The State of Digital Operations 2021: An Overview
Operations leaders are fully aware of the pressing need to build digital operations capabilities in order to remain competitive in the future.
Even prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic – which has rapidly accelerated the push to remote work and remote business operations models – operations teams across industries were moving rapidly to digitize both internal and external operations processes. According to pre-pandemic research from early 2020, 91 percent of organizations surveyed were already engaged in digital optimization initiatives.
Only 40 percent of those organizations surveyed, however, have brought their digital transformation efforts to scale, suggesting that the majority of business operations are still done manually, and there is still much digitization work to be done.
The pressing need to digitize
Ops leaders also know that investing in digital operations is not just about improving day-to-day workflow efficiency. The push toward greater digitization of operations processes comes also in response to ever-increasing customer and market expectations.
In the era of same-day delivery, operations teams are forced to go beyond the automation of existing processes in order to remain viable. That generally includes:
- Reducing total steps in operations processes
- Incorporating customer feedback
- Digitizing required documentation
- Fully reengineering processes end-to-end, if necessary.
Where before, digitization could be defined by opportunism created in the wake of new, emerging technologies (IoT, cloud, process automation , AI, etc.), the reality facing executives today is a great deal more urgent: digitize your business operations, or your competition will put you out of business.
The rising cost of status quo operations
In truth, growing businesses cannot afford the cost of running operations in the status quo. A recent Accenture study of 1,800 senior business managers reported that 54 percent of their total working time was lost to administrative management and coordination tasks, such as status meetings, email coordination, reporting, and scheduling.
Accordingly, less than 46 percent of their total working time was allocated to core senior management responsibilities, including strategy and innovation, problem-solving, employee development, and competitive intelligence.
Managers aren’t alone in the business-as-usual struggle. According to the 2019 Anatomy of Work Index survey conducted by Sapio Research, an estimated 60 percent of skilled worker time is lost to coordination, leaving less than 27 percent of their time for execution of the skills-based role they were hired for.
And how exactly is the excess coordination work perceived? The study compares responses across Australia, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, the U.K., and the U.S:
- One-third of all employees regularly log overtime hours to respond to emails, chats, follow-up meetings, and tracking down missing input.
- Employees feel that two-thirds of scheduled meetings are unnecessary .
- Over 10 percent of an employee’s day is spent on tasks that have already been completed , either by themselves or by another colleague.
- Nearly half of all surveyed employees do not understand how their weekly output contributes to the business objectives, mission, or growth.
Geographical differences reveal interesting and equally daunting findings:
- German employees spend over 270 hours a year on double work, the most of any country surveyed.
- 68 percent of employees in the UK are tasked weekly with something perceived as “not adding value to their business objectives”, more than any other country surveyed.
Taken across the board, an overwhelming majority (83 percent) of surveyed employees believe that their teams are not as effective as they could be, owing to a lack of clear processes in place to manage their work, and adequate systems in place to support those processes. Clearly, for both managers and employees alike, the impetus to transition into a better way of doing business operations is there, and companies are acting fast.
And with good reason - according to _Harvard Business Review, _ the cost of excess coordination in the U.S. economy alone amounts to more than $3 trillion dollars in total lost economic output . That represents around 17% of total American GDP. Operations leaders need to act quickly and strategically to liberate their teams from the weight of excess coordination and design a more execution-focused approach to day-to-day operations.
Onward to Digital Operations
When executed well, the benefits of digitized operations can be substantial. McKinsey & Company cites numerous examples spanning multiple industries:
- a bank that digitized its mortgage application and decision process, cutting the cost of a new mortgage by 70 percent and reducing preliminary approval time from several days to just one minute
- a shoe retailer that built an in-store inventory management system, which enabled floor staff to know immediately whether a particular shoe or size was in stock, saving time for customers and employees;
- an insurance company that digitized a process to automatically settle a large percentage of its simple claims, allowing them to provide better customer service, reduce manual operating costs, and ultimately, offer lower premiums.
By digitizing information- and step- intensive processes, total costs can be cut by up to 90 percent, and turnaround times can be improved exponentially.
These statistics represent the sort of performance outcomes that operations leaders are shooting for in 2020 - the standard 1-2 percent over year operational efficiency gains are no longer making the cut.
In spite of the long list of benefits to digitization, and the strong evidence against the status quo, the unfortunate truth remains: most companies are still struggling to digitize. There are numerous reasons – both cultural and technological – to account for the collective failure, but the fact remains: in order for operations teams to remain competitive in 2020 and beyond, the digital path is the way forward.
Adopting new methodologies, tools, and corporate mental shifts are the next, necessary steps toward achieving truly strong, digital operations.
Get exclusive content and automation hacks straight in your inbox
Get the latest operations thinking and Next Matter updates once a week.
About the author
Start automating in next matter today, related posts.
The Key Business Operations You Need to Automate in 2024
Operations Automation 101 – What is it and When Do I Need It?
The Operations Automation Playbook (2024 edition)
Get operations strategy and automation hacks delivered to your inbox – every week.
- New York, NY 10016
- Office Hours: 8:00 AM - 7:45 PM
10 Digital Trends Driving Your Operations Strategy in 2021
- January 29, 2021
- Categories: IT Technology
- By Hitesh Patel
Table of Contents
WPG Consulting Shares Digital Trends To Watch in 2021
Businesses of varying sizes face increased pressure to adapt operational strategies in a way that enhances competitiveness, given the ever-changing market dynamics. The economic disruption in 2020 forced organizations to re-evaluate their priorities more profoundly.
It is no surprise that more than 70 percent of chief executive officers fast-tracked plans to implement digital transformation . A survey conducted by Deloitte and the Fortune Magazine revealed that the global health crisis influenced these decisions by CEOs.
Bold decisions can help companies bolster resilience and decide their fate in the long-term. The increased pressure filters down to every department as leaders ask teams to prepare for significant changes. The key objective for organizations is to boost efficiency and productivity while lowering operating costs. Ultimately, CEOs aim to drive operational agility by implementing resilient processes.
Technology plays an integral role in the successful implementation of these plans. For this reason, organizations need to familiarize themselves with current trends employed by firms to achieve digitally evolved operations.
Trends Shaping the Future of Work
Here are key digital trends that can help your business weather the storm and gain a competitive advantage.
Recovery Investment
Many forward-thinking corporate leaders steer their organizations towards a brighter future by investing in operations during the recovery phase. This approach is proven to yield positive results, turning companies into post-crisis market leaders. Hence, an ever-increasing number of businesses plan to invest in their operations as a post-Covid-19 approach in 2021.
By adopting a recovery investment strategy, you adapt innovative processes faster. In turn, your organization changes in tandem with shifting market dynamics.
Digital Superiority
The coronavirus pandemic transformed the business landscape by forcing companies to switch processes to digital. As a result, it turned digital channels into table stakes. Digitally mature firms gained a competitive edge as they continued operations without disruption while other businesses scrambled to implement emergency migration plans.
Thankfully, digital transformation is a continuous reality in today’s connected business environment. Thus, you can evolve your digital plans in line with evolving market dynamics.
ROII (Return on Investment Immediately)
Return on investment (ROI) expectations have evolved as companies aim to achieve instant results for investments in enterprise technology tools. This digital trend downplays the traditional long sales cycles, incremental ROI, and gradual implementations. Many experts attribute the trend to the Amazon Effect. The impact of tech investments can come in the form of cost savings and business operations.
Asynchronous Work
As the remote work trend transforms the business landscape, companies now offer a flexible work arrangement for employees. In turn, organizations are minimizing their physical footprint while confronting the challenges of asynchronous work.
Prioritizing Tech Skills Count
An ever-increasing number of companies prioritize technical skills over headcount. Businesses work tirelessly to close the technology skills gap, undermining their capacity to implement digital transformation more efficiently. To close the gap, organizations upskill and reskill existing IT team members.
In many cases, small- and medium-sized firms rely on outsourced tech companies to execute digital strategies. This approach bolsters access to critical skills.
Unprecedented Focus on Cost-Cutting Measures
The adverse impact of the pandemic on business operations forced many entities to cut costs. According to a survey by Deloitte analysts , at least two out of three companies (66 percent) continue to emphasize cost reduction. This figure represents a significant increase from 38 percent of firms before the global health crisis hit.
Bolstering Operational Agility With the Cloud
The cloud is attracting increased interest from companies looking to bolster agility. Business leaders leverage cloud benefits, such as reliability, scalability, cost savings, and security, to achieve operational objectives. As more businesses move operations and personnel to online platforms, the case for enhancing agility via the cloud becomes stronger.
Cross-Functional Agility
Remote internal teams and communications lines with suppliers and customers can become more efficient by breaking out of silos. Emphasizing cross-functional activities eliminates redundant processes and inconsistent customer experiences.
Enhanced Customer-Centricity
Customers are increasingly looking to companies to provide superior digital experiences that provide real value. As such, customers demand products and services that meet specific needs. In addition, companies must provide real-time support and communication services. Analyzing customer data make it easier to determine customers’ exact needs and expectations.
Boosting Efficiency with Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI can drive digital transformation and strengthen operational systems. This technology helps improve productivity by handling various aspects of rule-based, repetitive tasks. Thus, AI frees up the workforce to handle other critical tasks. Many companies turn to AI to streamline operations following the challenges faced in 2020.
Why Choose WPG Consulting
WPG is a prominent managed services provider (MSP) with offices in New York City. The firm offers wide-ranging IT services, including managed hosted cloud, tech consultancy services, cybersecurity, business phone systems, and software development. Founded in 2014, the vendor provides technical support for routine IT issues and complex projects.
Hitesh Patel
WPG is a privately owned IT Support and IT Services business formed in 2014. Today we’re proud to boast a strong team of IT engineers who thrive on rolling up their sleeves and solving your IT problems and meeting your business needs.
- USA : 200 E 32nd St, Unit 7C, New York, NY 10016
- [email protected]
IT Services You Can Count on WPG Consulting
Managed it services, cyber security, cloud computing, project management, disaster recovery planning, voip services, it engineering, strategic it consulting, desktop it support, software & ecommerce development, ready to take the next step fill out the form on the right., discover how can wpg consulting help you.
Latest News
- Climate Change
- Economic Growth
- Covid & Vaccination Strategy
- Infrastructure
- View all Growth & Sustainable Development
- Artificial Intelligence
- Digital Transformation
- Digital Identity
- Digital Infrastructure
- Cybersecurity & Crime
- View all Digital, Data & Technology
- Policy Development
- Project Management
- Governance & Government Intervention
- Public Services
- View all Public Policy Design & Delivery
- Supply Chain
- Public Finance
- Government Finance & Accounting
- View all Procurement and Finance Collaboration
- Homeland Security
- Foreign Policy
- International Law & Diplomacy
- View all Security & Foreign Policy
- Public Service Pay & Benefits
- Public Service Pensions
- View all HR, Pay & Benefits
- Mental Health at Work
- Future of Work
- View all Workplace Wellbeing
- Global Government Women’s Network
- Public Service Career & Professions
- Talent Management & Retention
- Career Development, Skills & Training
- View all Public Service Recruitment
- Leadership & Reform
- Risk Management & Prevention
- Transparency, Accountability & Collaboration
- Government communications
- View all Public Service Leadership & Management
- North America
Asia Pacific
- Latin America
- Middle East
- Learning & Development
- In-House/Bespoke Training Courses
- Trainer biographies
- About our Training
- Government Transformed
- Leading Questions
Government of Canada launches updated digital strategy
The Government of Canada (GC) has launched the latest iteration of its digital strategy, which includes a continued effort to introduce secure digital identities for citizens.
In the foreword to the Digital Operations Strategic Plan (DOSP) 2021–2024 , which was released last week, chief information officer Marc Brouillard said that the COVID-19 pandemic has “significantly accelerated the global shift to online services” and praised civil servants’ efforts.
However, Brouillard said, the GC needs to go even further to make digital services as seamless as possible. Alongside creating a single digital identity for citizens, other plans include Shared Services Canada (SSC) working to consolidate departments’ networks with a wholesale shift to “cloud-first networks”.
“To make digital government a reality in an unpredictable environment, we in the GC must modernise how we manage technology and technological change to keep government responsive and resilient so that it meets the changing needs and expectations of Canadians and Canadian businesses,” he said.
“Since the 2018–2022 DOSP, we have introduced important changes to our digital governance, policy suite and management practices to set the foundation for a digital government across all ministries. We are on track to launch the OneGC platform, which will allow individuals and businesses to use a single identity and password to access federal government services through a single window on Canada.ca,” he noted.
Current priorities
Brouillard said that current priorities include “making investments so that the GC has easy‑to‑use, reliable, modern and secure IT systems, networks and infrastructure that support whole‑of‑government operations”.
He added that “developing and delivering services that, by design, put users first by being accessible, inclusive, secure and easy to use, and that respect privacy and choice of official language” will also take precedence, as will “improving data-driven decision‑making”.
The senior civil servant also emphasised the value of employees. “We need to attract and retain top‑notch talent,” he said.
“We will make sure that our multidisciplinary workforce has the right digital skills, that these skills are put to use in the right place and that employees have modern tools and are supported by enabling leadership. We will also continue to strive to make our workforce inclusive and diverse,” he added.
Canada’s four strategic priorities
The 2021–2024 DOSP sets the strategic direction for the government’s digital ambitions across services, information, data, IT and cybersecurity. It also sets out GC’s priorities and the actions needed to achieve them.
The latest DOSP consolidates the six strategic themes contained in the previous iteration of the strategy into four pillars.
The first focuses on legacy IT and aims to ensure that the GC’s “major service‑delivery systems are easy to use and maintain, stable and reliable, secure, and adaptable”. This includes retiring out old systems and deploying more modern infrastructure with a “cloud-first” approach.
As part of the pillar, networks will be upgraded and consolidated. “Currently, the GC has 50 networks across the country. Many of them are old and cannot handle cloud, video and voice,” the strategy notes. “SSC will replace single departmental networks with modern, consolidated, cloud‑first networks that are available anytime, anywhere and to anyone who needs them,” it notes.
The second pillar aims to improve services and make sure “individuals and businesses are satisfied with and trust GC services, which are reliable, secure, timely, accessible and easy to use from any device”.
Digital identity, which carries over from the previous strategy, sits under this strand. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and SSC are building on the existing digital authentication system, Sign-In Canada, the document notes. “The goal is to enable the service to accept trusted digital identities from provincial and territorial governments in addition to credentials provided by the private sector,” it says.
The third pillar – “implement enterprise” – focuses on officials. It is designed to make sure that “GC public servants are happier and more productive; departments make better data-driven decisions; operations are more effective and efficient; costs are lower; and duplication of effort is reduced.”
Finally, the “transform the institution” pillar should ensure “GC public servants are digitally enabled through cultural and operational shifts and work on modern, diverse and multidisciplinary teams to serve the public better”.
About Adam Branson
Related posts.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
As governments around the world look to deliver digitally-enabled services,...
- Posted July 14, 2023
“One of the things about trust is it takes a...
- Posted February 22, 2024
The Procurement Act 2023 is expected to come into force...
Nine projects have been selected for development under Canada’s Public...
- Posted February 21, 2024
Officials working for Australia’s federal government will have the ‘right...
- Posted February 20, 2024
Twenty of the world’s leading technology firms have signed a...
- Posted February 19, 2024
Education leaders from around the world have called for better...
- Posted February 18, 2024
Most countries have a digital transformation strategy for government, but...
- Posted February 15, 2024
Partner content
Related events
- About Events
- Content Advisory Board
- Digital Publishing
- Our Writers
- Privacy Policy
- Terms & Conditions
- Research Terms and Conditions
- Leading Questions Podcast
- White Papers
- Women Leaders Index
- Responsive Government Survey
- Global Government Fintech
Popular Public Bodies
- Government Digital Service
- HM Treasury
- Cabinet Office
USA & Canada
- Australia Public Service
Global Government Forum Events
- Free Webinars
- Digital Summit
- Finance Summit
- Global Government Summit
- Leaders Forum
- Putting Citizens First
© 2024 GlobalGovernmentForum.com
Language selection
- Français fr
WxT Search form
Targeted regulatory review: digitalization and technology-neutral regulations roadmap, on this page, introduction.
- Context on the Digitalization and Technology-Neutral Regulations Review
- Consultations
- Regulatory modernization activities
- Digitalization and Technology-Neutral Regulations Roadmap initiatives
- Issues not being addressed
Digitalization and Technology-Neutral Regulations progress update
- Related links
The Digitalization and Technology-Neutral Regulations Roadmap (Roadmap) is the plan developed by participating federal departments and agencies to support regulatory modernization through digitalization. It is one of three Roadmaps that are part of Round 2 of the Targeted Regulatory Reviews ; the other two are the International Standards Regulatory Roadmap and the Clean Technology Regulatory Roadmap. The three Regulatory Review themes were recommended by the External Advisory Committee on Regulatory Competitiveness.
Led by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), this Roadmap outlines a suite of actions to advance digitalization in the regulatory space and support regulations that avoid prescribing any particular technology that must be used to comply with regulatory measures. It also identifies opportunities to simplify the regulatory process to reduce administrative burden and to ensure that regulations do not impede the use of new technologies.
1. Context on the Digitalization and Technology-Neutral Regulations Review
1.1 overview.
Digital technology is changing our economy and our society—the way we access information, work, and connect with each other.
Canada needs to keep pace with rapidly changing industry needs and digital services. Canada's digital capacity underpins its ability to deliver on every single service and policy initiative it develops. The transformative potential of digital tools offers significant opportunities to modernize and simplify regulatory interactions for the benefit of all Canadians. Moreover, technological advances, along with improvements in consumer-oriented digital interfaces, have raised expectations regarding excellence in digital service delivery.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also accelerated the need for digitalization and led businesses to rethink their approaches and to look at more digital tools. In its early stages, the pandemic created an immediate need for businesses to move their transactions online and to rapidly develop digital solutions, as well as for the federal government to support Canadian businesses and spur economic recovery. This has led businesses and governments alike to expand their efforts to digitalize their processes and modify their practices.
The pandemic has highlighted how important digital tools are for keeping Canadians connected, governments operating, and businesses afloat. More than ever, Canadians and businesses expect government services to be fast, online, easy to use, inclusive, reliable, and secure. In supporting the response to the pandemic, the Government of Canada rapidly advanced digital transformation. It found ways to bring existing services online, developed and implemented entirely new programs in record time, and supported federal public servants as they adapted to remote work. The opportunity is ripe to accelerate digital transformation and support more effective regulatory administration. Leveraging the opportunities of the digital and data-driven economy can help to support Canada's economic recovery and enable more Canadians to participate in a digitally connected future.
Digitalization can also enable more efficient, effective and responsive management of Canada's regulatory system, recognizing that these processes form a critical part of our service offerings to Canadians and Canadian businesses. In turn, this can help to reduce costs and administrative burden for both businesses and regulators and support competitiveness. Facilitating the development, adoption, and support of digital tools in the creation and management of regulations can simplify many regulatory processes in the digital and data-driven economy.
Benefits for businesses include simplifying and streamlining reporting requirements, enabling the use of digital tools such as e-signatures, and supporting more effective regulatory compliance. Advancing digital tools in the regulatory space can also lessen the operational and delivery burden on regulators to enable more effective, efficient and responsive regulatory management. The ways that these tools can help include automating and digitalizing compliance options, enabling risk-based regulatory management, and improving the efficiency of resource allocation.
Stakeholders have highlighted the importance of having technology-neutral regulations, which are silent on the particular technology that must be used to comply with regulatory measures. Technology-neutral regulations bring flexibility to businesses by providing them with longer periods of regulatory certainty as well as the freedom to adopt the technology they deem best to achieve required regulatory outcomes. They can also provide potential efficiency gains, as industries are incentivized to find innovative ways to comply with the regulatory requirements without compromising health, safety, security, or environmental protections. Finally, technology-neutral regulations make it easier for businesses to adopt new technologies in the future.
The Targeted Regulatory Review on Digitalization and Technology-Neutral Regulations provides an opportunity to advance the use of digitalization in the regulatory space and the adoption of more technology-neutral regulations. The resulting Roadmap focuses on how regulators can improve regulatory management effectiveness and efficiency for stakeholders as a whole, across all sectors.
The Roadmap outlines specific commitments from federal departments and agencies to digitalize aspects of their regulatory processes, develop technology-neutral regulations and create regulatory environments that foster innovation. These commitments respond to issues raised during public consultations, support Canada's economic recovery, and seek to foster Canada's long-term economic growth. Some federal regulators are also proposing proactive initiatives that would, for example, allow businesses to pilot innovative products in controlled regulatory environments. These initiatives are an important step in ensuring regulations and their administration become institutional enablers of digital government transformation. They demonstrate the Government of Canada's commitment to leveraging opportunities associated with digital technologies, providing efficient user-centric services to Canadians, and facilitating firm competitiveness.
This Roadmap focuses on initiatives to digitalize regulatory practices and remove technology- specific requirements in regulations. However, it does not examine regulatory requirements faced by firms in specific digital industries, such as e-commerce, cybersecurity, or financial services/financial technology. That is, the Roadmap focuses on how regulators can improve regulatory management effectiveness and efficiency for industry, rather than on what standards or rules should govern a specific industry.
1.2 Regulatory framework
The issue of digitalization has government-wide relevance and is not captured under a single federal regulatory framework. This means that the opportunity to enhance digitalization applies not only to multiple industry sectors, but also to various government departments and agencies. The Roadmap responds to stakeholder issues across a broad range of sectors and policy areas.
Despite the lack of a single regulatory framework in this area, there are a number of broader Government of Canada initiatives that aim to deliver a more open and collaborative digital government, providing improved digital-first, user-centred services and programs. The Government of Canada is also taking steps to modernize its regulatory frameworks as a means of streamlining processes, spurring innovation, and unlocking growth and investment.
The Government of Canada is committed to transform its digital service offerings and has appointed a Minister of Digital Government. This Minister's mandate is to lead work to transition to a digital government in order to improve citizen service; this has resulted in a number of initiatives that respond to the growing need for more agile, open, and user-centred digital services.
In 2021, the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) released its Digital Operations Strategic Plan 2021-2024 . This plan sets out the strategic direction for the Government of Canada on digital transformation, service delivery, security, information management (IM) and information technology (IT). Specifically that "Good government in the 21st century means seamlessly delivering programs and services that, by design, are digitally enabled, clientdriven, inclusive and accessible, and that address security and privacy concerns. The Government of Canada needs to accelerate its digital transformation to meet changing public expectations, optimize value, and become nimbler so that it can adapt faster.".
In fall 2018, the Government of Canada published the Digital Standards. Co-created with the public and key stakeholder groups, these Standards are meant to support the work of federal departments and agencies in becoming more agile, open, and user-focused in designing and delivering digital services. This was followed by the release in 2019 of the Treasury Board Secretariat Policy on Service and Digital , which introduced an integrated set of rules for how Government of Canada organizations should manage service delivery, information, data, IT, and cybersecurity in the digital era. This policy took effect on April 1, 2020. The primary objective of this policy is to improve client service experience and government operations, including regulatory administration, through digital transformation approaches.
