Data Driven
Canada's economic opportunity
Beginning in 2018, we have actively worked with our members and constructively partnered with governments to advance policies that protect consumers, promote innovation, and strengthen Canadians’ confidence in the emerging digital economy.
Securing Canada’s place in the data economy
As countries around the world are attempting to realize the opportunities and address the challenges of the data economy, Canada cannot afford to get it wrong. To put it in perspective, Statistics Canada estimates that Canadians invested as much as $40 billion during 2018 in data, databases and data science – greater than the total investment in industrial machinery, transportation equipment, and research and development.
A made-in-Canada policy framework
Industry has been a constructive partner throughout the development of Canada’s digital and data policy framework. In September 2018, following consultations with more than 50 members, we outlined nine principles to safeguard the personal data and privacy of Canadians. This helped inform the federal government’s Data Charter introduced in May 2019.
“Canada will not reap the benefits of the data economy unless citizens have confidence that their privacy is protected and their personal information is not being misused.”
Goldy Hyder, President and CEO, Business Council of Canada
After more than two years of policy work and consultations led by former Industry Minister James Moore with our members, stakeholders and policymakers, we released our report “Data Driven” offering 24 practical recommendations that address three broad priorities:
- Protecting Canadians
- Supporting a competitive marketplace
- Building data infrastructure
The window of opportunity is upon us
From proposals aimed at making consent more meaningful to strengthening regulatory oversight and enforcement, many of our recommendations have been incorporated in legislation introduced in November 2020 to implement the Data Charter. As this Bill (known as C-11) works its way through Parliament, industry will continue to partner with government to ensure that Canadians can realize the opportunities of an increasingly data-driven world.
Latest
Business Council urges MPs to move forward with study of bill modernizing Canada’s privacy law
Goldy Hyder calls on all parties to work together and chart a path forward for the Digital Charter Implementation Act.
Policy recommendations to help Canadians benefit from the data economy
Business Council of Canada releases data report led by The Honourable James Moore
Latest Initiatives
Data Driven explained
Data is a vital economic resource. With technology evolving every day, we need policies that unlock the value of data to the benefit of all Canadians. Data Driven is a business-led effort to come up with the right solutions for a data-driven world.