Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, Shared Services Canada – Overview, 2019-20
Parliamentary Scan
Overview
Shared Services Canada is invited to appear at the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates on the 2019-2020 Supplementary Estimates (B), the 2020–2021 Main Estimates, the 2018-2019 Departmental Results Report and the Departmental Plan 2021–2022 on February 25, 2020. In preparation for this appearance, Cabinet and Parliamentary Affairs conducted an environmental scan consisting of an analysis of committee members' political backgrounds, areas of interest and questions they posed at previous Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates appearances. Shared Services Canada's mandate and priorities were also assessed to inform questions that may be posed to senior management at a future Committee on Government Operations and Estimates appearance.
Background to Shared Services Canada's Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates appearances
In 2015, Shared Services Canada's challenges were identified in the findings and recommendations as part of the 2015 Reports of the Auditor General of Canada. In 2016, Shared Services Canada launched extensive public consultations on its Way Forward Plan, taking into consideration the views of government employees, the information technology industry, departments and Canadians.
The President of the Treasury Board commissioned an independent review of Shared Services Canada that was conducted by Gartner Inc. in 2016. This report confirmed that the Shared Services Model is the right approach for the Government of Canada. The report recognized the scale, scope and complexity of Shared Services Canada's transformation mandate, and is unprecedented among public sector organizations worldwide. The Standing Committee on Public Accounts subsequently delegated the follow‑up study to the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates.
Since early 2016, the Government has made significant investments to improve the delivery of its information technology (IT) infrastructure services, including a Budget 2018 investment of $2.2 billion over six years for Shared Services Canada to support the government's digital vision to enable cloud adoption, migrate out of aging data centres, increase staffing for core services, evergreening aging assets, and improving cyber security.
About the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates
The Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates undertakes studies on departmental spending, legislation and issues related directly to its mandate to ensure effectiveness and proper functioning of government operations as it relates to the estimate process. The Committee reviews and reports on expenditure plans of departments' and agencies' specific operational/expenditure plans and program estimates. The Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates members have an opportunity to examine selected matters in greater depth than is possible in the House of Commons. It reports conclusions of those examinations and provides recommendations to the House of Commons.
Make-up of Parliamentarians
The Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates consists of one chair, one vice-chair and ten voting members. An analysis of members' professional backgrounds and areas of interest was conducted in order to assess for potential future questions. Based on previous appearances, the following committee members have demonstrated an interest in Shared Services Canada and can be expected to pose questions at future appearances.
- Tom Lukiwski – Conservative
- Professional background: Political administrator and small business owner.
- Interests: Community service (fundraising).
- Previous areas of inquiry: Procurement processes, specifically with regards to competition and evaluation time frame
- Also note: Mr. Lukiwski was the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates Chair for the 42nd Parliament, so while he only asked Shared Services Canada two questions, he was present for all appearances in the 42nd Parliament, and is likely well-versed in issues related to Shared Services Canada.
- Francis Drouin – Liberal
- Professional background: Political and communications consultant.
- Interests: Volunteer non-profit organizations supporting entrepreneurship in Canada.
- Previous areas of inquiry: Cyber security strategy, legacy data centres, email transformation initiative, client satisfaction in service delivery and Shared Services Canada’s use of allocated funds. The member also asked about the impact on suppliers when the National Security Exception is invoked.
- Majid Jowhari – Liberal
- Professional background: Consultant.
- Interests: Transparent government and global diversity.
- Previous areas of inquiry: Procurement, specifically qualification-based selection and small- and medium-sized enterprises, and case studies validating Shared Services Canada’s approach. The relationship between Shared Services Canada and Statistics Canada was also raised.
- Steve MacKinnon (Parliamentary Secretary) – Liberal
- Professional background: Parliamentary Secretary, communications consultant and political advisor to Paul Martin.
- Interests: Political interests in trade negotiations, collective agreements, health, education and election reform.
- Previous areas of inquiry: No questions posed directly to Shared Services Canada. Has raised the issues of agile procurement and IT modernization in other committees.
- Kelly McCauley – Conservative
- Professional background: Businessman and hospitality executive.
- Interests: Community service (volunteer for Eldercare and Alberta Aviation Museum).
- Previous areas of inquiry: Shared Services Canada’s ability to meet their mandate, Shared Services Canada funding, data centre consolidation, relationship with partner departments, service agreements, and cyber security. The relationship between Shared Services Canada and Correctional Service Canada was also raised.
- Ziad Aboultaif – Conservative
- Professional background: Small business owner.
- Interests: Small business ownership, organ and tissue donation, community service . His service on various community boards has earned him the Alberta Centennial Medal (2005) and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012).
