Canada Still Number 1

April 24, 2002

Ottawa - The Honourable Lucienne Robillard, President of the Treasury Board of Canada and Member of Parliament for Westmount - Ville-Marie, is pleased with the results of the Accenture report which places Canada in first place among 23 countries for its leadership in e-Government for the second year in a row.

"The recognition of Canada's leadership for our Government On-Line initiative is first and foremost the result of our commitment to put Canadians at the heart of our service delivery strategy" said Mme Robillard. "Our citizen-centred approach is what makes our main portal, the Canada Site, one of the best Internet sites in the world. The Canada Site and its three gateways provide government information and services for Canadians, Canadian businesses and visitors from other countries."

The Accenture report highlights a number of the government's most innovative on-line services, available at www.canada.gc.ca including NetFile, on-line application for employment insurance, the consumer gateway and the gateway for visitors from outside Canada.

"Our success is also due to an exemplary level of collaboration between federal departments and with our partners" added Mme Robillard. "The work we have undertaken with the private sector to build the Secure Channel will allow us to provide more and more services on-line, in a secure environment."

Canadians are among the most connected in the world. Almost 70% of citizens have access to the Internet and they spend an average of 9 hours per week on the Internet (Communication Canada). In addition, 81% of Canadians consider the use of information technology by government to be a move in the right direction (Ekos).

The Accenture report looked at online government offerings in 23 countries and ranked countries according to how well citizens are able to access a wide variety of government services online. This is the third annual survey conducted by Accenture.

More information on the Government On-Line Initiative and a hyperlink to the Accenture report – eGovernment Leadership – Realising the Vision, are available at www.gol-ged.gc.ca.

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For more information, contact:

Daniel Grenier
Press Secretary
Office of the President of the Treasury Board
of Canada
(613) 957-2666

Dan Kingsbury
Media Relations
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
(613) 957-2391

TTY (Telecommunications device for the hearing impaired) — (613) 957-9090

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