The Government of Canada also implemented the Canadian Digital Service (CDS) in 2017. The mission of the CDS is to collaborate with federal departments and agencies to put citizens' needs at the centre of government services. Several partnerships between the CDS and federal departments are already underway to design, test, and build simple, easy-to-use services for Canadians.
In 2018, the Privy Council Office released a Data Strategy Roadmap for the Federal Public Service . This strategy positions the Canadian Public Service to provide the best possible advice to ministers and support the strategic use of data while protecting the privacy of Canadians, consistent with regulations on privacy protection. Many departments and agencies have already developed their own departmental data strategies and have begun work to implement them.
Underpinning Canada's transition to the digital economy is Canada's Digital Charter . Launched by ISED in May 2019, the Charter outlines guiding principles to enhance the control individuals have over their personal data, protect privacy, and ensure that Canadian companies can develop world-leading innovations that fully embrace the benefits of the digital economy. The Charter was built on detailed cross-country consultations and launched alongside other initiatives that provide support to the Government's digital transformation, digital industries, and the data-driven economy. Associated initiatives include the Government's commitment to modernize Canada's Privacy Act and its introduction on November 17, 2020 of the proposed Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2020, which seeks to modernize the framework protecting personal information collected by the private sector.
Many federal departments and agencies have also been implementing digitalization initiatives, in line with broader federal commitments to support businesses as they move to adopt more digital solutions. These initiatives include the implementation of new digital tools and solutions to help improve service delivery for Canadians and businesses and to reduce the administrative burden related to complying with regulatory requirements. In addition, federal regulators have been modernizing their regulations to keep pace with rapid changes in technology and to support innovation. Further details are in the Roadmap section titled "Regulatory modernization activities".
1.3 Government organizations involved
The following federal departments and agencies participated in this Regulatory Review. They participated in different ways, from submitting and supporting proposals, to guiding and supporting the development and implementation of the Digitalization and Technology-Neutral Regulations Roadmap.
Canada Border Services Agency
Canada revenue agency, canadian food inspection agency.
- Labour Program
Environment and Climate Change Canada
Health canada, immigration, refugees and citizenship canada.
- Measurement Canada
- Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy
Natural Resources Canada
Transport canada.
- Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
While all of the departments and agencies listed above have participated in this Regulatory Review, not all have proposed initiatives for this Roadmap. Specific leads for the initiatives proposed in the Roadmap are identified in the section titled "Digitalization and Technology Neutral Regulations Roadmap initiatives".
2.0 Consultations
The Digitalization and Technology-Neutral Regulations Review consultation process included a broad range of industry stakeholders. These included representatives from small and medium-sized businesses, multinational companies, and industry associations. Input was received across several industry sectors, including manufacturing, distributing, retail, export, oil and gas, transportation, and clean technology. Stakeholders also included non-governmental organizations and academics.
At the outset, approximately 500 participants, representing a range of industry associations, companies, and other entities, participated in a series of seven webinars held in the month of August 2019. In addition, Treasury Board Secretariat published a Canada Gazette notice on June 29, 2019, which officially closed on September 5, 2019. The Canada Gazette consultations resulted in 93 written responses related to the Regulatory Reviews, over 40% of which related to the Digitalization and Technology-Neutral Regulations Review. A summary of the issues is included in the What We Heard Report. Implicated departments and agencies also considered stakeholder input from earlier consultations and proactive proposals to inform the summary of stakeholder issues and irritants.
As part of engagement activities, interdepartmental meetings offered various departments and agencies the opportunity to provide input on the Regulatory Review. These efforts began in the fall of 2019 following the Canada Gazette, Part I request for stakeholder comments on regulatory modernization initiatives. In support of the development of this Roadmap, a number of meetings were held during winter and early spring 2020 between stakeholders and federal representatives interested in discussing the Regulatory Review.
The recommendations of the Economic Strategy Tables (ESTs) and the Industry Strategy Council (ISC) also informed the Regulatory Reviews. Budget 2017 announced the ESTs as an industry–government collaboration focused on turning Canadian economic strengths into global advantages. Detailed Final Reports released in September 2018 set ambitious growth targets and provided recommendations to achieve those goals.
In May 2020, the ISC was established to share perspectives on the recovery of Canada's key economic sectors and to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy. In December 2020, the ISC released a report emphasizing that the pandemic has accelerated a digital transformation that was already underway. The ISC noted there is a need to invest now to build world-leading companies and to inspire traditional sectors to digitally transform. The ISC's report emphasized the need to ensure strategic investment in digital and physical infrastructure, agile regulations, and strategic use of procurement to support innovation.
In response to COVID-19 and its economic impacts, the Government of Canada undertook a number of actions to address changes in the market, ranging from liquidity supports to regulatory flexibilities. In early spring 2020, federal departments and agencies consulted further with businesses and other stakeholders to better understand their latest challenges to respond to the pandemic. Those consultations spanned a range of topics, emphasizing the need for a horizontal approach to digitalization.
Many consultation topics fell within the scope of this Regulatory Review. However, some of the issues that stakeholders raised are not addressed in this Roadmap, such as those that are outside its scope, have been raised or addressed through other engagement exercises, or would require significant additional analysis and consultations. A summary of the issues not being addressed through the Digitalization and Technology-Neutral Regulations Roadmap is available in the section titled "Issues not being addressed".
3.0 Regulatory modernization activities
The Government of Canada is currently advancing a number of regulatory modernization initiatives that encourage digitalization and the development of technology-neutral regulations. These include both horizontal regulatory modernization initiatives and specific initiatives being advanced by individual federal departments and agencies.
At a government-wide level, the Cabinet Directive on Regulation encourages departments and agencies to design outcome- or performance-based regulations when assessing the effectiveness and appropriateness of regulatory instruments for achieving policy objectives. Outcome-, or performance-based, regulations specify the desired result that a regulation intends to achieve, rather than prescribing compliance. In the case of digitalization, advancing technology-neutral regulations will allow businesses and citizens the freedom to adopt the technology appropriate for them and spur demand for new and innovative products and services. By not specifying the type of technology to use, these regulations will remove impediments to the use of new or emerging technologies.
Another key government-wide digitalization initiative is the Online Regulatory Consultation System (ORCS). This is being developed by Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) and Public Services and Procurement Canada to increase the transparency of Canada's regulatory process and to fulfil an obligation of the Good Regulatory Practices Chapter of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement . ORCS will increase transparency in the development of regulations by posting online the comments received from regulatory consultations published in Canada Gazette , Part I. The launch of ORCS will include the development of new training, policies and guidelines for regulators and stakeholders.
TBS also continues to work with departments and agencies across the Government of Canada in respect of digital identity and electronic signatures. This includes work to continue to evolve the legislative, regulatory, and policy frameworks for all of government to ensure a consistent and secure approach to the acceptance of digital identities, electronic documents, and signatures.
This suite of measures is expected to meaningfully improve the interactions Canadians have with the Government of Canada, resulting in more modern, simple, and efficient services centred on users. These initiatives are geared towards digital service delivery. They also advance digitalization in the regulatory sphere by providing opportunities to simplify processes and reduce administrative burden.
In digitalizing government services, the Government of Canada recognizes that not all users are digitally enabled and remains committed to maintaining options to interact with Canadians in other ways. The objective is to ensure that Canadians, businesses, and other regulated parties can continue to interact with the Government of Canada through their preferred channel while allowing for the development and implementation of new and easier-to-use service delivery methods.
Below are examples of efforts made by federal departments and agencies to deliver on these shared objectives.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is responsible for collecting applicable duties and taxes on imported goods and plays a critical role in protecting the health and safety of Canadians by screening the movement of goods and people across Canada's borders. Pre-pandemic, Canada and much of the world were experiencing a rapidly changing border environment, marked by a significant increase in travelers and goods crossing the border, and a surge in e-commerce. COVID-19 exacerbated some pre-existing challenges and introduced new ones.
While the growing volume of trade provides many benefits to the Canadian economy, accounting for imported goods and assessing the applicable duties and taxes involves extensive and cumbersome administration by both importers and the Government. Currently, outdated paper-based processes and limited technological capabilities impede the CBSA's ability to efficiently assess and collect duties and taxes, and may place Canadian businesses at a disadvantage compared to their foreign counterparts that have electronically enabled border services. For example, given the COVID-19 pandemic, a "contactless" digital border would assist Canadian businesses in accounting for imported goods, making payments, communicating with the Government of Canada, and furnishing financial security.
As part of the Targeted Regulatory Review process, the CBSA is examining its existing regulatory practices to identify those that can be improved. CBSA is engaged with many different groups and networks of internal and external stakeholders as part of its engagement on the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management project (CARM).
CARM is an initiative that simplifies the processes associated with the assessment and collection of duties and taxes for commercial clients. An update on CARM was included in CBSA's 2020-2021 Departmental Plan update on Transformational and Major Crown Projects . As part of its 2020-2022 Regulatory Stock Review Plan , the CBSA intends to conduct a review of certain trade facilitation regulations in 2022 to ensure that the regulations continue to support and align with CBSA's trade facilitation goals. In 2022, the CBSA will complete the "Trade Facilitation and Compliance" program evaluation and will conduct an assessment of the CARM project. This review will focus on ensuring that issues identified in the program evaluations are assessed and appropriate remedies are implemented.
In recent years, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has taken steps to facilitate compliance for businesses and to improve services offered to Canadians. The CRA has been consulting regularly with small and medium-sized businesses and their representatives to make its programs and services more streamlined, modern, and client-focused. In 2012, the CRA consulted with small businesses on cutting red tape. In 2016, the CRA followed up with its first round of the Serving You Better (SYB) consultations with small and medium-sized businesses and accountants. SYB Round 2 followed in 2018 to gather feedback on the service improvements made to date.
The majority of the CRA-related feedback received during the consultation period of Round 2 of the Targeted Regulatory Reviews echoed the concerns raised during SYB consultations. Comments focused mostly on modernizing services and making information easy to find and understand. The CRA has already launched specific initiatives to address these needs. Additional information related to these initiatives can be found in the reports on CRA's SYB consultations .
During the first round of the Targeted Regulatory Reviews, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) committed to various initiatives that advance the digitalization of service delivery and the development of technology-neutral regulations through the Agri-food and Aquaculture Roadmap . The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has reaffirmed the importance of swiftly implementing these CFIA Roadmap commitments, as many provide stakeholders and CFIA with improved flexibility to innovate and leverage digital tools in support of economic recovery. Accordingly, CFIA is introducing additional proposals through this second round of Regulatory Reviews to make further progress towards these ends.
Since the Agri-food and Aquaculture Roadmap was introduced in June 2019, CFIA has made progress on a number of initiatives, including digitalization processes for permissions, export certification and inspections through the Digital Service Delivery Platform (DSDP). Progress also includes piloting the use of blockchain and bringing into force new or amended regulations in an effort to keep pace with modern tools and advancements.
DSDP is a CFIA platform designed to manage and track service requests, licenses, permissions, and inspections in a consistent manner for a given regulated party in a single system. Known as MyCFIA , this platform allows regulated parties to request services, export certificates, permissions, and licenses and also view a history of previously requested services, including inspections and inspection reports. CFIA is taking a phased approach to incorporating programs and functions into DSDP. Overall, this work continues to reduce administrative burden associated with paper-based processes and support public health guidelines concerning social distancing by limiting physical interactions at CFIA locations.
CFIA intends to continue working with individual firms and industry associations at the outset to formulate their individual blockchain plans and actively monitor subsequent developments. Specifically, CFIA is pursuing multiple areas of opportunity. These include collaborative exploration with the Standards Council of Canada on blockchain standards for the broader agriculture sector, data governance to support interoperability, international trade facilitation, and supply chain traceability. Given the experiment's promising results thus far, CFIA anticipates continued attention in this sector.
With the introduction of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations in 2019, outcome-based regulations now form a key part of CFIA's modernization plan. CFIA will continue to modernize a suite of CFIA-administrated regulations over the next two years to support the adoption of technology-neutral regulatory requirements (see CFIA's Forward Regulatory Plan ).
Employment and Social Development Canada
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) has a number of initiatives underway that address some of the concerns raised by stakeholders on the topic of digitalization, while maintaining the organization's critical focus on ensuring continuity and stability in the delivery of benefits and services to Canadians. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ESDC mobilized its resources to develop and deliver the program parameters, business processes, communications, and tools for the new Canadian Emergency Response Benefit in a matter of weeks.
Canadians expect convenience in their service experience with government and easy access to digital services. Through investments in business process re-engineering, technology suite renewal, and parallel policy simplification, the Benefits Delivery Modernization (BDM) program will be a key enabler in streamlining access for Canadians to the benefit programs delivered by Service Canada and in improving ESDC's ability to meet established service standards. As ESDC sets the foundation for a strategic and coordinated long-term modernization of benefits delivery, short and medium-term initiatives were undertaken and will continue in the immediate future to deliver real results and value for Canadians. The BDM program of work will improve client service and internal efficiencies in the short-term and will provide the opportunity to build on incremental progress, while at the same time designing the future of service delivery.
Over the last two years, ESDC has improved the web content for many of its programs including Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan, and Old Age Security. As part of this work, ESDC is using digital readability tools to simplify language used on government web pages to make it more accessible and easier to understand. As Principal Publisher for Canada.ca, ESDC is also working towards improved search tool functionality so that information on Canada.ca is easier to find. ESDC continues to explore ways to increase the rank of Canada.ca through external search engines and voice assistant devices to make it easier for Canadians to access.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is one of the federal government's most active regulators. It has full or shared responsibility for Acts and regulations that cover a wide range of issues, including toxic chemicals, air pollution, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, wastewater, environmental emergencies, migratory birds, and species at risk, and affects a broad set of industries and businesses.
ECCC's default approach to the design of regulations is to use market-based or performance- based regulations. These technology-neutral approaches provide flexibility for businesses to find the least-cost method of achieving the required environmental outcomes; this in turn creates incentives for businesses to adopt such lower cost methods to meet these outcomes.
ECCC is strongly committed to modernizing its digital tools and services to better serve Canadians. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has sped up its modernization work while also moving towards an ECCC-wide information management/information technology solution. Recent modernization work has included building secure online systems to allow businesses to submit information to ECCC. In particular, ECCC has built the Output Based Pricing System Registration and Reporting modules in ECCC's Single Window System, which have reduced the administrative burden on businesses required to register their facilities and report on GHG emissions and have allowed 210 registered facilities to complete their reporting online for the 2019 compliance year; a system for automobile manufacturers to submit annual reports on vehicle emissions; and a system to handle documents related to the cross-border shipment of hazardous waste and hazardous recyclable material, which eliminated the tracking of 160,000 paper copies of documents in 2019-2020.
Health Canada (HC) is committed to advancing regulatory and policy modernization initiatives outlined in the Health and Biosciences and Agri-food and Aquaculture Regulatory Review Roadmaps produced following the first round of Targeted Regulatory Reviews. At the same time, HC continues to review and develop health regulations that support technology neutrality, the use of digital tools, the improvement of data management, and the identification of novel digital approaches that reinforce digitalization. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified Canadians' demand for telemedicine and online health services, which is transforming the delivery of healthcare across the country.
To this end, HC is exploring ways to expand the reach of Digital Labels. A Digital Label is a label that incorporates technology to extend the functionality and contents of labels or packaging beyond traditional print methods. This type of label allows consumers to access labelling information through devices, like a smartphone. HC is looking to adapt labelling requirements to account for digital products where it is not possible to affix a physical label, and to allow for the publication of additional information on manufacturers' websites.
To better understand and leverage the increasing volume and variety of health, regulatory, and scientific data, HC has developed an ambitious data strategy. The goal of the strategy is to improve collaboration with partners and regulated parties for the collection, sharing and reuse of data by managing it as an asset. In addition, HC is making strategic investments to replace aging information technology systems and paper-based processes for regulatory programs to address stakeholder concerns regarding prescriptive requirements in certain HC regulations.
In 2017, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) brought into force a series of new provisions and amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that set out clear authorities to use electronic tools and systems across all immigration lines of business. Supporting regulations were introduced in June 2019 to give further clarity and establish requirements regarding the use of electronic tools. These changes were introduced to support the expanding use of electronic tools in the immigration system and to provide a strong foundation for IRCC's ongoing modernization efforts.
Travel and service disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have only magnified the need for Canada to move toward a digital processing and service delivery model. The proposals in this Digitalization and Technology-Neutral Regulations Roadmap will allow IRCC to continue to develop tools and approaches to effectively deliver immigration programs with more limited in-person interactions and fewer paper-based applications. As immigration continues to support Canada's economic growth, a push toward digital services will help students and workers already in Canada transition to new occupations and will help IRCC safely bring in new immigrants to support Canada's long-term recovery.
These changes will help align IRCC's legal and policy framework with the work under way to modernize its information technology platform, complementing the investments announced through the 2020 Fall Economic Statement .
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
In recent years, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and its portfolio organizations took steps to digitalize key regulatory functions and to reduce the barriers to digital service delivery. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the need for such changes and required significant coordination to respond quickly to stakeholders' new realities. ISED and its portfolio organizations demonstrated flexibility in developing, applying, and enforcing regulations during this exceptional period, and remain committed through this Roadmap to further digitalize and streamline its regulatory processes.
Additionally, ISED reviewed its regulatory frameworks to provide better digital services to business. A recent Corporations Canada success is the official launch in June 2020 of the Multi-Jurisdictional Registry Access Service (MRAS), a digital solution that reduces red tape and internal trade barriers by connecting business registries across the country. MRAS is the result of a pan-Canadian collaboration led by the Government of Canada to make it easier for companies to register and do business with government and to increase corporate transparency. In June 2020, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba became the first jurisdictions to adopt the MRAS digital solution to connect their business registries and exchange information. This success is part of ISED's progress on implementing the Tell-Us-Once and OneGC approaches, in line with the new TBS Policy on Service and Digital, and ISED's participation in government-wide digital identity initiatives.
ISED also undertook several digitalization efforts to clarify regulatory processes frequently misunderstood by businesses. For example, ISED launched a telecommunications spectrum developmental licence program to allow wireless innovators to test the capabilities of their new products alongside a Developmental Licence Playbook . The "Playbook" guidance model, which describes a process tied to legislative objectives, has been instrumental in helping businesses navigate the new licence program and aims to facilitate innovators' understanding of expected compliance requirements and their application.
Digital innovation within the mandate of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) refers to driving clean, sustainable growth within Canada's natural resource sector. NRCan's application of innovative tools and technology has ensured that government services are focused on the needs of citizens.
In 2019, NRCan established the Digital Accelerator Initiative to support scientists' use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning techniques aimed at increasing the development and use of advanced digital solutions for Canadian science, programs, and policies. In 2021-2022, NRCan will further pursue application of transformative digital technologies like AI and Big Data tools and techniques to support the transition to a low-carbon economy. These will be applied internally and with partners, to solve challenges, optimize productivity, enhance automation, streamline regulations, and increase efficiency in natural resources sectors.
Transport Canada (TC) continues to play a critical role in the post-COVID-19 economic recovery through the modernization, development, delivery, and implementation of regulations necessary for a safe and secure transportation system.
In 2017, the Department introduced TC Transformation: Digital by Design, a plan which focuses on updating digital services and modernizing regulations in order to keep pace with rapid innovations in technology across the Canadian transportation system. The plan is redefining how TC approaches policy and program development, service innovation and use of data.
In 2019, TC led the Transportation Sector Regulatory Review Roadmap , where one of the key themes was greater digitalization of services to foster innovation and investment. This Roadmap allowed for the introduction of online licensing and examination for remotely piloted aircrafts systems; the digitalization of services for automated vehicles; connected vehicles and motor vehicle safety; and the introduction of a regulatory sandbox for dangerous goods electronic shipping documents.
TC is also achieving considerable progress toward modernizing its legislative and regulatory framework to support innovation and competitiveness through safe testing and experimentation of new technologies, along with a clear and agile pathway toward mature regulatory requirements.
For instance, in 2019, new authorities were proposed via the first Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill and subsequently in the Budget Implementation Act, 2019 , No. 1 , which established digital service delivery as the baseline expectation for TC's regulatory regime and created an exemption authority to support testing of new technology without compromising safety.
Finally, TC continues to work to improve the services it provides to Canadians. Projects include upgrading services at TC Centres across Canada to provide services such as licences and certifications more quickly and easily. The lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic have paved the way for continued digital transformation at TC and laid a strong foundation for the ongoing modernization of its services.
4.0 Digitalization and Technology-Neutral Regulations Roadmap initiatives
This section describes proposals that respond to issues mentioned during public consultations. These concerns have been made more urgent by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has highlighted how important digital tools are for spurring businesses' economic recovery, keeping Canadians connected, and governments operating. As a result, an "economic recovery" lens has been applied to the proposals.
The comments received from stakeholders who participated in the Canada Gazette and other consultations were reviewed by departments and agencies involved in the Digitalization and Technology-Neutral Regulations Roadmap (Roadmap). Nine departments and agencies identified 16 Roadmap proposals in the end. These proposals respond directly to stakeholder comments or proactively address challenges that businesses and others face. The Roadmap proposals are grouped under the following four themes:
Making requirements less prescriptive and more flexible
Using digital tools to improve interactions with the federal government on regulatory matters
Using digital tools to improve how the federal government manages data
Using novel approaches to promote technology neutrality and advance the use of digital tools in regulations
In addition to these 16 proposals, several initiatives included in the International Standards Roadmap relate to digitalization. These include a proposal from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) to advance the development of international standards for digital credentials, as well as two proposals from ISED and the Standards Council of Canada to advance standardization-related efforts for artificial intelligence (AI). For further information on other Regulatory Roadmaps, please see the TBS website on Targeted Regulatory Reviews .
Theme 1: Making requirements less prescriptive and more flexible
This theme involves addressing prescriptive requirements in Acts and regulations, which specify how something must be done (e.g. reporting, testing, or monitoring) rather than what must be done. Prescriptive requirements can often be replaced with outcomes-based language that focuses on the results or goals that businesses and individuals must achieve rather than on the specific technologies or procedures they must use. When used appropriately, performance or outcome-based regulations can help support innovation and allow businesses the flexibility to choose the most appropriate technologies for meeting regulatory requirements.
The six proposals grouped under this theme seek to remove prescriptive requirements in Acts and regulations for specific – and especially outdated – digital tools or methods.
Enabling electronic signatures on tax forms
Current requirements presume that signatures on a prescribed taxation form must be handwritten. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) recognizes the need for digitally fillable and signable forms to facilitate voluntary tax compliance by Canadians. In February 2020, the CRA conducted online consultations to gauge the level of support for allowing electronic signatures on the T183, Information Return for Electronic Filing of an Individual's Income Tax and Benefit Return and T183CORP, Information Return for Corporations Filing Electronically forms. Over 6,000 Canadians responded to the consultation process with 95% indicating their support for this initiative.
The CRA is working with the Department of Finance to propose legislative changes that would enable electronic signature options in relation to certain specified taxation forms under the Income Tax Act and the Tax Rebate Discounting Act , including the T183/T183CORP information returns. These measures were announced in Budget 2021.
