You’ll notice we’ve added tabs to this blog with the names of each of the major parties running in this year’s federal election. Click on them and you’ll find a precis of party policy as it relates to IT.
So far, we’ve only managed to speak directly with spokespeople from the Liberal and Green parties; interviews with the other players are in the works. We’ve also mined the Web sites of the respective paries for other nuggets that will affect the IT industry, and links to documents to fill in the background.
Kathleen Lau of IT World Canada spoke to Joseph Mayer, spokesman for the Liberals, and Green Party deputy leader Adriane Carr; read the whole story here, which also includes CATA Alliance president John Reid’s assessment.
Mayer made the right noises for an industry that’s been lobbying hard for policies to encourage R&D, then veered into well-trod tax break territory. But Carr surprised; for the deputy leader of a party often dismissed as single-issue, she revealed a grasp of the importance of Net neutrality and even support for open source software development.
Meanwhile, at press time, our online poll (vote now!) shows the Conservatives well into majority territory, with 49 per cent of the vote. The Liberals are well behind with 20 per cent. The NDP and Green Party trail with 15 and eight per cent respectively. My particular party — none of the above — scores seven per cent, with a lone vote for the Bloc Qu