Opening Remarks and Overview

Chair's Remarks
Michael Binder, Assistant Deputy Minister, Spectrum, Information Technologies and Telecommunications (SITT) Industry Canada

Michael Binder, Chair of the Canada's Task Force on Spam, welcomed participants to the meeting and extended a greeting to those individuals listening via audio web cast.

"This meeting is an important milestone in the evolution of the Internet in Canada." Mr. Binder recalled working 14 or 15 years ago to promote the introduction of e-mail. Since that time, there has been an unbelievable increase in the use of that technology; however, there has also been an unbelievable proliferation of spam. In the last few years, spam has gone from being a minor nuisance to a significant economic and social issue. Today, spam impedes the effective use of e-mail by businesses and individuals and thwarts the growth of e-commerce. "It is time for all of us to work together to combat spam," Mr. Binder said.

In May 2004, the Minister of Industry announced the creation of the Task Force on Spam. The Task Force has taken a consultative approach to its work, bringing stakeholders together to work on this important issue. Five working groups were established to focus on specific issues related to spam. (Task Force members and members of the associated working groups represent more than 50 different organizations.):

• Legislation and Enforcement
• Technology and Network Management
• Validating Commercial E-mail
• Public Education and Awareness
• International Collaboration

The Task Force also reached out to Canadians using an online forum, as well as the Canada Gazette.

The objective of this roundtable meeting, Mr. Binder said, is for participants to take stock of the work that has been done to date, express their views and discuss future directions. He explained that he was also interested in hearing about initiatives that are under way in other organizations.

On behalf of the Minister of Industry, Mr. Binder thanked everyone for the work done to date, noting that the Minister is looking forward to reading the report that the Task Force will submit in the spring.

Moderator's Remarks
Andrew Bjerring, President and CEO, CANARIE Inc.

Andrew Bjerring said his role at the roundtable was that of "traffic cop" moderating the discussion to help ensure that all important issues are addressed. Dr. Bjerring said that the agenda focused on four of the five working groups. International Collaboration would not be explicitly addressed, although this theme will run through discussions of the other four working group topics.