Introductory briefing to the Minister of Digital Government

The Fourth Industrial Revolution has arrived

The First Industrial Revolution used water and steam power to mechanize production

The Second used electric power to create mass production

The Third used electronics and information technology to automate production

Today, a Fourth Industrial Revolution…

The digital revolution is building on the Third, fusing technologies and blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres

Exponential advances in digital technologies like artificial intelligence and the proliferation of data are radically transforming society and citizens’ expectations

Computers and smartphones are now ubiquitous, enabling real-time connectivity and driving expectations for information and services to be available anytime, anywhere, from any device

Figure 01 - Text version

The first chart shows the rise in Canadian mobile cellular subscriptions, from approximately 2 subscriptions per 100 people in 1990 to 89 subscriptions per 100 people in 2017.

Canada Mobile Cellular Subscriptions (per 100 people)

Country Name	Country Code	Indicator Name	Indicator Code	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Canada	CAN	Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people)	IT.CEL.SETS.P2	2.11960074	2.78187201	3.6373162	4.6692712	6.46476628	8.88001132	11.8738568	14.104452	17.8068983	22.8068132	28.5304392	34.4850221	38.0778108	42.2096664	47.2097023	52.9052249	57.6239589	61.5758005	66.268942	70.5619462	75.6288208	77.7088985	79.3768289	80.3478461	80.722095	82.6193346	84.5231216	86.2814931	89.2309935

The second chart shows that 92% of Canadian households have internet access at 25 Mbps.

The third chart shows the rise in the percentage of Canadians using the internet, from less than 1 percent in 1990 to approximately 91% in 2017.

Percentage of Canadians Using the Internet

Country Name	Country Code	Indicator Name	Indicator Code	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Canada	CAN	Individuals using the Internet (% of population)	IT.NET.USER.ZS	0.3609997	0.57038593	0.91598104	1.18455751	2.37869385	4.16352525	6.76023965	15.0723574	24.8974003	36.18644	51.3	60.2	61.5932993	64.2	65.9559635	71.66	72.4	73.2	76.7	80.3	80.3	83	83	85.8	87.12	90	91.16	91

Meanwhile, the rate at which data are generated is rising exponentially

Approximately 90% of the digital data ever created in the world was generated in the past two years alone, of which only 1% has been analyzed

Figure 02 - Text version

The fourth image shows that around 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created every day.

Digital, however, is ultimately not about technology or data.

Digital is about serving people well.

Digital is “applying the culture, processes, business models and technologies of the internet era to respond to people’s raised expectations”

Service delivery across the Government of Canada

Service delivery to Canadians is the responsibility of federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments, sometimes jointly or in coordination.

Federal service delivery focuses primarily on:

• Transfers (e.g., entitlements, benefits, grants and contributions)
• Advisory services (e.g., 1-800-Ocanada, Weather Services, research and case management)
• Educational, recreational and cultural encounters (e.g., heritage museums, Parks Canada centers, Canada School of Public Service training and Red Seal Certifications)
• Regulatory compliance and enforcement (e.g., identity documents such as passport and Social Insurance Number, certificates, licenses and permits)
• Rule-making (e.g., directives and standards, laws and regulations as with the Canada Gazette, and policies and strategies)

While almost every federal organization is mandated with service delivery responsibilities, most public-facing services are delivered by eight core service organizations.

1. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
2. Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)
3. Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)
4. Innovation Science and Economic Development (ISED)
5. Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC)
6. Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC)
7. Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
8. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)

These organizations collectively processed over 314 million transitions in 2017/18, and delivered billions in public benefits

Figure 04 - Text version

The chart shows the top ten services by transaction volume for 2017-18, across four service channels: online, by telephone, in-person and by mail. The services include:

• Highway Traveller Processing (CBSA)
• Air Traveller Processing (CBSA)
• GST/HST Credit Payments (CRA)
• T1 Income Tax Return Filing (CRA)
• Employment Insurance Benefits (ESDC)
• Commercial Processing (CBSA)
• In-Person Awareness Building & Information Service (ESDC)
• Canada Pension Plan Regular Benefits (ESDC)
• Provincial/Territorial Child Benefit Program (CRA)
• Old Age Security Benefits (ESDC)

Top Ten Services by Transaction Volume (2017/18)

