Shared Services Canada Minister’s Transition Binder - July 2023
Dear Minister Duclos:
On behalf of our entire team, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your recent appointment as The Honourable Minister responsible for Shared Services Canada. I look forward to working with you to implement the government's agenda, alongside Public Services and Procurement Canada.
Shared Services Canada's mandate is to modernize and consolidate the federal government's information technology infrastructure, including email, data centers, networks and end-user devices such as mobile devices and tablets. At its inception, the department received a multitude of systems and networks transferred from 42 partner departments. These assets lacked interoperability and many were aging or outdated when they were transferred to Shared Services Canada. Since its creation, the department has expended considerable effort to consolidate this infrastructure and invest in repairing and replacing critical platforms, as well as in standardizing a set of core ‘enterprise' services that we now provide to 45 partners and 93 client departments.
Shared Services Canada is essential to the operations of government, delivering reliable and secure information technology operations and infrastructure, as well as communications and workplace technology services. These digital services are what enables Public Servants across Canada and around the world in their day-to-day activities to deliver federal programs and services to Canadians. With over 9,000 employees nationwide and an annual budget of $2.59 billion in 2023-2024, Shared Services Canada is a central player in achieving the government's agenda.
Shared Services Canada manages a portfolio of Government of Canada networks, systems and information technology assets, and procures technology solutions from vendors to provide departments with high value services that respond to their business needs. More specifically, the department provides common Connectivity Services including network infrastructure, telecommunications and teleconferencing services; Cybersecurity Services including secure remote access, secure cloud enablement and defence and zero trust architecture; Hosting Services including data centers, cloud services, high performance computing and mainframes; and Digital Services including devices and applications used by Public Servants for communications and collaboration (cellular phones as an example).
In 2021-2022, the department procured over$2.5 billion of goods and services on behalf of the Government of Canada departments including itself. Through this, Shared Services Canada leveraged our purchasing power to increase access to economic opportunities for Canadian businesses, small and medium sized enterprises and Indigenous-owned businesses. We are particularly proud that exceeded the government target of 5 percent indigenous procurement.
This coming year the department will advance a number of priority initiatives, including work with partner departments and agencies on a series of future-oriented service roadmaps to improve and deliver advanced digital enterprise services. Work will continue to modernize the Government of Canada network, as well as to renew Shared Services Canada's Cloud Framework Agreements to ensure that procurements deliver value for government over the long-term. Shared Services Canada will continue work to strengthen the Government of Canada cyber security posture, including by onboarding 43 small departments and agencies onto a core group of network and security services to reduce risk to the enterprise. Finally, Shared Services Canada will complete the final phase of the Next Generation Human Resources and Pay initiative – concluding testing of a commercial solution for human resources and pay and then transitioning the organization to Public Services and Procurement Canada as a part of a consolidated federal team on enterprise pay and human resources.
I welcome you as The Honourable Minister responsible for Shared Services Canada and I look forward to building a collaborative and productive relationship with you and your team, alongside my colleagues at Public Services and Procurement Canada. My management team and I are available, at your convenience, to brief you on all departmental business.
Minister, I wish you all the best.
Sincerely,
Scott Jones for Sony Perron
Powering world-class technology for Government
The vast majority of information today is created in an electronic, or digital, form. Information technology (IT) infrastructure is the foundation on which computers and devices work together.
Shared Services Canada (SSC) was created to provide modern, secure and reliable IT infrastructure so Government of Canada organizations can deliver programs and services to Canadians. We’re responsible for computers, software, networks, and the electronic systems used to store, process, transmit, and retrieve information.
Canadians increasingly work, shop, learn, and engage with government online. The Government of Canada has committed to better serving Canadians as their expectations for easier and more accessible digital options continue to grow.
These IT tools and systems allow public servants to do their jobs easily and efficiently to better deliver services to Canadians. Whether it's online or responding to calls, SSC is behind the scenes for those Government of Canada platforms. The IT work we do in the background allows Canadians to cross the border, check the weather, apply for passports, file taxes and more.
How do we do it?
There are four main services that we offer:
- Connectivity services
- SSC ensures that digital data flows to those that need it. The department connects government buildings and assets, government employees and the general public together to create digital networks. These connections can be wireless, using radio waves or satellite technology, or wired, using cables such as fiber-optics.
- Hosting services
- SSC operates data centres that host many of the applications and data supporting digital services for Canadians. To best support these services, SSC uses a mix of data centres that are publicly- or privately-managed, and that are on-site or off-site, commonly referred to as the “cloud”. Together, this infrastructure stores digital data which is used by government employees and Canadians.
- Digital services
- To access digital data, SSC provides government employees with the tools they need. These tools include laptops, tablets and smartphones, along with the communications applications like messaging and email they need to work. They also include videoconferencing for government employees and the phone lines and technology that support the call centers Canadians rely on for direct help and support.
- Cyber Security services
- For these connections, hosting services and digital services to work in an efficient way, they need to be secure. SSC works to ensure that the government’s digital data is protected from malicious access and use. SSC partners with the Treasury Board Secretariat’s Office of the Chief Information Office and the Communications Security Establishment’s Canadian Centre for Cyber Security to coordinate a whole-ofgovernment approach to cyber security.
These services ensure that public servants can work in an ever-evolving digital landscape. We are a service delivery organization that is the backbone of government IT infrastructure. Our goal is to be the most efficient in how we operate, collaborative in the choices we make and innovative in providing more predictability.
Shared Services Canada departmental overview
Purpose
- Describe
- Shared Services Canada (SSC) and its role as a centralized information technology (IT) service provider for the Public Service.
- Outline
- the Department’s context, priorities, functions, and structure.
Where SSC came from
SSC was established to standardize and consolidate certain administrative services supporting government institutions for the purpose of enabling the effective and cost-efficient provisioning of IT services.
- 2011
- Orders-in-Council mandating the transfer in control of several units from other departments (partners) establish SSC. Over time, SSC’s mandate expands to include additional services and service recipients.
- 2019
- SSC 3.0 establishes a set of core principles and approaches that emphasize a balance between client-centric services and a whole-of-government approach to managing and improving the Government of Canada (GC) IT ecosystem.
- 2023
- Delivering Digital Services Together builds on SSC 3.0 to accelerate progress in GC IT infrastructure and services and to ensure reliability, security and cost-effectiveness.
- 2011
- SSC created to consolidate and modernize the GC IT Infrastructure.
- 2015
- Order-in-Council 2015-1071 consolidates and implements previous mandate expansions.
- 2019
- SSC 3.0 is launched, providing strategic direction for an enterprise delivery model
- 2020
-
SSC supports the GC in COVID-19 response efforts.
The Policy on Service and Digital takes effect.
- 2021
- The Government of Canada Digital Standards: Playbook is published.
- 2022
- Canada’s Digital Ambition 2022 is released.
- 2023 - Today
- SSC is continuing to evolve GC IT services and support the delivery of modern digital government.
What SSC is responsible for
SSC has a mandate to modernize and consolidate the federal government’s information technology (IT) infrastructure.
SSC’s core responsibility: Common Government of Canada IT operations
Using a government-wide approach, SSC delivers reliable and secure IT operations, IT infrastructure, and communication and workplace technology services that support and enable government-wide programs and digital services for the Public Service.
Connectivity services
Includes network infrastructure, (tele)communications and teleconferencing services
Cybersecurity services
Includes secure remote access, secure cloud enablement and defence, and zero trust architecture
Hosting services
Includes data centres, cloud services, high performance computing and mainframes
Digital services
Includes devices and applications used day-to-day by most public servants for communication and collaboration
Service, projects and enterprise advice
Includes the provisioning of Enterprise IT and client-specific solutions that support the delivery of programs and services to Canadians
Where SSC is placed in the GC IT ecosystem
The GC digital landscape is complex – and SSC plays a critical role as the GC’s common information technology service provider.

Long description
A graphic illustrating the integrated layers of service delivery
On the left, the label GC IT is represented by circuit board icon. An arrow points upwards from the circuit board icon to the label Canadians, which is represented by a figure sitting at a desk with a laptop.
The vertical arrow between the 2 icons illustrates the relationship between the 4 integrated layers, from bottom to top. The bottom 2 layers are related to SSC, and the top 2 layers relate to Departments and Agencies.
First layer from bottom: IT Infrastructure (SSC)
- Connectivity (for example, Networks, Wi-Fi and Telephony)
- Cyber Security and Access (for example, Credentials Management)
- Hosting (for example, Data Centres, Public and Private Cloud)
Second layer from bottom: Enterprise Services (SSC)
- Digital workplace services (for example, Microsoft Teams)
- Service, projects and enterprise advice (for example, integration)
- GC Enterprise portfolio management
Third layer from bottom: Business Applications (Departments and Agencies)
- Users and data
- Business needs
- Desktop, platforms and applications
Fourth layer from bottom: Service Delivery (Departments and Agencies)
- External delivery to Canadians (for example, tax filing)
What SSC does: Connectivity services
SSC is working to provide connectivity services that meet the needs of users, using a model that leverages commercial and public networks and wireless technologies.
What we’re doing
- Operating one of Canada’s largest integrated and secure networks
- Maintaining separated network services
- Modernizing legacy networks, expiring contracts and inefficient support for single tenant fit-ups
- Expanding GC Network Hubs (GCNH) to Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and the NCR
- Defining and providing services for specialized use cases (e.g., remote, international, science, cloud, low latency)