- Previous areas of inquiry: Government policy on ransomware attacks, cybersecurity penetration testing, procurement.
- Also note: Mr. Aboultaif currently serves as Shadow Critic of Digital Government.
- Kelly Block – Conservative
- Professional background: Municipal government.
- Interests: Shadow Critic of Public Services and Procurement Canada. Political interests include freedom of religion and belief, and policy affecting Indigenous peoples and Women.
- Previous areas of inquiry: Industry engagement, SMEs, adopting best practices from private sector, data centre consolidation, Shared Services Canada’s culture and team, career mobility for IT workers in the Government of Canada, network consolidation, cybersecurity
- Matthew Green – NDP
- Professional background: Municipal Councillor and non-profit work.
- Interests: Advocate for inclusivity, with particular interest in housing, zoning and healthy living.
- Previous areas of inquiry: No questions posed to Shared Services Canada, as he is a newly-elected member.
- Irek Kusmierczyk – Conservative
- Professional background: Municipal Councillor.
- Interests: Policy around local infrastructure and technology.
- Previous areas of inquiry: No questions posed to Shared Services Canada, as he is a newly-elected member.
- Julie Vignola – Bloc Québécois
- Professional background: Education administrator and teacher.
- Interests: Community volunteer organizations such as Lions Club, Journée du Drapeau, and Coalition urgence rurale.
- Previous areas of inquiry: No questions posed to Shared Services Canada, as she is a newly-elected member.
- Patrick Weiler – Liberal
- Professional background: Lawyer
- Interests: Responsible development of natural resources, Indigenous rights.
- Previous areas of inquiry: No questions posed to Shared Services Canada, as he is a newly-elected member.
Rotating member
Greg Fergus (Parliamentary Secretary) – Liberal
- Professional background: Political administrator and former national director of the Liberal Party.
- Interests: Advocate for social housing and seniors.
- Previous areas of inquiry: The ability of indigenous and racialized Canadians to break through the procurement process.
Summary of Past Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates Appearances
Shared Services Canada appeared at six Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates appearances in 2018 and 2019.
Past Appearances
An analysis of questions raised by Committee members at past Government Operations and Estimates appearances focused on:
- Procurement
- Shared Services Canada employee surveys and employee turnover
- Enterprise Data Centres
- Cybersecurity
- The Customer Satisfaction Survey Report
- Laboratory and Science Infrastructure
- IT implications for the Federal Science and Technology Initiative
Informing Future Appearances
The Department may be asked to provide updates on key commitments as outlined in the Minister of Digital Government’s Mandate Letter.
These commitments have a direct correlation to Shared Services Canada:
- Improving Digital Services to Customer Departments including: Cloud services, hosted contact centres and artificial intelligence.
- Data Centre Stabilization including identifying all core and at-risk IT systems and platforms to deliver common IT infrastructure that is reliable and secure.
- Renewing and Resourcing Shared Services Canada with respect to culture, workforce, and technology
- Accelerating the new Government of Canada Service Strategy with the support of the President of the Treasury Board and the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, to create a single online window for all government services with new performance standards.
- Replacing Phoenix with the Next Generation Human Resources and Pay System, and supporting Public Services and Procurement Canada in eliminating the backlog of outstanding pay issues.
- Improving transformation through lessons learned from previous IT project challenges and failures, particularly around sunk costs and major multi-year contracts.
- Growing application inventory of validated and secure applications that can be used by government to share knowledge and expertise to support innovation.
- Supporting implementation of a voluntary e-payroll system with the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development with an initial focus on small businesses.
Other points to be aware of:
- Cybersecurity: Launching projects to increase the security of the government’s IT systems to protect Canadians’ transactions with the government against cyber threats (e.g., the launch of Canadian Centre for Cybersecurity).
- Building an experienced workforce: Shared Services Canada may be asked to appear to speak to initiatives currently underway to foster a positive working environment to support hiring and retention of staff. Shared Services Canada may be asked about how they will promote diversity and inclusion through recruitment as outlined in Budget 2018.
- Accessible Canada Act, an Act to ensure a barrier free Canada (Bill C 81): Shared Services Canada may be asked to appear to support the Minister in integrating accessibility into IT, and to improve accessibility services, including the development of accessible procurement. Shared Services Canada made a commitment to integrate inclusive accessibility requirements more broadly.
- Small and medium sized enterprises: Shared Services Canada will deliver on key elements of procurement modernization to increase the diversity of bidders for government contracts, in particular businesses owned or led by Canadians from underrepresented groups, such as women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and visible minorities, and to take measures to increase the accessibility of the procurement system to these groups.
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