Funding Sources Economic development leading to job creation is a priority for the New Brunswick government. With worldwide recognition of the importance of the information highway to competitiveness, the New Brunswick government has identified telecommunications infrastructure as essential infrastructure. Building the information highway must be a national priority for government and industry a priority key to economic renewal in Canada. As a model user of electronic networking, the New Brunswick government should continually explore new funding sources.
Innovation is difficult in times of restraint.
However, because of the potential increase in efficiency and productivity, government departments must be creative in securing resources for applications that have already been identified as priorities. Joint ventures and partnerships with the private sector are one option. Reallocation of existing budgets and sharing development costs between departments offer other alternatives. Specifically targeted federal and provincial programs offer funding for companies developing products and services which can be used on the information highway. Most government financial programs have been structured to include the service sector or the service and information technology sectors to a greater degree.