Oh, oh!
Evidence of meeting #11 for Industry, Science and Technology in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was businesses.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #11 for Industry, Science and Technology in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was businesses.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:15 p.m.
Voices
Oh, oh!
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative David Sweet
Yes, I saw a transaction happening, and I thought I'd better step in.
Madam Gallant, for seven minutes, please.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON
Thank you.
One part of our problem with cross-border shopping and doing online business is online brokerage fees. If customers are not present at the time of delivery, the item is either sent back or put into storage someplace.
Is there any way UPS can assist in finding out what the brokerage fees are in advance so that more people would be apt to do the purchases?
4:15 p.m.
Director, Customer Solutions, UPS Canada
Yes. We have tools that we make available to e-tailers to help them determine in advance the duties, taxes, and brokerage fees to about 100 different countries in the world, as well as to import into Canada, if they choose to use those.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON
Okay.
I'm aware of the country of origin labelling wherein, if you buy something, and it reaches our port and doesn't have a label, it gets sent back or the customer gets fined.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON
What other sorts of obstacles are you finding in your business that impact on whether or not people will continue to buy online?
4:15 p.m.
Director, Customer Solutions, UPS Canada
A lot of it boils down to the total cost. When a consumer is looking at buying a product online, whether for personal or business use, they're asking, “What's it going to cost me when it arrives at my door?” If it's coming from outside the country, that needs to include the duties, taxes, brokerage, shipping, and any other fees that may be associated.
A lot of websites do a very poor job of displaying those. Some do a terrific job. I think it's becoming an item that companies are looking at more and more. We're getting asked daily, “How can we help our customers know what their landed costs are going to be? Are there ways to make it more efficient for me to sell to the U.S. or the EU?”
So we're developing products and services to hep companies do that.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON
Okay.
This question might be for Google or Wind.
Customers are reluctant to purchase online from a company that doesn't have the bricks and mortar. They have no way of telling whether or not a business is legitimate. Does the online industry plan to provide a central registry where a customer can verify that the company they want to do business with is legitimate?
4:15 p.m.
Canada Policy Counsel, Google Inc.
First of all, just so that no one feels left out, there are eight businesses in Pembroke that have signed up for this program.
4:15 p.m.
Voices
Oh, oh!
4:15 p.m.
Canada Policy Counsel, Google Inc.
One of them has published its website online through the Get Your Business Online program.
To answer your question directly, I'm not aware of any specific initiative. As a practical matter, I don't know that people are afraid of doing business with companies that exist online only. If you look at the statistics for Amazon, for example, it's the largest retailer in the U.S. now--or if they're not, they're certainly number two behind Walmart--and they don't have a physical storefront anywhere.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON
Well, Amazon is well known, but there are smaller businesses that aren't as well known as Amazon. They want to do business, but people just don't know whether or not they truly exist.
4:15 p.m.
Canada Policy Counsel, Google Inc.
I guess if the question is how a consumer can authenticate a business they're transacting with, I think that goes to fundamental questions of digital literacy.
I don't think there can be any one authoritative registry of businesses throughout Canada, but there are any number of tools that a savvy web consumer can use to help authenticate the identity of the business they're transacting with. You can look at who has registered the domain name. You can look at whether you're transacting with somebody who's providing a secure connection. To secure a connection--that is, to provide an encrypted connection--an operator will have to have gone to a certificate issuer who then authenticates their existence. Then they can get an encryption certificate.
So you can look at hallmarks like that. The importance of doing that will depend on the kind of transaction being entered into, the money at stake, and the comfort of the individual. But there are any number of tools an individual can employ in protecting themselves.
4:20 p.m.
Vice-President, Core Network, Globalive Communications Corporation
To add to that, a lot of it has to do with brand recognition, for example, PayPal. My wife will certainly buy many things if it there as a middleman.
It's an industry initiative. We are getting together with the other mobile operators, Rogers, Telus, and Bell, on this end-of-stream initiative for a near field communication. When we endorse something as an industry and we collectively put our names on it as a brand, a certification, or a seal of approval, if you will, it goes a long way in endorsement.
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON
Thank you.
To Xplornet, you've been very active with the eastern Ontario rural broadband initiative. Today you've spoken about 4G. How long will it be before we get 4G in eastern Ontario outside major centres?
4:20 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Xplornet
There's a variety of dates.
On the satellite side, I believe it's the end of the fourth quarter or the early first quarter. It's around the corner. There is a schedule of dates on wireless starting sometime in the middle of next year. We can provide all of that information.
It's really right around the corner.
4:20 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Xplornet
Could I comment on digital literacy? There is no silver bullet.
It's such a fundamental. It's been interesting to hear the conversation on how consumers protect themselves and how we get small business engaged. We have to get to 100% digital literacy, yet I don't know if we've reached 100% on traditional literacy. It's fundamental to moving forward and being a digital leader.
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative David Sweet
Thank you very much, Madam Gallant.
Mr. Maduri, before we go to Mr. Regan, I think the committee might be interested if you could submit some principles to it afterward on the broader picture of digital literacy.
Mr. Glick, since it seems to be at the top of your mind, I am certain that all committee members would like to see a list of the ways to authenticate a secure and trustworthy website. We'd quite possibly use the information in our final report.
We'll now go to Mr. Regan for seven minutes.
4:20 p.m.
Liberal
Geoff Regan Liberal Halifax West, NS
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
I can't restrain myself from carrying on with Mr. Glick's Dickensian theme and talking about a tale of two countries.
One of the things we've heard is that the e-commerce sector in the U.S. has been developing more quickly than in Canada. I'd like to ask all of you why you think that's the case, and if you agree. What is the chance that Canada will meet its great expectations in this regard or can we look forward to a bleak house?
I will start with Mr. Glick.
4:20 p.m.
Canada Policy Counsel, Google Inc.
You can't throw all those puns at me and then ask me to be serious!
4:20 p.m.
Voices
Oh, oh!
4:20 p.m.
Canada Policy Counsel, Google Inc.
For the 788 businesses in Halifax that signed up for Get Your Business Online and the 143 businesses that have published websites online for the first time, they would probably say that the value proposition was something they'd never seen before. It's hard to know why businesses in the United States have seen it. I haven't seen a good comparative analysis.
I previously implied this, but I'll be more direct in answering your question. I actually think there's a lack of national statistical research. We did quite a bit of quantitative research in 1995 on ICT adoption and broadband deployment in this country. For various reasons, a lot of the research has stopped. It would be nice to start it up again, not only to get the picture in Canada but also to make international comparisons and contrasts. In a way, it comes back to this committee as something to think about in terms of its recommendations. For businesses and government, good decision-making is premised on good numbers, and I don't think we have good numbers in this regard for Canada.
On the digital literacy component in particular, I'd pick up on the last question, if I could. I know you have limited time.