Work has also been set aside for aboriginal technology firms and so far 134 have expressed interest in getting on the list. It's unclear how much of the government online project will have to be funded from this existing IT budget. For the suppliers, this is a huge opportunity, but government shouldn't view this just as a huge expense. It's an investment that will result in huge reductions in the cost of government. Government online is considered key to the Liberals economic agenda, which has pinned Canada's prosperity on technological growth.
All countries are in a race to get their governments online.
A recent survey by Accenture ranked Canada No. 1 among the 22 countries surveyed, overtaking United States and Singapore. He said the government's new portal is the first to cluster or organize services the way Canadians want them and use them, not the way departments are organized. But Mr. Gordon warns the race is in its early stages and Canada could easily lose its lead.