Long description
A graphic illustrating the Government of Canada network.
Partner, Departmental Local Area Network and Wi-Fi are represented by separate icons on the left. Directional lines starting from these icons lead to a Wide Area Network icon.
From the Wide Area Network icon, a directional line leads to an icon labelled GC Backbone. From this icon, directional lines point upwards to separate icons that represent Secure Cloud and Data Centre Networks.
The GC Backbone icon also has a directional line towards the right that leads to an icon for GC Networks Hubs, which has a line pointing upwards to an Internet Icon.
The GC Networks Hubs also has three directional lines leading to separate icons for M365/SaaS, IaaS/PaaS, and Inspection Monitoring.
The network provides the foundational connectivity to transport data, voice, and video from end-user devices in national and international locations to support GC programs and services.
What SSC does: Hosting services
SSC is working to provide a reliable and sustainable hosting ecosystem where workloads can be transferred from any hosting location without impacting operations and where enterprise application data can be transferred across GC infrastructure at speed and scale.
What we’re doing
- Consolidating GC data centre infrastructure; now operating four Enterprise Data Centres, SSC is more than halfway through its consolidation of GC IT data centres
- Maturing Hosting Services (Data Centre, EDGE and Cloud computing offerings)
- Implementing standardized, reusable architectures
- Integrating private cloud and on-premises services
- Simplifying procurement and service delivery timelines
- Reducing operational costs
- Enterprise Data Centres (EDCs)
-
- Hosted on-premises by SSC
- Predictability
- Business Value:
- Elevated security;
- cost-effective for large-scale operations with predictable workloads;
- control and customization tailored to specific needs
- Multiple Public Cloud(s)
-
- Hosted by Cloud Service Providers (CSPs)
- Scalability
- Business Value:
- Capacity-on-demand,
- security with unlimited scalability,
- pay-as-you-go,
- high availability and redundancy;
- option for disaster recovery
- Private Cloud
-
- Hosted in EDCs
- Sensitivity
- Business Value:
- Control and visibility over data and infrastructure;
- seamless integration with existing systems;
- staging ground to modernize applications prior to Cloud deployments
- EDGE Computing
-
- Locally hosted by SSC or CSP
- Latency
- Business Value:
- Brings data processing closer to the source;
- offers secure, low latency;
- bandwidth optimization for large volumes of data
- Emerging Hosting Opportunities
-
- (e.g., GC PaaS)
- Simplicity
- Business Value:
- Centrally-hosted, standard solutions to common GC requirements;
- hands-off and turn-key
What SSC does: Digital services
SSC is working to ensure users have a common digital experience with full access to a standardized core bundle of tools, anywhere at anytime, from any GC-approved device, with seamless collaboration between work environments.
What we’re doing
- Integrating services to overcome departmental barriers
- Improving user experiences and creating more consistency
- Moving away from fixed-location technology
- Addressing rising costs by optimizing the use of in-service assets
- Expanding in-building mobile coverage
- Transitioning away from end-of-life at-risk systems and solutions
- Expanding security and authentication patterns
- Digital Workspace
-
Provide GC users with the tools they need based on their profile to work within a truly connected environment.
Offering a Digital Workspace toolkit for an enhanced user experience, seamless integration and optimized support.
- Conferencing Services
- Provide a seamless conferencing experience where integration, ease-of-use (e.g., one-touch join) and consistency support our hybrid workplace.
- Contact Centres
-
Enable accessible and secure Citizen engagement through modern omni-channel contact centre solutions.
Providing evaluation frameworks, guided designs, supply arrangements and implementation support from the SSC centre of expertise for the GC.
- Digital Contact
- Support multi-channel communications with streamlined identifiers (i.e., one telephone number) throughout the career of each public servant.
What SSC does: Cybersecurity services
SSC is working to provide an approach to security that is based on constant verification (Zero Trust), where users can seamlessly and securely access the tools they need through a single secure digital identity.
What we’re doing
- Protecting the ecosystem, SSC has responded to over 157 billion malicious cyber attacks, 432 million email threats and 1.6 million malware attacks
- Transitioning the current GC cybersecurity towards modern cybersecurity concepts (e.g., Zero Trust Architecture)
- Improving administrative access controls (e.g.., Administrative Access Control Service) to control risk and manage new threats
- Adopting security technologies for cloud and new communication technologies (e.g., smartphone)
- Extending core security services to 43 small departments and agencies

Long description
A graphic illustrating SSC’s Cyber Security Roadmaps as interlocking circles:
- Zero Trust Architecture (Identity Management),
- Defence in depth (Continuous Monitoring), and
- Secure by Design (Enterprise Asset Management).
Identity management is described as “Managing user identities and access permissions on the GC network, leveraging multi-factor authentication.”
Continuous monitoring is described as “Constantly monitoring, tracking and reporting on cyber security events across SSC’s entire infrastructure as part of the department’s adoption of a Zero Trust approach.”
Enterprise Asset Management is described as “Ensuring that Enterprise assets are secure, up to date and compliant with organizational policies with the goal of protecting the network and data from unauthorized access.”
SSC by the numbers
SSC is committed to improving IT service delivery and management and is constantly evolving its service management practices and processes across the organization, with the goal of delivering service excellence to its customers.

Long description
A pie chart illustrating the annual expenditures for 2021-2022. Internal Services: $306.5 million; Common Government of Canada IT Operations: $1,855.6 million.
Expenditures | $3.3B |
---|---|
Revenues | $947M |
Net cost of operations | $2.39B |
Total expenses | $3.3 billion |
---|---|
Total revenues | $947 million |
Total net financial assets | $524 million |
Tangible capital assets | $1.1 billion |
Full time equivalents | 7,955 |
---|
Source for all statistics: 2021-22 Departmental Results Report - Canada.ca
What SSC does: highlights
SSC manages a large IT portfolio of Government of Canada (GC) networks, systems, and assets. SSC also ensures that IT solutions supplied by vendors and offered to our customers provide the best value for their business needs. SSC leverages these best-of-industry solutions and orchestrates their deployment alone or in combination to ensure delivery of critical GC IT services.
SSC IT operations
- Networks: 50
- Data Centres: 385
- Email Systems: 21
- GC Applications: 12,000
SSC project management
- SSC-led Project CostsFootnote 1 : $1.4B
- Business RequestsFootnote 2 : 9,480
SSC procurement
- 73% of all SSC contracts (valued at $569M approx.)
- Awarded to small- and medium-sized businesses in 2020/21Footnote 3
- 99 Contracts (valued at $42.1M approx.)
- Awarded to Indigenous businesses in 2020Footnote 3
SSC fun facts
Supercomputing
SSC supports Environment and Climate Change Canada High Performance Computing capacity to improve the accuracy and timeliness of weather forecasting services.
Satellite communication
SSC supports the Department of National Defence’s ability to communicate with ships around the world via satellite network.
Canadarm2
SSC supported the Canadian Space Agency to ensure the success of robotics operations on board the International Space Station.
SSC Supporting the GC from coast to coast to coast
SSC devotes considerable resources to working with partner departments and agencies around Canada, and has employees, offices and data centres distributed across the country.
Supporting nation-wide collaboration
- SSC is implementing modern, secure and robust enterprise tools, and supporting infrastructure capabilities. These are necessary elements for providing digital workspaces from which public servants can flexibly work remotely or in a GC facility.
- SSC is adapting its networks to support the GC’s hybrid workplace model, which is a combination of both remote work and office work.

Long description
A map of Canada illustrating SSC’s support to the GC from coast to coast to coast. SSC has networks to support the GC hybrid model in many cities across the country:
- Victoria
- Vancouver
- Yellowknife
- Edmonton
- Calgary
- Saskatoon
- Regina
- Winnipeg
- Montréal/Dorval
- Ottawa/Gatineau
- Petawawa
- Borden
- Toronto
- Québec
- Kingston
- Belleville
- St John’s
- Matane/Rimouski
- Charlottetown
- Halifax/Dartmouth
- Moncton
- Fredericton
How SSC operates
SSC’s operational landscape is complex and multifaceted given the role it plays in maintaining, expanding, and modernizing the GC’s IT infrastructure.
Run
Activities related to ensuring the day-to-day operations of core GC IT infrastructure, focused on maintaining operations
Example: Maintaining Legacy Data Centres
Grow
Activities related to anticipating, preparing for, and reacting to planned and unplanned growth in IT requirements across the GC, focused on scaling existing solutions to meet increased demands
Example: Increasing Network Bandwidth
Transform
Activities related to initiatives and projects considered transformative, focused on evolving and improving the core foundations of the GC’s IT infrastructure and on setting the conditions for progressive improvements
Example: Introducing Modern Collaboration Tools
Transforming how IT infrastructure and services are delivered
SSC 3.0 set the course of an enterprise service approach that meets the common needs of the GC at speed and at scale, while still allowing enough flexibility to address unique departmental requirements.
Enterprise approach
- An enterprise approach focuses on reducing the proliferation of similar IT solutions across the GC that meet common IT needs.
- The enterprise approach is key to the success of digital government keeping up with new technologies and managing emerging risks as it simplifies IT maintenance and operations and allows for continuous improvement while reducing overall costs for the GC.
- SSC will continue to strengthen its enterprise approach by focusing on the needs of SSC's clients and partners as the government adopts a hybrid work model, and by continuing to adopt enterprise approaches to new technology.
Continuing SSC’s transformation – Delivering Digital Services Together
SSC has developed future-oriented service objectives in four key areas: digital services, hosting services, connectivity services and cybersecurity services. We are now in the process of refining roadmaps to achieve these service objectives and support Canada’s Digital Ambition and OneGC Vision, to provide Canadians secure, reliable and barrier-free services on any platform or device.

