Government of Canada To Publish Only in Digital Format After 2014

The Government of Canada has announced that all publications published by its Publishing Program and publications provided by departments to the Depository Services Program for distribution to libraries serving the public will become exclusively electronic as of 2014.

This is raising some concerns as indicated by this text by Amanda Wakaruk, government information librarian at the University of Alberta [reprinted on the Free Government Information blog:

"For those of us on the privileged side of the digital divide, the main problem with the transition to digital is not format, it’s the absence of any comprehensive GOC [Government of Canada] policy on digital integrity, preservation, and long-term access. To make matters worse, the intellectual organization and capital of the GOC information landscape is increasingly fractured through policy decisions including, but not limited to, government cutbacks."

Another issue raised by Mark Lewis on Slaw.ca is the fact that Statistics Canada data indicates that roughly 20% of Canadian households do not have internet access at home.