Service Name	Online	Telephone	In-Person	Mail
Highway Traveller Processing (CBSA)	-	35,931.00	58,438,508.00	-
Air Traveller Processing (CBSA)	-	204,880.00	34,529,551.00	-
GST/HST Credit Payments (CRA)	22,526,774.00	-	-	7,082,201.00
T1 Income Tax Return Filing (CRA)	24,997,130.00	-	-	4,144,230.00
Employment Insurance Benefits (ESDC)	2,772,567.00	25,586,963.00	6,271.00	9,407.00
Commercial Processing (CBSA)	20,293,929.00	-	1,137,447.00	-
In-Person Awareness Building & Information Service (ESDC)	-	-	12,000,290.00	-
Canada Pension Plan Regular Benefits (ESDC)	98,055.00	8,062,241.00	206,608.00	628,710.00
Provincial/Territorial Child Benefit Program (CRA)	8,304,466.00	-	-	636,209.00
Old Age Security Benefits (ESDC)	-	8,062,241.00	294,577.00	499,600.00

The Government of Canada’s current IT spend profile

The government currently spends approximately 20% on front-office systems and 80% on back-office systems and IT infrastructure^{Footnote *}

Figure 05 - Text version

The government currently spends approximately 20% on front-office systems and 80% on back-office systems and IT infrastructure, based on the Departmental IT Expenditure Reports 2017-18, adjusted to include Corporate IT management, pro-rated.

The ‘front office’ relates to program delivery and public-facing government functions. The ‘back office’ refers to internal services and administrative functions that are employee-facing (e.g., finance, HR, IT).

The diagram on this slide breaks down the Government of Canada’s current annual Information Technology spend profile across several categories.

	Systems of record	User experience
Front office
Program delivery	The Government of Canada spends $1,086 million on departmental systems for program delivery. The Canada Revenue Agency, Passport Canada, and Employment and Social Development Canada are included as examples of service delivery departments.	The Government of Canada spends $73 million on citizen-facing systems for program delivery. Examples include Canada.ca, opencanada.ca and OneGC.
Back office
Internal services	The Government of Canada spends $1,159 million on enterprise back office technology for internal service delivery. Examples include SAP, GCdocs, Oracle and Sharepoint.	The Government of Canada spends $1,098 million on employee-facing technology for internal service delivery. Examples include GCtools, Mobile, Microsoft Office productivity tools, GCintranet, and end-user devices.
Shared Services Canada	Shared Services Canada spends $852 Million on infrastructure, of $1,037 million for the Government of Canada as a whole Shared Services Canada spends $234 Million on Security, of $427 Million for the Government of Canada as a whole Shared Services Canada spends $830 million on Network and telecommunications,  of $1,159 Million for the Government of Canada as a whole

*Source: Departmental IT Expenditure Reports 2017-18, adjusted to include Corporate IT management (pro-rated)

Delivering on the digital agenda requires continued and increased collaboration and integration with other jurisdictions and stakeholders, both at home and abroad

Canada plays a global leadership role on digital issues, and can benefit from ongoing collaboration and lessons learned from its digital peers

• The Digital Nations – Canada is Chair of this network of ten advanced nations, and funds and hosts the Secretariat. In fall 2020, Canada will host the annual Summit of Ministers and delegates from member nations. Ongoing work includes responsible use of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, data and digital identity
• The World Economic Forum – Focus of Davos (January 2020) will include data, digital services, digital government and digital economy. Canada can showcase its digital leadership and lead discussions at this event
• The Open Government Partnership – Canada is former government co-chair of the Steering Committee, and hosted the Global Summit in 2019. The next Steering Committee meeting at Ministerial level is scheduled for fall 2020. Canada continues to promote the Partnership’s model with provinces, territories and municipalities
• The United Nations – The theme of the UN General Assembly (fall 2020) and 75th anniversary is digital collaboration. Canada could showcase its digital leadership and lead discussions at this event
• The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development Annual Ministerial Council Meeting – The spring 2020 meeting will likely feature discussions on digital government and digital economy

There is also growing and ongoing pan-Canadian collaboration across jurisdictions on a variety of initiatives designed to support national digital transformation, including:

• On digital identity – this includes work on a common digital identity sign-in platform so individuals and businesses in Canada can access and receive federal services online using a sign-in option of their choice, including existing solutions and trusted digital identities from other jurisdictions and sectors
• On the Bundled Birth Service – Service Canada has partnered with provinces to integrate the application process for a provincial birth registration and birth certificate, a Social Insurance Number, and the Canada Child Benefit. The result is parents only need to report the information once, underscoring the benefits of an integrated, ‘tell-us-once’ service approach
• On open government and open data – the Canada Open Government Working Group includes representatives from all provincial and territorial governments. Work includes the Open Government Portal source code, harmonizing high-value datasets (e.g., procurement data, data on hospitals, administrative boundaries, municipal registries, baby names), and working to harmonize standards that enable cross-jurisdictional cooperation and further federation of data ‘searchability’

Delivering on digital will require the Government of Canada to:

1. Address the government’s aging IT infrastructure and legacy IT spending
2. Modernize how government delivers services
3. Solidify the government’s enterprise capacity, including deploying common platforms that support seamless service delivery