Minister of Digital Government Committee Appearance: OGGO ‒ The Government’s Response to the COVID 19 Pandemic (Cyber Security)

Friday, May 15, 2020 – Government’s Response to the COVID‑19 Pandemic (Federal Procurement and the National Emergency Strategic Stockpile – PSPC, PHAC)

Questions from members focused on the sole-source contract with Medicom, Deloitte’s role and involvement in PSPC’s procurement of PPE, the manifest of the 30 flights that arrived, details around purchase orders and how masks/respirators are being referred to and PSPC’s knowledge of subcontractor of Medicom (referring to SNC Lavalin). At the end of the meeting, opposition members commented on their increasing frustration that they do not feel they are getting answers to their questions, or feel they are continuously being redirected to others. The tone of meetings has grown noticeably more combative. Government members submitted there is a shared responsibility when it comes to requesting and prompting witness testimony: members should also be asking questions that fall within the witnesses’ responsibilities.

Monday, May 11, 2020 – Government’s Response to the COVID‑19 Pandemic (Distribution of Emergency Benefits – ESDC, CRA)

The Committee met for the sixth time to discuss the distribution of emergency benefits in the Government’s response to the COVID‑19 Pandemic. Members questioned the Ministers on specific issues related to the processing and eligibility of the CERB, the CEWS, and EI related matters. They were curious about statistics and figures such as the number of applications and the number of people and businesses reapplying. The members raised concerns about the number of hours public servants were working in order to process these applications at a rapid pace.

Friday, May 8, 2020 – Government’s Response to the COVID‑19 Pandemic (Public Servants – TBS, Public Service Unions)

The Committee met for the fifth time as part of its study on the Government’s Response to the COVID‑19 Pandemic, specifically to discuss public servants. The meeting was separated in two parts: the first hour was an appearance by the President of the Treasury Board, supported by the Chief Human Resources Officer, the Chief Information Officer of Canada and TBS officials, and the second hour testimony from the Presidents of various unions. The tone was cordial and professional, the Members all expressed their gratitude for the hard work public servants are doing. The Members had questions for TBS officials concerning contracting guidelines for things such as PPE, the accommodations made for public servants working at home, and what was happening with the employees on paid leave. The Union representatives expressed that they were satisfied with the Government’s response for public servants during the pandemic and described what their members were doing to help Canadians during this difficult time. They outlined some outstanding issues, such as contract negotiations and expressed their concern about return to the workplace for their members.

Monday, May 4, 2020 – Government’s Response to the COVID‑19 Pandemic (Allocation of Emergency Benefits – TBS-EMS and Finance Canada)

Questions to TBS witnesses focused on the changes to the Supply and Estimates process, and on whether the Treasury Board has continued to play a role in overseeing spending. Neither issue was raised or discussed in a contentious manner. Members expressed an overall interest in transparency, oversight, and accountability as far as financial procedures are concerned. The majority of questions were primarily directed at Finance Canada.

Friday, May 1, 2020 – Government’s Response to the COVID‑19 Pandemic (Medical Sector)

Questions from members focused on supply chain management, domestic manufacturing capacity and ongoing efforts to scale up, impressions on collaboration with government, and where efforts could be made to improve readiness in the future. All witnesses spoke extremely positively of their engagement experience with all levels of government to date and testified to the exceptional nature of collaboration between multiple levels of government, other public sector entities, and private businesses. Witnesses from medical businesses spoke to their important contributions to Canada’s domestic supply and production as far as testing efforts are concerned and emphasized their prioritization of domestic needs over those originating from the international market. Witness testimony also focused on the importance of considering the health and safety of vulnerable and at-risk populations as pandemic management efforts continue. It was also expressed that funding for health care capacity and research in general has not kept up with costs, which affects system readiness in handling crises.

Thursday, April 30, 2020 – Government’s Response to the COVID‑19 Pandemic (Support for Businesses – ISED, PSPC, Procurement Ombudsman)

Testimony from and questioning to ISED representatives focused on supports being offered to Canadian businesses to encourage production and innovation in the context of the response to the COVID‑19 pandemic. In collaboration with Health Canada, PHAC, and PSPC, the ultimate objective is to increase domestic manufacturing capacity for personal protective equipment and testing components. A number of questions centred on procurement and health advice, to which ISED witnesses were not best placed to provide responses. The second panel dealt more narrowly with the procurement process and efforts made by government to help businesses navigate it. Kelly McCauley (CPC) expressed concern that the use of sole-source contracting could spike as a result of crisis-related efforts; witnesses expressed oversight of procurement contracting would need to continue in order to ensure there were no abuses.

