All Hands on the Digital Deck

Submission

Overcoming the digital divide for disadvantaged Canadians is a key strategy to sustaining a prosperous knowledge–based economy for all Canadians. In particular, with the predicted shortage of working–age adults in the labour market, Canada needs everyone to participate fully in our evolving economy and in our society.

A sustainable prosperity strategy must address the digital divide that marginalizes some Canadians based on income, geography, educational status, employment status or other characteristics. The digital divide usually exacerbates the disadvantages of already disadvantaged people.

St. Christopher House has had considerable experience working with information and communication technology (ICT) for diverse disadvantaged community members. Based on this experience and our shared interest in maximizing the potential of every Canadian, we have the following recommendations for digital strategies for sustainable prosperity:

• Fully funded and ongoing physical access to ICTs in rural and remote areas (via broadband) and for low–income Canadians anywhere in the country (via a restored and enhanced CAP program). There needs to be continued investment in the CAP program to ensure ongoing access to ICT for diverse low–income Canadians.
• Ongoing training for those whose skills and finances are insufficient to keep up with the changing technology. This includes investing in staffing in CAP–funded community programs as well as upgrading hardware and software. While interns and volunteers can provide training and technical support to publicly accessible computer labs, they need staff support and supervision to ensure accountability and responsible, appropriate service to the community.
• Fully funded continuum of educational methodologies within the education system and community services (e.g. adult literacy programs) to ensure consistently high levels of digital literacy across all income levels and geographic locations.
• Supporting use and development of free open–source software. Expanded use of open source software in Canada (e.g. by the federal government) would help ensure that more people are able to participate in the digital economy.

Background/Context of St. Christopher House's Community Use of ICTs:

St. Christopher House is a multi–service neighbourhood centre with multiple locations to serve all age groups in central west Toronto. St. Christopher House is a non–profit, United Way member agency and is not affiliated with any religious denomination or group.

Last year St. Christopher House served over 15,000 people through its programs and services that include employment services for marginalized youth and adults, adult learning programs (literacy, academic upgrading, high school equivalency preparation (GED) and computer tutoring), financial literacy, settlement services for immigrants and refugees, youth programming, a music school, parenting and early childhood supports, after–school care and tutoring, drop–in programs for homeless adults, and a broad continuum of services that helps seniors age independently at home and remain engaged with their community.

St. Christopher House has worked for over 10 years promoting digital skills and access for vulnerable populations in our community. With the support of Industry Canada's Community Access Program and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada's Office of Learning Technologies, St. Christopher House has promoted, explored and supported the use of ICTs as an essential skill for the workplace and daily life. We provide 7 publicly accessible computer labs with internet access. This is complemented by software training mostly provided by volunteers who are screened and matched to learners by our staff. The internet and the computer provide communities with new tools for building bridges across class, culture, ethnicity and geography and new tools for learning in the pursuit of personal growth and improved employability.

Our work in this area has not only helped improve people's employability, we have also helped to decrease social isolation, expand social networks, expand peer and neighbourhood social and economic supports, increase civic engagement, support informed choices and decision–making and more generally contribute to the social solidarity and cohesion needed to sustain a robust and resilient economy.

Challenges: The Digital Divide

The most critical challenge in skills development is the ever widening gap between those who have access to ICT and the skills to use them and those who do not. This dual digital divide (access and skills) is evident in many diverse groups in our community.

Although broadband is available throughout Toronto, many people continue to be excluded from fully participating in the digital society and economy because of lack of education and/or lack of financial resources to access computers and the internet. ICTs are a now a "basic need" and the growing digital economy has only exacerbated the disadvantages lower income households face. Increased competition has not made access sufficiently affordable for a significant number of people (approximately 10%).

Furthermore, for those who lack access to ICTs, disadvantage reproduces disadvantage. In urban centres, so many households and businesses are "wired", it has become common practice in schools, workplaces and public policy consultations such as this one to presume everyone has access to a computer and the internet.