Long description
A graphic depicting 4 service areas and their goals:
- Digital Services
- Hosting Services
- Connectivity Services
- Cyber Security Services
All 4 services areas share the common goal to “Provide secure and reliable digital, network and hosting services that allow public servants to work collaboratively and seamlessly across the GC to serve Canadians.”
Digital Services’ goal is “Users have a common digital experience with full access to a standardized core bundle of tools, anywhere at anytime, from any GC-approved device, with seamless collaboration between work environments.”
Hosting Services’ goal is “A reliable and sustainable hosting ecosystem where workloads can be transferred from any hosting location without impacting operations and where enterprise application data can be transferred across GC infrastructure at speed and scale.”
Digital Services and Hosting Services are grouped under the Digital Ambition Theme of “Data-enabled digital services and programs.” The goal of this theme is “Drive cross-government improvement in client and employee services, data and cross-agency integration.”
Connectivity Services’ goal is “Connectivity services that meet the needs of users, using a model that leverages commercial and public networks and wireless technologies.”
Cyber Security Services’ goal is “An approach to security that is based on constant verification (Zero Trust), where users can seamlessly and securely access the tools they need through a single secure digital identity.”
Connectivity Services and Cyber Security Services are grouped under the Digital Ambition Theme of “Excellence in technology and operations.” The goal of this theme is “Maximize effectiveness and value assurance of technology investments across government.”
Strategic Roadmaps will be used to further an enterprise approach
Destination
The objectives provide goal clarity.
Provide secure and reliable digital, network and hosting services that allow public servants to work collaboratively and seamlessly across the GC to serve Canadians.
Journey
Strategic and technology roadmaps are being developed to chart an operational path forward and give predictability to stakeholders.
- Connectivity Services
- Hosting Services
- Digital Services
- Cybersecurity Services
Approach
SSC will engage stakeholders at every step of the journey.
Roadmaps will allow SSC and partners to:
- Know what service improvements or new technology is coming
- Allow departments to elect to be pathfinders
- Facilitate the sharing of lesson learned and process improvements
- Improve the speed and scale at which improvements are rolled out
Annex
Enabling legislation and Orders-in-Council
Read together, the Shared Services Canada Act and Orders-in-Council stipulate how Shared Services Canada supports its partners and clients in program delivery and service provision.
Shared Services Canada Act
- This Act establishes Shared Services Canada’s role to provide centralized administrative shared services to the Government of Canada.
- The Governor in Council may name the Minister responsible for Shared Services Canada, set out the specific mandated services and identify the departments that Shared Services Canada may and must serve through Orders‐in‐Council.
- The Act gives the Minister responsible for Shared Services Canada enabling procurement authorities.
Source: Shared Services Canada Act (justice.gc.ca)
Orders-in-Council
- Orders-in-Council outline Shared Services Canada’s core mandate with regards to the provision of services related to:
- email;
- data centres;
- networks; and,
- services related to end-user information technologies (also known as workplace technology devices) with the exception of end-user support services.
- As part of these four mandate areas, Shared Services Canada also plays a significant cyber security role, in close collaboration with other security departments and agencies.
Sources: OiC 2015-1071 / OiC 2016-0003
Categories of services and clients
SSC is responsible for providing shared IT services related to Email, Networks, Data Centres, and End User IT to government organizations. Order in Council 2015-1071 outlines four broad categories of services that SSC must, or may, provide to its clientele.
Email, network and data centre services
- Email: contemporary digital communications and collaboration solutions
- Networks: most connectivity needs, including, telephony, Wi-Fi and satellite
- Data centres: hosting solutions in GC-operated or outsourced locations such as Cloud
- Partners (45)
- Must receive all these services
- Mandatory Clients (43)
- Must receive a subset of all these services
- Optional Clients
- May receive any of these services
End user IT services
Includes a wide array of hardware and software used day-to-day by most public servants.
- Mandatory Clients (90)
- Must receive these services
- Optional Clients
- May receive these services
Senior leaders - Bios
Sony Perron
President

Sony Perron was appointed President of Shared Services Canada (SSC) in April 2022, after having joined the department as Executive Vice-President in October 2020.
Sony is passionate about client services, digital automation and effective partnership models. SSC is responsible for delivering digital services to Government of Canada organizations.
At the beginning of his career, Sony spent a few years in academia and the private sector. His career path included roles at Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, and Canada Economic Development Agency for Quebec Regions.
Sony then worked at Health Canada for more than 15 years, where he served in various positions, including Director General, Non‑Insured Health Benefits Directorate, and Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services Branch.
Prior to arriving at SSC in 2020, Sony was Associate Deputy Minister at Indigenous Services Canada, after leading the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch at Health Canada for four years.
Sony was the 2020 National Chair of the Government of Canada’s Workplace Charitable Campaign.
Sony holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from École nationale d’administration publique and a bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning from Université du Québec à Montréal. He is married and a father of three children.
He also serves as the Deputy Minister Champion for Concordia University.
Scott Jones
Executive Vice-President

Scott Jones was appointed Executive Vice-President of Shared Services Canada and, concurrently, Associate Deputy Minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada, effective April 11, 2022.
Prior to this appointment, he was Federal Lead on Proof of Vaccine Credentials and Associate Deputy Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, starting in August 2021. Scott collaborated with federal partners, provinces and territories to successfully deliver the Canadian COVID-19 proof of vaccination program that is used for travel in Canada and internationally.
Scott also led IRCC’s efforts related to digital transformation, modernization, IM/IT and data, as well as the Citizenship and Passport programs.
From October 2018 to August 2021, Mr. Jones worked as Head of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSE).
Since beginning his career in 1999, Mr. Jones has held various positions at the CSE. They included Assistant Deputy Minister of IT Security; acting Assistant Deputy Minister of Corporate Services; Chief Financial Officer; and Director General of Cyber Defence, providing leadership in the areas of signals intelligence and IT security. Before that, he worked at the Privy Council Office as a National Security Policy Advisor in the Security and Intelligence Secretariat.
Scott has been with the public service for over 20 years. He is a graduate of the University of Ottawa, where he earned a Master of Business Administration. Scott also holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Electronic Systems Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Regina.
Scott Davis
Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Financial Officer

Scott Davis is the Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Financial Officer, Chief Financial Officer Branch.
Scott is focused on achieving the vision to be a trusted strategic partner, providing valued client service that goes beyond the numbers and ensuring the branch is well positioned to assist the department now and into the future with financial management and oversight.
Previously, his roles have included; Acting Assistant Deputy Minister, Digital Services Branch, Director General and Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Director General, Financial Strategies and Cost Management Advisory Services, Treasury Board of Canada Submissions, investment planning, financial community development and budget process.
Prior to joining Shared Services Canada, Scott has gained significant experience in financial strategies primarily with the Office of the Comptroller General at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and National Research Council in various financial management Director roles. Prior to joining the public service, Scott has worked in various multi-national companies across the United States and Canada, focused on accounting and reporting. He gained respect and credibility as a hardworking go-to leader, capable of implementing complex, high-profile programs and projects.
Scott holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Bishop's University and is a Certified Professional Accountant.
Nutan Behki
Assistant Deputy Minister

Nutan Behki is the Assistant Deputy Minister for the Project Management and Delivery Branch.
She is responsible for managing all Shared Services Canada’s projects, from planning to delivery. Aligned with Shared Services Canada's customer service delivery model, the project management function helps the department to support Government of Canada objectives.
Nutan joined Shared Services Canada’s senior leadership team in February 2022. She started her Shared Services Canada journey with a 6-month assignment in Networks and Security Services Branch supporting Patrice Nadeau, enabling her to learn and develop an understanding of our service lines and their interaction with other parts of the organization and our Partners. Key files such as network modernization, return-2-work and the network security project space are benefiting from her wealth of experience in communications technology and network transformation.
Nutan came to the Government of Canada and Shared Services Canada from Nokia where she was focused on the development of secure, scalable, cloud inherent software for emerging 5G networks. Her career focus has been communications technology and she has worked in all phases of the innovation lifecycle, including product strategy, technical presales, product development and network deployment. She has held leadership positions in North America, China and France in Mobile, Optical, DSL and IP.
Nutan holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Systems Engineering from the University of Waterloo and a Master’s of Science in Computer Engineering from Queen’s University. She has been a champion for diverse workforces in terms of gender, culture, geography, generation, and education.
Nutan also serves as the Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign (GCWCC) Co-Champion at Shared Services Canada for 2023-2024.
Shereen Benzvy Miller
Assistant Deputy Minister

Shereen Benzvy Miller is the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Next Generation Human Resources and Pay Branch. Shereen Benzvy Miller is a seasoned senior executive with an extensive background in leadership within the Government of Canada. With a track record spanning over two decades, she has been instrumental in shaping strategic policies, directing pivotal programs, and overseeing operational functions in service delivery and regulatory arenas, driving tangible outcomes and significant transformation.
Her passion lies in leading and building purpose-driven organizations that thrive on collaboration and engagement. As a leader, she has developed and executed innovative strategies that have yielded impressive results. Notably, she spearheaded the inception and successful launch of Buyandsell.gc.ca, a digital platform revolutionizing government electronic tendering, displacing the longstanding more costly and outdated solution.
Furthermore, she established two pioneering initiatives, the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program and Innovative Solutions Canada, aimed at accelerating the commercialization of Canadian innovation.
While the Assistant Deputy Minister for Small Business, Tourism, and Marketplace Services at ISED, she implemented game-changing endeavors such as the Venture Capital Action Plan and the Accelerated Growth initiative. Among her notable achievements was the establishment of the government's first and largest Design Thinking Innovation Lab, operating for three years at ISED. This lab played a pivotal role in assisting all departments in reimagining services and programs tailored to the needs of small businesses. Additionally, she successfully led the creation and launch of the Canadian Innovation Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace which exists still today and provides a highly innovative solution to a critical issue.
In her most recent venture, she undertook the ambitious task of constructing the Next Generation HR and Pay team at the onset of the pandemic. Despite inheriting a trust deficit due to a failed Pay system and the HR systems it relied on, she showcased her ability to attract top-tier professionals to this challenging yet invigorating initiative. By establishing a clear program mandate and meticulously managing all aspects, including project details, funding, oversight, and governance, she finds this journey to be gratifying and energizing.
Begonia Lojk
Chief Audit And Evaluation Executive

