CANADA SET TO BECOME WORLD LEADER IN E-COMMERCE

• Secure Electronic Signature: Federal departments, agencies and boards will have the authority to decide how requirements in existing statutes and regulations can be satisfied by electronic means in place of paper. A key component of the legislation is the concept of "secure electronic signature" which may be used in electronic transmissions to ensure their integrity and reliability.
  
  
• Government going on-line: The new legislation provides a way for the federal government to accommodate an increasingly popular way of doing business -- through electronic means. New electronic methods will not replace traditional methods that the government uses to communicate and conduct business with Canadians, but will provide those who wish to conduct business in this way with the option.
  
  
• Electronic Evidence: Although presenting electronic documents as evidence is not new, electronic technology has affected how lawyers and judges interpret the rules of evidence. The new legislation will: clarify how the courts assess the reliability of an electronic document that is introduced as evidence; authorize regulations to assist the courts in associating secure electronic signatures with persons; and recognize that notices and acts published electronically by the Queen's Printer have the same legal weight as those published on paper by the Queen's Printer.