The government is grateful to the members of the Task Force, the Payments System Advisory Committee and the legislators for the time and study they devoted to the important public policy questions surrounding the Canadian financial services sector. In the months since the tabling of their reports, the Department of Finance has met with many of the individuals and groups who participated in the Task Force and parliamentary consultations. The Evolution of the Financial Services Sector New information technology, globalization and demographic change are driving innovation and giving rise every day to new opportunities and demands in the Canadian financial services sector. The impacts of these changes on consumers, businesses and governments will continue to drive the evolution of the sector in the future. Technological advances have revolutionized the financial services sector A significant catalyst of change in financial services has been the development of new technologies, particularly new information technologies.
Financial services are information-intensive businesses.
Advances in computing and telecommunications continue to improve the speed, security, volume and quality of financial information processing, and to greatly lower the cost of transactions. Canadians are among the fastest adopters of new information technologies At the same time, the convergence of communications and computing technologies leads consumers to expect real-time access to financial services anywhere, at any time. The new information technologies have also accelerated the trend toward freer trade around the world, leading to a truly global market for capital and financial services. As a result, firms now have access to more consumers who, in turn, enjoy greater choice of products and services from enhanced competition. The trend toward freer global trade has presented tremendous growth opportunities for innovative, competitive firms, and allowed the Canadian financial services sector to make a greater contribution to Canada's export performance.