Begonia Lojk is the Chief Audit and Evaluation Executive at Shared Services Canada.
Begonia Lojk is the Chief Audit and Evaluation Executive (CAEE) for Shared Services Canada (SSC) (since 2018). She is also SSC’s Executive Co-champion for Official Languages and the Senior Officer for Internal Disclosure. Begonia has a civil engineering degree from McGill University, an MBA from the University of Ottawa, and a Certificate in Regulatory Leadership from the University of Ottawa/Carleton University. She is a certified internal auditor and is licensed as a professional engineer in both Ontario and in Quebec.
Begonia has been building SSC’s audit and evaluation team and its capabilities to support oversight, risk management and transparency for SSC, an organization that has seen rapid growth since its creation in 2011.
With 39 years of experience in the public and private sectors, her career has spanned consulting engineering, professional regulation, international standards, and government wide delivery of programs in the Canadian federal government in various executive positions.
She has worked with the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (Engineers Canada), building partnerships with the engineer regulators across Canada, and establishing national guidelines for the admission, discipline and enforcement of the engineering practice across Canada. She has also worked internationally, with the Standards Council of Canada, where for over nine years she oversaw programs for participation in international standards bodies (International Standardization Organization and International Electrotechnical Commission), and served as the Secretary of two national committees that establish national and international standards policy. She also served on the Board of Directors of the Pan American Standards Commission and represented Canada internationally on standards governance and bodies. She continued her work in national standards and certification as the Senior Director of the Canadian General Standards Board (Public Services and Procurement Canada) for the next five years. She also led the Shared Services Travel Program (Public Services and Procurement Canada), a whole of government solution for travel and expense management and reporting services for 92 client departments, for two years.
Begonia is fluent in three languages (English, French and Spanish).
José Gendron
Assistant Deputy Minister

José Gendron is the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Client Service Delivery and Management – Citizen and Business Branch.
On April 24, 2023, José accepted the role of Assistant Deputy Minister of the Client Service Delivery and Management – Citizen and Business Branch, which serves the Canada Border Services Agency, the Canada Revenue Agency, the department of Employment and Social Development Canada, the department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada as well as the Immigration Refugee Board of Canada by supporting their IT service management requirements. José leads the client executive teams that support these organizations in service delivery and ensures client satisfaction.
From 2020 to April 2023, José occupied the position of Assistant Deputy Minister, Client Service Delivery and Management – Digital Government and Science Branch where he managed the effective and efficient delivery of IT services offered to 36 of Shared Services Canada’s (SSC) partner departments, 40 mandatory clients and 65 optional clients.
José joined SSC in December 2011 serving as the Director General leading the National Security Portfolio under the Operations branch until 2015. He has since then served as the Director General responsible for leading service delivery management for various federal government departments under the Service Delivery and Management branch and Strategy branch from 2015 to 2018, as well as occupied the position of Associate Assistant Deputy Minister responsible for the Client Executive organization in the Service Delivery and Management branch at SSC from 2018 to 2020.
In 2010, José started in the Public Service as Director Defence IM Planning. Soon after, he was appointed Acting Director General of Information Management Strategic Planning at the Department of National Defence. Prior to this he had been a member of the Canadian Armed Forces since 1977 where he served in various command positions.
José holds a Bachelor’s of Electrical Engineering from the Royal Military College of Canada and a Master’s Degree in Defence Studies.
Brendan Dunne
Assistant Deputy Minister

Brendan is the Assistant Deputy Minister for the Client Service Delivery and Management – National Defence and Policing Branch.
He is responsible for the effective and efficient delivery of Information Technology services to the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Veterans Affairs Canada. Brendan leads the client executive teams that support these departments in providing IT services to digitally enable their unique operational and security requirements. Brendan is also responsible for Shared Services Canada’s only dedicated service line, Policing Infrastructure Operations, which provides data center, network, email, and security services to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the wider Canadian policing community.
He has 35 years of technology and leadership experience with the Government of Canada at the Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Border Services Agency, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Shared Services Canada. Since 1995, Brendan has held civilian leadership positions primarily in the law enforcement, policing and public safety domains.
As a senior executive with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police from 2003 to 2011, he was responsible for all national systems and led key horizontal technology initiatives including the 2010 Olympics and G8/G20 Summits. Brendan graduated from the Executive Development in Policing program at the Canadian Police College in 2009.
Brendan planned and led the transition for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police into Shared Services Canada in 2011. During his first 3 years at Shared Services Canada, he took on senior leadership roles in the National Security Portfolio, Enterprise Data Centers and, in 2014, became the Director General responsible simultaneously for Government Operations Portfolio and Enterprise IT Service Management organizations.
Brendan became the Chief Technology Officer for the Canada Border Services Agency in 2015 and was responsible for all border operations technology as well as managing both government and industry partners. Key accomplishments include Operation Syrian Refugees in 2015/16 and leading an international Border Five senior advisory group.
Brendan returned to Shared Services Canada in 2018 to lead the Policing Service Delivery Renewal program. As the senior executive accountable for all aspects of Shared Services Canada services to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Canadian policing agencies, Brendan was recognized by both the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the wider policing community as having successfully transformed the relationship.
In 2020, as an Assistant Deputy Minister, Brendan co-led Shared Services Canada’s successful collaborative efforts implementing the Canada Emergency Response Benefits and other benefit programs in response to the pandemic.
Brendan has a Bachelor of Commerce, Honours, with a specialization in Management Information Systems from the University of Ottawa. He lives in Vanier (Ottawa), Ontario.
Jacquie Manchevsky
Assistant Deputy Minister

Jacquie Manchevsky is the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Operations and Client Services Branch and the Women’s Network Champion Services Shared Services Canada (SSC).
Prior to SSC, Jacquie served as Assistant Deputy Minister for the Next Generation Human Resources and Pay initiative for the Treasury Board Secretariat where she led extensive employee and stakeholder engagement building on lessons learned from the Phoenix pay system to identify three options for a modern, integrated human resources and pay solution for the Government of Canada.
Jacquie has a significant number of years’ experience in providing operational services to Canadians which have national oversight with regional delivery across Canada. She has held various Director and Director General positions at Employment and Social Development Canada across various programs including Employment Insurance Appeals, Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security Call Centres, the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and Grants and Contributions.
Additionally, in her 25+ year career in the Government of Canada, Jacquie has worked in various roles across departments with increasing areas of responsibility, including, Environment Canada, Privy Council Office, and the Millennium Bureau of Canada. She is highly experienced in leading transformation initiatives, building strategic partnerships and team management.
Robert Ianiro
Assistant Deputy Minister

Robert Ianiro was appointed Assistant Deputy Minister of Enterprise IT Procurement and Corporate Services Branch in January 2022. Prior to this appointment, he was the Vice President of Human Resources at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Robert has also worked at Health Canada for over 20 years assuming a wide-range of executive roles in various branches, including Assistant Deputy Minister of the Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch and Director General of Human Resources.
Robert is a skilled leader with significant experience in science-based legislative and regulatory development and implementation; strategic and operational policy development and execution; leadership of national compliance and enforcement programs; enterprise-wide human resources management; procurement and vendor relations; security, accommodation, and materiel management, stakeholder engagement and international collaboration.
Some of his prouder accomplishments include leading the policy development and Royal Assent of the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, renewing Canada’s Tobacco Strategy, representing Canada internationally (United Nations, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), and ensuring a continued safe and secure food supply for Canadians during COVID-19. Robert championed Health Canada’s 2019 Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign, which was awarded the most prestigious Chair’s Cup and continues to support the campaign as a member of the National Cabinet.
Robert was born and raised in Ottawa and obtained a Bachelor of Science,(Honours, Biochemistry) from the University of Ottawa. He is a proud husband and father of two children. In his free time he likes to travel, bike, cook, and spend quality time with his family.
Alexandre St-Jean
Ombuds

Alexandre was appointed Ombuds for Shared Services Canada in March 2021.
Alexandre joined the Public Service in 2009 after working eight years in various industries of the private sector. Since then, he has worked in the fields of wellness, conflict management, harassment prevention and values and ethics. Most notably, he was the Director of Informal Conflict Management System at the Department of Justice. He has played a leadership role in the Federal Informal Conflict Management System Network and continues to play a key role in the Interdepartmental Organizational Ombuds Community. He comes to Shared Services Canada from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat where he was the Ombudsman and Director of the Office of the Ombudsman, Ethics and Conflict Resolution. Throughout his career, he has played a key role in resolving complex issues through coaching, mediation and group intervention process.
He also developed an expertise in the field of emotional intelligence, resiliency and effective interpersonal communication.
Alexandre holds a Bachelor’s degree of Commerce with specialties in Finance and Marketing from McGill University.
Shannon Archibald
Assistant Deputy Minister

Shannon Archibald is the Assistant Deputy Minister, Hosting Services Branch at Shared Services Canada (SSC).
She is responsible for managing Government of Canada (GC) data centres, cloud hosting solutions and leading the Hosting Strategy for the department. The objective of the Hosting Strategy is to efficiently and securely operate, manage, streamline, consolidate, standardize, and evolve the hosting services that house GC business applications.
Most recently, she was the Assistant Deputy Minister and Deputy Chief Technology Officer at SSC where she was responsible for providing leadership and direction on technology, aligning the technology vision and business strategies and driving technological innovation. In this role, she was also responsible for the GC Cloud Brokering Service and setting the digital stage to deliver world-class science services.
Before joining SSC, Shannon was the Director General of GC-wide programs and solutions within Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) where, as a common service provider, she was responsible for implementing and leading and implementing several large scale government-wide programs and applications for over 80 departments and agencies.
She spent most of her career between Environment Canada and PSPC – all within IT. The majority of her executive experience has involved delivering large complex programs and creating diverse partnerships.
Matt Davies
Chief Technology Officer

Matt Davies, Chief Technology Officer for Shared Services Canada, is a well-respected visionary leader and a corporate director who understands the importance of developing business strategies that support growth and innovation objectives while driving digital transformation and managing cybersecurity risk. Strong business acumen coupled with experience is reflected in Matt’s versatility and vision.
Matt has shared his insight and expertise to help educate board members and executives on strategy, digital transformation and cyber security risk. He recently shared his perspective in an Institute of Corporate Directors webinar on “Ransomware – Is your board prepared?” following up from earlier webinars on “Cyber Security Risk: What Every Director Needs to Know” and “Cyber security governance: Roadmap for Directors and Cyber Security Leaders”. Matt currently serves on the Hydro Ottawa and the University of Ottawa Heart Institute boards and volunteers as a Chartered Public Accountant/Certified Management Accountant panel member.
He recently received the Certified Chief Information Security Officer Award, which recognizes an individual's outstanding work in information security, at the Chief Information Security Officer Forum Canada 2020 and in 2023 was recognized as a global CCISO Hall of Fame Runner-up. Matt recently obtained his certificate in Sustainability Leadership from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.
Paule Labbé
Assistant Deputy Minister