In addition to helping protect the health and safety of Canadians during this pandemic period, the electronic signature option would serve to reduce burden for tax professionals and taxpayers by removing financial and administrative processes associated with printing, mailing, and storing paper forms. It would also reduce travel required to manually sign the form.
The initiative will also serve to improve service to rural and remote communities as well as to individuals with accessibility issues.
In response to the global pandemic and the need to ensure the safety of Canadians through physical distancing, the CRA has been accepting electronic signatures on T183/T183CORP information returns since March 2020 using existing administrative flexibilities. The CRA is looking to make permanent these flexibilities through legislative changes to the Income Tax Act .
Lead: Canada Revenue Agency
Contact information: Claire Arjang, Manager, Regulatory Affairs Section, Legislative Policy Directorate Legislative Policy and Regulatory Affairs Branch Canada Revenue Agency [email protected]
Improving regulatory agility in international waste management
Industries have expressed interest in adopting alternative, cost-effective methods for continued mitigation of biosecurity risks associated with international waste. The current Health of Animals Regulations prevent airline and shipping industries from leveraging alternative technologies for disposing of certain waste accumulated on vessels and aircraft in transit to Canada. Specifically, the regulations require these industries to incinerate, heat-treat and/or place in a landfill international aircraft garbage and certain ship waste containing or suspected of containing animal products and animal by-products.
In response to this issue, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) proposes to amend the Health of Animals Act and the Health of Animals Regulations. This would create flexibility in international waste disposal requirements by adding a more outcome-based approach that would allow industry to adopt different technologies. Regulated parties would need to demonstrate, based on scientific evidence, the efficacy of the alternative technology in mitigating risks to Canada's animal health resource base in order to gain the requisite CFIA approval to use the technology.
Amending the Health of Animals Regulations would increase flexibility and options available for airline, shipping, associated food service companies, and waste disposal service providers to achieve regulatory compliance. It would also reduce regulatory burden and could promote growth in Canadian sectors for alternative waste management technologies. Finally, the proposal would address long-standing industry difficulties with the rigidity of the current regulations.
CFIA would seek to include proposed amendments in future versions of the Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill or next available legislative amendment vehicle. Once legislative authorities are secured, CFIA would begin stakeholder engagement activities for the regulatory amendments. Proposed amendments to the Health of Animals Regulations would be targeted for pre-publication in Canada Gazette , Part I by 2024. Final publication of the amendments in Canada Gazette , Part II and posting of the revised International Waste Directive on CFIA's website would be targeted for 2025.
Lead: Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Contact Information: Regulatory, Legislative and Economic Affairs Division Policy and Programs Branch Canadian Food Inspection Agency [email protected]
Removing place-based application barriers to immigration
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's (IRCC) clients have consistently called for more and better digital services. People applying to come to Canada have also expressed frustration with current rules, which are based on the place where an application is made (for example, rules preventing people from applying for immigration if they are already in Canada). Many of these restrictions do not fit in with the increasing use of online applications and in some cases make it difficult for IRCC to offer more services digitally.
These application barriers have also posed additional challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Employers have faced difficulties finding the workers they need. At the same time, temporary residents who would like to contribute their labour and skills to Canada's recovery have been unable to make applications due to travel and service restrictions. As a temporary measure, IRCC has introduced a new public policy to allow certain visitors to apply for work permits without having to leave the country.
To address these barriers in a permanent and sustainable way, IRCC is proposing to amend provisions in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations that were originally designed for paper-based applications to be submitted and processed at fixed locations. The removal of these place-based application barriers would align Canada's immigration regulations with an increasingly digital processing model and support the expansion of online applications.
These changes would reduce client irritants and improve operational efficiency, allowing foreign nationals already in Canada to seek authorization to study or work in Canada without having to leave the country to apply. These changes would also support businesses and industries that hire temporary workers and would support efforts to attract and retain more international students.
Work is already underway on regulatory changes, and IRCC is targeting amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations in the Canada Gazette, Part I in early 2022 and final publication in the Canada Gazette, Part II in the second half of 2022.
Lead: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Contact information: Patrick McEvenue, Senior Director Digital Policy Strategic Policy and Planning Branch Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada [email protected]
Removing paper-based requirements in Measurement Canada's regulations
The paper-based and physical location-based requirements in the Electricity and Gas Inspection Regulations and the Weights and Measures Regulations are outdated and prescriptive. This adds administrative burden to stakeholders, including Authorized Service Providers who deliver services on behalf of Measurement Canada.
Measurement Canada proposes to update the wording of the Electricity and Gas Inspection Regulations and the Weights and Measures Regulations by removing requirements for specific methods of exchanging information and communicating with stakeholders. These changes would allow regulated parties more flexibility in meeting the requirements, which may result in economic efficiencies for both stakeholders and Government and allow access to digital services.
Measurement Canada anticipates proposing these regulatory amendments in the Canada Gazette , Part I in spring 2022, with final publication in the Canada Gazette, Part II planned for winter 2023.
Lead: Measurement Canada (Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada)
Contact information: Legislative Policy and Regulatory Affairs Measurement Canada Small Business and Marketplace Services Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada [email protected]
Enabling assessment of individual debtors by videoconference
The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada (OSB) has been exploring ways to help its stakeholders go paperless and improve insolvency processes through the use of modern technology. The need for this work accelerated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic due to the restriction on meeting in-person and health and safety concerns.
Licensed Insolvency Trustees (LITs), the private sector group providing insolvency advice and services in Canada, have indicated in the past that in-person assessments of individuals looking for solutions to their financial difficulty (debtors) are not always feasible; this issue has been magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In order to file an insolvency proceeding in Canada, people with financial difficulties must be assessed by an LIT. The current OSB directive requires that this assessment be completed in-person, except in designated areas or unless exceptional circumstances exist. In these cases of exemption, the LIT must ask for permission from the OSB in advance to conduct a remote assessment.
To address this issue, OSB is proposing the use of videoconferencing and other remote technology in insolvency processes, as they provide the necessary flexibility for Canadians during challenging times.
In March 2020, the OSB offered greater flexibility to both LITs and debtors, by allowing these assessments to take place by video-teleconference or other remote technology. This temporary change will be in effect until December 31, 2021, and allows LITs and debtors to reduce their chance of exposure during the pandemic by working remotely and in a way that many debtors want to be served. The OSB will measure the success of this temporary change, and may make this change permanent, if it is deemed effective and the feedback is positive.
In November 2020, OSB completed a targeted consultation with LITs, debtors, and OSB staff. The results of this consultation have been compiled and analyzed. The results are being presented to OSB senior management and a working group has been struck to study the best plan for moving forward. As the current relief for remote assessments has been extended to December 31, 2021, it is OSB's intention to have a permanent solution in place, if possible, before this deadline.
Lead: Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada (Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada)
Contact information: Policy and Regulatory Affairs Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada [email protected]
Enabling use of e-signatures for handling estate trust funds
Licensed Insolvency Trustees (LITs) are the federally regulated professionals who administer insolvency proceedings. As part of their responsibilities during an insolvency proceeding (bankruptcy or proposal), LITs hold in their trust the money from estates that they are overseeing in trust accounts held by the bank. They are required, by Superintendent's Directive, to complete regular reconciliations of estate trust funds with statements from the banks where the trust accounts are held.
In order to ensure this money is well managed, LITs are required to provide their financial records to the OSB or those entitled to the estate records, which they must print and sign by hand. Any discrepancies require an explanation from the LIT and their bank reconciliation previously required a wet signature on each form. Their signature confirms that they believe the report is fully completed and that the numbers are accurate.
This requirement for wet signature adds additional costs and prevents LITs from using existing insolvency administration software packages to complete estate trust fund reconciliations. Additionally, in a COVID-19 environment, requiring a wet signature does not support the recommended physical distancing measures, and many LITs have shifted their practices to working from home, meaning that office printing facilities are not readily available.
Given the pandemic, this was an item that OSB felt could easily be simplified and done remotely, by allowing for the temporary use of electronic signatures on bank reconciliations. Allowing LITs to use technology to apply an authenticated electronic signature to these records, instead of printing and signing them by hand, represents savings for LITs in terms of cost and time, while also reducing paper use.
After consultation and looking at the impact on the insolvency system of allowing electronic signatures for LITs on their bank reconciliation, the OSB made this change permanent with the release of Superintendent's Directive 5R6, Estate Funds and Banking issued July 14, 2020, giving LITs the flexibility to use either a wet signature, or the new e-signature option.
Theme 2: Using digital tools to improve interactions with the federal government on regulatory matters
This theme focuses on simplifying interactions with the federal government. This involves digital tools that focus on user needs, and that are able to share information within departments and agencies as well as with other government information management and information technology (IM/IT) systems. These tools help users to navigate government websites and also improve client services and business processes, including the collection, monitoring and reporting of information, facilitation of electronic payment, and other work needed to meet legal requirements.
The four proposals under this theme aim to achieve these goals by building digital tools and procedures to inform businesses about legal requirements or to allow them to more easily meet these requirements.
Modernizing CBSA accounting processes for commercial importers
Stakeholders have commented that current Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) processes for commercial imports and assessing duties and taxes require extensive administration by both importers and the Government of Canada. They also often require substantial paperwork or rely on an assortment of aging IT systems. This approach is inefficient and costly for both importers and the Government of Canada. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, digital or "contactless" modes of communication and exchange of information have become even more important for Canadian importers and the Government of Canada.
The CBSA proposes to implement the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM), a multi-year initiative that would transform the importation process. CARM seeks to digitalize paper-based administrative processes by allowing importers to use online tools to classify goods, and calculate duties and taxes. CARM would improve processes for accounting and revenue assessment by modernizing IT systems and creating an electronic portal to allow Trade Chain Partners (TCPs) to manage their account electronically. Additionally, the electronic portal will enable the CBSA and TCPs to securely communicate with each other electronically.
To enable CARM to become fully implemented, legislative and regulatory changes are required. The CBSA is proposing changes to the Customs Act through the second Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill or another legislative vehicle that would specify that all bonds, deposits or other securities required under the Customs Act be in a form to be specified by the Minister. This would facilitate electronic filing and submissions, including the manner of serving documents and the manner of payment. The CBSA is also proposing to then amend the Accounting for Imported Goods and Payment of Duties Regulations to stipulate that the Minister may send and receive payments electronically, as well as to harmonize billing cycles and payment due dates for imported goods. These regulatory changes would align with the changes being proposed for the Customs Act .
Overall, CARM is expected to deliver up to $2 billion in total benefits by 2031, principally benefiting Canadian importers. Benefits are expected to begin to accrue in 2022, once implementation is complete.
Specifically, the proposed legislative and regulatory changes would enable CBSA to do the following:
- Harmonize billing cycles and payment and interest due dates for imported goods.
- Allow electronic methods of payment under the Customs Act. Section 3.5 of the Customs Act is the only provision which mentions the place where the payments for amounts in excess of an amount specified by the Minister may be made. The payments may be made at a bank, a credit union, or authorized corporations. For amounts less than what is specified, there is no provision which clarifies how payments are to be made.
- Allow commercial importers to submit documents to, and receive documents from, the CBSA through the electronic portal. Electronic communication is a key CARM component that would benefit both commercial clients and the CBSA as, currently, the regulations stipulate that communication between the CBSA and importers be sent by mail or courier.
- Authorize financial security to be posted electronically. The Customs Act does not currently authorize the Minister to administer financial security electronically. The current approach is highly inefficient and costly for both importers and government. Using electronic bonds (e-bonds) would allow TCPs to reduce their administrative burden associated with paper-based forms of security. The proposed changes would allow the CBSA to facilitate the trading community's responsibility to comply with their payment obligations.
The proposed changes to the Customs Act will come into force upon Royal Assent of the second Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill, or another legislative vehicle. Subject to legislative changes being complete, regulatory amendments would come into force in the second half of 2022. CBSA is proposing amendments to the Accounting for Imported Goods and Payment of Duties Regulations , Customs Bonded Warehouses Regulations , Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations , Customs Sufferance Warehouses Regulations , Duty Free Shop Regulations , Special Services (Customs) Regulations , Special Services Regulations , Temporary Importation (Tariff Item No. 9993.00.00) Regulations , Temporary Importation (Excise Levies and Additional Duties) and Transportation of Goods Regulations .
Lead: Canada Border Services Agency
Contact information: Janine Harker Commercial and Trade Policy Division Strategic Policy Branch Canada Border Services Agency [email protected]
Modernizing regulatory design, implementation, and evaluation at ECCC
During consultations held in 2019 with businesses and others, many businesses reported that the administrative activities they have to carry out to comply with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) regulations are burdensome. Although ECCC does have some online systems for reporting, permitting, and tracking information, the vast majority of regulations — including 80% of regulations that require reporting — have none. Businesses have also found that many of the online systems that do exist do not meet their expectations for reliability or ease of use. In addition, many of these systems do not allow electronic signatures and submissions of large amounts of data at the same time, cannot handle expanding user demands, and still require most information that businesses must provide to be entered multiple times for different regulations and reporting systems.
In addition, ECCC's current data management systems stand in the way of better analysis of environmental data, more effective performance assessment, and more timely sharing of environmental information with businesses and the public.
To address these issues, ECCC's objective is to move toward an enterprise digital solution for the entire "life cycle" of ECCC regulations – that is, from data collection all the way to reviewing current regulations and creating new ones. Ultimately, this will improve services to Canadians by streamlining and digitally enabling its collection, reporting, permitting, tracking, and analysis of regulatory information at ECCC.
Pursuing this enterprise vision for ECCC will involve work on the following projects between 2021 and 2024, as a first step toward achieving this goal. Projects to be pursued over the initial three-year period of this initiative consist of two prongs:
- 1. developing options for pursuing enterprise approaches based on an analysis of government and client needs, costs, and benefits;
- 2. pursuing implementation of the required digital infrastructure related to analysis and reporting out.
- 3. stabilizing the National Pollutant Release Inventory reporting system to reduce technical problems;
- 4. reviewing existing federal and provincial environmental emergencies regulations in order to identify opportunities for harmonization and for eliminating duplication;
- 5. collecting regulatory metadata as a first step in building an online tool to help businesses find information on regulations;
- 6. increasing the limit on the size of files that businesses can submit to meet ECCC reporting requirements (completed in 2019-2020).
In the short term, this Roadmap initiative will remove certain key stakeholder irritants. In the long term, the enterprise system to which ECCC is moving will have important benefits for both businesses and Canadians, including:
- making it faster, cheaper, and easier to interact with ECCC, whether to obtain environmental permits or to submit information to meet environmental requirements;
- making more "open data" on the environment available to businesses and the public; and
- better integrating regulations, procedures for administering them, and associated information management/information technology infrastructure across different programs, making it unnecessary for businesses to report the same information to ECCC more than once.
The Centre for Regulatory Innovation has contributed funding for projects 1, 3, and 5 as described above.
ECCC is aiming to complete all six projects described above by March 2024.
Lead: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Contact information: Melanie Melo, Senior Advisory Manager, Branch Coordination Environmental Protection Branch Environment and Climate Change Canada [email protected]
Modernizing the Citizenship Program
Clients and stakeholders expect timely processing of their citizenship application, which builds confidence in the Citizenship Program and trust in government services. However, the Citizenship Program is heavily paper based and reliant on in-person services, which affect processing efficiency and client service. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this reality with the onset of remote work and the suspension of in-person services, underlining and accelerating the need to move towards on-line and virtual services.
The move towards digitalization is limited by the absence of explicit authorities in the Citizenship Act to electronically administer and enforce the Citizenship Program, similar to those available under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act . To address this issue, IRCC proposes to secure new legislative authorities related to biometrics and automation. These authorities are integral to continued digitalization and are at the core of future advancements in processing and decision-making for the Citizenship line of business. These new authorities would allow for digital/electronic administration, improving client service and strengthening identity management and enforcement of the Citizenship Program.
Once new legislative authorities are secured, the intent would be to pre-publish draft amendments to the Citizenship Regulations in the Canada Gazette , Part I (aiming for 2023-24) with the goal of final publication in the Canada Gazette , Part II (aiming for 2024-25).
Contact information: Teny Dikranian, Director Legislation and Program Policy Citizenship Branch Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada [email protected]
Modernizing CFIA inspection tools
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have expressed interest in the CFIA looking at ways to carry out its responsibilities in order to avoid disruptions to Canada's food, plant, and animal supply chains. As a modern regulator, CFIA is always open to identifying ways to improve how it can carry out its enforcement mandate in a safe, timely, and thorough manner.
In response, CFIA is reviewing its existing legislation to determine whether legislative changes are needed to support the use of technology in carrying out inspection powers, duties, and functions virtually. This may include, as appropriate, amendments to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act, Safe Food for Canadians Act , Feeds Act, Fertilizers Act, Seeds Act, Plant Protection Act, and Health of Animals Act and associated regulations to provide additional clarity, where required. In addition, CFIA is reviewing its guidance documents and business practices to support this work. This proposal would also consider improving alignment with health portfolio partners' approach to the use of telecommunication in inspection activities.
Providing clarity on the use of technology to augment inspection activities, as needed, would offer numerous benefits to regulated parties, regulators, and the public. Using virtual-based inspection and compliance tools could improve the efficiency of service delivery and have cost benefits. In addition, this proposal could strengthen collaboration between CFIA and regulated parties in terms of compliance and oversight, which may reduce burden on stakeholders. CFIA would also be in a better position to deliver critical inspections during times of disruption to uphold a sufficient and safe food supply. This approach could mitigate challenges and risks in emergency situations. For example, it would support adherence to public health directives during a pandemic by reducing contact between stakeholders and CFIA staff.
CFIA would seek to include any proposed legislative amendments in future versions of the Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill or the next available legislative amendment vehicle, as needed. Depending on the nature of any legislative amendments, CFIA would pursue associated regulatory amendments that may be needed through the Canada Gazette process between 2022 and 2024.
Contact information: Regulatory, Legislative and Economic Affairs Division Policy and Programs Branch Canadian Food Inspection Agency [email protected]
Theme 3: Using digital tools to improve how the federal government manages data
This theme involves improving federal government data management to reduce the time and effort that businesses and regulators expend on tasks involving the generation and management of regulatory data.
The three proposals under this theme seek to bring in better tools and methods for sharing data both within the federal government and between federal and provincial/territorial governments, and to allow the federal government to be more efficient and effective in its use of information management (IM) tools and technologies.
Modernizing Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's information-sharing legal framework
Provinces and territories, businesses and IRCC clients have called on IRCC to reduce processing times and improve service delivery so that immigrants can more quickly integrate into the labour market. Some provinces and territories have also raised concerns that long processing times (particularly for paper-based applications) undermine their competitiveness.
IRCC proposes to amend the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act through the second Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill to complement and expand existing information-sharing authorities in IRCC program legislation. New legislative authorities would support digital processing automation and the use of client information across its programs for better client service, identity management and improved program integrity. This would also enable IRCC to pursue the development of digital tools for application processing that could be used by other federal departments and provinces and territories. This would allow clients to benefit from a combination of services without having to provide the same information to multiple times.
After seeking new legislative authorities, IRCC would pursue two phases of work. First, IRCC would engage programs to identify information-sharing needs, processes, and internal control mechanisms, supported by privacy impact assessments as needed; this work would inform the establishment of particular parameters of use and disclosure of information. Second, IRCC would enact new regulations to set out the use and/or disclosure of information collected by IRCC for transparency purposes.
A modern information-sharing framework would result in more efficient processing of applications and make it easier for people to come to Canada both temporarily (e.g. visitors, international students, and temporary workers) and permanently. Further, it would enable IRCC to be more nimble in fulfilling its mandate. As was underscored in COVID-19 response efforts, organizations must have the ability to quickly adapt to changing circumstances, which may require processes and procedures to be revisited. A more modern information-sharing framework would improve IRCC's ability to streamline and adapt processes as required, while continuing to ensure public safety and security. The proposed legislative amendments would also align with the Treasury Board Secretariat's initiatives for the Government of Canada ("tell-us-once"), with new policies on service and digital, reviews on data sharing, and significant provincial and territorial collaboration on digital identity.
The proposed amendments to the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act would come into force upon Royal Assent of the second Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill. IRCC would target 2023 for pre-publication in the Canada Gazette , Part I of new regulations under the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Act , and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act , as required, and final publication in the Canada Gazette , Part II in 2024.
Contact information: Adrienne Christie, Assistant Director Intergovernmental Relations International and Intergovernmental Relations Branch Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada [email protected]
Streamlining regulatory review of mining projects
The regulatory process for mining projects can be difficult to navigate and represents a significant investment in resources by mining companies. Industry stakeholders have identified the length and lack of coordination in the review process as major hurdles to overcome to get approvals. Regulators have indicated that they struggle to get the data they need to make decisions and that incomplete applications slow down the process.
Facilitated by funding from the Centre for Regulatory Innovation, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is planning to develop the following digital tools to contribute to the streamlining of the regulatory process for mining projects: a regulatory guidance tool to help industry navigate the approvals process, integrated solutions to simplify submissions and interactions, and a data leveraging tool to share available data. NRCan is planning to work with federal regulators involved in the approvals process for mining projects to identify opportunities for collaboration. The intent is for these tools to be integrated into the existing regulatory process to reduce the time and effort it takes mining projects to move from exploration to production, while not impacting the integrity of the process.
Research on issues and digital technologies to address these is currently complete and plans to collaborate to develop digital tools have been made. Pilot projects are being undertaken, with completion planned for March 2022.
Lead: Natural Resources Canada
Contact information: Connie Smith, Senior Mining Engineer, Transformative Technologies and Specialized Services CanmetMINING in the Lands and Mineral Sector Natural Resources Canada [email protected]
Digitalization of the Pre-Load Air Cargo Targeting Program
Air cargo stakeholders have requested a simple and seamless digital information exchange for air cargo as they plan and coordinate recovery efforts from COVID-19. As it stands, it is difficult for industry to share critical information in a timely manner due to the stalled development of enabling technology and a complimentary legal framework. As Canada lags in its solidification of a Pre-Load Air Cargo Targeting (PACT) Program, industry is aware of an increasing gap with countries and jurisdictions like the United Kingdom, United States and European Union that are advancing similar programs using emerging technologies, like AI. More than ever, industry is supportive of enhanced security measures that can be applied early, and digitally, so as not to disrupt the flow of cargo.
PACT began as a joint pilot initiative between the CBSA and Transport Canada (TC) in 2012 involving primarily volunteer air carriers. To date, the PACT work consists of using data from air carriers (e.g. cargo manifests) to conduct risk assessments on a limited number of flights. The aim is to identify potentially high-risk cargo prior to its uplift onto an aircraft at a foreign port, allowing for mitigation measures to be applied as early as possible.
To date, PACT has received over 7 million messages, and through manual processes, has been able to risk assess 1.5 million of them (roughly 25% of the total). The volume of received messages comprises only approximately 15% of the total airway bills for cargo inbound to Canada from around the globe. Without a modern technological solution, current methods of intake (via email) and analysis (through spreadsheets) can only scratch the surface of the incoming data. Without a firm commitment from TC to transition this pilot to a permanent program with accompanying regulations, industry members are reluctant or no longer willing to invest the ongoing resources necessary for participation.
