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Media Release
Ottawa and SmartCapital: World Leaders in Online Service Delivery

OTTAWA, February 10, 2004 - Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli joined representatives from the federal and provincial governments to officially launch the SmartCapital.ca gateway, an initiative that has helped secure Ottawa's status as the most connected city in the world.

The Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation's (OCRI) SmartCapital.ca gateway initiative boasts 12 online service projects, the engagement of over 50 development partners, and the ability to define, develop and deliver multiple services to online users.

Since 1999, the SmartCapital program has been accelerating the development of online services for all sectors of the region. Today's launch of the SmartCapital.ca gateway will showcase many of these services and will demonstrate how information technology is transforming the way in which Ottawans interact with one another, with public and private institutions and with the world.

"This is a perfect example of how partnerships can benefit everyone," said Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli. "Here we have municipal government, community groups, public sector organizations including schools, hospitals and universities plus the business sector all working collaboratively to create seamless access to information resources for each and every citizen in Ottawa."

The SmartCapital.ca gateway is being used by city residents to do everything from helping entrepreneurs start and grow their business to accessing many of the City of Ottawa's essential services such as booking ice time, paying parking tickets and participating in city council meetings.

SmartCapital's Executive Director, Paul Wilker, explains that the initiative is about more than just convenience; it is about economic development - providing a higher quality of life and ensuring that the region remains globally competitive for years to come.

"We are creating the conditions that allow residents and businesses to integrate technology into daily living," Wilker continues. "The primary objectives of the SmartCapital initiative are to build a world leading broadband infrastructure; provide services and applications; and provide access to these services to the entire community. As we are demonstrating to the community today - we are succeeding in meeting these goals."

News of SmartCapital's success has traveled far beyond Ottawa as Wilker learned last week. SmartCapital has been named one of 24 finalists in the e-Government category of the Stockholm Challenge - a major clearinghouse for the best and brightest ideas in the area of information technology for community service delivery. Nearly 900 projects from 107 countries entered the competition. Winners from each category will be announced in Stockholm, Sweden on May 13, 2004.

SmartCapital.ca services include community access programs to ensure residents have free access to computers, computer training, the internet and software.

The City of Ottawa municipal government offers advanced information services, transactional capability for bill payment, and video streaming for e-democracy initiatives.

A SmartCapital program, AltogetherOTTAWA, provides free advanced collaborative software to all residents and businesses to build online communities.

Community partners provide: library services, a learning portal, affordable internet access for all university students, provision of 150 public access sites, and entrepreneurship tutorials.

SmartCapital.ca involves a suite of on-line services that are accessible free of charge to all Ottawa residents. These services facilitate interaction between and among governments, businesses and citizens and improve the efficiency of on-line transactions and services. At the same time, they provide city residents with a one-stop source of information, as well as a forum for on-line discussion and collaboration.

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About SmartCapital
SmartCapital is an initiative to accelerate the development of online services for all sectors of the City of Ottawa. Working in collaboration with numerous partners, SmartCapital is launching services that are transforming the way in which citizens interact with one another, with public and private institutions, and with the world. For more information, please visit http://www.smartcapital.ca.

About OCRI
The Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI) is Ottawa's economic development corporation. OCRI is the rallying point to bring business, education and research together to create the winning economic conditions that allow Ottawa's technology companies to thrive locally and compete globally. At OCRI we promote sustainable economic development to maintain our high quality of life. For more information on OCRI visit our website at www.ocri.ca and for more information on the Ottawa Region please visit www.ottawaregion.com.

About Canada's Smart Communities
Smart Communities is a worldwide phenomenon that encourages villages, towns and cities to use information and communications technologies in innovative ways to empower their residents, institutions and regions as a whole. In Canada, the movement is growing thanks to the establishment of a national network of smart communities under the Government of Canada's Smart Community Program. The expertise of these 12 smart community demonstration projects - one in each province, one in the North, and one Aboriginal community - is helping other communities, both in Canada and abroad, effectively use technology for economic, social and cultural development.