Paule Labbé joined Shared Services Canada as the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Strategy and Engagement Branch.
Previously she was the Assistant Deputy Minister of Executive and Leadership Development at the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer for the Government of Canada. In this role, she was responsible for the policy framework governing executive classification, organization and compensation as well as government-wide leadership for the performance and talent management of the 5,400+ executives in the core public administration.
Paule has enjoyed a varied career in the public service, ranging from tax policy and administration at the Department of Finance and the Canada Revenue Agency, to strategic and operational planning, reporting and results at Health Canada.
As an Executive Director at the Treasury Board Secretariat, she transformed the Management Accountability Framework from a qualitative, ratings-based process to a rigorous, data and information driven assessment of Government of Canada management.
She led the Policy Suite Reset initiative that has led to the streamlining of administrative policies governing key corporate functions (e.g. financial, information management / information technology, human resources, etc.) across the federal government. In that role, Paule also provided technical assistance on public management to the governments of Kazakhstan and South Africa.
Paule has a Bachelor of Economics (McGill University) and a Master of Business Administration (University of Ottawa).
Patrice Nadeau
Assistant Deputy Minister

Patrice Nadeau is the Assistant Deputy Minister responsible for the Networks and Security Services Branch at Shared Services Canada.
Prior to assuming his current role, he was Director General of the Data Networks directorate and Associate Assistant Deputy Minister of Networks, Security and Digital Services at Shared Services Canada.
He joined Shared Services Canada when it was created in 2011. Previous to that, he worked at Public Works and Government Services Canada from 1996 to 2011. During this time, he held various information technology management positions, including Account Manager for the Government Telecommunications and Informatics Services and the Delivery Executive of the Telecommunications and Information Technology Security Service Delivery Division.
Patrice began his career in the private sector with Matrox in Dorval, Quebec. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from l'École de technologie supérieure de Montréal.
Kristin Brunner
Assistant Deputy Minister

Kristin Brunner is the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Digital Services Branch at Shared Services Canada.
She is responsible for enterprise email, workplace technology, telecommunications, contact centre and conferencing services across the federal government and agencies.
Before assuming this position, Kristin was the Director General of the Service Management Operations Directorate at Shared Services Canada.
Prior to joining Shared Services Canada in 2017, Kristin worked in the private sector, where she accumulated over 20 years of IT Services experience in the areas of IT Service Management operations, program management and customer relationship management. Her career path included various positions at companies such as IBM, HP and EDS where she was a Client Executive and National Service Desk Leader. In these roles, she was responsible for overseeing complex programs and transforming service delivery for prominent clients such as the Federal and Provincial Governments and Fortune 500 companies.
Kristin is a graduate of Queen’s University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts (Honours).
In-flight Treasury Board submissions
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Government of Canada priority programs and projects
Issue
Shared Services Canada (SSC) works with the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) and partner departments and agencies to advance Government of Canada (GC) priorities for digital delivery of programs and services to Canadians. SSC collaborates with partners on solution design, project planning, architecture and data migrations, and offers project management services when required by partners.
The department’s role in these programs or projects varies—from enhancing network infrastructure or supporting modernized partner applications, to procuring enterprise services for cloud or managing digital credentials. Projects are aligned with the GCs Digital Ambition, which looks to enable the delivery of secure government services in the digital age for all Canadians.
Projects
The following list includes priority projects where SSC plays a role, and where the Minister may expect to have some level of engagement with colleagues:
- Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) ten-year initiative to modernize benefit delivery services for Employment Insurance (EI), Old Age Security (OAS), and the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). By 2030, the new BDM solution will provide an easy-to-use, integrated, and secure cloud-based platform that is adaptable focused on the delivery of the program. In this context, SSC provides the connectivity services that underlay BDM, as well as undertakes procurement of technology solutions in support of the BDM program (e.g., customer identity and access management, contact centres, cloud services).
- Public Safety (PS) Firearm Buyback Program (FBP) responds to the GC decision to prohibit more than 1500 assault-style firearms through the design and implementation of a buyback program during amnesty. In this context, SSC and Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) are working jointly to support various components of the program including call centre services, and possible procurement options, including leveraging SSC's Microsoft Enterprise Agreement (MSEA).
- Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Global Case Management System (GCMS) is part of a multi-year program (Digital Modernization Platform Program-DPM) to replace a number of business systems at IRCC and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) with a set of integrated case management applications and infrastructure to support client operations. SSC is supporting IRCC on a project to implement an interim GCMS High Availability Disaster Recovery instance to reduce the risk of business disruption in the event of an IT outage.
- Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and the CBSA Migration (CCM) is a key workload migration project that will see workloads currently hosted at the legacy St Laurent Data Centre to a modern hosting environment in a SSC Enterprise Data Centre. SSC, CRA and CBSA are working on migration planning and execution to ensure existing service and performance levels and to minimize risk to business operations.
- Health Canada (HC) Canada Dental Benefit is a phased program that would provide payments to cover dental expenses for eligible Canadians, starting with children under 12 years of age. SSC is providing support to HC and the CRA on the security assessment required for a third-party application platform that would deliver benefit payments.
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Body Worn Camera (BWC) Digital Evidence Management is an initiative to improve public transparency and accountability and to respond to concerns about policing from racialized and Indigenous communities. The program will equip RCMP officers with a body-worn camera while on duty. It will also implement software technology to store and ensure ready access to video evidence to support court proceedings, access to information requests and other complaints processes in a manner that respects privacy legislation. SSC is supporting RCMP digital initiatives by enabling the RCMP cloud presence and evolving the network capacity and capability.
IT procurement: advancing socio-economic issues
Issue
In fulfilling its mandate to deliver digital services to the Government of Canada (GC) departments and agencies, Shared Services Canada (SSC) is purposeful about improving the socio-economic impact of its activities, including by advancing the GC priority to ensure equity, diversity and inclusion. In addition to SSC's work within the department and with its workforce, SSC is also driving improvements at an enterprise level, with a focus on accessibility, agile procurement, supporting Indigenous businesses and greening.
Background and key developments
Accessibility
SSC continues to provide adaptive and accessible solutions, accommodations and tools to employees both within SSC and across departments and agencies. In 2023–2024, SSC will evolve the Lending Library pilot project—a fast-tracked accommodation process that provides adaptive hardware, software, resources and tools to employees. In line with the SSC Accessibility Plan 2022-25, the Accessibility, Accommodation and Adaptive Computer Technology's (AAACT) program supports employees with disabilities, injuries and ergonomic requirements in the workplace. The AAACT offers a wide range of adaptive computer technologies, tools, training, services and resources. Expert staff help users explore, experiment, and learn about adaptive solutions, and create individual work plans that allow employees to work collaboratively in a safe, accessible and productive environment.
Facts:
- In 2022-23, SSC's Accessibility, Accommodation and Adaptive Computer Technology program saw a significant increase in demand for all services, including providing 44 workshops, over 380 info sessions and receiving over 15,000 inquiries.
- In 2022-23 SSC, provided advice for 106 Information and Communications Technology (ICT) procurements to 26 different organizations. Ensuring newly procured digital tools and services are accessible can significantly reduce downstream needs to retrofit tools, and/or future costs to provide users with accommodations.
Agile procurement
SSC, in collaboration with the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) and Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), is working on transformational IT procurement to foster a common understanding of the value of agile procurement. SSC is developing and implementing an Agile Procurement Framework that will result in better contract outcomes, faster delivery, improved leverage of private sector expertise and that better meets the needs of the end user. With agile procurement, SSC is simplifying procurement and reducing barriers to entry for small and medium sized enterprises. Procurement officers involved in transformational IT procurement are trained so that they have a more comprehensive understanding of agile and collaborative procurement methods. This agile approach brings together IT and procurement experts into one team to increase efficiency when engaging industry experts.
Facts:
- As part of the Agile Procurement Framework, so far, over 30 agile contracts have been awarded, of which 55% went to small and medium enterprises, either as a single entity or as part of a joint venture.
- In 2021–2022, SSC awarded contracts to 323 different SMEs. Of these SMEs, 307 were Canadian, representing 95% of all SMEs.
- In 2022–2023, SSC awarded contracts to 343 different SMEs of which 325 were Canadian, representing 95% of all SMEs.
Indigenous procurement
SSC continues to set aside procurements under the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business, and considers Indigenous peoples' participation in all new and renewed methods of supply. This includes qualifying Indigenous Original Equipment Manufacturers and resellers on SSC Standing Offers and Supply Arrangements in sectors with Indigenous business capacity. SSC is also creating new opportunities for Indigenous businesses to participate in procurement by piloting Indigenous Benefit Plans in sectors with limited Indigenous business capacity.
Facts:
- SSC exceeded the 5% Indigenous procurement target in 2021-22 with a total value of 6.3% and a volume of 7.8% of SSC-funded contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses.
- SSC is finalizing the evaluation of the results for 2022–2023, but is expecting to exceed the value and volume of contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses compared to 2021-22.
Greening
SSC supports commitments made in the Greening Government Strategy, including the transition to net-zero emissions by 2050 and the transition to a net-zero circular economy through green procurement. Data centres represent most of SSC's energy and water usage due to the fact that these facilities are constantly operational to maintain the networks and applications that serve Canadians. As part of its Data Centre Consolidation, SSC has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification or equivalent in all four of its Enterprise Data Centres. LEED is a globally recognized green certification system that provides a framework for designing, constructing, operating and maintaining buildings in an environmentally sustainable and resource-efficient manner.
The department has also begun to include language on Greenhouse Gas reduction targets in procurement documents to ensure that vendors contribute to the GC's greening commitments. SSC participates in the Computer for Schools Plus program led by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), which donates computers and associated equipment. This helps delay e-waste's entry into landfills.
Facts:
- SSC has closed 440 of 720 legacy data centres, moving workloads to state-of-the-art Enterprise Data Centres that meet high environmental standards.
- All of the 8 preselected vendors included in our inventory of vetted Cloud Service Providers have equal or enhanced targets compared to Canada's commitments of reducing emissions by 40–45% by 2030 and achieving net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.
- SSC is implementing an action plan to support the Greening Government Strategy's commitment that at least 75% of new light-duty fleet vehicle purchases will be zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) or hybrids. SSC will prioritize the purchase of ZEVs and Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) when it is operationally feasible to do so, and when these are available for purchase. The ultimate objective is that by 2030, 100% of the government's light-duty fleet will be made up of ZEVs.
Next Generation Human Resources and Pay Initiative
Issue
Shared Services Canada (SSC) was mandated to test the viability of a commercial human resources (HR) and pay system to replace the current Government of Canada (GC) pay system (Phoenix) and over 33 existing HR systems now in use across government.
The Next Generation (NextGen HR and Pay) initiative will soon produce a report detailing the results of this testing as well as an assessment that will inform a Recommendation for a future enterprise-wide next generation HR and pay system for the GC.
Recently, a new Associate Deputy Minister was appointed at Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) to coordinate development of an integrated, enterprise strategy on HR and pay. In this context, SSC will work closely with PSPC in this final phase of the NextGen HR and Pay initiative.
Background and key developments
The GC's current HR and pay business and technology environment employs a multitude of practices and systems. This results in inconsistent data and the need for manual workarounds, which in turn leads to higher operating cost . In addition, due to this legacy environment, the GC is currently unable to obtain the information that it requires to manage the Public Service workforce in a timely manner.
In this context, the NextGen HR and Pay initiative began with exploring whether the GC could adopt a fully integrated commercial technology solution, in line with industry best practices. As the department responsible for provisioning enterprise information technology (IT) solutions to departments and agencies, SSC was identified as the technical lead and was mandated to work with a series of pre-qualified vendors to test commercial solutions against a number of HR and pay scenarios that represent the complexity of the GC environment.
Solution testing was undertaken with a number of partner departments that were selected as representative of the full complexity of the GC's HR and pay environment. Partners included Canadian Heritage, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard, Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions. Testing of the commercial solution was undertaken in a simulated technical environment using anonymized data from partner departments. This approach allowed for parallel testing of the commercial solution alongside the current pay system to validate accuracy. As of late June 2023, testing of the solution was completed. Work on a final Finding Report is now underway.
Budget 2023 allocated $41M in funding for 2023-24 to SSC to complete solution testing, deliver the final Findings Report and draft an assessment to inform a recommendation to the GC.
Considerations
The NextGen HR and Pay initiative was designed as an experimental effort that would allow the GC to generate learning about what changes would be required to business practices should the GC elect to leverage a commercial HR and pay solution in the future. The findings from NextGen HR and Pay thus far indicate that the commercial solution tested (Ceridian Dayforce) effectively meets the vast majority of requirements for HR and pay. That said, the findings also identify a number of complex HR and pay business practices that the GC must simplify to effectively adopt a commercial solution. Achieving a level of standardization of rules across the workforce and simplifying complex business processes will be essential to the successful implementation of any commercial HR and pay solution.
Next steps
With testing now compete, work has shifted to compiling findings and assessing the implementation and ongoing operational costs of a commercial HR and pay solution for the GC. Over the summer months, focus will be placed on integrating the NextGen HR and Pay team under PSPC leadership with the goal of delivering an integrated recommendation to government in fall 2023.
Delivering Digital Solutions Together
Purpose
- Discuss
- Shared Services Canada (SSC)’s planned approach for developing roadmaps that will support departments in meeting their digital agenda
- Describe
- how these roadmaps facilitate an agile and fully digital public service that will enable and support programs and services for Canadians
- Outline
- how SSC plans to further engage partners to seek their feedback, insights and ongoing alignment
Service objectives
SSC has developed future-oriented service objectives in four key areas: digital services, hosting services, connectivity services and cybersecurity services. We are now in the process of refining roadmaps to achieve these service objectives and support Canada’s Digital Ambition and OneGC Vision, to provide Canadians secure, reliable and barrier-free services on any platform or device.