Friday, April 24, 2020 – Government’s Response to the COVID‑19 Pandemic (Federal Procurement - PSPC)

Minister Anita Anand gave thanks to the people behind the scenes and interpreters for making sure Canadians have the latest information. She spoke about the new challenges Canadians are facing during this crisis and the Government’s commitment to commitment to helping avoid the spread. Minister Anand highlighted that we continue to procure necessary Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including masks, gloves, gowns and other supplies. She outlined the process and the call-out on Buy and Sell to companies. She noted that there is a ramping up of domestic purchases and retooling efforts. She spoke about the close collaboration with industries and Provinces and Territories to ensure procurement of supplies. Committee members focused their questions around the empty planes from China, contract with Amazon and the National Stockpile.

Thursday, March 12, 2020 – MDG Appearance on Supplementary Estimates (B) 2019-20

The Committee met to consider the subject matter of the Supplementary Estimates (B), 2019-20 and the Departmental Results Reports for 2018-19. The Minister of Public Services and Procurement appeared immediately after the Minister of Digital Government.

Questions to the Minister from members focused primarily on the progress in transitioning to a more digital government, and on the Minister’s Mandate Letter commitment to identify all core and at-risk IT systems and platforms. Questions from the CPC member were framed by the suggestion that government is failing to transition to digital service delivery effectively. During the meeting, Ziad Aboultaif (CPC) moved a motion for the Committee to study the Government’s aging IT infrastructure. The study would involve appearances by the Ministers of PSPC, of Employment Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, of National Revenue, and of Digital Government. Debate on the motion was adjourned without a vote.

Tuesday, March 10, 2020 – Review of the Red Tape Reduction Act (TBS-RAS)

The Committee met to begin its review of the Red Tape Reduction Act (RTRA). The Committee’s findings must be reported to the House before the end of June 2020. Witnesses provided the Committee with an introductory overview to the Act and One-for-One Rule. Most questions were directed to or fielded by the witness from TBS. Broadly, questions from all members focused on the effectiveness of efforts to diminish regulatory burden on businesses. Prominent cross-party topics also included the cost of administering the regime, and consideration of cumulative vs. administrative burden. Many of the questions from the CPC, specifically, were framed by the suggestion that government efforts in managing the RTRA regime are ineffective or insufficient, and that more should be done to reduce administrative burden on businesses.

Thursday, February 27, 2020 – PTB Appearance on Supplementary Estimates (B) 2019-20

The Committee held its first meeting regarding the consideration of Supplementary Estimates (B) 2019-20. The President and officials discussed Estimates Reform and spoke candidly about the lessons learned from the pilot project, as well as the feedback from Parliamentarians for its development. A great deal concern was expressed by the Opposition Committee members regarding Vote 10 and the significant increase in funds it has received. The Minister and officials explained the various uses of the Vote, such as horizontal initiatives. The Liberal members questioned the Minister on climate change initiatives and IT infrastructure improvements, as well as efforts towards Indigenous relations. The Bloc Québecois questioned the Minister on how provincial transfers work for such things as student loans and health care.

Thursday, February 20, 2020 – Election of Chair

Tom Lukiwski (CPC) was elected Chair of the Committee (Previous Chair during 42nd Parliament). Francis Drouin (LPC) was elected first vice-chair; Julie Vignola (BQ) was elected second vice-chair. The Committee will next meet on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 from 8:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m in camera. For the first hour, the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure will discuss future Committee business; for the second hour, officials from TBS’ Expenditure Management Sector have been invited to provide a briefing on the Estimates process. The Committee discussed devoting its meetings on February 27, 2020 and March 10 and 12, 2020 to Supplementary Estimates B, and inviting TBS, SSC and PSPC.

Interest in TBS Portfolio

• 43rd Parliament
  • Written Questions: Topic includes national security exception for federal procurements.
• 42nd Parliament
  • Written Questions: Topics included spider sightings, the monitoring of Parliamentary Committees & federal government job advertisements on Facebook.

