Government has set up a special task force to adress the 2000 problem.
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News Release
TASK FORCE TO EXAMINE YEAR 2000 CHALLENGE
Toronto, Ontario, September 2, 1997 --The year 2000 may signal the next
millennium, but it also represents a major challenge because not all
computers and micro-processors are ready to adapt to the new century. Today,
Industry Minister John Manley announced the creation of Task
Force Year 2000 (Y2K). Its mandate is to ensure that Canadian businesses
have the information they need to be ready for the next millennium.
"We know how important it is for all Canadian businesses -large or small -to
understand the problem and what needs to be done," said Minister
Manley. "That's why this Task Force is made up of business leaders from key
sectors in our economy. This public and private sector partnership
is the best way to ensure that all Canadian businesses are ready."
This challenge exists because many computer systems were developed to
recognize only the last two digits of the year (e.g. "99" for 1999). If the
Year 2000 challenge is not addressed now, experts anticipate widespread
malfunctions once computers see the year "00", either mistaking it to
be the year 1900 or, possibly, shutting down altogether.
The mandate of this Task Force is to assess the nature and scope of the
problem, look at how prepared industry is for the challenge, and suggest
what needs to be done. The Task Force will encourage business to rise to the
occasion, and will assume a leadership role and develop a best
practices network.
Minister Manley also announced that the Task Force Year 2000 will be
chaired by Jean Monty, Nortel's Chief Executive Officer and will include
representatives from a number of key economic sectors including banking,
insurance, transportation, manufacturing, telecommunications,
information technology, small-and-medium-sized business, agriculture, retail
and service sectors.
"This is much more than an information technology challenge," says Jean
Monty. "That's why so many CEOs have accepted the invitation to
participate as members of the Task Force. We are prepared to meet this
challenge head on".
Industry Canada, with a group of industry partners, has launched a Year 2000
awareness program aimed at informing business, particularly small
businesses of the importance of the Year 2000 electronic challenge. Additional
information can be found on Industry Canada's Year 2000 web
site: strategis.ic.gc.ca.
In addition the Federal Government has taken steps to get its house in order.
The Treasury Board Secretariat is leading an effort to accelerate
and coordinate work on government Year 2000 renovations. The cost of the
work is estimated at some $1 billion.
The Task Force will meet for the first time later this month. It will report back
to the Minister of Industry by the end of May, 1998.
For more information, please contact:
Bill Milliken
Office of the Minister of Industry
(613) 995-9001
milliken.william@ic.gc.ca
Mr. Alain-F. Desfoss‚s
Secretary
Task Force Year 2000
300 Slater Street, 20th Floor
Jean Edmonds Building, North Tower
Ottawa, Ontario
KlA 0C8
Tel: (613) 990-4289
E-mail: tf2000gt@ic.gc.ca
Release 7718-e |