Long description
A graphic depicting 4 service areas and their goals:
- Digital Services
- Hosting Services
- Connectivity Services
- Cyber Security Services
All 4 services areas share the common goal to “Provide secure and reliable digital, network and hosting services that allow public servants to work collaboratively and seamlessly across the GC to serve Canadians.”
Digital Services’ goal is “Users have a common digital experience with full access to a standardized core bundle of tools, anywhere at anytime, from any GC-approved device, with seamless collaboration between work environments.”
Hosting Services’ goal is “A reliable and sustainable hosting ecosystem where workloads can be transferred from any hosting location without impacting operations and where enterprise application data can be transferred across GC infrastructure at speed and scale.”
Digital Services and Hosting Services are grouped under the Digital Ambition Theme of “Data-enabled digital services and programs.” The goal of this theme is “Drive cross-government improvement in client and employee services, data and cross-agency integration.”
Connectivity Services’ goal is “Connectivity services that meet the needs of users, using a model that leverages commercial and public networks and wireless technologies.”
Cyber Security Services’ goal is “An approach to security that is based on constant verification (Zero Trust), where users can seamlessly and securely access the tools they need through a single secure digital identity.”
Connectivity Services and Cyber Security Services are grouped under the Digital Ambition Theme of “Excellence in technology and operations.” The goal of this theme is “Maximize effectiveness and value assurance of technology investments across government.”
SSC 3.0 – The Journey continues
- This represents a continuation of the journey that began with SSC 3.0 towards an enterprise approach to IT infrastructure and related services that support digital government.
- Building on SSC 3.0, SSC is ready to accelerate progress in the provision of connectivity, cybersecurity, hosting and digital services. The roadmaps outline key steps and provide predictability and clarity about the future.
- SSC will continue to be guided by its stewardship role to ensure reliability, security and cost-effectiveness.
- A key to success will be SSC and its stakeholders taking the journey together.
- Delivering Digital Solutions Together outlines how SSC will work with others to achieve excellence in technology and operations in a complex digital ecosystem with many strategic and technical dependencies.
- 2011
- SSC created to consolidate and modernize the GC IT Infrastructure.
- 2016
- Ongoing replacements and upgrades to missioncritical IT hosting systems and cyber security enhancements
- 2019
- SSC 3.0 is launched, providing strategic direction for an enterprise delivery model
- 2020
-
SSC supports the GC in COVID-19 response efforts.
The Policy on Service and Digital takes effect.
- 2021
- The Government of Canada Digital Standards: Playbook is published.
- 2022
- Canada’s Digital Ambition 2022 is released.
- 2023
- SSC launches roadmaps for Delivering Digital Solutions Together.
Strategic Roadmaps will be used to further an enterprise approach
Destination
The objectives provide goal clarity.
Provide secure and reliable digital, network and hosting services that allow public servants to work collaboratively and seamlessly across the GC to serve Canadians.
Journey
Strategic and technology roadmaps are being developed to chart an operational path forward and give predictability to stakeholders.
- Connectivity Services
- Hosting Services
- Digital Services
- Cybersecurity Services
Approach
SSC will engage stakeholders at every step of the journey.
Roadmaps will allow SSC and partners to:
- Know what service improvements or new technology is coming
- Allow departments to elect to be pathfinders
- Facilitate the sharing of lesson learned and process improvements
- Improve the speed and scale at which improvements are rolled out
Reading the roadmaps
Why roadmaps?
They can orient us as we work toward acommon goal.
They can also guide:
- Capacity and skills planning andprioritization
- Investment planning and decisions
- Experimentation (pilots) of aspirationalservices
Destination is the same for all roadmaps
Public servants can work collaboratively from any location, with digital tools used seamlessly across the GC that provide secure access to reliable networks and data, so that the Government of Canada is able to continue to provide Canadians with the services they need.
What we’re doing
- Current view
- Where we are now
What we’re planning
- Short to medium term view
- Where we want to be next
Where we’re going
- Longer term view
- Where we want to be later
Connectivity services
Objective: Connectivity services that meet the needs of users, using a model that leverages commercial and public networks and wireless technologies.
Roadmaps will outline path to a network that is:
- Available anywhere, anytime, from any device
- An acceptable user experience to Canadians and GC employees anywhere, anytime across Canada, including rural and northern Canada.
- Fast, reliable and secure
- Optimization and provision of faster connectivity options that allow high availability
- Monitored and responsive
- Modern network tools will provide the ability to monitor the capacity and health of the network allowing automatic repair before outages or performance degradation occurs.
- Adaptable
- Network adapts immediately to emergency situations, both accidental and deliberate, where exceptional network requirements are needed to accommodate additional connectivity needs.