Interest in TBS Portfolio

• 43rd Parliament
  • Committee (OGGO):
    • The Government’s Response to the COVID‑19 Pandemic:
      • May 8, 2020 (TBS President, CHRO and CIO Appearance): Asked questions surrounding the well-being of public servants and mental health solutions. Was also concerned about the issue of official languages not being enforced in the workplace.
    • Estimates (Supply):
      • March 12, 2020 (MDG Supplementary Estimates B 19-20 Appearance): Questions on the consolidation of the services and organizations under Digital Government. Expressed interest in the concept of open government.
      • February 27, 2020 (TBS Supplementary Estimates B 19-20 Appearance): Asked the President and TBS officials about Estimates reform and the lessons learned from the pilot project in the 42nd Parliament.
    • Red Tape Reduction Act
      • March 10, 2020 (TBS & HC Appearance): Requested the impact of moving to a different offset rule (two-for-one for example), the TBS witness explained that a net reduction to the financial and administrative costs to businesses. Analytically, the jury is out on the effectiveness of a two-for-one rule; it depends on the circumstances and objectives, but those could be less sustainable over time. Mr. Drouin also questioned the cumulative impact of multi-jurisdictional regulation which the TBS witness admitted would be a complex issue to consider.

Interest in TBS Portfolio

• In the 43rd Parliament:
  • Question Period: Issues with the Phoenix Pay System and RCMP civilian employees being transitioned to the Phoenix Pay System.
  • Committee (OGGO):
    • The Government’s Response to the COVID‑19 Pandemic:
      • May 8, 2020 (Unions): Had questions concerning ergonomic assessments and the impact of public servants working from home.
      • May 8, 2020 (TBS President, CHRO and CIO Appearance): Had concerns surrounding the cost of public servants working from home and how they were being accommodated.
    • Estimates (Supply):
      • March 12, 2020 (MDG Supplementary Estimates B 19-20 Appearance): Requested details on the consolidation of data centres, questioned the reason funding was sought for essential projects in the Supplementary Estimates instead of the Main Estimates. Requested information on the progress of identifying the health of IT systems and platforms (follow-up)
      • February 27, 2020 (TBS Supplementary Estimates B 19-20 Appearance): Expressed interest in the allocation of loans and grants for students in Quebec (follow-up) and had questions concerning the Quebec transfer process for health care (follow-up) Raised concerns about the concentration of funds from Vote 10.
    • Review of the Red Tape Reduction Act (RTRA):
      • March 10, 2020 (TBS & HC Officials – First Meeting): Questioned officials on how the Government is proactively working to reduce regulatory burden for businesses. Requested additional information on the cost of administering the RTRA and the one-for-one rule and expressed privacy concerns on harmonizing the multi-jurisdictional regulation.

Interest in TBS Portfolio

• 43rd Parliament
  • February 7, 2020: Received a briefing on Digital Government from OCIO, SSC and CDS. Requested a list of possible legislative changes required to advance Digital Government and expressed interest in future briefings on the file.
  • Written Questions: Topics included Government Policy on Cyberattacks & Cybersecurity testing.
  • Committee (OGGO):
    • The Government’s Response to the COVID‑19 Pandemic:
      • May 8, 2020 (TBS President, CHRO and CIO Appearance): Asked questions surrounding ESDC, PSPC, and DND matters, such as the number of CERB applications, the empty planes returning from China and the PPE contracts, and the availability of PPE for Forces members.
    • Estimates (Supply):
      • March 12, 2020 (MDG Supplementary Estimates B 19-20 Appearance): Questioned the purpose of development of ECCC’s WeatherCAN Application when the same thing exists in the private sector, requested more information on cloud services and how data is being moved. Expressed concerns about the January 2020, National Post article outlining concerns about data privacy and the use of cloud technology. Requested additional information on Government application health (follow-up).
        • During the meeting, Mr. Aboultaif moved a motion for the Committee to study the Government’s aging IT infrastructure. The study would involve appearances by the Ministers of PSPC, of Employment Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, of National Revenue, and of Digital Government. Debate on the motion was adjourned without a vote.
      • February 27, 2020 (TBS Supplementary Estimates B 19-20 Appearance): Had questions concerning the overall spending on IT services and asked for the IT reports submitted to OCIO by departments, referencing GAC’s response to Q-2456 (42nd Parliament) (follow-up). Also wanted additional information on the CRA software development project (follow-up)
    • Review of the Red Tape Reduction Act:
      • March 10, 2020 (TBS & HC Appearance): Requested comparisons to regulatory burden reduction efforts in other jurisdictions and whether Canada should pursue the implementation of a two or three-for-one rule. The TBS witness explained that TBS undertakes a comparative analysis and that Canada is a leader in regulatory burden reduction. Asked witnesses if accepting foreign equipment approvals for medical and pharmaceutical regulations could be considered in Canada (follow-up)
• 42nd Parliament
  • Written Questions: Topics included expenses for stakeholders to attend Government conferences or announcements & at-risk and bonus payments to employees