To address this issue, TC is planning to finalize the development of a cutting-edge system powered by AI that will allow the PACT Program to leverage data to risk-assess all air cargo incoming to Canada. The use of AI will transform the way air cargo information is received and handled; how risk is assessed by TC and among security partners; and how oversight is conducted in the wake of COVID-19.
Proposed regulatory amendments to the Canadian Aviation Security Regulations, 2012 are necessary to compel all air carriers to submit the data to TC, and would detail the applicable mitigation measures should a potential risk to aviation security be identified. TC would also seek enabling legislative authorities through future versions of the Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill, or another legislative vehicle, to streamline and clarify the Minister's authority to collect, retain and share passenger and commercial/customs information, and to use automated systems, such as AI, to assess risk.
Together, the technical solution and the regulatory changes will facilitate the safe and efficient movement of secure cargo in the wake of COVID-19, and ensure that the Canadian air cargo industry emerges on a level playing field with major competitors.
Regulatory amendments are targeting pre-publication in the Canada Gazette, Part I in fall 2022, followed by final publication in the Canada Gazette, Part II in fall 2023 contingent on the completion of the required system. Legislative amendments would target 2022-2023 pending further policy development.
Lead: Transport Canada
Contact information: Pre-Load Air Cargo Targeting (PACT) Unit Passenger Protect Program and Targeting Operations Branch Transport Canada [email protected]
Theme 4: Using novel approaches to promote technology neutrality and advance the use of digital tools in regulations
This theme involves testing new approaches to regulating as well as new tools and technologies to support more effective management of regulations.
Three proposals under this theme make use of new tools or technologies to help in managing work related to regulations and/or support the development of future policy and regulatory frameworks.
Easing regulatory burden through digital credentials
Administrative steps to comply with regulations can be costly and time-consuming for businesses. A significant part of this burden stems from the Government of Canada's reliance upon manual processes to validate the origin and authenticity of information received. This time consuming exercise is a constant challenge for regulators and creates red tape for regulated parties who have to comply with outdated processes. In attempts to patch inefficiencies and provide services digitally, several regulators have ported paper-based mechanisms into digital formats, but failed to leverage technology to verify that the information they receive is authentic and up-to-date. Concrete examples include the challenges with commonly used digital versions of documents, such as scanned documents, which are easy to forge and require manual processes to verify.
Digital credentials are digital versions of documents, such as licences, permits, degrees and business registrations, issued by governments and trusted organizations directly to a digital wallet. They enable businesses and regulators to more easily engage in digital transactions by making it easier to share key documents and to verify the authenticity and the issuer of those documents. That way, when a business needs to interact with government—or other entities—and prove they are authorized to conduct regulated activities, interested parties can easily validate this claim using the tamper-evident digital credential issued by a trusted government entity. This is expected to facilitate the provision of regulatory compliance data to government departments and agencies, reduce the risk of fraud, and provide Canadians with more control over with whom they share their information, in line with the principles of Canada's Digital Charter.
Additionally, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a strong desire to rely less on in- person and paper-based transactions to help minimize the risks for businesses and front-line workers. Digital credentials support physical distancing and help to reduce the risk of virus transmission through physical (e.g., paper-based) credentials.
National Digital Trust Service Proof of Concept
ISED is leading a proof of concept for a National Digital Trust Service with businesses, not-for-profits and regulators with the goal of making it quicker, easier and more cost-effective to issue and verify digital credentials. The National Digital Trust Service proof of concept is supporting select businesses, not-for-profits and regulators in executing proof of concepts for their respective digital credential use cases, simultaneously advancing awareness and adoption of digital credentials across government and the economy. The National Digital Trust Service is intended to be horizontal in nature and is expected to make it more efficient for all interested participants to issue and consume digital credentials by avoiding the need to implement and maintain individual technology solutions. The Service would be a big step forward in establishing a digital trust infrastructure for Canada. The National Digital Trust Service proof of concept is funded by the Centre for Regulatory Innovation.
During Phase 1 (fall 2020 to spring 2021), ISED established the prototype for the National Digital Trust Service and developed the digital credential use cases with participants. In Phase 2 (spring 2021 to spring 2022), ISED will begin testing the National Digital Trust Service with participants and their use cases, improving the service based upon feedback and results.
Educational Approaches for Digital Credentials Pilot
ISED is developing and piloting educational approaches to help regulators, businesses, and other entities to adopt and use digital credentials to simplify and digitalize their processes, including for regulatory compliance and trade. This in turn would enable regulatory digitalization, the ability to transact digitally across the economy, and the reduction of regulatory and administrative burden. The Educational Approaches for Digital Credentials pilot is funded by the Centre for Regulatory Innovation.
The first phase (fall 2020 to spring 2021) consisted of developing three educational approaches for testing with participants. During Phase 2 (spring 2021 to spring 2022), ISED will be piloting different combinations of educational approaches with testing groups to determine which approaches are the most effective.
Business Banking Digital Credentials Pilot
ISED, the British Columbia and Alberta governments, ATB Financial and select Canadian banks are partnering on an initiative to issue and verify key documents as digital credentials to facilitate regulatory compliance and end-to-end digital transactions, such as opening business bank accounts. This pilot project is expected to save businesses time and effort by not having to rely upon in-person and paper-based processes. This has the potential to increase the percentage of business bank accounts that can be opened digitally, from 10% to 80%.
During Phase 1 of the pilot project (fall 2020 to spring 2021), ISED, British Columbia and Alberta built the capability to issue digital credentials to businesses, held in their digital wallets. In Phase 2 (spring 2021 to summer 2022), ISED will work with ATB Financial and select Canadian banks to test the acceptance of these digital credentials so businesses can open bank accounts without having to resort to in-person and paper-based processes.
Lead: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Contact information: Digital Policy and Service Innovation Digital Design Branch Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada [email protected]
Drafting regulations in machine-readable code
The Labour Program, part of the Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) portfolio, is currently undertaking a review of the Motor Vehicle Operators Hours of Work Regulations (MVOHWR) enabled under Part III of the Canada Labour Code . The MVOHWR have remained largely unchanged since coming into force in 1973, with the last modification occurring in 1995. The review seeks to identify and update aspects of the regulations in need of modernization.
In the context of this review, the Labour Program is collaborating with the Canada School of Public Service, the Department of Justice, and the Community of Federal Regulators on a "rules as code" project, which would support development and publication of the MVOHWR, in whole or in part, in machine-readable language. To achieve this objective, required amendments to the MVOHWR will be drafted simultaneously in English, French, and machine-readable code.
Regulatory clarity resulting from machine-readable code opens up several opportunities for stakeholders, including the creation of a downloadable Application Programming Interface (API), to update payroll systems quickly and efficiently. This work is expected to ease the implementation process, and make it easier for stakeholders to comply with regulatory requirements. The Labour Program would assist interested stakeholders who may be interested in further developing industry wide calculating tool and/or an application.
Stakeholders reiterated their support for the publication of the MVOHWR as machine-readable code in consultations that took place in February 2021. The process of translating the existing regulations into code was completed in March 2021. Updates to the machine-readable code will occur as proposed regulatory amendments are drafted. Draft regulations are targeted for publication in the Canada Gazette , Part I in fall 2021, and final regulations in the Canada Gazette , Part II in mid 2022.
Lead: Labour Program (Employment and Social Development Canada)
Contact information: Danijela Hong, Director, Labour Program Employment and Social Development Canada [email protected]
Sharing product data to improve supply chain transparency
Consumer and other products contain a wide range of chemicals, some with impacts on the health of Canadians and/or the environment. Finding out what chemical is in any given product can be a challenge for government, companies and consumers alike. Companies need greater and more timely access to information about the chemicals in their products in order to comply with regulations, set and meet sustainability targets, and create products that are less harmful to the environment and the health of Canadians. Consumers also want such information so that they can make more informed choices about the products they buy and use.
The project will explore ways to achieve greater sharing of information about chemicals in products across entire product supply chains. These could include:
- making changes to legislation or policies related to chemicals in products;
- bringing in voluntary measures to spur companies to collect and share more product information with interested parties;
- connecting Canadian companies to government programs that support the creation of affordable digital systems by Canadian companies for their own use, to allow more of them to collect and share product information in digital form.
The project's long-term vision is greater availability and accessibility of product ingredient data, particularly in digital form, which could be achieved through digital, policy, or legislative tools as appropriate.
Better access to data on product ingredients would benefit businesses, the public and government. It would allow for more efficient and effective chemicals management and support regulatory compliance, safer products and more informed consumer choice.
The project will begin with a one-year consultation phase (2021–2022). During this phase, ECCC will engage with a wide range of stakeholders (including chemical and product manufacturers, retailers and non-governmental organizations) through a policy lab approach. The goal will be to co-develop options and test new approaches for enhancing supply chain transparency as well as the use of mandatory labelling for certain consumer products. This stakeholder consultation phase will lead to recommendations both for mandatory labelling and for improving the flow of information about chemicals in products in the Canadian marketplace and access to product information for consumers. ECCC will prepare a report summarizing the results of the consultations.
In 2022-23, ECCC will analyze options and make recommendations regarding possible changes to relevant legislation, regulations or policies, and seek stakeholder input on these. Depending on the results of this phase, ECCC could then begin work in 2023-2024 to develop legislative and/or voluntary tools as appropriate.
The Centre for Regulatory Innovation has contributed funding for this project.
Contact information: Alex Cavadias, Acting Director, Products Division Environmental Protection Branch Environment and Climate Change Canada [email protected]
5.0 Issues not addressed
While all comments provided by stakeholders were considered carefully, some of the issues raised are not being addressed in this Digitalization and Technology-Neutral Regulations Roadmap. Issues that are not being addressed through this Roadmap fall into three general categories:
- Issues covered by the first round of Targeted Regulatory Reviews
- Issues outside the scope of the Digitalization and Technology-Neutral Regulations Review
- Issues not being addressed for other specific reasons
5.1 Issues covered by the first round of Targeted Regulatory Reviews
Several stakeholders mentioned regulatory irritants that were previously identified as part of the first round of Targeted Regulatory Reviews (i.e., Agri-Food and Aquaculture, Health and Bioscience, and Transport and Infrastructure), which are outside the scope of this Review.
In some cases, stakeholders recommended that commitments made by departments and agencies involved in the Round 1 of Regulatory Reviews be modified to incorporate novel digitalization or technology-neutral components. Those departments and agencies have committed to considering the feasibility and timing of such additions, and to implementing them on a case-by-case basis. These include recommendations made regarding the Food and Drug Regulations .
5.2 Issues outside the scope of the Digitalization and Technology- Neutral Regulations Review
Some stakeholders identified issues that fall outside of the scope of this Review. These include reviewing existing rules governing the entry of specific foreign drugs or medical instruments into the Canadian market, gene editing and pest management regulations, and launching new immigration programs to address employee shortages. Other stakeholder suggestions were excluded if they would have unduly compromised the Government of Canada's mandate to protect health, safety or the environment.
5.3 Issues not being addressed for other specific reasons
A small number of issues raised by stakeholders are not being addressed through this Roadmap for other reasons. These include the following three issues, which would require significant analysis and further consultation with stakeholders:
- Existing processes for border customs are inefficient and burdensome. The Government of Canada should research the use of innovative technologies, such as blockchain, to store customs data and leverage the use of smart phone applications for transit documents.
The Canada Border Services Agency currently has no short- or medium-term plans to leverage blockchain or other similar technologies to store customs data. However, regulatory cooperation initiatives are currently in place to further ease trade flows between Canada and its trading partners. For example, as described in this Roadmap, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada is leading work to provide digital credentials to businesses operating in Canada, which could eventually yield applications for transit purposes.
- Digital technology adoption is challenging for Canadian small and medium-sized businesses and access to reliable, high-speed internet is an ongoing issue in rural areas.
Those issues are connected and require a coordinated response to fully address the complex challenges they present. As more and more industries embrace the digital economy, Canadian workers will need new tools and new skills in order to stay competitive. Although a full resolution will take time to achieve, the Government of Canada is implementing Canada's Innovation and Skills Plan to strengthen Canadian competitiveness and ensure all Canadians have the digital skills and opportunities to participate online.
Furthermore, the Government of Canada recently announced that it is accelerating its efforts to ensure all Canadians have access to high-speed Internet, no matter where they live. To that end, in Budget 2021, the Government announced another $1 billion over 6 years for the Universal Broadband Fund, to support access to high-speed internet by Canadians in rural and remote communities. Previously, the Government committed an additional $750 million over five years for larger, high-impact projects on top of the original billion announced in Budget 2019. In total, $2.75 billion will be provided over seven years starting in 2020-2021 through the Universal Broadband Fund. This funding is intended to connect 98 per cent of Canadians by 2026, up from the original target of 95 per cent in that year, and 100 per cent of Canadians by 2030.
Additionally, in Budget 2021 the Government announced $4 billion in funding for the Canada Digital Adoption Program. This program will create thousands of jobs for young Canadians, and will help as many as 160,000 small and medium-sized businesses adopt new digital technologies.
- Industry sectors exposed to digitalization have a greater risk of market concentration, which adversely impacts competition.
Digitalization has unquestionably been shaping market dynamics, but the fundamental principles of competition law continue to apply. Mergers are reviewed to ensure they do not harm competition, and abusive conduct by dominant firms can be subject to remedial orders. In May 2019, at the time of the launch of the Digital Charter, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry wrote to the Commissioner of Competition, requesting that officials be assigned to work on reviewing Canadian competition law and policy to ensure that it remains suited for the modern digital economy. This work is underway, and any future proposals will aim to ensure that consumers and businesses continue to benefit from competition law in a digital world.
As noted above, this section aims to provide a sense of the general categories of comments that were not addressed through this Review. The list of examples above is however not exhaustive.
Moreover, while the COVID-19 pandemic has provided an opportunity to accelerate digitalization in the regulatory space, it has also shifted stakeholder circumstances and priorities, introducing new regulatory challenges. Outreach with federal regulators on further opportunities to support regulatory modernization and responsiveness to stakeholders is encouraged.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and its portfolio bodies Measurement Canada (MC) and the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy (OSB); Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC); the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA); the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA); the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA); Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC); Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC); Natural Resources Canada (NRCan); and Transport Canada (TC) have made a number of advancements in implementing the Digitalization and Technology-Neutral Regulations Roadmap.
Key thematic outcomes are summarized below, followed by updates on specific initiatives .
Key Outcomes
Under this theme, departments and agencies have advanced initiatives that aim to address stakeholder comments for more performance- or outcome-based regulations. Outcome-based regulatory language focuses on the results or goals that businesses and individuals must achieve rather than on the specific technologies or procedures they must use. Moving away from specifying how something must be done can help support innovation and allows businesses to choose the most appropriate technologies for meeting regulatory requirements.
For instance, the CRA worked with the Department of Finance to develop legislation that enables electronic signature options on specified tax forms to make it easier for Canadians to comply with tax legislation. This legislation received Royal Assent in Bill C-47 on June 22, 2023. The electronic signature option will reduce burden for taxpayers and tax professionals associated with printing, mailing, and storing paper forms.
Departments and agencies have also advanced initiatives that improve client services and business processes, promote the use of user-centric digital tools and improve information-sharing internal to government.
For instance, to improve its online systems and reduce burden on businesses, ECCC is working towards an enterprise digital solution for the lifecycle of its regulations to modernize regulatory service delivery. This includes the modernization of regulatory activities related to collection, reporting, permitting, tracking, analysis, and dissemination of regulatory information to Canadians. To do this, ECCC advanced six distinct projects ranging from a review of existing federal and provincial environmental emergency regulations, to increasing the file upload size of the department's reporting systems. This work will help address stakeholder concerns around the reliance on paper-based processes for reporting and inform ECCC's development of more user-friendly online systems.
Additionally, with support from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's (TBS) Centre for Regulatory Innovation, ECCC and the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS) developed a repository on regulatory metadata as a first step to the development of an online tool that would help businesses find information on regulations. As of March 2022, ECCC and the CSPS had collected metadata on approximatively 1,900 regulations across 22 federal departments and their portfolios, capturing over 200,000 pieces of information such as occupations, industries, products, and incorporations by reference. This information could support other projects to facilitate accessing information on regulatory requirements for subjects across the federal government.
CanmetMINING (NRCan) is advancing digital technologies to improve the experience of stakeholders involved in the regulatory process to permit mining projects. Specifically, a methodology to collect and compile data scattered amongst reports in the public domain into a searchable database was developed in March 2022. The database improves access to data for regulators, helping them make more informed decisions on the impact assessment of mining projects. This work was supported by the TBS Centre for Regulatory Innovation through the Regulators' Capacity Fund.
Additionally, TC is developing an advanced analytics-assisted system that leverages data to risk-assess air cargo shipments prior to loading onto aircraft coming to Canada. Current methods of data intake and analysis under the Pre-load Air Cargo Targeting Pilot were not sufficient for managing the anticipated volume of submissions that would come with a fully expanded, mandatory program. To address this, in 2020/21, TC tested the use of advanced analytics on standard industry message formats to support risk assessments and lay the groundwork for a near real-time messaging between regulated parties and government systems. Enabling the digitalization of risk-assessments for air cargo will aid in the secure and efficient movement of shipments to Canada.
Departments and agencies advanced initiatives to test new approaches to regulating, and new tools to support better regulatory management. These actions also seek to inform the development of future policy and regulatory frameworks.
For instance, in leveraging new technology to ease regulatory burden, ISED piloted several projects using digital credentials with government and private organizations, including Canadian banks. The Business Banking Digital Credentials Pilot, which took place from September 2020 to March 2023, reduced the time and effort needed for businesses to open business bank accounts, in comparison with current paper-based processes. The majority of participants indicated they would like to use digital credentials for their future banking needs.
ISED also tested educational approaches with regulators and businesses to improve the understanding of digital credentials and to encourage a wider adoption of their use to advance the proof of concept for a national digital trust service, with an overall goal of improving the efficiency of issuing and verifying digital credentials.
To align and consolidate activities related to digital credentials, and given the President of the Treasury Board's lead on the Government of Canada's work to advance digital government, TBS has taken leadership of several initiatives related to digital credentials from ISED. This includes the proof of concept for a national digital trust service. As part of the International Standards Roadmap, TBS partnered with the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) on the development of a National Technical Specification and prototype certification program for digital credentials and digital trust services, building on results from the proof of concept phase led by ISED.
Considerations
The timelines of some initiatives have been revised to account for delays, in part due to stakeholder concerns.
Additionally, the initiative to draft the Motor Vehicle Operators Hours of Work Regulations in machine-readable code was put on hold. While stakeholders were initially supportive of the project, they raised substantive concerns following additional regulatory amendments proposed by ESDC's Labour Program. As a result, the Labour Program has not identified a foreseeable date for when this project would continue. Finally, IRCC is not pursuing regulatory amendments to remove place-based application barriers to immigration, at this time.
Despite these challenges, the initiatives in the Roadmap continue to advance digital transformation in the federal regulatory sphere, working to align regulations with the expectations of Canadians and industry.
Initiative Updates
- The Department of Finance published draft legislation to enable electronic signature options on tax forms T183IND/T183CORP and RC71/RC72 in February 2022.
- These e-signature measures were included in Bill C-47 ( Budget Implementation Act, 2023 ), which received Royal Assent on June 22, 2023.
- The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is working towards improving regulatory agility for international waste management in a stepwise approach. As a first step, the CFIA would look to pursue legislative amendments to the Health of Animals Act , followed by regulatory amendments to the Health of Animals Regulations . Proposed regulatory amendments are anticipated for pre-publication in 2025.
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has not conducted further stakeholder outreach given suspension of its initiative to remove place-based application barriers to immigration, and no additional outreach is planned at this time.
- If a future regulatory project in this area is proposed, corresponding stakeholder consultations and outreach will take place.
- Measurement Canada plans to propose amendments to the Electricity and Gas Inspection Regulations and the Weights and Measures Regulations to modify requirements for specific methods of exchanging information in the Canada Gazette , Part I, in winter 2024.
- On January 27, 2022, the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada made this change permanent by issuing Superintendent of Bankruptcy Directive No. 6R5 – Assessment of an Individual Debtor (para. 5). This authorizes licensed insolvency trustees to conduct assessments in-person or by videoconference.
- This initiative is complete.
- On July 14, 2020, the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy made this change permanent by issuing Superintendent of Bankruptcy Directive No. 5R6 - Estate Funds and Banking (para. 5(4.1) and (4.2)). This authorizes licensed insolvency trustees to use e-signatures on bank reconciliations for estate trust fund accounts. This modification is included in the latest version of Directive No. 5R7 – Estate Funds and Banking .
- Amendments to the Customs Act enabling the full implementation of the Canada Border Services Agency Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) system received Royal Assent in June 2022. The associated draft regulations (linked here and here ) were pre-published in the Canada Gazette , Part I in November 2022. The publishing of both the enabling amendments and the regulations in the Canada Gazette , Part II is expected by the end of 2023.
- developing options to pursue enterprise approaches for modernizing regulatory services (complete);
- developing a reference architecture to create a common regulatory services platform (ongoing);
- stabilizing the National Pollutant Release Inventory reporting system to reduce technical problems, improve user experience and reduce reporting burden (complete);
- developing a plan to reduce duplication, where possible, for federal and provincial/territorial environmental emergencies regulations (complete);
- developing, with the Canada School of Public Service, a repository of over 200,000 pieces of information that cover approximatively 1,900 federal regulations (complete); and
- increasing file size limit that business can submit to meet ECCC reporting requirements (complete).
- To improve processing times, client service, and program integrity for citizenship grant applications, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is seeking new legislative and regulatory authorities to administer the Citizenship Act electronically and for the collection and use of biometrics in the Citizenship Program for identity management and criminality screening.
Legislative amendments were tabled in Parliament through Bill C-47 ( Budget Implementation Act, 2023 ), which received Royal Assent on June 22, 2023. The regulatory process needed for implementation is expected to begin in 2023-24.
- The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is currently reviewing its existing legislation to support the use of technology in carrying out certain oversight and service delivery functions through telecommunications. Steps towards identifying potential legislative amendments are underway, which would be advanced once the opportunity arises.
- To improve service delivery so that immigrants can more quickly integrate into Canadian communities, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) proposed legislative amendments to the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Act as well as the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act through the second Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill (Bill S-6, An Act respecting regulatory modernization ). Bill S-6 was introduced in the Senate on March 31, 2022. On June 22, 2022, it passed its first reading in the House of Commons and as of May 2023, is at the second reading stage.
- The proposed legislative changes will complement and expand existing information sharing authorities in IRCC program legislation, including to support digital processing automation and the use of client information across its programs for better client service, identity management and improved program integrity.
- Should the amendments receive Royal Assent, IRCC will review its information sharing needs and enact new regulations and any associated information sharing arrangements/agreements to set out the use and/or disclosure of information collected by IRCC.
- Supported by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's (TBS) Centre for Regulatory Innovation (CRI), CanmetMINING/Natural Resources Canada is advancing digital solution to streamline the regulatory review process for new mining projects. As of spring 2022, pilot projects including the development of a database and support regulators making impact assessment decisions and prototype wireframes for a regulatory navigation tool to help the mining industry understand what federal permits are required for their projects were complete.
