November 25, 1999
(Industry, Trade and Technology)

The following statement was issued today by Sandra Kelly, Minister of Industry, Trade and Technology. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

Today, I will be tabling Operation ONLINE's annual report for the fiscal period 1998/99. This report was presented to me by Dr. Jack Botsford, president and CEO of Operation ONLINE, at their annual general meeting in August. I would like to welcome Dr. Botsford, who is joining us today in the gallery.

Operation ONLINE is a public/private partnership, which was established to advance and promote Newfoundland and Labrador's rapidly growing information technology industry. It is funded through the Canada/Newfoundland Agreement on Economic Renewal.

This past year has been an exciting one for Operation ONLINE. My department has worked closely with this organization on a number of important projects aimed at developing key areas within our IT sector.

One of these areas is human resources. Operation ONLINE, working in partnership with Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Technology Industries and Human Resources Development Canada, helped to implement the IT Graduate Employment and Internship Program. This program addresses the industry's needs for specialized skills training and to develop job opportunities for new IT graduates. Already, it has created 200 jobs for new graduates.

Operation ONLINE was also instrumental in helping our province secure SoftWorld '98, the world's premier deal-making and networking event for the IT sector. The event drew a record number of 775 delegates from around the globe and allowed our province to showcase our innovative and dynamic IT industry to the world.

During SoftWorld '98, a memorandum of understanding was signed between this government, Sun Microsystems of Canada Inc. and Operation ONLINE. From that MOU, a partnership was created and Pivotal Networks was formed. The one-of-a-kind facility in the world, officially launched in October, will allow companies to develop applications using Java TM technology, network computing systems and related specialized applications. It will also help to further solidify our place in the global IT industry.

I would also like to highlight several recent accomplishments made by Operation ONLINE, which took place following the annual report's release.

Earlier this month, Operation ONLINE participated in SoftWorld '99, which was held in Vancouver. It was the site of several significant achievements for our province's IT industry. Operation ONLINE signed a partnering agreement with the technology sector in Costa Rica to facilitate technology transfer, skills development, and give both regions access to new export markets.

The recently established Pivotal Networks also signed a deal at SoftWorld '99 with KL Group Inc. of Toronto, a producer of award winning Java development tools. The deal includes the transfer of over $20,000 in software products from KL Group to Pivotal Networks. More importantly, it begins a relationship between the two organizations for product promotion, testing, and development.

Operation ONLINE's annual report outlines many more of the organization's accomplishments over the past year. I would like commend this organization for its dedication to developing our IT sector.

Information technology is a key sector in our provincial economy. Each year, it generates in excess of $500 million. We have approximately 200 IT businesses operating throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, and the sector continues to grow. With organizations like Operation ONLINE working to foster its development, I am confident that information technology will continue to be a major contributing industry to the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador.

1999 11 25 2:25 p.m.