Interest in TBS Portfolio

• In the 43rd Parliament:
  • Special COVI committee: asked questions on PPE Procurement (April 29, 2020).
  • Committee (OGGO):
    • The Government’s Response to the COVID‑19 Pandemic:
      • May 8, 2020 (TBS President, CHRO and CIO Appearance): Asked questions concerning PSPC contracts and the rules and guidance issued by TBS. She was also curious about the guidelines issued for the pre-payment of contracts (follow-up)
    • Estimates (Supply):
      • February 27, 2020 (TBS Supplementary Estimates B 19-20 Appearance): Expressed concern for the process for programs that are still waiting for approval under Vote 40 and the Budget Implementation Votes in 2019.
    • Review of the Red Tape Reduction Act:
      • March 10, 2020 (TBS & HC Appearance): Requested the stakeholder submissions that information the ii) Environmental Assessment portion of the 2018 regulatory reviews and modernization stakeholder consultations report (follow-up) as well as the methodology supporting the listed benefit values of regulatory initiatives in the Annual Report to Parliament for the 2018-2019 Fiscal Year: Federal Regulatory Management Initiatives.
• In the 41st Parliament:
  • Participated in OGGO’s review of the estimates consideration process. The Committee made several recommendations aimed at aligning the budgetary and estimates processes (prescribe budget timing, budget items appear in Main Estimates, Standing Committees are briefed in camera in the estimates process).
• In the 40th Parliament:
  • Participated in ETHI’s reviews of the Access to Information Act and of the Privacy Act.

Interest in TBS Portfolio

• In the 43rd Parliament:
  • Special COVI committee: Asked questions on PPE Procurement (April 29, 2020)
  • In the House of Commons: On February 7, 2020 during debate referenced OGGO’s 2017 report on the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act and noted that he hopes the new President of the Treasury Board returns to committee to discuss the file.
  • Committee (OGGO):
    • The Government’s Response to the COVID‑19 Pandemic:
      • May 8, 2020 (Unions): Asked the union representatives what they would expect to see to have their members return to work.
      • May 8, 2020 (TBS President, CHRO and CIO Appearance): Expressed concern about the ability and guidance surrounding the security of documents with public servants working from home. Also had questions about how many public servants were on leave during the pandemic (follow-up). He questioned the cost of the public service internet subscription (follow-up) and the Government’s response to the Information Commissioner’s concern over Access to Information requests not being addressed quickly (follow-up).
      • May 4, 2020 (EMS and Finance Canada Appearance): Asked questions about the Government’s intention of using Special Warrants and the process. He also showed concern regarding Treasury Board approval and oversight processes.
    • Estimates (Supply):
      • February 27, 2020 (TBS Supplementary Estimates B 19-20 Appearance): Expressed concern about the use of Vote 10 and the increasing amounts being allocated to it. Describing it as the new “slush fund”, he questioned officials on parliamentary oversight.
    • Review of the Red Tape Reduction Act
      • March 10, 2020: (TBS & HC Appearance): Requested the progress in implementation of the 11 recommendations from the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology’s April 2019 report, entitled Impacts of Canada’s Regulatory Structure on Small Business: between protection and competition (follow-up). Mr. McCauley requested the cost of administering the RTRA regime, as well as whether the scope of enabling legislation is prohibitive to increasing the reduction of regulatory burden (follow-up)
• In the 42nd Parliament:
  • Committee:
    • Veterans in the Public Service: Questioned why veterans lose seniority rights when working in the public service.
    • Bargaining: Interested in the costing for the Phoenix damages offer (5 vacation days for public servants in certain unions) – Agreements were tentative, and a response was provided later.
    • Public Service Employee Survey: Concerned about harassment numbers escalating in the public service during the PCO appearance.
    • Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act: Interested in the Government’s progress in implementing the recommendations from OGGO’s 2017 report on the act. Moved several motions inviting former Treasury Board Presidents to appear on the subject; the invitations were not accepted.
  • Written Questions: Topics included travel expenses for departmental employees, allocations from TBS for Vote 40, & Government ads on Facebook.
• In the 42nd Parliament:
  • Written Questions: Topics included ministerial travel expenses & performance incentives or bonuses.

