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Re: [request for [cdn] export laws.]

The following is a good site for tracking down info on Canadian government policy on any topic: http://info.ic.gc.ca/. Picked up the following using their search engine. Check it out. I suspect that there are no export restrictions at this time unless they were included in NAFTA. So you may want to try a NAFTA search as well. You could also try phoning Reference Canada at 1-800-667-3355. Excerpt from the following speaking notes: *************************************************************************************************************** Security. Before they use electronic commerce, consumers and business want to make sure that their transactions will be secure. They also want to know to know that those they do business with are who they say they are. As you know, we have just completed a consultation on setting a cryptography policy for Canada. We received over 150 submissions in response to our discussion paper, which addressed issues such as access to encrypted stored data, access to real time communications, and export controls. My officials are reviewing the submissions as input into the policy we intend to develop for the fall. With regard to authentication and certification, the government is working with suppliers and a number of key business sectors to develop criteria for government use of certification and authentication services. We also expect to roll out the Government of Canada's public key infrastructure in the next 10 to 12 months. *************************************************************************************************************** SPEAKING NOTES FOR THE HONOURABLE JOHN MANLEY MINISTER OF INDUSTRY ELECTRONIC COMMERCE SUMMIT MINISTERIAL PANEL OTTAWA APRIL 30, 1998 Date: 04/30/98 Thank you, David. Electronic commerce is at the leading edge of the trends that are transforming the world economy. The trends are related and mutually reinforcing: improvements in information and communications technologies, globalization and a shift to an economy based on knowledge. Information technology is transforming the business process. The Internet, for example, allows businesses to interact 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week, not only with suppliers, but with consumers world-wide. At the same time, those consumers have access to an unlimited global array of products and services. The knowledge economy places a premium on continuous improvement and the creation and application of new ideas. To stay ahead, Canada needs to build on its strengths in research and people and focus these resources on building a stronger Canadian innovation system. A key part of our government's response to this challenge is our agenda for Connecting Canadians. The goal is to make Canada the most connected country in the world by the year 2000. This is a six-part strategy to make Canada the world leader in developing and using an advanced information infrastructure. It involves: promoting access; growing digital content industries; putting government on line; encouraging smart communities; promoting a connected Canada to the world; and developing electronic commerce. Much of the groundwork is in place: we are already among the most connected nations on earth. Canada leads the G7 in penetration of cable, telephones and home computers, and we are second only to the US in terms of Internet host penetration. Our Internet access charges are the lowest in the world. An estimated four million Canadian business users may be on the Internet by the year 2000. Connecting Canadians is a partnership agenda. It is the private sector that has built the leading edge info highway we have in Canada, and it is the private sector that will build the next generation. But, government has key roles to play in encouraging competition, removing impediments to growth, reducing uncertainty, encouraging innovation and speed, and responding to accessibility gaps. Initiatives such as SchoolNet, Community Access Program and Computers for Schools are good examples of how we have worked with business, educators, community leaders and governments to respond to the challenge of access. The Canadian Network for the Advancement of Research, Industry and Education, or CANARIE, is another outstanding example of private and public sector partnership. Our February Budget commits $55 million to CANARIE's work in building the next generation Canadian Internet. We know that we have to bring the power of these partnerships to bear on the challenge of making Canada a world leader in the development and use of electronic commerce. We view the move to electronic commerce as inevitable. If we move fast, if we remove the uncertainties holding back electronic commerce on open networks, we can create a global centre of excellence for electronic commerce. In short, with the right framework, electronic commerce has phenomenal growth prospects. While the challenges are diverse and complex, they can be viewed as revolving around one simple issue: TRUST. The best way to build trust is to deal directly with issues of security, privacy, consumer-protection and legal frameworks. I'd like to touch briefly on each of these. *************************************************************************************************************** Security. Before they use electronic commerce, consumers and business want to make sure that their transactions will be secure. They also want to know to know that those they do business with are who they say they are. As you know, we have just completed a consultation on setting a cryptography policy for Canada. We received over 150 submissions in response to our discussion paper, which addressed issues such as access to encrypted stored data, access to real time communications, and export controls. My officials are reviewing the submissions as input into the policy we intend to develop for the fall. With regard to authentication and certification, the government is working with suppliers and a number of key business sectors to develop criteria for government use of certification and authentication services. We also expect to roll out the Government of Canada's public key infrastructure in the next 10 to 12 months. *************************************************************************************************************** Another aspect of building trust is privacy. If a consumer thinks personal information just floats around cyber-space, waiting for anyone to take a look or use for purposes that haven't been agreed to, that consumer will think twice about using an on-line service. To build consumer confidence in electronic transactions, Anne McLellan and I are working towards putting into law the Canadian standard for the protection of personal information. The standard was developed by the private sector and consumer groups, with the support of government. It has proven its effectiveness in changing business practices and providing guidance. But it's missing a few elements, notably on the enforcement front. Our government is committed to enacting legislation to protect personal information in the private sector by the year 2000 and, to that effect, Anne and I plan to introduce a bill in the House in the fall. Consumer Protection is also a concern. Potential customers want to know where a business is located or know what will happen if merchandise they order is shoddy, or simply doesn't show up. Are there effective redress mechanisms? If we want Canadians to move into electronic commerce in meaningful numbers, they have to feel that there will be some measure of consumer protection. We need to know if our current rules and regulations are sufficient to deal with consumer protection issues or if they need to be adjusted. In response to these questions, we have launched some studies and held consultations, including a business-consumer roundtable last week. As a result of these discussions, a policy paper on consumer protection will be developed and we plan to release guidelines on consumer protection in the fall. For electronic commerce to flourish, the private sector must continue to lead. We generally believe that with minor adjustments, existing market place rules and practices will be able to create the framework for the development and growth of electronic commerce. We believe in the ability of private industry, with the direct input of consumers, to deal with the key issues of trust and confidence. Technological solutions, competition and voluntary codes can go a long way to address such issues. But, Canada is not alone in assessing these issues: governments and the private sector worldwide are examining both domestic and international policies and practices which affect electronic commerce. Which is what October's OECD Ministerial conference is all about. The conference will bring together the private sector with key international organizations interested in electronic commerce, as well as 29 OECD governments, and a number observer governments. The goal of the conference is nothing short of establishing an international road map for electronic commerce. In setting the agenda for that conference and in setting out the international road map, we are looking to Canadian companies for many of the approaches and solutions needed to build an effective global marketplace. [email protected] wrote: greetings, listmembers. I have been looking for the export restrictions (if any) that regulate canadian encryption products. I have tried searching the net for a little while, and although I have found a few (contradictory) blurbs on it, I have found no 'official' documents or links to them. does this information exist on the web, and if not, who would be the best department to ask so that I get the least red-tape or 'runaround'? ----------------------------------------------------------------------- james 'keith' thomson www.bigfoot.com/~ceildh jkthomson:C181 991A 405C EAFB 2C46 79B5 B1DC DB78 8196 122D [06.07.98] ceildh :1D79 59AF ED75 5945 6003 8240 DA34 ACCA 9DE4 6BC9 [05.14.98] ICQ:746241 at pgp.mit.edu ...and former sysop of tnbnog BBS ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Microsoft's biggest and most dangerous contribution to the software industry may be the degree to which it has lowered user expectations." - Esther Schlindler, OS/2 Magazine =======================================================================

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