For example, in local schools, homework is assigned based on the assumption that everyone has a computer and high speed internet access at home. Children and teens who do not have access to computers or the internet begin school already at a disadvantage and continue to fall further behind as they struggle to keep up with the assigned work. The lack of access is further exacerbated by the fact that many of these children come from families where the parents lack not only access to ICTs, but also the digital skills and educational background required to support their children using ICTs.

Adult education also is in need of further development and resources to support early school–leavers and other adults who lack the training and resources to be digitally literate.

Similar dynamics exist for those seeking employment as most workplace human resources departments also presume everyone has internet access and a computer/printer/fax/scanner at home and that they have the digital skills to use these. Even jobs that will require no computer use (and these are fewer and fewer) demand that applicants submit their resumes online. Skills and knowledge needed in the workforce are changing at the same rate as the technology itself and without access to ICTs and to ongoing training to keep up with the new trends, many disadvantaged people will fall further behind.

As stated in the Consultation Paper, this is not only an issue of work and learning outcomes. As more and more of Canadian communication is done using ICTs, those without access are excluded from important socialization opportunities and networking opportunities. These lost opportunities can lead to social isolation and potential long–term health costs as well as exacerbating employability problems.

Resources/Opportunities:

Who provides access? For children and youth, the public school system generally has embedded digital literacy within classrooms. More is needed to ensure that children and youth have access to ICT outside the classroom eg for homework: whether it is tax credits for low–income families to get computers and internet access at home, funding for after–school programs that provide computer access and homework support or extended access to classroom computers. More resources are needed as well for adult literacy programs and other adult education programs to ensure digital literacy is taught and supported.

For working adults, employers have a key role in providing relevant and up–to–date ICT training to employees to ensure maximum productivity. Small employers and self–employed people need access to ongoing digital training and this is generally available for a fee in the private market or in community colleges. For low–paid workers aspiring to improve their employment, these fees may be prohibitive.

The Community Access Program (CAP) of Industry Canada provided widespread access to ICT to those who most need it: unemployed and under–employed adults looking for work, children and youth doing homework and diverse socially isolated people re–connecting with others. However, CAP program funding has been eroded with many stops and starts and periods of no funding. Community social service centres are an important location for this access to ICT since they can provide complementary programs and supports. For example, in St. Christopher House, people using our CAP site also have access to job boards, employment counselling, academic upgrading and many other resources.

Software alternatives: With the practical monopoly of Microsoft, software that is routinely used in business is out of reach of many consumers and many small enterprises. Other governments (e.g. Brazil) have adopted open source software to limit information technology budgets, exercise greater control over the technologies utilized in the business of government and lower the cost of maintaining those technologies. Expanded use of open source software in Canada (e.g. by the federal government) would help ensure that more people are able to participate in the digital economy.

Recommendations:

Better informed and knowledgeable citizens with the ability to learn and adapt to change and with access to essential tools such as ICTs will be the foundation for Canada's economic prosperity. A strong digital domestic economy will help ensure we are globally competitive. To achieve this, the following is needed:

• Fully funded and ongoing physical access to ICTs in rural and remote areas (via broadband) and for low–income Canadians anywhere in the country (via a restored and enhanced CAP program). There needs to be continued investment in the CAP program to ensure ongoing access to ICT for diverse low–income Canadians.
• Ongoing training for those whose skills and finances are insufficient to keep up with the changing technology. This includes investing in staffing in CAP–funded community programs as well as upgrading hardware and software. While interns and volunteers can provide training and technical support to publicly accessible computer labs, they need staff support and supervision to ensure accountability and responsible, appropriate service to the community.
• Fully funded continuum of educational methodologies within the education system and community services (e.g. adult literacy programs) to ensure consistently high levels of digital literacy across all income levels and geographic locations.
• Supporting use and development of free open–source software. Expanded use of open source software in Canada (e.g. by the federal government) would help ensure that more people are able to participate in the digital economy.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide input. We look forward to working with other contributors and the federal government to advance a digital strategy for all in Canada.