- Through 2023 and 2025, CanmetMINING will, with continued support from the TBS CRI, work to advance the regulatory navigation tool.
- In 2023, CanmetMINING will also work to expand the database to include additional federal data relevant to review of mining projects as resources allow. Collaboration amongst federal agencies coordinated by CanmetMINING will also continue to support development of the database and regulatory navigation tool with a long-term focus of promoting a single application portal for the permitting process for mines.
- To support enhanced security measures and limit disruptions to the movement of cargo through the supply chain, Transport Canada (TC) is developing an advanced analytics system to identify data anomalies that need to be risk-assessed prior to shipments being loaded onto aircraft coming to Canada. TC has drafted proposed amendments to the Canadian Aviation Security Regulations, 2012 (Air Cargo), which were pre-published in the Canada Gazette , Part I on March 18, 2023. Final publication of the amendments in the Canada Gazette , Part II is targeted for fall 2024.
- To reduce the government's reliance on manual processes to validate the authenticity of information received and ease regulatory burden, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) advanced three initiatives focused on leveraging digital credentials, with support from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's (TBS) Centre for Regulatory Innovation (CRI).
- These included the testing of a proof of concept for a national digital trust service to make issuing and verifying digital credentials more efficient (results from this proof of concept are being used to inform TBS-led testing of cloud-based infrastructure and Software as a Service-based enabling services for digital credentials), educational approaches to increase comfort with use of digital credentials (supported by the TBS CRI), and use of government-issued digital credentials in the banking sector (the Business Banking Digital Credentials Pilot (Phase 2) was completed in March 2023).
- While stakeholders were initially supportive of the "rules as code" project to draft the Motor Vehicle Operators Hours of Work Regulations (MVOHWR) in machine-readable code, this initiative is currently on hold. During its review of the Regulations, the Labour Program proposed various amendments; however, stakeholders raised substantive concerns, which led it to pause its review of the MVOHWR.
- The continuation of this project will be considered at the time when the Labour Program resumes updating the MVOHWR.
- Between March and October 2022, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Health Canada (HC) undertook national consultations on mandatory labelling and supply chain transparency for chemicals in consumer products, supported by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's Centre for Regulatory Innovation.
- Input from the national consultations informed the development of a Notice of Intent on the labelling of toxic substances in consumer products, including flame retardants in upholstered furniture, which was published in the Canada Gazette , Part I in October 2022.
- Public opinion research surrounding Canadians' habits and preferences in relation to labelling of products was published in Library and Archives Canada in November 2022.
- ECCC and HC will publish a strategy in 2023 outlining a suite of policy actions to improve the availability of information on chemicals in consumer products throughout the supply chain. The strategy will consider the various stakeholder engagement efforts taken in the past, public opinion research, and audits/reports relevant to the topic when considering next steps. Furthermore, it will consider stakeholder feedback to avoid duplication by using the Best Placed Act approach, attempt to align internationally where possible, and focus on the safeguarding of data.
6.0 Related links
- Targeted regulatory reviews
- Regulatory Reviews progress update (Round 1 and 2)
Blog Government Digital Service
https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2021/05/20/government-digital-service-our-strategy-for-2021-2024/
Government Digital Service: Our strategy for 2021-2024
Our purpose
At GDS, our mission is to build a simple, joined-up and personalised experience of government for everyone. Using our unique position at the centre of government, we will develop services that just work for the user, however complex the underlying systems.
The journey to today
Ten years ago, the UK government had an organically grown online presence with each government department, agency and arms-length body having their own website . Additional information was available through DirectGov and BusinessLink , early attempts at bringing information together in one place.
Following Martha Lane Fox’s report into digital government in 2010, GDS was established to focus on fixing publishing, digitising high-volume transactional services, and building “wholesale” technology platforms. GOV.UK was created, and more than 2,000 other websites were fully migrated to the new single publishing platform. Twenty five of the highest volume services were chosen as “exemplars” of digital transformation , and a programme established to deliver the transformation. While there are lessons to be learned, many of these services remain the gold standard for what excellent digital services can look like.
In the 10 years since GDS was created, departments and agencies have built digital teams of the highest quality, and many of the most important services have been built and designed based on research from real users, and are supported by agile, multidisciplinary teams.
GDS’s role in 2021 and beyond
From our position in the centre of government, we are perfectly positioned to look at the work of digital teams across government to identify where there are common needs for products, platforms and services. By building centrally we can do the heavy lifting to allow departments to focus on building services, rather than having to reinvent the wheel.
It is also important to recognise that GDS is no longer in start-up mode. Of our circa £90 million budget this year and with more than 800 people, around 60% are needed to support our existing platforms, services and content. This includes ensuring GOV.UK, which is a vital resource for millions of citizens, is available, reliable and has up to date information.
We therefore have to be selective about where we focus our people, skills and money to make the most difference to the most users of government services. We believe there are 3 main categories that enable this:
- services that hide the complexity of government structures from the end user
- services that can only be delivered by the centre
- services that should be built once, and reused widely
With this in mind, we have 5 main missions for the next 3 years.
Mission 1: GOV.UK as the single and trusted online destination for government information and services
At the heart of everything we do for the next 3 years, we must ensure that GOV.UK remains the single trusted source of information, guidance and services for the public. To do this, we will:
- continue to invest and develop our content teams
- ensure the technology platforms underpinning GOV.UK are in support, highly available, and secure
- iterate the design and operation of key features like navigation and search
- move beyond websites and look at how government information, guidance and services can be reached from where users are, rather than where suits us
- ensure that the publishing tools we provide to civil servants right across government are simple and clear to use, and encourage the use of emerging design patterns
Mission 2: Joined-up services that solve whole problems and span multiple departments
Some people only need to access government services a few times per year, they complete the forms and move on. However, there are millions of people who have complicated, busy lives and need lots of help from government, sometimes for a few months, and sometimes for years. For these users, our services appear tremendously siloed and difficult to navigate. To fix this, we will:
- build GOV.UK account functionality, and make it available to everyone who wants it, while ensuring that there are offline alternatives for those who can’t
- create a single sign-on for all services that need it
- explore developing a personalised view of GOV.UK content based on the users’ situation
- map and connect data around individuals and agree sharing arrangements with departments
- explore “one-click” completion of common forms and services using the information we already know about the user
- build a central interface to manage and update the information that government holds on you; for example, you could change your name or your address once and we’ll let the rest of government know
- develop a series of “whole services” for users from the centre of government to demonstrate how joined-up data and processes can work to make government simpler, clearer and faster. This might include things like having a baby, or preparing to retire, or turning 18. We have already started our first, which is “Starting and sustaining a business”, which you can read about on the Inside GOV.UK Blog
Mission 3: A simple digital identity solution that works for everyone
Most government services' existing login and digital identity solutions have been designed, developed and operated in departmental silos, with a focus only on meeting each department's needs. For users, this is a confusing and frustrating picture; for government, this is expensive and leaves the door open for fraud.
We will build on what we have learned from GOV.UK Verify and create a new way for users to sign-on to services from any department, and confirm their identity. The work will follow some basic principles:
- the new services will be built in partnership with other government departments
- the identity checking service needs to work for everyone in the country, regardless of their socio-economic situation. For example, someone who is a prison leaver and may not have a fixed location, or someone with an address but has a passport that has expired.
- we will design-in simplicity and relentlessly test with users
- existing services will only be integrated, absorbed or turned off when the new service has been tested thoroughly, and everyone is happy that it works as it needs to
- users will have full control over their data from their GOV.UK account, and the connected data we hold
Mission 4: Common tools and expert services
We talk a lot about our successes in digital transformation, from online tax to MOT reminders . However, for many citizens their experience is very different. Perhaps they want to sponsor a visa applicant , or change their name by deed poll , or even adopt a child . For these journeys, and more than 3,000 others, our users still have to rely on printing off a PDF, filling it in by pen, and posting it into a government office. This is bad for users, enormously inefficient for government and the army of people we have processing paper, and misses opportunities for using the data for analysis.
To tackle the long tail of PDF forms and other difficult to navigate services, we want to make it almost effortless for departments and agencies to digitise their services. To help, we plan to:
- build a new “Collect information from users” (formerly known as “Submit”) service to automatically digitise existing forms, as well as making it simpler for people to automatically create new digital forms rather than PDFs
- build a set of components and make them available to everyone - things like address pickers, company lookups and lists of countries
- develop or procure a set of lightweight back-office products for case management and other common needs to end-to-end digitise services
We also need to ensure our existing platforms are well maintained, and build and sustain a professional services division to help other parts of government (central and local) where needed. Specifically, we will:
- support and enhance the existing GOV.UK Pay , GOV.UK Notify and GOV.UK PaaS services, as well as the GOV.UK Design System
- develop a team of expert practitioners who can go out and help teams in other parts of government to digitise their simpler services using the Government as a Platform (GaaP) products - you can read more about GaaP on our blog
- continue to work with governments around the world to share learnings on digital transformation patterns and approaches, drawing insights to also help keep GDS at the cutting edge
Mission 5: Joined-up data across departments
To deliver any of the above 4 missions, we need to put data right at the heart of our strategic approach. That means being able to comprehensively understand how people interact with the government online, and being able to use data about people and government (with permission) to provide the level of service that they expect. This mission, delivered in close partnership with the Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO), will focus on:
- exploring an events brokerage service that enables departments to share information about users that would be useful for other parts of government to know - some examples might include when someone leaves Higher Education, or becomes a British citizen, or is made redundant
- creating the cross-government reference architecture and identifying, enabling and standardising the data registers across government most critical to service delivery
- creating the exchange mechanism between the citizen and the state to, in time, finally enable the ‘tell us once’ principle
- building the insight capability of how people interact with the government online to focus where we should prioritise our end-to-end service transformations and to inform policy creation and iteration
How we will achieve this
For GDS, as with any organisation, how we go about delivering this strategy is as important as what is in it. We commit to:
- continuing to champion the needs of end users above all else, as we believe that ensuring things work for end users is the only way to realise the efficiencies that come with digital transformation
- embedding the highest standards of trust, transparency and equity in everything we do and build
- working in close partnership with other parts of government and build through consensus and proven delivery
- being bold in our ambition: some of our work to join up government services will result in some difficult questions about ownership, accountability and data sharing; we will listen and react, but will push for the right thing, not the easy thing
- we will be humble rather than arrogant, and regularly get out to where services are delivered
- working in the open, which involves regular blogging, public speaking and discussions with people inside and outside government
- a continued commitment to open-sourcing our code where possible and encouraging reuse in the UK and globally
- ensuring that GDS is a safe, fun, and fulfilling place for our people to work, where we will have a zero-tolerance approach to bullying, discrimination, uncomfortable banter and anything in between
- working to make our teams more representative of the society we build for: we will be carefully monitoring our diversity in all characteristics, as well as working tirelessly to reduce any pay gaps we discover
- building out GDS hubs in Manchester (initial focus) and Bristol to attract more talent, and to be less London-centric in our approach
Where we won’t be focusing
Our strategy is meaningless without an overview of what will not be focused on. For GDS, we will not be explicitly focusing on:
- government digital and technology strategy and policy, DDaT capability or spend controls: these important missions have moved out of GDS and into the newly-formed CDDO (though we will continue working closely with our CDDO colleagues)
- running another big exemplar programme for individual transactional services: most departments and agencies are more than capable of doing these themselves with the right funding and support
- legacy technology and cyber risk: our mission focuses on the interaction between end users and government, rather than the technology underpinning government departments. This will be led by CDDO and the strong technology teams across government, with support from the Government Security Group.
- shared services and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions: this sits in another part of the Cabinet Office called Business Services
- end-user technology (laptops, productivity tools and similar) for civil servants, which will be led by departments with coordination coming from CDDO
This strategy is a moment in time, and we fully expect it to change and adapt based on what we discover. Some of this work covers uncharted territory, and we may find there is limited value in what we’re building. If so, we will stop and focus on something else.
As we progress over the coming months and years, we will work in the open and blog regularly about what we are doing, so we’d love to hear your feedback.
Sharing and comments
Share this page, 40 comments.
Comment by Alan Rolfe posted on 15 July 2021
I hope that the GDS team considers the position for agents such as accountants before phasing out PDF forms.
The advantage of PDF's is that an agent can prepare it and get their client to approve it, before submission to gov.uk. This helps the quality of submission, while still remaining digital.
An online form that cannot be taken away for separate approval is not convenient where there is a third party (accountant, solicitor, attorney, etc.) involved in the data flow.
Comment by The GDS Team posted on 22 July 2021
You're right to point out that this isn't always accounted for when designing online forms. At the moment, we're not aiming to phase out PDF forms. Instead, we're aiming to make sure every form is accessible, easy to use and quick to process. We currently think that means they'll all be online forms, but with an option to use PDF or other document-based forms if people prefer them.
Thanks, The GDS Team
Comment by Greg Turner posted on 09 June 2021
Hi love the strategy and GDS aims as a whole. Civil Servants are users too and sometimes I feel this is lost in practice. I have experience in my field where an applic is so un-user friendly it goes against all that Digital Government should stand for. The User, The User, The User needs should always be the mantra and I know this does apply to GDS. Digital transformation and working within Govt Depts is giving staff more freedom to do their jobs to the best of their ability but accessibility and the user needs has to be in the fore front of any Govt applic. As I said Civil Servants are users too and more help is required to those going through digital change and reform, we all learn at our own pace. I am lucky in that I am pretty tech savvy but I know a lot of colleagues who struggle.
Comment by Matt posted on 08 June 2021
Would you be able to expand on your aim to 'build a new “Collect information from users” (formerly known as “Submit”) service to automatically digitise existing forms' please?
What level of automation are you envisaging? I assume you're not aiming to automatically transform existing PDF forms into Service Standard-compliant digital services as that would be nigh-on impossible.
A WYSIWYG form/journey builder sounds fantastic, and would be very powerful, but I'm a little wary of the ambition to do things 'automatically' and 'make it almost effortless' to digitise existing forms. Many of the existing offline forms are confusing and poorly-designed, and simply lifting-and-shifting the existing form structure and content would be doing a disservice to users. Content designers, UX experts, accessibility experts and user researchers all play crucial roles in building good services and I hope they won't be marginalised in an effort to digitise everything as quickly as possible.
Comment by The GDS Team posted on 10 June 2021
We are not in a position to expand on this at this time. We will publish more as the team develops and trials their approaches.
Comment by Howard Gannaway posted on 08 June 2021
I have a great deal of respect and admiration for the achievements of GDS but I have to say I still find it difficult to search for some things. There is a great deal of emphasis on the user as customer of government services but less on the user as interested citizen. In particular, it is often very hard to find departmental consultations or white papers or other policy documents. I appreciate that some of them may come under the heading of 'Parliament' rather than 'Government' but I do feel they should be easier to find from gov.uk. Perhaps a 'recent publications' link?
Comment by The GDS Team posted on 02 July 2021
Thank you for your feedback - policy and consultation documents are the responsibility of departments, but we've passed this on.
The GDS Team
Comment by James Hutt posted on 07 June 2021
Thanks for sharing this and engaging so much through the comments.
I wonder why the (implicit?) decision has been taken to focus only on working with other departments and not explicitly other layers of government. Most citizens wouldn't draw the distinction between what is controlled by a Whitehall department, and what their local government are responsible for, and yet working explicitly with Local Authorities to make citizen services better does not form part of the strategy. Often LAs have the most disjointed and un-user friendly digital interfaces, as do aspects of the health service which are also not mentioned, but explicitly form part of a citizen's interaction with "the government".
How does this fit with the mission to hide the complexity of government structures from the user?
Similarly, for mission 5, regarding data. As has been made clear during the last year, a lot of data which is needed to make effective decisions about citizen services is devolved. Joining up data between departments will only achieve so much when must of what we need to know is held not by departments, but by different layers of government.
There is still a lot of work to do inside central government, and we hope by doing that we can help support local authorities as well.
Comment by Chris Ashworth posted on 29 May 2021
Hi GDS. The work streams and vision look really exciting. Pleased to see that simplication for the end users is core. Also pleased to see consideration for offline users appear. Now that some services have been zero rated (the NHS and the covid app) - it would be great to hear if you are open to zero-rating all of the gov digital estate so that the millions of the most dependent end users who don't have reliable data can fully access the services in the coming years?
Thank you for your feedback, this is something we can consider.
Comment by Confused posted on 28 May 2021
On Mission 5 you reference "identifying, enabling and standardising the data registers across government". There was already a registers service which was dropped by GDS in March 2021. This was a valuable source of reference data. Why not reinstate the service and improve it rather than dropping it, leaving a gap impacting data quality, and starting from scratch?
Comment by The GDS Team posted on 02 June 2021
You can read about the reasons why GOV.UK Registers is being retired on the Data in Government blog .
Comment by Confused posted on 03 June 2021
The blog you linked to was published in February and states "we are moving away from the existing platform to a model which sees each department publish service data individually. This data will be findable through data.gov.uk, and available for download in spreadsheet format....In the coming weeks and months, you will see more performance and reference data available via data.gov.uk." However, much of the previous reference data has not been updated on data.gov.uk by each department since then - so while this is a theoretical model, it is not working in practice. Individual department publishing without co-ordination/monitoring doesn't seem consistent with the strategy for "identifying, enabling and standardising the data registers across government". Data is degrading and this feels like a step backwards for joined up approaches.
Comment by Ben posted on 28 May 2021
This seems verbose for a blog post. Might it have been useful to have posted the entire strategic plan elsewhere and linked to it?
I feel like you could have written a blog post for each mission. You still could.
Comment by Kenneth P posted on 03 June 2021
Quite right Ben.
Blog posts are supposed to explain what government is working on or the thinking behind things.
Strategies should be published on GOV.UK as policy papers, as per GDS’s own guidance. Not least, so they’re findable on GOV.UK!
It’s disappointing that GDS are not following their own standards and guidance. It doesn’t tick the “humble not arrogant” box.
Comment by P Piper posted on 27 May 2021
I'm genuinely looking forward to see what develops in terms of the single sign-on / auth / digital identity.
GOV is building so many great online services, and yet still so many people who actively want to use them are denied access because they aren't able to verify their identity, which means they can't benefit from the service.
There are plenty of old jokes about fictitious systems where customers have to provide signatures from three great-grandparents to gain access. But the current reality is just as laughable in some cases. It doesn't take much to imagine someone who has a pay-as-you-go mobile phone, doesn't drive, and their passport has expired. Many people have lost their jobs due to the pandemic so they can't use "a payslip from within the last 3 months" as evidence of their identity. These people are being asked if they have a Northern Ireland driver's licence, or given obscure questions about a personal loan they took out several years ago. For some people, even when they do have all of the correct details to hand and enter it all carefully and correctly, they are still denied access with nothing but an obscure error message.
And that's _before_ we start talking about GOV.UK Verify...
The optimist in me really wants to believe that progress can be made in this area. But there's a big hill to climb! It's definitely going to need plenty of that cross-departmental working, and humility, that you mentioned.
I sincerely wish you all the best.
Comment by Puzzled posted on 25 May 2021
You talk about building out hubs to be less London-centric. Manchester and Bristol are both large, affluent cities with a lot in common with London's demographic. Why did you pick these locations? How does this fit with the government's levelling up agenda? What are your measures for 'less London-centric' apart from geographic locations?
Comment by The GDS Team posted on 27 May 2021
We have chosen locations which give us access to a pool of DDaT professionals and are close to other government DDaT locations. You can read more about the Cabinet Office Places for Growth Programme on the Civil Service Blog .
Comment by Emily posted on 29 June 2021
From my experience of moving from living and working in London to living and working in Manchester, I have noticed a difference in the cultural background of the workforce, and the experiences and perspectives they bring. Manchester itself might be largely affluent but the travel times can allow people to commute from poorer areas (like Blackpool, Wigan and rural Yorkshire) so opportunities are available to more people.
There is a wider problem with the digital services/industry attracting a more (socio-economically) diverse workforce that needs to be tackled by raising awareness of this as a career path in lower socio-economic areas, schools and communities. Creating jobs in Manchester (which is within the reach of loads of less affluent areas) is a great way to bring the industry and jobs closer to (and therefore onto the radar of) more of this potential workforce.
Comment by John Mortimer posted on 21 May 2021
Just a few points to note in the post that was published by GDS. It is really good to read what they are doing and how they are doing it. The different working culture that is within GDS is perhaps its more important aspect, that alows it to do what it does so well.
1. "It is also important to recognise that GDS is no longer in start-up mode." GDS has now matured into something more. It would be helpful then to absorb some of the aspects of maturity that any discipline needs; how to measure a service (rather than simply use KPIs), how to collaborate with other change disciplines (so you can deepen your competencies), and how to move from using Digital as the only tool in the toolbox.
2. "However, there are millions of people who have complicated, busy lives and need lots of help from government, " Please note, we have learned time and time again that complexity and people are not logical. They are very messy, and uncertain. We already know that Digital is not the method by which we can design these services, or transmit that type of contextual complex knowledge.
3. "continuing to champion the needs of end users above all else," Systemic person-centred design is deeper than championing needs, and I suggest that you look at that and its implications, rather than simply user needs.
A comment box is not nearly the right thing to have real feedback... but I tried!
Comment by The GDS Team posted on 21 May 2021
Thanks for your feedback, we really appreciate it and will consider these points.
Comment by david upjohn posted on 21 May 2021
I just wish our council was as forward looking and put this amount of effort into digital.
Comment by A Person posted on 21 May 2021
A lot of focus on everything that doesn't matter to citizens.
By 2015 you'd got 20 of 25 services online. Bravo. Now knuckle down and focus on the rest.
GDS doesn't own all services in government. As Tom mentioned, departments and agencies, who do, have digital teams of the highest quality in place and will be applying best practice in focusing on the rest.
Comment by D.Rogers posted on 21 May 2021
Will your roadmap included a replacement for the existing online licencing act product licensify, as this uses smart PDFs or is this out of scope?
We expect to look at the future of licensing services this year in the course of our replatforming work for all GOV.UK applications.
Comment by A Jamieson posted on 20 May 2021
A lot of great work already done, but so much more to do to make life easier for people.
Comment by Tom posted on 20 May 2021
It would be great to know where the missions came from, particularly interested in how many of us outside GDS in government are working on these things - partly because you are looking to change behaviours (we will be humble rather than arrogant, and regularly get out to where services are delivered).
You can read more about the rationale for a newly created Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) and a the focus for GDS in our previous blog post .
Comment by Thomas Fowler posted on 20 May 2021
GDS has been so helpful for the whole of the public sector, leading the way and sharing.
I'd be interested to hear more about 'develop or procure a set of lightweight back-office products for case management and other common needs to end-to-end digitise services'.
Case management is a significant challenge for local authorities, and I know GDS insight in this area will be welcomed.
Comment by The GDS Team posted on 26 May 2021
Good to hear there's interest in this. We're only just planning our discovery into this need at the moment but once we're up and running we'd happily talk to you about your challenges to inform this.
Comment by Kenneth P posted on 20 May 2021
Glad to see that you will “continue to invest and develop our content teams”.
A first investment might be asking them to proofread this blog post and correct the style guide errors so that it’s accessible. Quite ironic with it being posted on Global Accessibility Awareness Day.
