Industry Minister Tony Clement has vowed to table new copyright legislation this fall as part of Canada’s efforts to lead the global digital economy. Clement said he and Heritage Minister James Moore will be spending the summer consulting Canadians on copyright in ‘cities, towns, and pastures near you’ in preparation.

The pledge came June 22 in the minister’s wrap-up comments following an invitation-only Industry Canada-sponsored digital summit attended by about 150 notable corporate and government leaders, including Research in Motion’s Mike Lazaridis, Corus Entertainment’s John Cassaday, Quebecor’s Pierre Karl Péladeau, CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein and Wesley Clover’s Terry Matthews. The day-long event was aimed at sparking the development of an all-encompassing national digital strategy that would make Canada a world leader in the digital economy.

‘The problem is we’ve lost our competitive edge in this area. We started out as world leaders 10, 20 years ago and we’ve lost traction since then,’ said Clement.

While Clement favors a strategy that cuts across all government departments, different levels of government and stakeholders, and covers the wide gambit of the digital world, he is ready now to move ahead on some initiatives. Aside from copyright, his priorities also include new privacy legislation, broadband extension to underserved areas, and working out the parameters of the upcoming spectrum auction.

The Industry minister said a comprehensive digital strategy could still be developed, because various stakeholders could zero in on different aspects of the digital economy based on their interests. Then each group’s suggestions could be compiled into a cohesive strategy.

Issues raised at the forum included not just broadcasting and new media content, but also infrastructure, health records, green initiatives, hydro energy grids, security, privacy concerns, etc.

‘We are not dealing with one little thing. We are dealing with the digital revolution; it will be just as profound as the industrial revolution was 200 years ago,’ said von Finckenstein at the forum.

Clement did not commit to a deadline for finalizing a national digital strategy. However, he vowed to spend as many hours as he could on the digital agenda. The minister spent the day at the forum, taking notes, which he said would be brought to the attention of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.