“Many Canadians still face barriers that prevent them from participating in the digital world,” says a report by Deloitte Canada released on Tuesday. The company conducted a vast study to draw a portrait of “digital equity” in the country, that is to say access to the web and digital technologies, according to a wide variety of criteria.
Its results testify to a reality that is far from the utopia of the first infancy of the Internet, which was then believed to be accessible to all.
Deloitte surveyed approximately 2,000 Canadians on their use of the web and digital technologies in the fall of 2021, and consulted a committee of experts to define the criteria for the study. This is how they analyzed, for example, access to bandwidth, affordability of devices, digital literacy, cybersecurity, online discrimination, as well as several other topics.
In particular, the study shows that certain communities, especially Aboriginals and people of color, are particularly disadvantaged when it comes to access to the digital world.
“Certain demographic groups – Indigenous peoples, members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, racialized people, new immigrants, people with disabilities and women, for example – are more exposed to economic disparities due to [d’inégalités] systemic and are, therefore, more likely to encounter digital equity barriers,” the report states.
The cost of tech devices remains one of the top economic issues raised in the paper: “Households earning less than $40,000 a year were twice as likely to cite the cost of devices as a barrier [à l’accès au Web] than those earning more than $150,000 a year.
The importance of digital literacy
Jaimie Boyd, Partner, National Leader, Digital Government at Deloitte, explains, in an interview with The duty, that “it’s no longer just about access to devices, it’s also about trust and education”. She adds that “if you’re Indigenous in Canada, you’re twice as likely to experience bullying online. Aboriginal people are therefore much less motivated to have social experiences on the Web. »
Deloitte’s report shows that “only 44% of respondents under 35 believe that their education has prepared them to succeed in a digital economy”, and that “nearly half (47%) of respondents say they do not know resources to acquire digital skills”.
It’s also why Boyd would like governments across the country to adopt “a broader definition” of digital equity. “The figures we found are worrying,” she said, advocating better coordination between levels of government and increased collaboration with Indigenous peoples.