I would like to talk today about the relationship between electronic commerce and our mandate as Ministers responsible for the protection of Canadian consumers. We are all familiar with the basic principles of consumer protection.
Electronic commerce is an area which is moving very fast in Canada and around the world.
For example, in 1994 only 3 million people were connected to the Internet, now there are more than 100 million. Traffic on the Net doubles every 100 days. It's growing faster than all previous technologies. Governments must move equally fast to keep up with the pace of change. To do nothing, or to move slowly, means that Canada will lose the opportunity to help shape the business platform of the future.