Digital Society | Let’s open the debate

The election campaign started two weeks ago; neither political parties nor commentators and analysts have addressed the issue of the impact of Quebec’s digital transformation. Not only is this question not among the priorities of the candidates, it is even evacuated from the electoral priorities by the media.

Yet the impact of this transformation is pervasive. All dimensions of governmental, social and economic activity will be affected over the next few years, just as they have already been over the past 20 years.

The economy, health, environment, culture, education, which are among the main campaign themes of all parties, have the common denominator of being areas where the use of digital technologies is still increasingly important. Even the rules of democratic life are being shaken up by the rise of new communication channels offered by technologies that are as innovative as they are opaque in their operation.

In 2021, 97% of Quebecers owned at least one digital device and 93% of households were connected to the internet.

Online learning has become more democratic, telework has become widespread, cultural products are increasingly consumed through distribution platforms, connected objects follow us to monitor our slightest movements, our state of health, our contacts, our purchases (often including only approximate consent).

Digital technologies are incredible levers to meet the challenges of society of our time. They provide access to previously inaccessible knowledge, contribute to the productivity of our businesses, compensate for the shrinking labor pool, increase medical discoveries and their sharing, facilitate communications between public administrations and citizens; they could even become an important asset in the fight against climate change. Conversely, they also cause undeniable perverse effects: culture shock, leakage of personal information, new social fractures, polarization of debates, cyberbullying, cyberattacks, redefinition of the boundaries of our private lives, etc.

It is therefore worrying to note today the nonchalance of the parties to develop a coherent political line on digital technology. Digital technologies are not neutral and their use can lead to differences of opinion within our society.

Governments can no longer downplay digital issues as just infrastructure, IT methods, cables and accompanying programs. Digital is reshaping the relationship between business and people, between public administration and citizens, and between each of us. Digital has a structuring effect on our way of thinking, living, exchanging, consuming, loving, and developing our democracy. The digital transformation of our society is linked to political powers and must be conducted as such.

Political parties can no longer escape. The social stakes are great, the possible impacts immense.

So far, no government has taken the leadership that we expected. Nor to support the digital transformation of society, even less to seek to understand it. Over the years, governments have appeared ill-prepared and in improvisation mode when certain issues suddenly hit the headlines.

Today, is only one of the parties able to have a vision to ensure:

• that digital technologies can become powerful allies of regional development and growth tools for companies wherever they are in the territory;
• that e-commerce grows to the benefit of local economies and consumers;
• that the artistic, media and cultural milieus are better served by the new forms of dissemination and distribution, and no longer simply threatened by them;
• that public education can take advantage of digital possibilities to offer training paths that are more adapted to learners and to current realities;
• that the community ecosystem can use digital technologies to accelerate the spread of inclusive values ​​in our society;
• that artificial intelligence, which is increasingly integrated into administrative processes, respects the highest ethical standards and is free from social bias;
• that digital strategies be established in line with climate action, taking into account the fact that digital technology is both an accelerator of climate change and a potential source of solutions;
• that the government adhere to the principles of responsible digital development, attentive to the exclusions that the intensification of digital uses will produce, in order to allow each citizen to play their full role;
• for innovation to become a strong value in public administration?

Today, is only one of the parties in a position to consider the creation of an independent and adequately funded body, responsible for advising the government and the public on digital issues?

Today, can only one of the parties defend the principles of digital sovereignty, both in technological means, in training and in the preservation of our private information?

At the beginning of 2023, the numerous action plans put in place by the government in terms of digital technology come to an end. It will be necessary to rethink the strategies, measures and schedules of activities quickly after the elections. Nothing has yet been disclosed as to their continuity. It will be a complex and delicate exercise; just as was the revision of the Privacy Act. Each of the planes is intimately linked to the others and can no longer be treated independently, as was the case until today. Digital issues are so cross-cutting and their impacts so structuring that they require a strong overall vision.

We therefore appeal to the leaders of the political parties, so that they take advantage of the remaining weeks of campaigning to initiate the discussion on the digital society that we collectively wish to give us. Will you have the courage to open the debate?

* Co-signatories: Dominique Leclerc, screenwriter, playwright and director; Francis Gosselin, economist and consultant; Mathieu Halle, company president; Stéphane Roche, engineer and professor in geomatics; Annie Chénier, digital transformation coach; Bruno Santerre, multimedia integration program coordinator; Denis Martel, digital strategist; Guillaume Morissette, director of research and development