Long description
A graphic illustrating the Government of Canada network.
Partner, Departmental Local Area Network and Wi-Fi are represented by separate icons on the left. Directional lines starting from these icons lead to a Wide Area Network icon.
From the Wide Area Network icon, a directional line leads to an icon labelled GC Backbone. From this icon, directional lines point upwards to separate icons that represent Secure Cloud and Data Centre Networks.
The GC Backbone icon also has a directional line towards the right that leads to an icon for GC Networks Hubs, which has a line pointing upwards to an Internet Icon.
The GC Networks Hubs also has three directional lines leading to separate icons for M365/SaaS, IaaS/PaaS, and Inspection Monitoring.
The network provides the foundational connectivity to transport of data, voice, and video from end-user devices in national and international locations to support GC programs and services.
Roadmap: Connectivity services
Objectives
- Improved network speed, consistency, optimization, scalability and reliability
- Greater availability of GC sites/services, remote connectivity and location independence
- Consistent user experience and optimized use of cloud apps and services
- Active performance monitoring
- Improved security posture and ability to respond, including cloud connectivity
- Reduced operational costs
- High availability
- Consolidated network infrastructure and services
What we’re doing
- Maintaining separated network services
- Modernizing legacy networks, expiring contracts and inefficient support for single tenant fit-ups.
- Expanding GC Network Hubs (GCNH) to Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, & NCR (x2)
- Defining and Providing services for specialized use cases (e.g., remote, international, science, cloud, low latency)
What we’re planning
- Improving - Migration to Software- Defined Network will bring added flexibility and efficiency.
- Fitting-up Multi-tenant buildings, use of new GCNS vehicles & GC Commercial Wi-Fi
- Expanding GCNH Hubs for East/West national, International & Science
- Centralizing orchestration and control plane for whole of network
- Improving secure cloud connectivity and solutions for low latency/high bandwidth
Where we’re going
- Consistent user experience and network capabilities across locations and devices
- Expansion and improvements to GCNH
- Service automation (e.g., self-healing) and optimization of traffic
- Support for Internet of Things (IoT) and new connectivity technologies (e.g., 5G, WiFi7)
- Adoption of security by design, zero trust and Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)
Hosting Services
Objective:*Teammate+ Platform as a Service for OCGA reliable and sustainable hosting ecosystem where workloads can be transferred from any hosting location without impacting operations and where enterprise application data can be transferred across GC infrastructure at speed and scale.
Hosting roadmaps will outline how a multi-cloud/hybrid model for hosting will allow departments to optimize where they put their applications and workloads
- Enterprise Data Centres (EDCs)
-
- Hosted on-premises by SSC
- Predictability
- Business Value:
- Elevated security;
- cost-effective for large-scale operations with predictable workloads;
- control and customization tailored to specific needs
- Multiple Public Cloud(s)
-
- Hosted by Cloud Service Providers (CSPs)
- Scalability
- Business Value:
- Capacity-on-demand,
- security with unlimited scalability,
- pay-as-you-go,
- high availability and redundancy;
- option for disaster recovery
- Private Cloud
-
- Hosted in EDCs
- Sensitivity
- Business Value:
- Control and visibility over data and infrastructure;
- seamless integration with existing systems;
- staging ground to modernize applications prior to Cloud deployments
- EDGE Computing
-
- Locally hosted by SSC or CSP
- Latency
- Business Value:
- Brings data processing closer to the source;
- offers secure, low latency;
- bandwidth optimization for large volumes of data
- Emerging Hosting Opportunities
-
- (e.g., GC PaaS)Footnote 4
- Simplicity
- Business Value:
- Centrally-hosted, standard solutions to common GC requirements;
- hands-off and turn-key
Roadmap: Hosting services
Objectives
- Focus on business value, linking hosting decisions to business outcomes
- Develop flexible, automated, softwaredefined infrastructure to enable self-service
- Minimize latency and costs while improving user experience, privacy, autonomy and security
- Enable WLM, Containers and Green IT strategies
- Reduce technical debt, mitigate supply chain challenges and reduce hardware maintenance
What we are doing
- Maturing Hosting Services (Data Centre, EDGE and Cloud computing offerings)
- Implementing standardized, reusable architectures
- Private cloud and on-premises services integration
- Simplifying procurement and service delivery timelines
- Reducing operational costs
What we are planning
- Offering multi-cloud/hybrid hosting services
- Providing on-demand, near real-time access to EDGE computing services
- Developing a hosting procurement strategy for private sector colocation facilities
- Moving away from Legacy Data Centres to Enterprise Data Centres (shared model)
- Establishing an open ecosystem; avoiding vendor lock-in and creating a common, distributed resource pool
Where we are going
- Establishing software-defined data centres
- Orchestrating and automating self service workloads
- Transforming IT operations with AI Ops
- Adopting federated service models
- Standardizing scalable EDGE Services for latency-sensitive, realtime applications
- Evolving our Zero Trust Architecture
Digital services
Objective: Users have a common digital experience with full access to a standardized core bundle of tools, anywhere at anytime, from any GC-approved device, with seamless collaboration between work environments.
Roadmaps will outline a path to seamlessly connecting all GC users to enable secure and accessible communications, collaboration and data sharing.
Digital workspace
Provide GC users with the tools they need based on their profile to work within a truly connected environment.
A Digital Workspace toolkit offers an enhanced user experience, seamless integration and optimized support.
Conferencing services
Provide a seamless conferencing experience where integration, ease-of-use (e.g., one-touch join) and consistency support our hybrid workplace.
Contact centres
Enable accessible and secure Citizen engagement through modern omnichannel contact centre solutions.
SSC centre of expertise for the GC provides evaluation frameworks, guided designs, supply arrangements and implementation support.
Digital contact
Support multi-channel communications with streamlined identifiers (i.e., one telephone number) throughout the career of each public servant.
Roadmap: Digital Services
Objectives
- Provide a consistent user experience
- Improve self-service and automation
- Enhance communications, mobility and productivity
- Improve service delivery, agility and time-to-market
- Provide modern, easy to use, cost-effective and secure solutions
- Support enterprise-level interoperability and scalability of products/solutions
What we are doing
- Integrating services to overcome departmental barriers
- Improving user experiences and creating more consistency
- Moving away from fixed location technology
- Addressing rising costs by optimizing the use of in-service assets
- Expanding in-building mobile coverage
- Transitioning away from endof-life at-risk systems and solutions
- Expanding security and
What we are planning
- Integrating enterprise services and One GC approach
- Providing seamless, common user experience across work environments and devices
- Expanding Enterprise Service Management to improve asset utilization and forecasting
- Evolving fit-for-purpose service alignment (e.g., mobile v. softphone)
- Modernizing solutions aligned to IT and Service Standards
- Modernize Conferencing Capabilities under Intermediate Targets next to Softphone Services
- Enable key AI capabilities and features within enterprises
Where we are going
- Providing self-service options
- Enabling AI-driven service monitoring & enhancements
- Designing user-centric services, such as one phone # throughout career and IT Toolkits that are profile-based
- Enhancing analytics for consumption and forecast modeling
- Fully integrated security
- Print Everywhere Services to the top section of the map
- Embedded AI to the bottom of Strategic Horizons
Cybersecurity services
Objective - An approach to security that is based on constant verification (Zero Trust), where users can seamlessly and securely access the tools they need through a single secure digital identity.
Roadmaps will outline how SSC will strengthen
Identity management
Managing user identities and access permissions on the GC network, leveraging multi-factor authentication.
Assumes that any identity – whether human or machine – with access to a system may have been compromised
Device management
Ensuring that devices are secure, up-to-date, and compliant with organizational policies, with the goal of protecting the network and data from unauthorized access.
Ensures that products and capabilities are designed tobe foundationally secure.
Continuous monitoring
Constant monitoring, tracking and reporting on cybersecurity events across our entire infrastructure as part of move to Zero Trust approach.
Supports Zero Trust approach to security that assumes threats to IT infrastructure are always present.
Roadmap: Cybersecurity services
Objectives
- Perform a current state evaluation of existing SSC Zero Trust Cybersecurity landscape
- Compare current vs. target state cyber security maturity to identify critical gaps and opportunities
- Prioritize initiatives to achieve the target state and to strengthen cybersecurity resilience across the GC to prepare for, respond to and recover from cyber attacks
What we are doing
- Transitioning the current GC cybersecurity towards modern cybersecurity concepts (e.g., Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA), Network Device Authentication (NDA))
- Improving administrative access controls (e,g., Administrative Access Control Service (AACS), Privileged Access Management Client Onboarding (PCOI), ZTA) to control risk & manage new threats
- Adopting security technologies for cloud and new communication technologies (e.g., smartphone).
What we are planning
- Strengthening cybersecurity resilience across the GC to prepare for, respond to and recover from cyber attacks through improved attack surface management.
- Improving access security to GC IT (GC Secret Infrastructure (GCSI))
- Continuously monitoring, tracking and reporting on cybersecurity by implementing Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems
- Improving cloud security through better compliance processes, as well as defense from Cloud Denial of Service attack.
Where we are going
- Continuous evolution and strengthening of cybersecurity across GC.
- Leveraging Continuous Security Controls Assessment (CSCA) and Attack Surface Management (ASM) to harden and evolve Vulnerability Management Evolution
Next steps
Summer 2023
- One-on-one discussions with some deputy ministers and CIOs
- Engagement and validation with SSC employees
Fall 2023
- Engagement and workshops with partners and clients to discuss and refine roadmaps
- Engagement with broader GC community about initiative via governance bodies
- Identify pathfinders for key initiatives
- Publication of Delivering Digital Solutions Together as next step in SSC 3.0 Journey
- Work with stakeholders through ongoing reporting on progress and lessons learned
Annex: Enterprise in practice
Hosting solutions
Inherited over 700 data centres
Strategic Direction: A modern hosting ecosystem that is reliable and sustainable where workloads can be transferred from any hosting location without impacting operations and where enterprise application data can be transferred across GC infrastructure at speed and scale.
- 2011
-
The sheer number of inherited data centres was expensive to manage and to evergreen, creating reliability issues and introducing service delivery risks.
Consolidate partner data centres - to date, 406 legacy data centres have been closed with workload moved to Enterprise Data Centres or the Cloud.
- 2016
- Ongoing replacements and upgrades to mission-critical IT hosting systems and cyber security enhancements.
- 2018
- GC Cloud First Strategy (becomes Cloud Smart in 2023) supported by SSC cloud brokerage and advisory services.
- 2021
- Increasing Cloud services, hosting, hybrid clouds, SaaS and IaaS.
- 2022
- Edge computing improves speed and reliability by bringing compute and storage closer to client workloads.
- 2023
- Improve reliability, achieve economies of scale, and optimize operations.
Networks and Cybersecurity
50+ distinct Wide Area Networks (WANs)
Strategic Direction: Modern connectivity services that leverage commercial and public networks and wireless technologies.
Cybersecurity based on constant verification (Zero Trust), where users can seamlessly and securely access the tools they need through a single secure digital identity.
- 2011
- Lack of standardization and variance in network monitoring created security and reliability risks that were difficult to mitigate.
- 2012
- Consolidating and standardizing WAN infrastructure through GC Network Wide Area Network (GCNet WAN) project.
- 2014
- Continuously increasing network bandwidth capacity to meet growing demand (e.g., videoconferencing).
- 2016
- Ongoing replacements and upgrades to mission-critical IT hosting systems and cyber security enhancements.
