Cabinet members in Saskatchewan getting iPads to reduce paper use

The Canadian Broadcasting Company is reporting that 18 Canadian cabinet ministers and five senior staff members in the province of Saskatchewan are receiving iPads in an attempt to get a handle on the costly consumption of paper. With the cost of the 64GB 3G iPad running about CDN$879 plus fees and taxes, the initial cost of the iPads will run about CDN$23,000. However, the government expects that double that amount will be saved in the first year alone, since paper and printing costs will be cut drastically, and fewer courier runs will be required to deliver physical documents.

One senior official in the premier's office noted that he'll save 68 boxes of paper in his office alone in the first year. He noted that a single cabinet minister can often be loaded down with six to 10 kilograms of paper in a typical week. The government officials believe that the security provided by the iPad is sufficient for their needs. Unfortunately, there's no information available on just how much money will be wasted by all of the ministers playing Angry Birds HD during cabinet meetings (we kid!).

Thanks to John for the tip (and sorry about the blatant display of Canadian stereotypes in the picture at the right).