Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities
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AN INTERIM REPORT: INFRASTRUCTURE AND SMART COMMUNITIES Report of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities The Honourable Judy A. Sgro, Chair DECEMBER 2017 42nd PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION Published under the authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons SPEAKER’S PERMISSION The proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees are hereby made available to provide greater public access. The parliamentary privilege of the House of Commons to control the publication and broadcast of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees is nonetheless reserved. All copyrights therein are also reserved. Reproduction of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees, in whole or in part and in any medium, is hereby permitted provided that the reproduction is accurate and is not presented as official. This permission does not extend to reproduction, distribution or use for commercial purpose of financial gain. 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For greater certainty, this permission does not affect the prohibition against impeaching or questioning the proceedings of the House of Commons in courts or otherwise. The House of Commons retains the right and privilege to find users in contempt of Parliament if a reproduction or use is not in accordance with this permission. Also available on the House of Commons website at the following address: www.ourcommons.ca AN INTERIM REPORT: INFRASTRUCTURE AND SMART COMMUNITIES Report of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities Hon. Judy A. Sgro Chair DECEMBER 2017 42nd PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION NOTICE TO READER Reports from committee presented to the House of Commons Presenting a report to the House is the way a committee makes public its findings and recommendations on a particular topic. Substantive reports on a subject-matter study usually contain a synopsis of the testimony heard, the recommendations made by the committee, as well as the reasons for those recommendations. STANDING COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT, INFRASTRUCTURE AND COMMUNITIES CHAIR Hon. Judy A. Sgro VICE-CHAIRS Kelly Block Robert Aubin MEMBERS Vance Badawey Ben Lobb Hon. Michael D. Chong Karen McCrimmon* Sean Fraser Marc Miller* Ken Hardie Gagan Sikand Angelo Iacono OTHER MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT WHO PARTICIPATED Luc Berthold Alain Rayes Colin Fraser Hon. Hunter Tootoo Pierre Nantel Dianne L. Watts * Non-voting member, pursuant to Standing Order 104(5) iii CLERK OF THE COMMITTEE Marie-France Lafleur LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT Parliamentary Information and Research Service Alexandre Lavoie, Analyst Zackery Shaver, Analyst Nicole Sweeney, Analyst iv THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT, INFRASTRUCTURE AND COMMUNITIES has the honour to present its TWENTIETH REPORT Pursuant to its mandate under Standing Order 108(2), the Committee has studied Infrastructure and Smart Communities and has agreed to report the following: v TABLE OF CONTENTS AN INTERIM REPORT: INFRASTRUCTURE AND SMART COMMUNITIES ........................ 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Summary of Witness Testimony ................................................................................................ 2 A. No Set Definition .................................................................................................................. 2 B. Various Implementations ................................................................................................. 3 C. Opportunities to Seize........................................................................................................ 5 D. Challenges and Solutions .................................................................................................. 8 1. Rapid Technological Change .................................................................................... 8 2. Lack of Broadband Network Connectivity .......................................................... 9 3. Managing Personal Information and Privacy Protection ........................... 10 4. Safety and Security .................................................................................................... 11 5. Low Private Investment in Research and Development for Smart Infrastructure .............................................................................................. 12 6. Limited and Fragmented Public Sector Involvement .................................. 13 E. A role to play for the Federal Government ............................................................. 14 Appendix A: List of witnesses ................................................................................................................. 17 Appendix B: List of briefs ......................................................................................................................... 21 Minutes of proceedings ............................................................................................................................. 23 vii AN INTERIM REPORT: INFRASTRUCTURE AND SMART COMMUNITIES INTRODUCTION Information technologies have taken an increasingly important place in the lives of Canadians, to the point that very few people or organizations today could go without using the Internet or smartphones. However, there is one area where information technologies have not yet fulfilled their potential: infrastructure. That said, progress is being made. Driverless cars are now a reality. Buildings and other infrastructure are increasingly collecting information through remotely operated sensors. Traffic information is available in real time. Municipalities are offering an increasing number of services online, available 24/7, and use electronic means to interact with local residents. Our communities, both large and small, are becoming smarter. The Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities (TRAN or the Committee) studied the topic of infrastructure and smart communities because it believes that community infrastructure in the future will rely more and more heavily on information technologies. Around the world, cities are using information technologies to provide services to local residents more efficiently and to better manage public infrastructure. The Committee held five meetings on infrastructure and smart communities in February 2017. It heard from 26 witnesses and received briefs from two stakeholders as part of this study. Stakeholders shared their vision for how information technologies could be used in community infrastructure, identified challenges to overcome, solutions to implement and the role the federal government could play. This report provides a summary of what the Committee heard. 1 SUMMARY OF WITNESS TESTIMONY A. No Set Definition “ The notion of a smart city, to be honest, is still being defined.”1 Grant Courville, QNX Software Systems Limited One of the first challenges the Committee encountered was to define the concept of a smart community. As Mr. Hugo Grondin explained, the concept has changed significantly in the eight or nine years the City of Québec has been pursuing the idea.2 According to Mr. Grondin, a number of definitions are in use in the field.3 Witnesses who appeared before the Committee also gave several different descriptions of what a smart community is. The Committee noted two elements that were consistent in defining a smart community: information technologies and services to citizens. Advances in information technology led to the first smart communities. As Mr. Charles Berndt of Hydro Ottawa explained, these new technologies have transformed how most public services are now delivered to the population.4 Mr. Shawn Slack, representing the City of Mississauga, described smart communities being highly “connected.” He gave examples from his municipality, where all its services are connected, including cameras, pylon signs and networking cabinets, being used to broadcast important messages.5 Prof. Teresa Scassa from the University of Ottawa explained that a smart community is one that captures and analyzes data from various sensors within the city in order to 1 House of Commons, Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities (TRAN), Evidence, 1st Session, 42nd Parliament, 9 February 2017 (Grant Courville, Director of Product Management, QNX Software Systems Limited). 2 TRAN, Evidence, 14 February 2017 (Hugo Grondin, Director of the Strategic Support Services Division, Information Technology Service, City of Québec). 3 Ibid. 4 TRAN, Evidence, 2 February 2017 (Charles Berndt, Supervisor, Smart Grid Technologies, Hydro Ottawa Limited). 5 TRAN, Evidence, 2 February 2017 (Shawn Slack, Director of Information