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.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

John Maduri  Chief Executive Officer, Xplornet
Ante Rupcic  Vice-President, Core Network, Globalive Communications Corporation
Gordon Reed  Director, Customer Solutions, UPS Canada
Jacob Glick  Canada Policy Counsel, Google Inc.

4:45 p.m.

Canada Policy Counsel, Google Inc.

Jacob Glick

Don't forget that Google Wallet just stores existing credentials on a mobile device. So any of the anti-fraud services and protections that your existing credit card provider provides to you would still exist. You would have additional security features, because you have to use a PIN to access the secure element on the phone, and then the secure element itself has its own security features built into it. We've built layers on top of a number of security components to protect individuals from fraudulent purchases, probably at least as much as their existing credit card infrastructure, and probably more.

I just want to make a brief comment about spectrum, because I didn't do so previously and it might be relevant to the broader discussion. All of the discussion today—and I've seen some of the blues from previous meetings—has been about licensed spectrum. But there's another component to rural and urban broadband, and that's unlicensed spectrum. It is critical for Industry Canada when allocating spectrum in the next auction to maintain a certain component of what is called unlicensed spectrum.

Today, the spectrum that we use for WiFi, in the Starbucks downstairs for example, was made unlicensed spectrum in the 1980s, when no one anticipated it being used for wireless broadband. It is in fact junk spectrum. There is a new part of the spectrum that's coming available between the TV channels called the TV white spaces—and we can go into more details on this—that is terrific spectrum, and it needs to be made and be kept unlicensed. We can talk more about that.

4:50 p.m.

NDP

Dan Harris NDP Scarborough Southwest, ON

That was a perfect time, so I wouldn't have to cut you off.

Mr. Reed, with respect to UPS, what percentage of your business right now is being generated by online purchases? People are using retailers, then you guys are shipping, and where do you see that in the next five years?

4:50 p.m.

Director, Customer Solutions, UPS Canada

Gordon Reed

I don't have an exact number. My estimate would be that it's somewhere in the 20% to 30% range, but that sector is growing at about double the rates of brick and mortar companies.

4:50 p.m.

NDP

Dan Harris NDP Scarborough Southwest, ON

Okay. I'm looking down my list. I never have a shortage of questions.

Mr. Glick, with respect to the Get Your Business Online, could you explain the relationship with CIRA a little bit and how they participated in it?

4:50 p.m.

Canada Policy Counsel, Google Inc.

Jacob Glick

Sure. CIRA, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, is the country code, top level domain registry for .ca.

4:50 p.m.

NDP

Dan Harris NDP Scarborough Southwest, ON

And everyone who has a .ca domain name gets a vote on their board, anyway. Most of you might not know that.

4:50 p.m.

Canada Policy Counsel, Google Inc.

Jacob Glick

No.

Indeed, they're also my previous employer.

Participation is on the basis of their being a supporter of the program and promoting it to CIRA members. That's one of the reasons the program exclusively gives out .ca domain names, because we really want to integrally link the program to it being Canadian and a Canadian business.

4:50 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative David Sweet

Thank you, Mr. Glick.

Thank you, Mr. Harris.

I was quite surprised that you didn't talk about the businesses in Mr. Harris's riding.

4:50 p.m.

NDP

Dan Harris NDP Scarborough Southwest, ON

I think we all benefit in having a full list of all members of Parliament in all ridings and cities.

4:50 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative David Sweet

Now we'll go on to Mr. Carmichael for five minutes, please.

4:50 p.m.

Conservative

John Carmichael Conservative Don Valley West, ON

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Glick, that is why we're changing up the cards here. We're trying to see how quickly you can keep up.

4:50 p.m.

Voices

Oh, oh!

4:50 p.m.

Conservative

John Carmichael Conservative Don Valley West, ON

Mr. Reed, I'd like to ask you a brief question with regard to security. You talked about your role in providing technology to assist businesses to be successful. We've heard that one of the major hurdles is getting past that confidence phase so that business owners, specifically, get to a place where they have the confidence and security to take advantage of the technology you are providing.

