The wide movement within government towards electronic commerce and electronic transactions is highlighting the importance of policy in relation to emerging technologies. Technology now plays an increasingly important role in the daily working life of government. It is used to deliver government programs, and more and more acts as a medium for both informing the public and receiving feedback for programs.
Governments now have a visible and strong presence in cyberspace.
Technology is a central part of the operations at all levels of government not only in Canada but around the world. This evolution in governance brings with it all the issues that normally arise in society. Developments of the last decade have made it vital both for government officials to understand these technologies and for the development of policies to ensure that the needs of society and government are equally met and served. Policies must be formulated, ranging from information management policies to educating the public, both internally within government and externally to society at large, to the importance of the Digital Age, how Canada fits into the worldwide information economy and how to benefit from the emerging global information infrastructure. What will the role of government be in a future containing a technology such as the Internet.