{"id":141528,"date":"2023-08-09T12:11:05","date_gmt":"2023-08-09T16:11:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interac1.wpengine.com\/?post_type=content&p=141528"},"modified":"2025-05-30T12:04:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T16:04:10","slug":"everyday-trust-on-digital-competitiveness-with-debbie-gamble-and-senator-colin-deacon","status":"publish","type":"content","link":"https:\/\/www.interac.ca\/en\/content\/business\/everyday-trust-on-digital-competitiveness-with-debbie-gamble-and-senator-colin-deacon\/","title":{"rendered":"Everyday Trust: On Digital Competitiveness with Debbie Gamble and Senator Colin Deacon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Responsible and secure data collection can fuel innovation, help Canadians access new services, and streamline the processes that we go through in everyday life.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, Canadians don\u2019t always have insight or control regarding how their data is used or who gets to see it. They need to know they can trust the digital economy with their data. Otherwise, we create a space for mistrust \u2014 and even misinformation \u2014 to grow. We need to build trust around these interactions. And for the sake of our country\u2019s competitive position, we need to move fast.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Everyday Trust <\/em>series, I speak with leading thinkers about the role of trust in a rapidly evolving technology landscape and what it means for Canadians. In this episode we talk about trust as a competitiveness issue: The digitization of our economy has made it more important than ever for governments and industry to enable Canadians to trust the institutions they interact with.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First let\u2019s acknowledge there\u2019s still work to be done building trust. Canadians feel strongly about controlling and protecting their data. It\u2019s important to ensure Canadians experience the benefits of the digital economy \u2014 from smoother interactions with government to better access to financial products \u2014 including ensuring that their personal data remains firmly in their hands.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As my guest Senator Colin Deacon says, many of the buttons to make this a reality already exist within the Canadian government. And as a former entrepreneur and a member of the Senate of Canada, he would know. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The opportunity: Data portability powered by trusted digital verification <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For years, those of us who work in the verification space have been eagerly working toward unlocking the benefits of system-wide innovation to create real benefits in Canadians\u2019 lives, not to mention efficiencies for governments, businesses and other organizations.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If payments modernization and other advances such as open banking are working in concert, all sorts of exciting things could happen. If people were able to link their various accounts securely, they could receive personally tailored offers \u2014 a lower interest rate on a loan, for example. More renters could link their monthly payments to their credit reporting to improve their credit scores with each payment and more Canadians could interact with government services (for things like passport or benefit renewals). This will be an especially welcome development for the more than 40 per cent of Canadians who live in population centres with fewer than 100,000 residents, who often face long travel times when they have to perform these tasks face-to-face at a physical office.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there\u2019s one vital connector that will enable all of this, it\u2019s secure digital verification of Canadians\u2019 data. We need Canadians to have the tools that give them the ability to securely share their personal data to complete an interaction while also understanding how that data is used. That way, they\u2019ll not only enjoy the benefits of data portability between organizations and businesses, they\u2019ll also be able to trust that the control and movement of their information remains securely in their hands.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The challenge, Senator Deacon says, is that Canada isn\u2019t moving ahead as quickly as other governments at building the e-government services and digital infrastructure that fits all the pieces together. This poses a risk to Canada\u2019s ability to drive innovation, productivity growth and higher living standards \u2014 unless we act now to build trust and drive adoption in digital services and tools.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital verification and Canada\u2019s digital competitiveness: A few key questions <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. Where does Canada stand in comparison to other countries in embracing e-government, digital verification and related innovations? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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