Hi Kenneth,
Content on GOV.UK adheres to the GOV.UK Style Guide . You can send feedback to help make this better.
Comment by Kenneth P posted on 21 May 2021
You may want to start with putting the dates in the title in the correct format.
You may also want to only have one sentence per bullet point, as per your style guide.
You may also want to avoid negative contractions, as per your style guide.
You may wish to get a content designer to proofread blog posts before they’re published.
Come on GDS - set the standard.
Thanks for letting us know. Blogs don't adhere to the Style Guide with the same rigour, as they contain pieces of prose rather than guidance.
The GDS team
It’s Kenneth - not Ken.
So you’re saying it’s ok for your blog posts to not be accessible and harder for people to read because they’re prose?
Interesting view.
It’s sad to see how far GDS has fallen.
Comment by Kenneth P posted on 06 June 2021
Hello GDS team
I note that you did not post by last comment. I wonder if you could explain why?
And again, I ask you to explain why important things that you’re blogging (including important government strategies) do not follow the style guide which was designed around accessibility and usability.
Your own guidance says blog posts should follow the style guide: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/blogging#style-and-tone-of-voice
Do your users who use screen readers deserve to have a poorer experience because you cannot format dates correctly?
Please have the courtesy to post this comment and reply to it. “Be humble - not arrogant.”
Comment by Enrico posted on 20 May 2021
abot "long tail of PDF forms" PDF forms can be : re-scanned made "automatically" digital again
Comment by David posted on 24 May 2021
Yes, paper forms are generally scanned in government. But it is problematic. Interpreting the scanned image leads to huge accuracy problems simply interpreting it. Creating a system with a paper form can require physical infrastructure and systems, so is slow to setup and has huge inertia if you want to improve it.
Digital forms are usually significantly better for the citizen and for making government processes more efficient. You can guide people as they fill it in. Errors and inconsistencies can be challenged at the time of entry. You can understand where people generally drop-off in the process and improve it. You can improve the form in real time. You can test changes easily. You can pre-fill parts of the form for which you already know some of the answers.
Of course paper has its advantages for access and low digital literacy. Digital government addresses this in all transactional services, as part of the Government Service Standard.
Related content and links
Government digital service.
GDS is here to make digital government simpler, clearer and faster for everyone. Good digital services are better for users, and cheaper for the taxpayer.
Find out more .
Sign up and manage updates
Be part of the transformation.
If you’re interested in joining us, check out all open opportunities on the GDS careers site.
- GDS Podcasts
Recent Posts
- How we are improving GOV.UK Pay with user satisfaction feedback 29 January 2024
- How we migrated our PostgreSQL database with 11 seconds downtime 17 January 2024
- How we’re making it easier to access government forms online 12 January 2024
Comments and moderation
Social media house rules.
Read our guidelines
404 Not found
- Subscribe to our Newsletter
- Latest News
- Submit News
- Upcoming events
- Submit Events
- Subscribe to our newsletter
- 6th Annual TechAwards
- 2023 Annual Review Highlights
- Become a Member
- Mentor Programme
- Funding support
- Work Permission Assistance
- Support Application Portal
- Start-up Bootcamp
- Grindstone Start-up Accelerator
- Impact Jersey
- Springboard
- Members Directory
- Desk & Office Rental
- Digital Jersey Academy
- Why Choose Jersey?
- Start-ups and Entrepreneurs
- Jersey's Digital Ecosystem
- Connectivity & Network Infrastructure
- Business Funding, Support & Resources
- Sandbox Jersey
- IoT Sandbox
- Fintech Sandbox
- Digital Health Sandbox
- Job Vacancies
- Submit a Job
- Job Seekers
- Job Seekers Submission
- Digital Career Paths
- Digital Skills Courses
- Digital Skills Credits
- 6 Month Coding Course
- Meet the team
- Our Ambassadors
- Plans & Strategies
- Success Stories
Operational Plan 2024
- Skills Strategy 2023-2028
Annual Report 2022
- News & Events
- Business Support
- Relocate to Jersey
- Digital Careers
Operational Plan 2021
We’ve outlined our 2021 operational plan and targets which consist of twelve key objectives to support Jersey’s strategic framework.
2021 Objectives
Our operational plan for 2021 outlines twelve key goal-driven objectives and which consist of the following:
- Thriving Business Clusters
- Digital Transformation
- Access to Funding & Growth Tools
- Innovation Island
- International Connections
- World-Class Infrastructure & Institutions
- A Highly Skilled Workforce
- Attracting Top Tech Talent
- Active Community & Partnerships
- Government Prioritisation
- A Digital Government
- Future Proofed Legislation & Regulations
Read our 2021 Operational Plan in full below.
Related Work
Moneybrain’s Strategic Relocation to Jersey: The British Pound, A Robust Legal System, and Tailored Assistance
Henry Lawson: Finding your WHY
Language selection
- Français fr
Canada’s Digital Ambition 2022
On this page, introducing the government of canada’s digital ambition, document purpose and what’s new, message from the chief information officer of canada, context: a rapidly changing digital landscape, digital government, our strategy: transitioning to a more digital government to improve client service, appendix a: related policy instruments, guidance, plans and strategies, appendix b: government of canada service and digital target enterprise architecture.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians have increasingly worked, shopped, learned, and engaged with government online. Their expectation and need for easy to use, accessible digital options continue to grow, and many public- and private-sector organizations are transforming to use digital technologies to deliver better programs and services.
Now more than ever, we have work to do to make it easier for Canadians to interact with the Government of Canada, and we are committed to better serving Canadians in a digital age. This will require modern, integrated systems and an unwavering focus on the needs and experience of citizens. We have made progress, but we must continue to improve.
During the pandemic, the government quickly deployed new and innovative programs to support Canadians, but we have also seen examples where we can do more to deliver secure, reliable, and easy to use digital services.
Building on the vision outlined in Canada’s Digital Government Strategy , I am pleased to introduce the Government of Canada’s Digital Ambition (GC's Digital Ambition) which has been developed with this service imperative in mind. Under the leadership of the Chief Information Officer of Canada, guided by the government priorities outlined in my mandate letter, the GC's Digital Ambition provides a clear, long-term strategic vision for the Government of Canada to advance digital service delivery, cyber security, talent recruitment, and privacy.
The GC's Digital Ambition will provide a solid foundation for the ever-evolving digital transformation of government. It will serve as an important tool to support the focus shared across ministers and departments to identify and implement better ways to ensure Canadians receive high quality, accessible, and efficient government services.
I am committed to driving forward this bold agenda on behalf of all Canadians and with the support of my cabinet colleagues, leaders across the federal government, the provinces and territories, and most importantly, the current and future talent of the federal public service. This “Team Canada” approach will help us fully realize the possibilities of delivering government in a digital age.
The Honourable Mona Fortier, P.C., M.P. President of the Treasury Board
Digital Ambition statement
To enable delivery of government in the digital age for all Canadians. This will be done by providing modernized and accessible tools to support service delivery that expresses the best of Canada in the digital space.
Developed by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS), the Government of Canada’s (GC’s) Digital Ambition fulfills the responsibility of the Chief Information Officer of Canada, set out in the Treasury Board Policy on Service and Digital , for “approving an annual, forward looking three-year enterprise-wide plan that establishes the strategic direction for the integrated management of service, information, data, [information technology] and cyber security.” This document was created in consultation with the digital and service delivery community within the federal public service.
In line with the Government of Canada Digital Standards , TBS has designed this plan with Canadians in mind. It incorporates feedback received on previous strategic plans and complements other key policies, guidelines, plans and strategies that set out the requirements for departments’ planning processes (see Appendix A ).
The Digital Ambition consolidates previous priorities into strategic themes that support the government’s ongoing digital transformation. In addition to the evolved strategic themes, the priorities within each theme have been organized to align with the GC’s goals. The purpose of these changes is to align the government’s digital strategy to take an outcome-focused, action-oriented approach to addressing the challenges of digital modernization and the risks of our aging information technology (IT) systems to bring long-term benefits to all Canadians and users, including GC employees.
This Digital Ambition recognizes progress achieved, sets government‑wide priorities and lists key activities for departments and agencies, including those that serve other government organizations, by working to modernize service delivery, improve sustainability and promote digital stewardship. These priorities and activities will help departments move toward the digital delivery of programs and services for users.
Departments will develop their own integrated plans in alignment with the Digital Ambition and in support of their departmental mandates and requirements. TBS will continue to update the Digital Ambition annually to address emerging priorities and actions, and will prepare an annual progress report.
Delivering Government in a Digital Age is about putting the needs of the people we serve at the heart of the government policies, programs and services we deliver, through the use of modern technology and effective use of data. Advances in digital technology are transforming the way Canadians live, work and interact with one another, and they expect their government to provide services that meet their growing expectations when they need them and through the medium they choose to access them (digital or otherwise). The Digital Ambition is about meeting those expectations and delivering government services and benefits simply, securely and efficiently. We have much to do.
Many programs and services that Canadians rely on are supported by technology that is 20, 30, or even 50 years old. Maintaining these systems is costly and resource intensive, and their age creates risks of service disruptions that would have an immense and immediate impact on Canadians. In addition, citizens report challenges with government digital services, which are often seen as difficult to access and overly complicated.
Moving forward, we have but one option: we must continue to deliver the services that Canadians rely on today while accelerating our move to modern services that are secure, reliable, user-centric and barrier-free, and meeting the need for privacy and transparency. This is essential to maintaining trust in Canada’s institutions.
In a dynamic government operating environment, it is essential for us to be agile in prioritizing our efforts across the enterprise. It is through prioritization and dedication of necessary resources to achieve goals that we will fully realize the value of technology and enterprise solutions, empowering providers to improve their services to better meet the needs of those we serve.
We will need to build a bridge between people and technology, all as part of the goal of improving service. By putting key services and benefits within reach of every Canadian, with top talent, new capabilities and increased collaboration under unified leadership, we aim to increase accessibility, equity, transparency and trust of Canadians in their government.
The Digital Ambition presents an outcome-focused, action-oriented, enterprise-wide approach to continuing to address the challenges of digital modernization and the risks of our aging IT systems to provide long-term benefits to all the people and businesses we serve, including GC employees. The ability of the Government to deliver both large technical modernizations and iterative improvements is critical to improve what Canadians experience in the digital age. To respond to the challenges ahead, we will require collaboration – working with our federal partners and organizations to identify common solutions to ensure the best use of technical expertise and public funds.
The GC’s Digital Ambition is built with four themes:
- excellence in technology and operations with a de-risked technical landscape and modern, agile, human-centred practices
- simpler, trusted digitally driven services and programs underpinned by GC-wide data integration and management
- governing frameworks and policies designed for a modern, secure and privacy-centric digital government
- optimized, upskilled and empowered digital talent across the GC, with the knowledge that digital talent across Canada is at a premium
Achieving these priorities will result in a government that is enabled to be more open and more collaborative and that provides improved “digital-first,” user-centred and barrier-free services and programs. With an eye to both the benefits of this undertaking and the challenges that lie ahead, I look forward to continuing our engagement to realize the GC’s digital modernization and continued transformation.
Catherine Luelo Chief Information Officer of Canada
Opportunities and challenges
Our progress so far.
Today’s digital landscape is marked by change of unprecedented pace and scope. Rapid technological, digital and data transformation are now part of Canadians’ daily lives, revolutionizing the way they access information and services and how they live, socialize and work.
Canadians expect to be able to access any government service, at any time and on any device. Most citizens agree that personal information should be shared between GC departments to enable faster, simpler service. However, while they recognize the potential of technological, digital and data transformation, citizens are concerned about how the GC uses and manages their personal information and about what it does to ensure their privacy and security.
This expectation is being reflected in government priorities. In the 2021 Speech from the Throne, the government committed to ensuring that all Canadians, no matter where they live, have access to high-speed Internet. It also committed to making generational investments to update outdated IT systems to modernize the way government serves Canadians, from the elderly to the young, for people looking for work and those living with a disability.
Canada plays a leadership role in digital government internationally through forums such as the Digital Nations, the International Council for Information Technology in Government Administration, the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations.
In recent years, Canada has also been a leading voice in the global open government community. Since 2012, it has been a member of the Open Government Partnership . This multilateral initiative by 76 member nations and 76 sub-national government members aims to secure concrete commitments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption and harness new technologies to strengthen governance, in partnership with civil society and the private sector. Canada has released four Open Government Partnership action plans that outline how it will make government more open. A fifth action plan is being finalized for 2022–24.
Building trust
In today’s digital landscape, it is imperative that Canadians trust that their government is protecting their personal information and data. Putting in place appropriate and rigorous privacy measures will assure Canadians that their personal information is protected while continuing the move toward more digital approaches in the delivery of government services. Building privacy into new digital initiatives from the start and ensuring that the protection of personal information is considered throughout the project life cycle, is foundational to supporting the government’s digital transformation.
Protecting personal information means that we must ensure that it is properly safeguarded. Including privacy safeguards in contractual partnerships and data and information-sharing agreements is essential to enabling the government’s digital modernization. However, it is important to emphasize that protecting personal information encompasses more than safeguarding personal information. It also includes:
- ensuring that we are accountable
- limiting the collection, use and disclosure of information
- retaining information for only as long as needed
- maintaining the accuracy of information
- ensuring that we are transparent in our practices
The government is committed to balancing openness by default and protecting privacy. Protecting Canadians’ personal information and upholding their right to access to their information and correct it are essential in building and preserving Canadians’ trust in federal public institutions.
Building public trust includes recognizing the value of data as a strategic asset, which includes identifying when data constitutes personal information and protecting it accordingly. Knowledge of privacy practices is essential to the digitally enabled public service. There is an opportunity to integrate training with practices for maintaining privacy and protecting personal information and data to develop the skills and tools needed for a digitally enabled public service.
New and emerging technologies and digital solutions offer significant opportunities to help us make this digital transformation. We have made investments and progress in areas such as big data, sophisticated analytical tools, accessibility and cloud computing. We need to do more to ensure that we make the right investment decisions and continue to remove institutional barriers to transformation.
Our government operates in departments as set out in legislation, and vertical operations lead to independent systems in many cases. The complex flow of data and information make it difficult for users to find, navigate and use government services; this can get in the way of a positive user experience. Furthermore, many IT systems and infrastructure components are outdated, complex and costly to maintain. They are difficult to change quickly and carry additional risks. In addition, limitations in core capabilities related to delivering on these large complex programs remain barriers to digital change.
Canadians also report mixed levels of satisfaction with the GC’s digital services: 68% cited one or more problems with digital government services, including:
- the inability to remember sign-in information
- long completion times for tasks
- the inability to find information or services
Additionally, Canada has the lowest usage frequency for digital government services among a recent survey of 36 countries: only 30% of citizens used government digital services once per week, compared to an average of 47%. Footnote 1 Making the sign-in experience of users easier and improving the overall end-to-end experience of accessing government services are key to ensuring that the GC’s digital transformation keeps users’ needs at the forefront.
The online service experience is the face of the GC in the digital era as Canadians continue to access more services through their devices than they do in person. When accessing GC services in 2020:
- 44% of citizens indicated that their main method of contact was by using websites
- 28% used the telephone as their main channel
- 14% visited offices, service counters or kiosks
There was a notable increase in the use of websites since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a 16-percentage-point increase, compared to 2018 (28%). It is important that users trust GC services to maintain and securely manage sensitive data and personal information.
We continue to dismantle barriers to accessing government information and services, and we are building a diverse and inclusive workplace that helps us better understand the needs of Canadians and deliver quality, user-centric services. Nevertheless, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2 people, Black people and other racialized minority individuals and women continue to face systemic barriers.
The GC’s Digital Ambition will complement ongoing work in this area, which includes the implementation of the Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service of Canada and Building a Foundation for Change: Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2019–2022 . Through these and other systematic processes of modernizing digital services, the GC will work with employment equity groups to better understand their needs and expectations, and design a more inclusive and accessible digital service for all.
Our previous strategies have laid out an ambitious agenda. Since 2018, we have made progress toward our goals. Recent accomplishments focused on putting in place the frameworks for horizontal decision-making, such as new Treasury Board policy instruments, stronger governance structures and other strategic plans and initiatives to achieve our goals.
Government of Canada Digital Standards: our DNA
- Design with users
- Iterate and improve frequently
- Work in the open by default
- Use open standards and solutions
- Address security and privacy risks
- Build in accessibility from the start
- Empower staff to deliver better services
- Be good data stewards
- Design ethical services
- Collaborate widely
- The Government of Canada Digital Standards , co‑created with the public and with key stakeholder groups, outline the guiding principles for how all public servants must work in the digital age. The standards place users and their needs at the heart of our services, programs and operations, and require that we leverage digital technologies and methods to deliver the high‑quality services Canadians expect. To improve departments’ adoption of these standards, TBS will develop the Digital Standards into policy.
- The Policy on Service and Digital and the Directive on Service and Digital , developed with stakeholders from across Canada, came into effect on April 1, 2020. Along with their supporting instruments, they articulate how GC organizations are to manage service delivery, information and data, IT and cyber security in the digital era. The policy focuses on the client and, for the first time, requires departments to name a senior official responsible for service management and cyber security. TBS is working to adjust the existing policy suite to accelerate digital transformation and to address emerging needs and priorities. It is also developing new directives and standards.
- Deputy minister committees were struck to make policies more coherent government-wide and to promote a whole-of-government approach to management, human resources and policy planning. These committees include committees on enterprise priorities and planning; core services; and governance in a digital age, which focuses on issues such as privacy and data use and strategic procurement for complex programs.
- The Government of Canada Enterprise Architecture Review Board (GC EARB) has continued with its mandate, set out in the Policy on Service and Digital , to “define current and target architecture standards for the Government of Canada and review departmental proposals for alignment.” The Government of Canada Service and Digital Target Enterprise Architecture, endorsed on October 22, 2020, will help us better coordinate our transformation efforts and focus on users and service delivery when considering new IT solutions and when modernizing older ones. It will also help us align our IT investments with business services. The document is now the primary architecture reference for all departments (as applicable) for the digital enablement of GC services. See Appendix B for a visual representation of the Government of Canada Service and Digital Target Enterprise Architecture.
- The Report to the Clerk of the Privy Council: A Data Strategy Roadmap for the Federal Public Service , published in November 2018, sets strategic priorities for a unified and collaborative approach to managing government‑wide data as an asset while respecting privacy. This data strategy will be undergoing a refresh as part of the launch of the GC’s Digital Ambition.
- Canada’s 2018-2020 National Action Plan on Open Government was released in December 2018. This is the fourth iteration of this plan and details the GC’s commitment to making government information, data and services open and inclusive for all Canadians. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation period for the 2018–20 plan and the consultation for the fifth National Action Plan was extended by a year. The GC has co‑created the fifth iteration with civil society and will publish it in 2022.
- The GC‑wide greening IT working group was launched in July 2020. Chaired by TBS, this working group of departmental chief information officers has produced a series of initial recommendations for ways that departments and central agencies can scale greening IT policies, actions and strategies. The GC will develop targets, standards and procurement criteria for government IT that supports the updated Greening Government Strategy.
- Canada signed the Digital Nations Charter in February 2018, joining leading nations in a mission to harness digital technology to benefit citizens. The 2020 charter commits Canada to working toward core principles of digital development, with a focus on user needs, open government and a commitment to share and learn from member nations.
- In 2021, key investments were made toward modernizing legacy IT systems and strengthening the overall health of the government’s application portfolio. Budget 2021 provided $215 million for Shared Services Canada to continue to help government departments and agencies assess digital applications and data, and then decommission or move them to modern computing facilities. Budget 2021 also provided a total of $648 million to Employment and Social Development Canada and TBS over the next seven years to invest in Service Canada’s IT systems and related activities, and support service delivery to Canadians generally. Additionally, $300 million was provided to Shared Services Canada over the next three years, starting in 2021–22, to continue work to repair and replace critical IT infrastructure. This will start us on the journey of achieving our pillars, particularly related to excellence in technology and operations.
- A new Assistant Deputy Minister of Transformation has been established within the Office of the Chief Information Officer of Canada to oversee both OCIO and enterprise-wide digital transformation efforts and programs.
- Guideline on Making Information Technology Usable by All : This guideline supports the GC’s direction to ensure that departments, agencies and organizations consider accessibility in the acquisition or development of IT solutions and equipment to make IT usable by all.
Many of the priorities outlined in the previous strategic plans are ongoing projects that will be carried forward into future years. Work will continue in the key priority areas of data, service delivery, cyber security and talent management to operationalize these priorities.
A digital government puts people and their needs first. It is accountable to its citizens and shares information with them. It involves them when making policies and designing services. It values inclusion and accessibility. It designs services for the people who need them, not for the organizations that deliver them.
The GC is an open and service-oriented organization that operates and delivers programs and services to people and businesses in simple, modern and effective ways that are optimized for digital and available anytime, anywhere and from any device.
Digitally, the GC must operate as one to benefit the people of Canada.
Strategic theme 1: excellence in technology and operations
Strategic theme 2: data-enabled digital services and programs, strategic theme 3: action-ready digital policy and strategy, strategic theme 4: structural evolution in funding, talent and culture.
In this section, we outline the four strategic themes that were developed to enable the GC’s Digital Ambition. These themes are the enduring objectives that we will pursue to make digital government a reality and help us provide a fully digital service experience for Canadians:
- Excellence in technology and operations: maximize effectiveness and value assurance of technology investments across government
- Data-enabled digital services and programs: drive cross-government improvement in client and employee services, data and cross-agency integration
- Action-ready digital strategy and policy: set strategy, policy and guidance that enables safe, secure, reliable and privacy enabled operations
- Structural evolution in funding, talent and culture: advocate for changes to policy and governance that prioritize and unlock the full value of digital investment
Our strategy in action: priorities for the next three years (2022–25)
This section identifies priorities and actions for each of the four strategic themes for the next three years. These actions should be reflected in annual Departmental Plans so that all departments move together as one.
TBS will send annual performance management targets, expected results and measures, for each action identified in the sections below, to chief information officers, chief data officers and senior officials responsible for service management and cyber security. TBS will use these targets to measure the government’s progress on this plan year over year.
The central theme of our strategy remains improving the accessibility and quality of services to Canadians while ensuring security and privacy. As clients increasingly deal with the government through digital channels, it becomes crucial that we keep pace with the expectations of users and rapidly evolving technology. The cornerstone of excellence of service delivery is the trust that Canadians place in our institutions.
Priority 1.1: strengthen the overall health of the government’s application portfolio
Priority 1.2: strengthen government of canada transformation delivery, priority 1.3: improve the service experience of all clients, priority 1.4: deploy modern and accessible workplace tools and devices, priority 1.5: provide modern, reliable and secure networks and infrastructure, priority 1.6: plan and govern for the sustainable and integrated management of service, information, data, it, privacy and cyber security.
The GC has a long-term goal of modernizing how we replace, build and manage major IT systems. Delivering the programs and services that Canadians rely on every day depends on fully functional, secure, reliable and privacy-enabled IT and on accurate and authoritative data.