- 2018
- Supply arrangements for public Wi-Fi access
- 2019
- Establishing Regional GC Network Hubs in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, decentralizing Internet and cloud access for the GC (with more to come).
- 2020
- Increasing Secure Remote Access connections from 58,000 to 237,000, implementing split tunnelling, and upgrading Enterprise internet bandwidth by 66% to enable work from home.
- 2022
- Extending services to Small Departments and Agencies to improve their security posture.
- 2023
- Improve reliability, security and economies of scale
Digital services
Partners would procure, configure, deploy and manage their own services
Strategic Direction: Users have a common experience and can seamlessly collaborate from anywhere at anytime from any GC-approved device due to a standardized core bundle of tools, with added packages for specialized work requirements.
- 2011
-
The lack of standardization created serious security risks and interoperability challenges.
Procure and deliver digital services that support modern workplaces and business activities.
- 2015
- Email standardization – 23 partners were initially onboarded to a new solution provided by Bell. Starting in 2018, 21 of those partners have since been migrated to the Microsoft 365 Cloud-based solution.
- 2020
-
Accelerated the deployment of M365 to support remote work -- now deployed to 39 out of 45 partners.
Cut landlines where telephony alternatives are available.
- 2021
-
Supply mobile phones while exploring alternatives where possible.
Updating worksites to support modern video conferencing.
- 2022
- Introduction of MS Teams softphones.
- 2023
- Deliver common and modern digital services that enable and empower public servants to better serve Canadians.
Services, projects and advice
42 Partner departments with distinct, unique mandates
Strategic Direction: Users have a common experience and can seamlessly collaborate from anywhere at anytime from any GC-approved device due to a standardized core bundle of tools, with added packages for specialized work requirements.
- 2011
-
The lack of standardization created serious security risks and interoperability challenges.
Deliver projects for partners and clients across all areas of responsibility – networks, application modernization, enduser devices and cybersecurity.
- 2015
- Significant changes to improve response to partner demands are made, which leads to better service delivery for Canadians. To measure partner satisfaction, SSC leverages the Client Survey Feedback Initiative.
- 2016
- The Client Service Delivery Manager role is established to help manage and foster positive partner relationships.
- 2017
- The GC Enterprise Architecture Review Board defines current and target GC architecture standards, along with reviewing and recommending endorsements for enterprise architecture changes.
- 2019
- GC Enterprise Portfolio Management is introduced to modernize the enterprise investment lifecycle process by implementing portfolio management capabilities
- 2021
-
A new IT Service Management tool is implemented that will serve as a single self-serve portal to support service requests and incident reporting.
Implement the Enterprise Service Model to establish predictable and sustainable Enterprise IT funding
- 2022
- Develop service roadmaps along with a workplan for Service Authorization and Reviews.
- 2023
-
Deliver common and modern digital services that enable and empower public servants to better serve Canadians.
Successes of the enterprise approach
Executive summary
This paper explains Shared Services Canada’s role in providing Government of Canada (GC) organizations with Information Technology (IT) services, and how its operational approach has evolved over time. The creation of Shared Services Canada (SSC) and the introduction of an enterprise approach to IT service delivery marks a significant shift away from patchwork, independent IT systems towards the coordinated use of SSC’s modern IT systems designed to serve Canadians and deliver on Canada’s Digital Ambition. This paper draws attention to the value this approach has delivered for the GC in recent years.
Context: Then and now
SSC was created in 2011 with a mandate to “standardize and consolidate, within a single shared services entity, certain administrative services that support government institutions.” SSC’s raison d'être is to ensure that the GC can rely on a robust and secure IT infrastructure to deliver digital services to Canadians today and in the future. Today, SSC provides shared IT services to a range of mandatory and non-mandatory clients within the federal public administration. SSC's services fall into four primary categories:
- Digital Services: communications and collaboration tools including MS Teams and M365
- Connectivity: secure and reliable connectivity infrastructure including Wi-Fi and satellite
- Hosting: hosting and high-performance computing solutions on premises or in the cloud
- Cyber Security: modern cyber security paradigms such as Zero Trust Architecture
One of the primary reasons for SSC’s creation was that the GC had identified systemic limitations related to inconsistent consumption of IT services, variable funding approaches, and outdated decision-making frameworks. At the same time, it was also recognized that a consolidated and standardized IT infrastructure would drive cost saving and enable the GC to address many of the cybersecurity challenges it was facing. In its early years, SSC began consolidating the GC’s core IT infrastructure, built the knowledge required to run operations at scale, and resolved critical issues or its very diverse clientele of government organizations.
As SSC matured and evolved, it became clear that in order to manage IT services effectively for the government as a whole, the provisioning of common services needed to be prioritized. It would not be sufficient to have a common service provider simply deliver that which each individual department requested. Rather, the GC as a whole needed to begin to think of itself in terms of a common overarching enterprise. In an environment where Canadians increasingly needed and expected digital services, a new approach based on standardization, interoperability and shared cyber security was needed.
In 2019, SSC launched a comprehensive strategy called SSC 3.0 to deliver our mandate and support the GC with world class IT infrastructure. This approach emphasized a shift away from providing independent support to every SSC partner and client organization across the GC, to working collaboratively across the entire GC enterprise to wind down investments in supporting unique legacy systems and one-off upgrades, and prioritizing investment in modern IT solutions that serve the government-as-a-whole. This enterprise approach aims to enable IT-focused decision-making structures and processes that enhance IT planning, and to provide predictable and stable government IT infrastructure. Through shared enterprise IT service standards, departments now have more timely service delivery and a more robust system for business requirements.
SSC 3.0 acknowledges that the digital landscape of today is one of relentless and disruptive change. This change drives SSC’s ongoing modernization efforts as part of the diverse and multifaceted work SSC does with regards to the GC IT ecosystem in terms of three broad buckets, activities related to 1) Run, 2) Grow, and 3) Transform.
- 1) Run activities are those related to supporting the day-to-day operations of core GC IT infrastructure. While there are some elements of modernization here, the majority of this work is focused on maintaining operations.
- 2) Grow activities anticipate, prepare for, and react to planned and unplanned growth in IT requirements across the GC. Here, there are more modernization-related activities than in the running of day-to-day operations, and the emphasis is often on scaling existing solutions to meet increased demands.
- 3) Transform activities relate to those initiatives and projects considered transformative, which is where the bulk of modernization efforts are found. This work is focused on evolving and improving the core foundations of the GC’s IT infrastructure, and focuses on setting the conditions for success of all progressive improvements to IT-enabled outcomes.
Enterprise approach successes
SSC’s 3.0 has shown that a collaborative enterprise-wide approach to the management of the GC IT ecosystem can accelerate application stabilization and migration efforts to create value. Today, it reemphasizes the need for SSC and its partners to adopt the enterprise approach and fully leverage the potential of large-scale IT solutions that are defined, adopted and managed together.
Connectivity and Cyber Security
In 2020, to support digital service delivery and enable work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, SSC accelerated improvements to GC network speed, reliability and capability by implementing massive upgrades to enterprise bandwidth (increased by 66%) and secure remote access capacity (increased 111% to support 290,000 simultaneous connections). SSC has dramatically enhanced the internet connection capacity of the GC at all its entry points and has improved service with the addition of regional hubs.
Some modern connectivity and cyber security services are now being extended to small departments and agencies outside of the core public administration which, along with the implementation of multilayered protection infrastructure, will continue to improve the overall security posture of government systems. SSC was instrumental in the implementation of the 1-800 O-Canada line that brought the services of many different departments under a single point of contact. The connectivity services roadmap identifies the capabilities that will support the transition towards a software-defined network and the implementation of a zero trust environment.
Modern tools and Digital services
Starting in March 2020, SSC provided enhanced services to assist in the GC emergency response to the pandemic. This included teleconferencing services and modern telecommunication features, such as Wi-Fi calling on smartphones, to allow employees living in remote areas or lacking reliable cellular service to continue working.
By reducing customization and allocating efforts based on GC priorities, SSC was able to quickly roll out standardized tools such as Microsoft365 (M365) and Microsoft Teams (MS Teams). From two departments in 2019, SSC has extended access to 35 departments, enabling public servants to communicate and work collaboratively in a virtual working environment. Today, SSC is updating worksites with modern video conferencing systems to support the public service shift to hybrid work and continues to introduce communication innovations such as softphones to government organizations. The digital services roadmap highlights the capabilities that SSC is currently developing to provide federal public servants with the technology they need to serve Canadians from anywhere.
Optimized Hosting solutions
SSC’s responsibilities for data centre services evolved with the advent of cloud computing and hosting. Since the introduction of the GC Cloud First strategy in 2018, which identified a new role for SSC as the broker of cloud services for GC organizations, SSC offers cloud brokerage and advisory services to all departments and agencies. To date, SSC has closed 406 legacy data centres by consolidating and moving departments’ workloads to SSC-managed Enterprise Data Centers or the Cloud. SSC will continue to consolidate data centres based on estimated returns on investment, partner readiness and overall GC IT prioritization for modernization.
More recently, the development of edge computing and the implementation of regional communications hubs in 2022 improved the speed and reliability of the GC IT infrastructure. Consistent with the hosting services roadmap, SSC is offering a range of integrated hosting solutions and continually bringing computing and storage solutions closer to client’s workloads.
SSC’s future: Delivering Digital Solutions Together
SSC recognizes the digital opportunities and risks in the “new normal” and the importance of capitalizing on results achieved as part of the accelerated implementation of digital government across the GC. Many of the improvements of the pandemic digital acceleration represent lasting contributions towards the GC vision for digital government, but more work is required to continue to develop and advance modern, reliable, digital service delivery channels to serve Canadians. To succeed, SSC will need to evolve past the idea of delivering services to its partner and clients, or even providing supports for those departments, to instead working with all the stakeholders across the GC to ensure the future is built on a common enterprise-wide foundation that can support the whole GC IT Ecosystem.
To support the evolution of the GC’s IT ecosystem that our partners need on their modernization journey, SSC is in the process of developing a strategic and comprehensive plan to enable the delivery of modern, reliable, and scalable IT solutions. The plan underlines the systems’ interdependencies and uses roadmaps to lead SSC and its partners on a clear path in four key service areas : Connectivity, Hosting , Digital Services, and Cybersecurity. These roadmaps will further our enterprise approach and orient SSC, its partners and its clients towards a common goal: delivering digital solutions together for Canadians.
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