Mayor of Waterloo Announces Support for i-CANADA
“A program to create a Canada composed of world-class Intelligent Communities is a boost for Canada,” said Waterloo Mayor Brenda Halloran earlier today. Commenting as leader of one of the few Canadian cities that have won the prestigious ‘Intelligent Community of the Year’ Awards from the Intelligent Community Forum, Waterloo is a heavy hitter in global standings.
“i-CANADA’s member communities have much to learn from Waterloo,” stated i-CANADA Chair, William Hutchison. “We are delighted with the support that Mayor Halloran is giving us, and we know she will be able to provide guidance and inspiration to other Canadian cities. Her observations on what it takes to become a top city will be very valuable in our upcoming meeting, The New National Dream: Building an Intelligent Nation. Mayor Halloran noted that she is very interested in the vision of other global leaders like Finland’s Communications Minister Suvi Linden, who has declared that Broadband is a fundamental right.”
Ms. Linden will be speaking at the New National Dream event, which will take place at Caesar’s Windsor on November 16th and 17th. Tickets are available now, and cost $650 (+HST) per person. The iCanada Advisory Board agenda can be downloaded from the CATA site as a PDF.
“I heartily endorse the Vision of i-CANADA,” said Mayor Halloran. “I applaud the drive to have Canada acknowledged as the world’s leading Intelligent Nation because a sufficiently broad base of Canadian communities, large and small, have all won international awards as the world’s leading Intelligent Communities.
“Our Award as the World’s Top Intelligent Community in 2007 gave us huge global recognition. Our high-tech sector has helped keep us there ever since. We have developed world-class universities and institutions that have attracted the presence of internationally acclaimed scholars such as Stephen Hawking. The building cranes around the city are witnesses to our continuing prosperity. We are going to continue to be a pivotal force in the world economy, and we are looking forward to helping our sister communities surge ahead. We are also looking forward to learning from them, because Canada is full of innovative ideas from all quarters.”
An Intelligent Community is one that uses Broadband Connectivity, Innovation, Knowledge Workforce, Digital Inclusion, and Marketing and Advocacy to achieve above-average rates of economic growth, job creation, social diversification and environmental innovation, an attractive result that is encouraging an increasing number of civic leaders to adopt i-Community strategies. Canadians are welcome to add their support for iCanada in an online submission form on the CATA site.
i-CANADA is backed by Canada’s largest high-tech organization, the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA). The Chair of the i-CANADA Governors Council is The Honourable David Alward, Premier of New Brunswick. The Council consists of Mayors, CEOs of major corporations, and Premiers.