The health of GC applications varies and they sit on aging infrastructure. A single system failure can impede our ability to deliver benefits and services in times of need, which can erode public trust. Maximizing the effectiveness of technology and assuring Canadians of the value of investments by re-architecting the technology landscape and digitalizing manual processes will be critical to:
- modernizing the overall health of the government’s application portfolio
- improving the service experience of all clients
To this end, the Office of the Chief Information Officer will perform a structural assessment to understand the inventory of technology assets and solutions across GC services and organizations, identifying divergences from architectural best practices and potentially at-risk solutions.
To deliver better digital services, we need modern IT infrastructure and systems. We have made progress in rationalizing applications, but GC departments and agencies still support more than 7,000 business applications (down from 8,900 in 2018), including some that enable the delivery of critical services.
To support enterprise operations, Shared Services Canada (SSC) is working to build and strengthen the federal government’s foundational IT infrastructure. SSC is closing legacy data centres, reducing its environmental footprint and deploying modern infrastructure. The deployment of the Digital Communications and Collaboration (DCC) platform across the GC has been key to enabling the continuous delivery of GC programs and services since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our Cloud Adoption Strategy means that departments must use the public cloud to store, manage and process data and applications, when it makes sense to do so. This approach helps departments deliver high-quality digital services using cloud services that have been approved for use in the GC. As the cloud broker, SSC liaises between qualified external cloud service providers and departments to make sure that departments have access to the best possible cloud solutions for secure service delivery. Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) ensures that small and medium-sized enterprises have a role in providing cloud services to the GC.
Cyber security threats continue to increase, and so must our risk response. The integrity and security of the GC’s data and IT infrastructure is essential to providing services to Canadians. With the increasing sophistication and frequency of cyberattacks, we must remain vigilant and continue to strengthen the GC’s defences. To protect GC devices, systems and information throughout their life cycle, we will use an information-centric security model that is supported by a trusted digital identity. We will, for example, leverage cyber-defence services, such as those offered by the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security.
A deputy minister committee has been established to advance these modernization priorities, particularly in relation to systems that have the highest impact on Canadians and businesses. The committee will consult internal and external technical advisors to provide guidance and recommendations to inform the committee’s work.
Our IT systems transformation goals include:
- preventing service failures from negatively impacting the lives of Canadians in the short term by stabilizing systems most at risk of failing
- avoiding new legacy problems by designing IT systems to be adaptable, resilient, iterative and secure
- enabling consistent, timely and reliable services to Canadians by building modern IT systems and by updating them frequently
- providing modern, secure cloud-based tools for enhanced productivity, collaboration and email, and equipping the GC workforce with modern workplaces and secure devices
We will use the Government of Canada Digital Standards in redesigning, funding and implementing major legacy modernization.
Thousands of software applications are used to run the systems that deliver GC programs and services, such as Employment Insurance, passports and Old Age Security, to millions of Canadians every day. The good health of these applications is essential for reliable and secure service.
Several issues can weaken this health and lead to “technical debt.” Technical debt occurs when a vendor hasn’t upgraded an application and no longer supports it, or when an application is so old that it’s difficult to find people who have the skills to maintain it. In some cases, technical debt makes applications costly to maintain and become at risk of performance and security failures. In other cases, it means that applications are too outdated to deliver fully digital services. Government service delivery is at risk, as over half of GC applications are not healthy, many of which are mission-critical.
To avoid future technical debt, departments should continue to rationalize and modernize their application portfolios by:
- prioritizing cloud services or moving to SSC’s enterprise data centres when it makes sense to do so
- building a roadmap laying out target dates for data centre closure
- leveraging common enterprise solutions and cloud-based solutions such as software-as-a-service (SaaS)
- monitoring and investing to keep the portfolio in good health
- using secure application development practices to help mitigate the risks of vulnerabilities in application software and to provide assurance that digital services are operating as intended
- minimizing cyber risks by implementing the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security’s top 10 security actions
- developing standards, tools and guidance for a user-centred approach to accessibility and disability that makes it part of the application development process
In addition to taking these measures, TBS, SSC and PSPC are collaborating to ensure that all parts of the GC enterprise progress together. The GC designs its services to be convenient for those who need them. However, in order to ensure that the user experience is seamless and accessible, attention must be given to the platforms and processes that support these services, including cloud technology and data centres. This work includes:
- enhancing the GC Application Portfolio Management framework and tools to provide better data-driven insights for departments to use in managing the health of their application portfolio and for senior leaders to use in making decisions for the prioritization of enterprise investments
- providing funding to departments to modernize applications and migrate to modern hosting environments
- finding more opportunities for common solutions to improve business capabilities across the GC enterprise, in areas such as human resources and pay, financial management and case management
- developing tools and guidance for a developer-centred approach to security and privacy that makes such an approach part of the application development process
- working together so that departments can obtain and use cloud services through a light-touch brokering model, delivery of required network services and a review of the funding model
Actions to achieve the priority
To tackle technical debt and improve the health of its application portfolio, the GC is:
- assessing the health of departmental application portfolios and devising and executing a strategy to modernize applications using cloud-smart and common solutions, emphasizing an agile, iterative and incremental approach
- releasing a roadmap for target architecture vision and technical debt reduction across the enterprise
- investing to sustain and improve application portfolio health and manage technical debt
- phasing out legacy systems that have high down-time risk
- driving cloud adoption via re-architecting or modernizing prior to SSC cloud transition, initiating migration of critical applications to cloud platforms
- updating technology to eliminate failure risk of mission critical apps
- using current development practices to help in the hiring and retention of top talent; action on development, security and operations (DevSecOps) is required to help drive technical excellence
- increasing incentives for departments to modernize their applications prior to cloud migration
- developing frameworks and tools for departments to plan, and be accountable for, the life-cycle management of their systems and assets
As the government continues its digital transformation journey, there remain key challenges that require horizontal solutions and prioritization. To this end, it has become a priority to deploy senior transformation leaders, provide key digital resources and leverage agile ways of working to deliver cross-enterprise programs with a focus on outcomes. Building the necessary institutional strength across the GC is key to ensuring that all departments can keep pace with digital transformation. A digital-centric culture is critical to delivering these results; we must identify changes to organizational structures, governance and ways of working to foster a stronger digital and collaborative culture. The goal is to enable the GC to create its own digital strategies and initiatives from within, while identifying cultural factors that slow the pace of digital transformation.
- Leading the development of an enterprise technological transformation program
- Coordinating and governing activities across internal and external delivery partners
- Supporting allocation and prioritization of resources and key skills for programs
A successful digital government is committed to continuously improving service delivery. It invests in obtaining quality data, gathering client insights, understanding user experiences, and measuring and improving service satisfaction. By making these investments, the government can build public trust.
For government, client focus means developing and delivering client-centric service by design, as required by the Policy on Service and Digital . It means making sure that services:
- are accessible, inclusive, easy to use and secure
- are digitally enabled
- protect clients’ privacy
- offer clients their choice of official language
Service delivery is improved through commitment to the guiding principles and best practices of the Government of Canada Digital Standards. To provide easy-to-access, modern and effective service, we need to increase the accessibility, availability, reliability and security of online end-to-end services. Doing so will increase user satisfaction and build trust in government. We need to move from traditional service delivery models to end-to-end digital services that clients can access anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. At the same time, we must meet the needs of vulnerable populations that require specific forms of support.
There are several opportunities for improvement, such as redesigning a service for client-centricity, digital enablement, online availability and uptake, efficiency, partnership arrangements, and alternate approaches to service delivery. To identify these improvements, services need to be regularly reviewed with clients, partners and stakeholders.
Given the new digital reality and the pace of change, we need to make sure public servants have the knowledge, skills and mindset to deliver a digital-first experience to Canadians. We also need to give them the space to use those skills and ensure that they can respond to emerging priorities and needs such as those created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The GC is working to improve the service experience for all clients by:
- assessing gaps in the digital service experience and identifying tools such as user testing and client feedback, and continuing to increase the availability and security of end-to-end online services
- assessing gaps in the digital service experience and advancing the systematic review of services in line with the Government of Canada Digital Standards to identify opportunities for improvement
- using client feedback tools in designing and continuously improving services loops necessary to continuously improve services, including by putting developers directly in touch with end users in the feedback loop
- developing central platforms and toolkits that enable departments to automate manual processes and increase administrative efficiency
The COVID‑19 pandemic has increased the need for more modern work tools. Within days of the pandemic being declared in March 2020, most federal public servants began working from home. Within a few months, a good portion of them were using new collaboration tools that had integrated video and voice features. Departments continue to roll out new tools for employees.
Day-to-day operations have undergone a seismic shift. We must continue to push to get public servants the tools and devices they need to be productive and collaborate in this new reality. For some, this means tools and devices that let them shift permanently or partially to working from home. For others, it means better tools, devices and access so that they can work from a mobile or virtual office out in the field. And for others still, it means specialized tools, access and platforms for research and data analytics.
Our efforts will complement the Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service of Canada and its commitment to provide public servants with a new suite of accessible digital communication and collaboration tools.
We will implement security safeguards based on the sensitivity and value of information and will make sure they have minimal impact on users.
The GC is working to deploy modern, accessible tools and devices for all employees by:
- providing a suite of accessible, modern and secure cloud-based tools for enhanced productivity, collaboration, web conferencing and email
- equipping the GC workforce with modern workspaces and secure workplace devices
- establishing enterprise standards for back-office tools and solutions
Secure networks and infrastructure are the foundations of digital government and of all government services.
Currently, the GC has more than 50 logical networks across the country, consisting of a mix of old and new network infrastructure. Much of the older infrastructure cannot handle cloud, video and voice. Furthermore, the majority of the networks are based on old concepts, some of which are overly complex and labour-intensive to support or modify, costly to maintain, and are lacking in their capacity to scale and to deliver the services Canadians need.
As the GC adopts alternative service delivery models such as public cloud and hybrid cloud, it must continue to provide a secure, reliable and privacy enabled interoperable service delivery environment for internal services and business applications that are hosted in cloud-based environments. The GC must create a secure and resilient enterprise digital security ecosystem.
We must build in privacy and security from the outset and use an information-centric approach so that we can deliver services where only trusted and verified users can access protected assets. By applying a defence-in-depth and layered security approach, the GC will keep pace with evolving technology and practices and properly protect its information and assets. In order to ensure that a service or solution is appropriately secure, it is expected that departments apply graduated safeguards that are commensurate with the risks to their information and IT assets, with more rigorous safeguards as asset values, service delivery requirements and threats to confidentiality, availability or integrity increase.
SSC is in the process of consolidating and modernizing the GC network infrastructure. This includes the recent establishment of expanded external network connectivity, with a focus on access to cloud environments and software as a service. These efforts will continue with the intent of providing ubiquitous connectivity that will be available anytime, on any government device. To support continuous improvement and the move to a digital platform model that has common solutions and components, SSC will address accessibility requirements from the start.
As we work to make government networks and infrastructure more secure, we will continue to consider the needs of the GC’s high-security organizations.
The GC is working to provide reliable networks and infrastructure by:
- transitioning to a single, modern, end-to-end enterprise class network infrastructure that users can access anytime, anywhere
- increasing network security, including classified cloud networks
We are making progress on integrating our planning and management of service, information, data, IT and cyber security, as well as input and direction from program officials. Integrated planning that uses the right data, processes and technology will help provide data-driven insights across the GC portfolio of investments, assets and services.
We will make data and information more visible across the GC enterprise to:
- better align priorities
- make proactive and timely investment decisions
- implement effective policies
This increased visibility will help:
- unify projects, products and capabilities
- simplify activities
- improve processes
- streamline the technologies in use
- let public servants do their jobs better, faster and more easily
- better serve clients
We will respond to changes in business needs and better leverage new technologies by enabling agile product management approaches to meet peoples’ evolving expectations. We have made good progress by developing and implementing policies; we accelerated our digital transformation in response to the COVID‑19 pandemic; and we have learned from our response to the pandemic. We need to do more to address institutional barriers, including barriers to modern funding, procurement and governance models.
To address key challenges in the current GC enterprise ecosystem, including reducing silos, eliminating unnecessary redundancies and addressing the problems posed by legacy systems, we have defined a target-state model for the digital enablement of GC services. The Government of Canada Service and Digital Target Enterprise Architecture, will help us:
- better coordinate our transformation efforts
- focus on users and service delivery when considering new IT solutions or modernizing old ones
- make sure IT investments align with users’ needs and underlying business services
To reduce unnecessary redundancy, solutions will employ reusable components for implementing business capabilities. This approach will be enabled using published application programming interfaces and will be shared across the GC.
When implementing the Government of Canada Service and Digital Target Enterprise Architecture, we will systematically consider IT investments from a whole-of-government perspective. We will assess new digital investments against the criteria set out in the revised GC Enterprise Architecture Framework. See Appendix B for a visual representation of the Government of Canada Service and Digital Target Enterprise Architecture.
To inform decision-making across the enterprise and to protect assets, we will continue to monitor the digital environment and the cyberthreat and risk landscape. We will respond to cyber security events quickly, consistently and in a coordinated manner by continuously improving the Government of Canada Cyber Security Event Management Plan (GC CSEMP) 2019 , our operational framework for managing cyber security events. This improvement will, in turn, ensure the sustained delivery of programs and services.
The GC is planning and governing for the sustainable and integrated management of digital services by:
- implementing a target enterprise architecture GC-wide for the digital enablement of services
- providing decision-makers with horizontal visibility for the integrated management of service, information, data, IT, privacy and cyber security
- ensuring safe, secure and reliable assets to protect data from malicious entities
- supporting departments in a timely manner through execution in adhering to cyber policies
- providing strategic direction on architectural topics to guide an enterprise approach (for example, prioritizing a “modernize-first” approach to cloud transition)
- developing enterprise patterns with flexibility for department-specific needs
- providing architecture resources to support departmental solution design
- updating privacy risk assessment policies and tools and further integrating them in overall risk frameworks
Priority 2.1: maximize public value of data and information
Priority 2.2: build and use secure common solutions for digital service delivery, priority 2.3: manage and use data and information as strategic assets.
The GC’s multitude of programs and services collect, generate and hold an ever‑expanding array of data and information. Data is a strategic asset and is the “currency” of digital government. However, our current legislation, governance and standards do not support consistent and effective sharing and reuse of data. Departments don’t always know the full breadth and depth of their holdings (or those of other departments), and the data needed to support service delivery, decision-making or operations isn’t always available.
The increasingly complex flow of data and information, siloed operations and a complex legislative landscape for data sharing make it difficult for departments to share and develop services and products that work across government, which can result in a negative user experience. Individuals and businesses need and expect modern, secure and reliable technology and data. To meet those needs and expectations, the GC needs a workforce that has the right digital skills and tools, forward-thinking leaders and enabling governance models.
To leverage the data and information the GC holds so that it can benefit Canadians, we need to improve client and employee services and federal programs by championing cross-government initiatives, including digital ID and data integration. Such improvements include:
- streamlining the secure sharing of data across departments to improve digital services and enable the achievement of priorities
- supporting the release of high-value open datasets for public and external use
To provide horizontal leadership on these data-related initiatives, a Chief Data Officer of Canada has been established within the Office of the Chief Information Officer of Canada. This new leadership is responsible for pushing forward the government’s data integration and management strategy with privacy and security as key foundations.
Unlocking the potential of data will help us improve services, protect users’ privacy, support evidence-based decisions and create internal efficiencies. We will ensure the appropriate access, use and sharing of data assets by implementing robust data and information governance and stewardship that focus on security, integrity and protecting personal information.
Individuals and businesses have indicated that they want faster, easier access to GC services online. Long lineups at service centres, lengthy call wait times and websites that are difficult to navigate diminish Canadians’ trust in their government.
Duplication of effort across departments results in inconsistent and inefficient service, and reliance on more costly service delivery channels. People expect government services to be as fast, reliable and easy-to-use as services provided by the private sector. They also expect the government to keep their personal information safe and secure.
To provide world-class digital government services, we must:
- strive to continuously improve service delivery based on client and user feedback
- take an enterprise view to using data and information to fuel a seamless, “tell-us-once” experience
- ensure privacy and protect personal information
Other governments have proven that standardized approaches to data and common solutions are the keys to building an ecosystem where clients have convenient, reliable, timely and secure access to the services they need, without having to navigate traditional vertical accountability structures. We in the GC must work together to do the same.
To leverage the data and information the GC holds so that it can benefit of Canadians, we need to:
- define roles and responsibilities for data stewardship
- implement standards for accessibility and interoperability, while protecting privacy and personal information
- build solutions to facilitate the secure exchange of data across levels of government and with trusted external partners while upholding ethical and inclusive democratic principles
- advocate for a legislative framework that supports the responsible and ethical sharing and use of data, in a way that protects these valuable assets
- develop a data-sharing framework with a first focus on enabling a prioritized sequence of use cases (both user-facing services and internal program design)
- prioritize the release of high-quality and demanded open data and information to allow the public to generate their own economic and social value
We also need to continue to promote the open government values of transparency, accountability and participation. The upcoming 2022–2024 National Action Plan on Open Government has a commitment in the area of open data for results to increase availability, accessibility, usability and government support for reuse. Additionally, to help the GC and departments identify what areas they need to address and to help them set targets, TBS will develop an open government strategy, a maturity framework and an assessment tool. These instruments are being drafted in response to an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) scan of Canada’s Open Government program.
The Access to Information and Privacy Online Request Service portal, launched in 2018, brings transparency and client service together to help requesters:
- identify which institutions are likely to hold the information they seek
- search for summaries of previously released access to information requests
The portal processed over 8,000 requests in 2019–20. Efforts are underway to bring more institutions onto the portal. We need to continue improving the service experience by adopting a standard end-to-end process that will help us better meet our legislative commitments for timely response.
The GC is working to maximize the public value of data and information by:
- prescribing and implementing enterprise standards for data and information accessibility, exchange and reuse, while protecting privacy and personal information
- enabling the secure, seamless and real-time exchange of data across government departments and with external partners and trusted institutions, to improve the service experience of Canadians
- increasing the maturity of open government practices through an evidence-based open government strategy, maturity models and assessment tools
- building an open data ecosystem by establishing an open data advisory group, made up of internal and external stakeholders, to inform open data priorities
- consulting on and developing service delivery standards for prioritizing and releasing high-value, publicly demanded open data and information
- identifying ways to improve response times for access to information and personal information requests
- releasing an updated data strategy roadmap for the government, establishing clear guidelines on data quality, sharing, accessibility and ethics
Over the past 50 years, most IT systems that help deliver government operations and services have been designed and built independently of one another. This lack of coordination has resulted in a complex technology landscape, that:
- makes it difficult to integrate systems to provide a seamless client experience
- leads to high support and maintenance costs
- creates risks of data loss and other security failures
- lacks the flexibility and agility needed to deliver new services and benefits quickly
For clients, the lack of coordination means they have to:
- provide the same information every time they access a new service or benefit
- wait longer to confirm their identity when they sign up for a new service
- provide different information as proof for eligibility for different services
- experience disjointed and inconsistent service delivery quality within and across government organizations
Our next step in enabling digital government is adopting a “government as a platform” service delivery model. This model relies on common components for common service interaction points people in Canada have when dealing with government, whether to find information, apply for a service, or receive a status update, as well as data exchanges within government to give clients a “tell‑us‑once” experience.
We need to work together to make outward-facing digital platforms and components consistent across the GC and to design them for the end user. Examples to date include:
- GC Notify , which helps departments update clients quickly, consistently, reliably and securely by email or by text message. The Canadian Digital Service developed the tool by building on the open-source code of the United Kingdom government’s GOV.UK Notify product.
- GC Forms , also developed by the Canadian Digital Service, helps departments easily publish simple, accessible, mobile-friendly and secure online forms reducing the reliance on PDFs that are not accessible and tend to flow from paper-based processes.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for government services to be accessible and flexible in the digital age. The next step in making services more convenient to access is a federal Digital Identity Program, integrated with pre-existing provincial platforms. Digital identity is the electronic equivalent of a recognized proof-of-identity document (for example, a driver’s licence or passport) and confirms that “you are who you say you are” in a digital context. The President of the Treasury Board’s mandate letter, issued in December 2021, committed the government to work “towards a common and secure approach for a trusted digital identity platform to support seamless service delivery to Canadians across the country.”
The GC is working to build and use common platforms for digital service delivery by:
- continuing to scale GC Notify, which has been used for over 200 services to send over 37 million messages to people in Canada since launching in November 2019
- continuing to test and scale GC Forms, which is now in use by approximately 30 services that have accepted over 1,200 form submissions since launching in July 2021
- launching public consultations on a federally managed digital identity framework
- developing a common and secure framework to digital identity
- establishing a Digital Identity Program, enabling the use of select digital identities for transactions with the GC
- embracing emerging and leading practices, including reusing data and using common components, where appropriate, to enable interoperability across services
- establishing classified cloud services for the GC’s high-security organizations
- building and testing additional platform components to address more of the interaction points people have with government in order to enable departments to stand up entire services more quickly and easily
In addition to maximizing the public value of data and information (strategic theme 2, priority 2.1), we need to improve how we manage, use and protect these strategic assets.
We need to use the vast amount and variety of data and information the GC collects, creates and holds (including personal, financial, geospatial, scientific and statistical data and information) to make better business decisions, provide better advice to ministers and design better policies and programs, and in turn, deliver a better service experience. Improved use of data and information includes enabling departments to share relevant data (including inputs for program design) to support “tell-us-once” capabilities for users. In doing so, we need to apply a balanced approach that makes protecting sensitive information a priority.
In November 2018, the Clerk of the Privy Council released the Report to the Clerk of the Privy Council: A Data Strategy Roadmap for the Federal Public Service . Developed by the Privy Council Office, TBS and Statistics Canada, the strategy, made recommendations structured around four themes:
- stronger governance
- improved data literacy and skills
- enabling infrastructure and legislation
- more focused treatment of data as a valuable asset
Stronger governance calls for a government-wide approach to rules, processes, roles and responsibilities that:
- aligns with international standards
- will allow the GC to make the best use of its data and information
- supports a consistent and proactive approach to embedding data and information considerations from the outset of initiatives
TBS will lead the work to strengthen governance, in collaboration with the Privy Council Office, Statistics Canada and other stakeholders across government. Together, we will also build a central view of government data holdings to:
- enable sharing, exchange and reuse
- reduce duplication
- increase quality
- expose new opportunities for service improvement
Over the next three years, we will better align our efforts to build a strong foundation for the strategic management of data and information across the GC. This plan identifies actions to achieve some of the priorities set out in the Data Strategy Roadmap for the Federal Public Service. These actions will help ensure that departments and agencies, regardless of their progress on implementing their own data plans, invest in projects and activities that align with or complement the GC’s overall direction.
The GC is working to better manage and use data and information as strategic assets by:
- creating effective governance structures, roles and responsibilities
- establishing a policy framework, guidance and tools that support the sharing of personal information between federal institutions
- building and using a common data reference model and working toward an inventory of government data assets
- defining a government data quality framework, baselining GC data sharing and management capabilities
- sanitizing data to comply with standards and moving into a secure, integrated cross-departmental platform, enabling digital data sharing across the GC
- developing a data exchange platform to enable “tell-us-once” processes
- amending and expanding policy requirements for open government, including open data and information release process
- building and testing additional platform components that address more of the service interaction points people have with government
Priority 3.1: embed digital government priorities into governing frameworks and policy
As the digital landscape continues to evolve, departments require a flexible and action-ready framework of policies and strategy to navigate change while moving us to a common look and feel. Digital government means modernizing and adapting the way we work so that we can compete in a fast‑changing world and ensure that government remains responsive, resilient, and most importantly, relevant. Our digital capacity underpins our ability to deliver every government service and achieve every government priority.