I wonder if you can give us a brief overview of some of the technologies, some of the measures, you're taking to create that confidence level in the security.

4:50 p.m.

Director, Customer Solutions, UPS Canada

Gordon Reed

I guess one example is our making the information about the transaction visible, both within the company and externally. For example, for purchases online, we're making all of the transactions that happen and the transportation visible to both parties, so there's confidence that the goods you purchased were in fact shipped and are moving on their way.

It is the same thing with rates and time in transit and things like that. We are making them broadly available. Where there is confidential information, there's a lot of encryption and there is the need to have secure passwords to get into that information.

4:50 p.m.

Conservative

John Carmichael Conservative Don Valley West, ON

I know about that as a business user, because it's an area that concerns me. CTV recently did a piece in the last couple of weeks on what I think is called RFC technology where one just waves a credit card. For somebody who is not technologically advanced, it was a terrifying bit of TV as far as how vulnerable you are just walking through a mall.

Mr. Glick, I wanted to ask you about your thoughts on digital literacy as a core value. In alluding to it, you covered a few things. One of the things Industry Canada has done is to institute the small business internship program. We talk about post-secondary education and bringing young people up to a level of competence so that they're going to become an asset to businesses, SMEs specifically, across the board.

Would you perhaps comment on the value of that program, if you are familiar with it, and maybe talk about post-secondary education and whether we are doing enough as a government?

4:55 p.m.

Canada Policy Counsel, Google Inc.

Jacob Glick

I'm not familiar with that program. I'm sure that one of the 1,275 businesses in Toronto, or one of the four businesses in LaSalle, published--

4:55 p.m.

Conservative

John Carmichael Conservative Don Valley West, ON

I was hoping you were going to narrow it to Scarborough and North York, but that's okay.

4:55 p.m.

Canada Policy Counsel, Google Inc.

Jacob Glick

I don't have those numbers, unfortunately. So we'll have to go with Toronto.

You've seen our executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, speak about the importance of science, technology, engineering, and math education. That's critical, not just at the applied level—although the applied level is obviously important—but at the world-leading research level.

Google is hiring some of the top computer scientists in Canada and around the world. That's the profile of the people we're looking for and are able to recruit to come to Kitchener and Montreal to work with our engineers. Having strong, world-class research institutions, as Canada does, actually puts it a step above, I think.

When you look at the building blocks of what creates a country that should be global leader in the Internet economy, Canada has many of those foundational pieces. We are very technologically literate. Our basic literacy is very high. We have excellent universities and excellent science and engineering research.

4:55 p.m.

Conservative

John Carmichael Conservative Don Valley West, ON

When you talk about hiring, are these made-in-Canada hires?

October 31st, 2011 / 4:55 p.m.

Canada Policy Counsel, Google Inc.

Jacob Glick

Yes, we're hiring--

4:55 p.m.

Conservative

John Carmichael Conservative Don Valley West, ON

You're not sourcing them globally, but finding them right here at home?

4:55 p.m.

Canada Policy Counsel, Google Inc.

Jacob Glick

Well, it's both. We're hiring people from the University of Waterloo, undergraduates fresh out of computer science, and graduates of master's and Ph.D. programs. And we're hiring them from all across the country. We're also bringing back from the U.S. the Canadians who had careers in Silicon Valley, and who say, “I don't want to live that California lifestyle, notwithstanding the awesomeness of no snow. I want to come back to live and raise my family in Montreal or in KW”.

4:55 p.m.

Conservative

John Carmichael Conservative Don Valley West, ON

Excellent.

How much time do I have?

4:55 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative David Sweet

That's pretty well it, Mr. Carmichael.

These clocks aren't actually accurate. It's closer to 4:58 right now, so you still need to go at 5 o'clock, Mr. Glick.

We're going to suspend for two minutes to allow Mr. Glick to leave the back of the table with honour, and then we'll come back.

4:55 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative David Sweet

Ladies and gentlemen, we're back in session now.

Now we'll move on to Mr. Blanchette pour cinq minutes.

Order, please.