Interest in TBS Portfolio

• In the 43rd Parliament:
  • February 20, 2020: Estimates Process briefing with the department (EMS).
  • February 18, 2020: TBS 101 briefing with department (PP).
  • Question Period: Outsourcing of government contracts & dismissal of a public servant for comments made about the Prime Minister.
  • Written Questions: Topics included social media influencers, management consulting contracts.
  • Committee (OGGO):
    • The Government’s Response to the COVID‑19 Pandemic:
      • May 8, 2020 (TBS President, CHRO and CIO Appearance): Expressed concern about the public service union contracts that were not yet renewed. Had questions surrounding the cost of the buy-back when the outstanding contracts were signed (follow-up)
      • April 24, 2020 (Minister of PSPC Appearance on procurement): requested additional information on what the Government is doing on hazard pay for government employees such as janitors. Mr. Green also had questions on the directive on the disposal of surplus materials.
    • Estimates (Supply):
      • March 12, 2020 (MDG Supplementary Estimates B 19-20 Appearance): requested the definition of “core and at-risk” IT systems and platforms and progress in undertaking their identification as described in Minister Murray’s mandate letter. The challenge of delivering services to constituents in the context of social distancing and COVID‑19 (follow-up)
      • February 27, 2020 (TBS Supplementary Estimates B 19-20 Appearance): Questioned officials on pay equity legislation for public servants (ESDC), First Nations land claims (INAC), and employment equity (follow-up)
    • Review of the Red Tape Reduction Act (RTRA):
      • March 10, 2020 (TBS & HC Officials – First Meeting): Questioned whether consultations on regulatory burden are biased toward commercial stakeholders and wondered if there were exemptions to the one-for-one rule and engagement with new or emerging sectors. Questioned the inclusion of the one-for-one rule in the RTRA preamble, instead of in a separate section.

Interest in TBS Portfolio

• In the 43rd Parliament:
  • Committee (OGGO):
    • Estimates (Supply):
      • March 12, 2020 (MDG Supplementary Estimates B 19-20 Appearance): Requested additional information on the Next Generation HR and Pay Solution Pilot.
      • February 27, 2020 (TBS Supplementary Estimates B 19-20 Appearance): Questioned officials about reconciliation efforts with Indigenous communities.
    • Review of the Red Tape Reduction Act:
      • March 10, 2020 (TBS & HC Appearance): Asked about the cumulative impact of multi-jurisdictional regulations. The TBS witness explained that it is something they consider and that there is no existing methodology for quantifying cumulative burden.

Interest in TBS Portfolio

• In the 43rd Parliament:
  • Committee (OGGO):
    • The Government’s Response to the COVID‑19 Pandemic:
      • May 8, 2020 (Unions): Asked questions about the impact of long hours on CRA employees and congratulated CRA employees on all of their hard work.
    • Estimates (Supply):
      • March 12, 2020 (MDG Supplementary Estimates B 19-20 Appearance): Requested additional information on SSC’s Accessibility, Accommodation, and Adaptive Computer Technology (AAACT) program.
      • February 27, 2020 (TBS Supplementary Estimates B 19-20 Appearance): Questioned officials about the reduction of Green House Gas Emissions and unrecoverable debts for student loans.
    • Review of the Red Tape Reduction Act
      • March 10, 2020 (TBS & HC Appearance): Questioned the effectiveness of such rules as two-for-one over time, the TBS and Health Canada witnesses explained that it is a delicate balancing act and there is no methodology to study this. Mr. Kusmierczyk requested information regarding the stakeholder-suggested improvements to the red tape reduction regime, which the TBS witness acknowledged will be released in a report in a few weeks’ time

Interest in TBS Portfolio

• In the 43rd Parliament:
  • Committee (OGGO):
    • Estimates (Supply):
      • February 27, 2020 (TBS Supplementary Estimates B 19-20 Appearance): Wanted to know about transportation funding and projects for the West coast following the loss of greyhound (follow-up).

Response

TBS regularly monitors and tracks the health and evolution of the overall Government of Canada’s IT business software and applications portfolio. As of December 31, 2019, this inventory lists 7,363 business and software applications currently in use across the Government of Canada (GC). TBS regularly surveys 59 departments to identify, monitor and assess the health and value of these applications.

The health of an application is determined based on a department’s self-assessment of the application’s business value, technical condition, funding condition and criticality. The health assessment is used to identify the urgency of action required to maintain application health. This information is used to provide evidence for enterprise decision-making, including future investment decisions.