The world is moving toward using cleaner technologies. The GC's Digital Ambition goes hand in hand with the Greening Government Strategy, which seeks to make GC operations low carbon through green procurement and clean technologies. Through the increased promotion of environmental sustainability, and by integrating environmental considerations in its procurement process, the federal government is in a position to influence the demand for environmentally preferable goods and services, the ability of industry to respond to the escalating use of environmental standards in global markets and the resiliency of Canadian assets to climate change.
It is imperative that we set strategy, policy and guidance that prioritize digital government, leverage partners and adopt agile work to enable secure operations. These activities include:
- refocusing efforts on enterprise priorities that enable cross-GC success
- balancing the needs of individual departments with the urgency of investment in robust, shared capabilities
- facilitating cross-enterprise resource allocation and prioritization of digital initiatives
Advocating for key policy changes to existing frameworks will help establish digital-enabling standards and help agencies across the GC accelerate their digital transformation. The goal of these efforts is to develop cross-GC policies with digital considerations at the forefront, including embedding components of digital standards into governing frameworks.
We will continue to enhance enterprise governance and integrate it into government operations to ensure that decisions are based on evidence and take into account business needs alongside technological and information considerations, from concept to delivery and beyond.
The Deputy Minister Committee on Core Services will bring together internal and external experts who have experience in implementing modernization initiatives in order to enable and support the departments that are responsible for transforming core services.
- Enshrining priority digital standards into policy
- Piloting the execution of initial digital policies
- Examining the potential for amendments to policy, legislative and governance frameworks to enable digital transformation
Priority 4.1: support fully digital delivery by managing a government-wide culture shift
Priority 4.2: build a workforce for digital first delivery.
Outdated approaches, complex processes and governance structures are making it difficult for departments to deliver on their mandates and serve the public, and for the GC as a whole to implement changes rapidly. As a result, performance and security risks have increased. For GC public servants, a digital mindset requires a significant culture shift.
Managing and implementing a government-wide culture shift to support digital delivery requires a commitment to digital transformation. It also requires funding, change management and solid leadership to create the conditions where we can rapidly collaborate, improve, and innovate in the new digital reality.
To drive this digital transformation, the Office of the Chief Information Officer will be conducting a 360⁰ workforce assessment to build the foundation for:
- attracting, retaining and allocating digital talent across the GC
- developing skills for digital delivery, data literacy and cyber security
- setting the stage for a digital-first workforce
Digital government means modernizing and adapting the way we work so that we can compete in a fast-changing world and ensure that government remains responsive, resilient, and most importantly, relevant. Our digital capacity underpins our ability to deliver every government service and implement every government priority. But it’s not just about technology; it’s also about people, process and culture.
For public service culture and processes to change, public servants must be flexible, collaborative, digitally knowledgeable and supported by leaders who facilitate and enable the transformation. We are working to tackle longstanding institutional barriers to change and innovation, including enabling governance systems and procurement practices and improving digital literacy.
To strengthen the foundations needed to improve digital service delivery across government, we need to make sure employees have the right digital skills, are in the right place and are supported by enabling leaders. And we need to build a diverse workforce made up of top-notch talent. We will promote enterprise-wide recruitment and talent management initiatives and will increase the representation of women and diversity groups in information and data management, information technology and cyber security, to represent the people we serve.
The deputy minister committee will examine and make recommendations on institutional barriers to transformation, focusing on addressing challenges and achieving outcomes based on milestones. The committee will:
- seek to make governance more flexible and responsive to the realities of transformation
- explore new and iterative approaches to funding and procurement
- look for new ways to attract and retain talent
We are also working to make project design and implementation more agile by using modern approaches, focusing on product management and better balancing oversight and enablement.
For example, TBS, PSPC and SSC are improving the technology-related federal procurement regime. The Next Generation Human Resources and Pay Initiative (NextGen HR and Pay) is part of the GC’s broader efforts to develop enterprise IT approaches across government, replacing legacy systems with modern digital solutions. NextGen HR and Pay is currently working with pilot departments to test HR and pay systems to replace over 34 HR systems, one pay system and several peripheral systems and applications. To achieve its vision of “one employee, one HR and pay experience,” the team is working to transform and modernize the HR and pay landscape with a focus on simplifying and standardizing policies and processes.
For GC public servants, a digital mindset requires a significant culture shift.
The Government of Canada Digital Standards , which place the client at the centre, outline how we must work differently in the digital age. These standards, which will evolve over time, form the foundation of the government’s shift to making its operations more iterative, agile, open and user-focused.
Managing and implementing a government-wide culture shift to support digital delivery requires a commitment to transformation. It also requires funding, change management and solid leadership to create the conditions where we can rapidly collaborate, improve and innovate in the new digital reality.
The Digital Ambition provides the strategic direction, priorities and decisive actions to accelerate our transformation efforts. It will also help us work together to use new and emerging technologies in innovative and responsible ways, while meeting user, accessibility, security, privacy, data stewardship and information management requirements.
By collaborating, learning, innovating and working strategically across departments, chief information officers and their staff will play a leadership role in making digital government a reality. They will need to work alongside operations and program and service-delivery teams to ensure an integrated approach.
The Canada School of Public Service’s Digital Academy plays a key role in providing learning opportunities for public servants at all levels to increase their digital and data literacy and skills in the competencies required to effect digital modernization. Learning topics offered through the Digital Academy include:
- leveraging the Digital Standards
- developing and applying digital leadership
- learning the basics on data and artificial intelligence, cloud, cyber security, agile methodology, product management, user design and emerging technologies (for all audiences)
The CSPS also offers training related to change management, leadership development, innovation and experimentation and a variety of materials related to unconscious bias and diversity, equity and inclusion.
A key component of our culture shift is to foster a more entrepreneurial culture by shifting objectives from compliance and risk-mitigation to outcomes and enablement. Delivery can be improved by adopting a “responsible experimentation” approach, where the objective is to learn fast in a safe manner in order to de-risk our efforts early.
The GC is working to manage a government-wide culture shift to support digital delivery by:
- developing guidance and tools to help departments adopt the Government of Canada Digital Standards
- building an agile management framework and adopting product-management approaches in order to manage funding, procurement and governance
- working with the Canada School of Public Service’s Digital Academy to make sure deputy heads, executive sponsors for projects and programs and all public servants have the change management expertise they need
- engaging partner departments to support the GC’s cultural transformation
- automating targeted manual processes of a selection of the GC’s largest departments
To make digital government a reality, the GC needs to make sure public servants have the right knowledge, skills and mindset. The GC must therefore invest in training and professional development and attract and retain top talent.
This talent will need to reflect the diversity of the clients we serve to help make programs and services inclusive and accessible by design. We will make staffing more flexible to increase the representation of under-represented groups by, for example, using employment equity groups as screening or selection criteria in recruitment and staffing, or leveraging the IT Apprenticeship Program for Indigenous Peoples to benefit from the talent of Indigenous peoples in Canada. We will also make data-driven decisions by taking into account gender and other diversity markers and by promoting anti-bias training.
We also need to make data-driven decisions about talent mobility and career management, and respond strategically to critical skills gaps. We must also actively create a working environment that promotes psychological safety. SSC’s Accessibility, Accommodation and Adaptive Computer Technology program (AAACT) provides hands-on training programs for technicians in adaptive computer technology, accessibility boot camps for publishers, webmasters and application developers, as well as training and accessible document design and testing for public servants.
The Digital Academy offers digital literacy and skills development for public servants in areas such as service design, product management, change management and cloud computing. We will need to continue to build and manage these digital skills, with an emphasis on data literacy and cyber security. Additionally, the Canadian Digital Service’s material, published in the open, can be built upon to help scale the GC’s capacity-building efforts.
Data fuels horizontal collaboration and interoperability across government programs and services. The quick, targeted decision-making required for agile delivery relies on accurate and timely data. Leaders, policy-makers, program managers and front-line delivery officers must all be able to understand, analyze, interpret and present data in their day-to-day realities.
Cyber security awareness programs and technical training initiatives for employees are already in place. Such programs and training help keep our infrastructure secure, protect the sensitive data that the GC manages and train employees so that they design and deliver digital services to Canadians in a safe, secure and trustworthy manner.
Recognizing the rapidly changing digital landscape, we will ensure that we have access to the right skills, ideas and innovative approaches when needed.
The GC is building a workforce for digital-first delivery by:
- developing skills for digital delivery, accessibility, data literacy and cyber security
- attracting and retaining diverse talent for a digital-first workforce
- standardizing job descriptions, career progression and compensation
- breaking-down HR siloes for visibility of cross-government availability of skills, especially those relevant to digital areas
- assessing gaps in working models and tools necessary to enable hybrid and distributed ways of working across departments and expanding the suite of flexible working tools to ensure all departments can enable telework
- baselining digital capabilities, talent and culture available across the GC
- deploying product-centric teams to priority projects across the GC
Related policy instruments
- Policy on Access to Information
- Policy on Communications and Federal Identity
- Policy on Green Procurement
- Policy on Government Security
- Policy on Official Languages
- Policy on the Planning and Management of Investments
- Policy on Privacy Protection
- Policy on Results
- Policy on Service and Digital
- Directive on Automated Decision‑Making
- Directive on Identity Management
- Directive on the Management of Projects and Programmes
- Directive on Open Government
- Directive on Privacy Practices
- Directive on Security Management
- Directive on Service and Digital
Related guidance
- Canada.ca design system
- Cloud services
- Responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI)
- Security of online government services
- Top 10 IT Security Actions to Protect Government of Canada Internet‑Connected Networks and Information
Related plans and strategies
- Digital Government Strategy
- Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service of Canada
- Canada’s 2018–2020 National Action Plan on Open Government
- Report to the Clerk of the Privy Council: A Data Strategy Roadmap for the Federal Public Service
- SSC 3.0: An Enterprise Approach
Previous plans
- Digital Operations Strategic Plan 2021
- Digital Operations Strategic Plan 2018
- Government of Canada Strategic Plan for Information Management and Information Technology 2017
The Service and Digital Target Enterprise Architecture depicts the GC’s future state. The following diagram is divided into several parts, based on industry best practices, including business architecture, information and data architecture, application architecture, technology architecture and security. The adoption and execution of this model are addressed in this Digital Ambition.
Service and Digital Target Enterprise Architecture
The top row of the diagram shows examples of business programs and services, divided into two categories: front-office and back-office.
Examples of front-office business programs and services:
- Employment Insurance
- Grants and contributions
Examples of back-office programs and services:
- Core finance (FMT)
- Security screening
- NextGen HR and Pay
- Enterprise procurement
- Cloud-brokering service
The second row of the architecture shows the top‑level business capabilities:
- Legislation, regulation and policy management
- Enterprise planning
- Outcomes management
- Relationship management
- Compliance management
- Program and service delivery
- Information management
- Government resources management
- Corporate management
The third row lists the DevSecOps principles: Continuous integration and continuous deployments, automation of testing for security and functionality, inclusion of stakeholders
The fourth row identifies the various stakeholders:
Externally, examples include:
- International
- Partnerships
Internally, examples include:
- Employees, delegates, elected officials
Two examples of user authentication are presented under the external stakeholder:
- Identity management
- Sign-in Canada
A third example related to the internal stakeholders is GCPass.
The fifth row identifies channels and interfaces.
Externally accessible solution examples are:
- OneGC platform: providing a tell-us-once experience
- Omni-channel
The third example is related to internal users:
- Digital workspace: GCexchange, GCTools
The next part of the graphic show the elements of the information architecture, application architecture and technology architecture.
Information architecture
- For example, master data management, privacy (protection of personal data)
Canada’s Digital Exchange Platform offers the following capabilities:
- Event broker
Application architecture is divided into two categories based on security requirements:
- SaaS subscription feature
- PaaS serverless hosted feature
- Feature: IaaS
- Runtime: IaaS
- Data store: IaaS
- artificial intelligence
- workflow engines
- machine learning
- low‐code platforms
- Open source: solutions listed on open resource exchange
The information from these application architecture options is shared back to the Canada’s Digital Exchange Platform via APIs (application programming interfaces).
Secret and above Secret systems, features, data, and storage exposed and consumed via API plus exceptions to cloud-first policy.
Technology architecture
Public cloud is the recommended architecture for solutions that are considered Protected B or below from an identified security level.
Solutions above Protected B must use Enterprise Data Centres.
All the layers of the Service and Digital Target Enterprise Architecture rely on enterprise network connectivity .
Examples of enterprise network connectivity include:
- Cloud-to-ground connectivity
- secure cloud enablement and defence
- cloud guardrails
- network and cybermonitoring
- Related business continuity infrastructure
Along the right side of the graphic are two overarching principles:
- Security by design: zero-trust authentication, authorization, encryption, tokenization and accreditation
- Privacy: collection, use, accuracy, retention, and disposition
BCG 2020 Digital Government Benchmark Survey .
Return to footnote 1 referrer
Page details
Canadian government plans public consultation on digital ID platform for public services
The Government of Canada is planning to launch public consultations on a digital ID framework for federal government services. The stakeholder engagement is part of a set of actions set out in a new strategy document.
‘ Canada’s Digital Ambition 2022 ’ has been introduced to advance the previously-unveiled Digital Government Strategy . That program describes the Canadian government’s digital transformation plans.
The strategy document is composed by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS), and “consolidates previous priorities,” taking into account feedback from its various predecessors.
The page for the ‘ Digital Operations Strategic Plan: 2021-2024 ,’ meanwhile, has been archived and will not be updated, the Treasury Board says.
Trusted digital identity is one of the pillars of the ambition, and being able to prove ID claims more quickly is a goal identified under priority 2.2, to “build and use secure common solutions for digital service delivery.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for government services to be accessible and flexible in the digital age,” the document reads. “The next step in making services more convenient to access is a federal Digital Identity Program, integrated with pre-existing provincial platforms.”
The document reiterates a Treasury Board mandate set in late-2021 to work towards a common digital identity platform for public services. It is to that end that the federal government is “launching public consultations on a federally managed digital identity framework,” and “developing a common and secure framework to digital identity.”
A federal Digital Identity Program to deal with online government interactions will also be established.
Canadian officials, including Treasury Board President Mona Fortier, made clear at the recent IdentityNorth summit that the country must step up its implementation of trustworthy digital ID.
Related Posts
Article Topics
Canada | digital economy | digital identity | government services | identity verification | interoperability | trust framework
Latest Biometrics News
- New York lawmaker pitches multiple mDL vendors despite $1.7M contract with Idemia I&S
- World Bank reportedly considering $321M DPI project for Jordan
- Passport and digital ID card scandal unravels in Pakistan
- Biometric payment cards launching in Japan, Turkey
- Palm biometrics-based ‘Humanity Protocol’ debuts for Web3
- Buenos Aires’s facial recognition system to be examined by court
Leave a Reply Cancel reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .
Continue Reading
Most Read From This Week
- Biometrics upgrading borders, digital IDs and economies but the pace is uneven
- UK updates guidelines for Right to Work digital identity checks
- Airport face biometrics systems arrive in Philippines, Nigeria and Spain
- Kenya’s digital ID ecosystem must respect fundamental human rights: policy advisory
- Philippines LTO accused of delaying switch to Dermalog system, costing motorists
- New Zealand grocery stores adding facial recognition, police want open discussion
- Australia takes new step towards AI regulation, EU inches closer to AI Act
- Is the EU AI Act leaving a backdoor for emotion recognition?
- World Bank ID4D report shows govt-issued IDs still limited in digital capabilities
- US Civil Rights Commission kicks off investigation on facial recognition
- Daily Biometrics News
Featured Company
- More Biometrics Companies
Biometrics Insight, Opinion
- A Zoom call that cost $25M
- Protecting digital integrity in the age of deepfakes and identity fraud
- Overcoming barriers Australia’s Digital ID Bill imposes on proof of Aboriginality
- The use of live FRT by British police makes the UK an outlier among democratic states
- Firms join the deepfake dance, offering responses to new AI threats
- Biometrics Industry Interviews
Biometrics White Papers
- Metrics that matter – How to evaluate identity verification technology
- Zero-knowledge biometrics: The future of authentication
- Voice biometric authentication: Buyer’s guide
- The definitive guide to account takeover fraud
- Generative AI: How to protect your business in the golden age of fraud and disinformation
- More White Papers
Biometrics Events
- Identity & Payments Summit Tucson, Arizona: Feb 26 - Feb 28, 2024
- Age verification: Lessons learned from the UK Online: Feb 27, 2024
- ID4Africa Livecast – Digital identity in healthcare Online: Feb 28, 2024
- World Police Summit 2024 Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Mar 5 - Mar 7, 2024
- MOSIP Connect 2024 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Mar 5 - Mar 7, 2024
- More Biometrics Events
Explaining Biometrics
- What is Fingerprint Identification?
- Facial recognition technology and deep learning models: Empowering the modern-day industries
- What are passkeys, and how do they work?
- Facial recognition. Three common pitfalls, and how to fix them
- Does OCR work well for reading IDs?
- More Biometrics Explainers
IMAGES
COMMENTS
June 28, 2021 Presentation Objective • Discussion on the Government of Canada priorities for 2021-2024 to modernize service delivery and advance the transition to a more digital government. DOSP Context and Alignment with Priorities Context
The Government of Canada (GC) Digital Operations Strategic Plan (DOSP) for 2021-2024 fulfills the responsibility of the Chief Information Officer of Canada, set out in the Treasury Board Policy on Service and Digital, for "approving an annual, forward‑looking 3‑year enterprise‑wide plan that establishes the strategic direction for the integrated...
1. Raising the aspiration. While a "thousand flowers blooming" approach can deliver one- off, narrower opportunities and incubate nascent capabilities, building true digital operations requires a more strategic and holistic approach to allocating investments and resources.
To support the efforts of departments to move toward digital program and service delivery for Canadians, the Digital Operations Strategic Plan 2021-2024 establishes the strategic direction for the integrated management of service, information, data, information technology (IT) and cybersecurity.
engagements by the end of 2021.3 Embracing digital operations strategies can also ... integration plan that can harness the potential of their ... Creating a comprehensive digital operations strategy is the best way to prepare for large-scale IT initiatives. While most digital transformation is contextual,
The Government of Canada (GC) Digital Operations Strategic Plan (DOSP) for 2021-2024 fulfills the responsibility of the Chief Information Officer of Canada, set out in the Treasury Board Policy on Service and Digital, for "approving an annual, forward‑looking 3‑year enterprise‑wide plan that establishes the strategic direction for the integrated...
The Government of Canada's Digital Ambition is the Chief Information Officer of Canada's annual, forward-looking 3-year strategic plan. It sets government‑wide priorities and lists key actions that departments and agencies need to transition to a more digital government and to meet the requirements of the Policy on Service and Digital.
Luke Walker. May 11, 2021. 5. minutes. Operations leaders are fully aware of the pressing need to build digital operations capabilities in order to remain competitive in the future. Even prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic - which has rapidly accelerated the push to remote work and remote business operations models - operations ...
Digital Operations Strategic Plan for 2021-2024 released The plan fulfills the responsibility of the Chief Information Officer of Canada, set out in the Treasury Board Policy on Service and Digital, for "approving an annual, forward-looking 3-year enterprise-wide plan that establishes the strategic direction for the integrated management of
Hence, an ever-increasing number of businesses plan to invest in their operations as a post-Covid-19 approach in 2021. By adopting a recovery investment strategy, you adapt innovative processes faster. In turn, your organization changes in tandem with shifting market dynamics. Digital Superiority
In the foreword to the Digital Operations Strategic Plan (DOSP) 2021-2024, which was released last week, chief information officer Marc Brouillard said that the COVID-19 pandemic has "significantly accelerated the global shift to online services" and praised civil servants' efforts.
The Strategic Plan is 3 things at once: a vision, a strategy and an action plan. This Strategic Plan builds on last year's 2017 to 2021 GC IM-IT Strategic Plan, which included draft digital principles, mentioned the development of the larger Digital Policy, and had the same ultimate vision as this Strategic Plan. This vision is:
In 2021, the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) released its Digital Operations Strategic Plan 2021-2024. This plan sets out the strategic direction for the Government of Canada on digital transformation, service delivery, security, information management (IM) and information technology (IT). Specifically that "Good government in the 21st century ...
The Digital Government Strategy is operationalized through the renewed Digital Operations Strategic Plan (2021-2024) and supported by other foundational policy pieces, like the Digital Standards, the Policy on Service and Digital and the Policy on Government Security.
The ' Digital Operations Strategic Plan: 2021-2024 ' outlines the context, strategy and priorities of the government, emphasizing the importance of trusted digital identity to the country's future delivery of government services. Strategic pillars are identified, along with priorities for each, and actions to implement those priorities.
Government Digital Service: Our strategy for 2021-2024 The GDS Team and Tom Read - Chief Executive Officer, Government Digital Service, 20 May 2021 - Digital strategy, GDS team Our...
a digital pivot to sustain our operations and partnerships. These efforts continue to evolve as residents of Massachusetts persevere through cascading crises. The experiences of 2020 fundamentally shaped the 2021-24 Strategic Plan. The next three years will be a time of rebuilding for our society. The humanities must play a central
The Government of Canada has published its Digital Operations Strategic Plan for 2021-2024. Following are the key progress statements on #digitalidentity "A trusted digital identity system is ...
DLA Strategic Plan 2021 - 2026 Download the Plan Download the Strategic Plan (PDF) Download Print Files (ZIP) Video: DLA Director Navy VADM Michelle Skubic introduces the Strategic Plan Navigate to Lines of Effort Warfighter Always Support to the Nation Trusted Mission Partner Modernized Acquisition and Supply Chain Management Future of Work
- One Honour Joyce Murray, Minister of Digital Public. Quick Facts. The Digital Government Strategy is operationalized through the renewed Direct Operations Strategic Plan (2021-2024) and supported by other foundational policy plays, like the Numeric Standards, the Basic on Service and Digital plus the Policy on Government Security.
Our operational plan for 2021 outlines twelve key goal-driven objectives and which consist of the following: Thriving Business Clusters. Digital Transformation. Access to Funding & Growth Tools. Innovation Island. International Connections. World-Class Infrastructure & Institutions. A Highly Skilled Workforce. Attracting Top Tech Talent.
Under the leadership of the Chief Information Officer of Canada, guided by the government priorities outlined in my mandate letter, the GC's Digital Ambition provides a clear, long-term strategic vision for the Government of Canada to advance digital service delivery, cyber security, talent recruitment, and privacy.
The page for the 'Digital Operations Strategic Plan: 2021-2024,' meanwhile, has been archived and will not be updated, the Treasury Board says. Trusted digital identity is one of the pillars of the ambition, and being able to prove ID claims more quickly is a goal identified under priority 2.2, to "build and use secure common solutions ...