MEDIA Reports (Feb-April 98)

Washington Post (April 26, 1998 High Tech Section) "Bob Fortier, president of the Canadian Telework Association (CTA), says high tech firms everywhere in North America - not just in the U.S., are experiencing "unbelievable competition" for skilled workers.   Fortier serves on the board of ITAC and cosponsors Telecommute America, a nationwide public awareness program that sponsors a week-long series of telecommuting activities and conferences each year. According to Fortier, "High tech companies are doing all they can to find and retain employees," which includes offering telework as part of a "hefty" benefits package".


Most major U.S. daily newspapers, the Toronto Star and the Hamilton Spectator (April 6, 1998 issue of the Working Wise syndicated column): "Telecommuting Boosts Health, Productivity.   Telecommuting - the 90s version of highway travel to a distant job - can be the answer when a worker is disabled temporarily or permanently....The acceptance for the disabled varies. It's fairly widespread in the United States and Canada, but not as accepted in Europe..."

"Accommodating trained employees with health problems or disabilities while they're still able and willing to work is a driving force behind Canadian telework," says Bob Fortier, president of InnoVisions Canada and the Canadian Telework Association...


The Ottawa Citizen (February 2, 1998 letter to the Editor)
"Telework Reduces Need for Light-Rail Proposal". While I recognize that there are many proponents of light rail, I am concerned that such a proposal discounts the huge impact that information technology will play over the next decade on transportation demographics. I suggest that council re-examine San Francisco which I understand abandoned its light rail plans. Instead, it favoured a mixed bag of options including telework-a byproduct of information technology where employees work from home or other locations and-and the results seem quite promising.

On a national front, Canada now has 1 million teleworkers growing to 1.5 million by the year 2001 (according to Statistics Canada). This confirms that telework is now a reality which is here to stay. Combined with the growth of home-based work, it is entirely possible that many times that number will eventually be working from home within 10 years-at least part of the time. This enormous growth means that telework is a phenomenon that should be taken into account by decision-makers. Properly harnessed and promoted, there are significant benefits, not the least of which is the reduction of transportation, which everyone knows is a leading cause of greenhouse gases. To illustrate, if each of Canada’s 1 million teleworkers were to telework 1 day per week, in a year, they would save some: 200,000 tonnes of air pollution or gas emissions; 81 million litres of fuel; 1 billion kilometers of mileage on our highways and streets; and, the daily gridlock value of over 1 million cars and other forms of transport. As a side-benefit, Canadians would save $34 million in fuel costs, and some 50 million hours of time, which they could spend with their families, or on their non-work lives.

On the regional front, Ottawa-Carleton has Canada’s highest per capita concentration of computer owners and internet users. With our significant high tech and government population, we also have the highest per capita concentration of knowledge and computer workers. All of this translates to a high percentage of our workers with ‘teleworkable’ jobs. While many of them are now teleworking some of the time, we haven’t seen anything yet. As information technology grows in our region, there is an inevitable propensity for increases in telework, home businesses, tele-shopping, tele-education, tele-medicine etc.... all reducers of private and public transportation.

There are many other reasons for considering telework, such as helping further Canada’s goals in employment and youth, education, natural resources, industry and transport (the latter by building inexpensive connections to our homes rather than expensive concrete highways). Telework underscores Canada’s role in leading the development of information technology solutions. Furthermore, its proven ability to significantly reduce public and private-sector operating costs would help improve Canada’s economy and our level of global competitiveness. So, why spend on light rail when we could be capitalizing on all these benefits?

While the growth of telework is inevitable, it is going through some growing pains. What is unfortunate is that for every teleworker, there are many more ‘teleworkable’ jobs occupied by employees who wish to telework but are not permitted to. This is often due to managerial resistance at the work unit or organizational level-originating from such factors as inadequate information about telework, lack of time to examine its feasibility within their organizations, old-fashioned attitudes about work.

Because of the potential of telework for our region and for Canada, we urge decision makers to recognize and account for the growth of telework in making decisions that will be with us for the long-term. Please visit the Canadian Telework Association on the internet at www.ivc.ca   Bob Fortier, Nepean.  President, Canadian Telework Association.