Senator Mac Harb and including officials
from more than 10 government departments and agencies, the Government of Quebec,
and representatives of civil society. Senator Harb will address the summit plenary on
Thursday, November 17. Canada will be involved in more than 20 official parallel
events, which will address topics as diverse as building the capacity of local telecentre
operators around the world, indigenous peoples and the information society. In
addition, Canada will showcase the successes of its information society at Canada’s
pavilion at the “ICT 4 All” exhibition centre.
The World Summit on the Information Society is held in two phases. The first phase,
which took place from December 10 to 12, 2003, in Geneva, Switzerland, developed a
declaration that reflected a common vision and principles for the evolution of the
information society and a plan of action that outlined concrete goals and targets. The
Tunis summit will build on the previous phase to implement the plan of action and
address issues related to Internet governance and financing of information and
communications technologies for development.
Canada was a lead in player the first phase of the WSIS process and will continue to
play an important role in its second phase. The Canadian government has supported
the process through a total contribution over the past three years of $1.7 million to the
International Telecommunications Union (ITU) special trust fund for WSIS.
- 30 -
For further information, media representatives may contact:
James Christoff
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851
Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs Canada
(613) 995-1874
http://www.international.gc.ca
Christiane Fox
Office of the Honourable David L. Emerson
Minister of Industry
(613) 995-9001
Media Relations
Industry Canada
(613) 943-2502