Of the 7,363 applications in the portfolio, 1,115 applications support mission critical services. Mission critical services are defined as those services or activities that if disrupted would cause high or very high risk to health, safety, security, economic well-being or continuity of government operations.

Currently, 36% of the GC application portfolio is considered “healthy.” Eight percent of the applications have been identified as “requiring immediate attention,” indicating a higher risk to the GC and should be taken as a priority call to action. Forty-six percent of the portfolio requires attention and 11% were not assessed by departments. Applications identified as “requiring attention” represent an increased risk to the operation of the GC and will require varying levels of investments to address. Reasons for required attention include aging infrastructure, legacy software platforms, inflexible systems architecture, insufficient operational funding, or unidentified business continuity planning.

Response

SSC is responsible for providing reliable, secure IT infrastructure and telecommunications across the Government of Canada. In times of emergency, SSC’s services are critical to providing continuous services to Canadians. Given the threats posed by COVID‑19, SSC is taking action to support the critical services of other departments in addition to general preparedness activities. In order to ensure collaboration across government, SSC is working closely with the Government of Canada lead—Public Safety under the Federal Emergency Response Plan (FERP) — and other federal partners.

SSC is responsible for providing IT services (Email/Workplace Technology, Data Centres, Telecommunications, Cyber and IT Security) to Government of Canada organizations, who in return deliver hundreds of critical services directly to Canadians. Due to this responsibility, SSC has an important role to play during emergencies, in support of our partners’ mission critical programs and to ensure their critical services are operational during emergency events. In addition, several of SSC’s customer departments are First Responders or lead agencies who have primary roles to play during emergency events and therefore it is imperative that SSC continues to support them.

The following is a list of actions that SSC is undertaking to support critical Government of Canada services:

• An SSC Emergency Operations Team has been activated and is coordinating the Department’s Pandemic Emergency Response Plan.
• SSC provides departments with Secure Remote Access (SRA) services so that their public servants can access networks and systems remotely.
  • Work is currently underway to increase remote access and network capabilities to support remote access for a large portion of the public service.
  • SSC is developing a series of best practices for management and employees to improve the experience of Government of Canada employees connecting remotely.
  • The Department is working with the federal Chief Information Officer (CIO) community to prioritize essential network traffic.
• SSC is ensuring additional resources are mobilized to help ensure federal public servants have the tools they need to work from home. This includes:
  • The deployment of long-term evolution devices, including tablets, for some type of users (executives, communications teams, etc.) requiring email access and various internet tools.
  • The deployment of alternative options for conferencing:
    • Microsoft Teams as a collaboration and instant messaging solution
    • BlackBerry Messenger Enterprise (BBME) for secure messaging up to Protected B level
  • Increased conferencing capacities through the addition of 20,000 licenses from Cisco
• SSC is continuing to collaborate with vendors to:
  • seek alternative communications options
  • increase capacity to meet growing needs
  • expedite procurement process and equipment delivery
• SSC is prioritizing requests for essential services, especially ones that have links to the current situation.
• SSC is working closely with the federal CIO community and is implementing measures to reschedule non-essential IT infrastructure changes that could impact service delivery to Canadians.
• SSC is ensuring that essential services and tools continue to be provided for front line staff at other government departments during this time.

The following is a list of actions that TBS is undertaking to support critical Government of Canada services:

Critical Services: TBS is working closely with SSC and Government departments and agencies to ensure the availability of reliable, secure IT infrastructure and telecommunications across the Government of Canada to support the delivery of critical services.

• This includes working with departmental partners to ensure Business Continuity Plans are in place, appropriately tested, and adapted to the current situation.
• TBS is also working with Public Safety Canada and departments and agencies, to finalize a comprehensive list of Government of Canada critical services and ensure that mission critical applications and systems are mapped to this list, to ensure that critical services and government operations are appropriately supported.

Remote Work: The federal government is also taking action to ensure that the employees who support critical services are able to continue to work remotely. The Government of Canada currently has sufficient capacity to ensure employees supporting critical activities can work remotely and work is continuing to increase capacity as telework is increased. In the interim, departments have been asked to take action to limit non-critical network usage and reducing non-critical activities.

• In addition, to support employees working remotely, cloud-based collaboration solutions (Office365) are being deployed. This will allow employees will be able to access the workspace using their personal devices without requiring Virtual Private Network (VPN), reducing demand on existing network systems.

Cybersecurity

• @Francis_Drouin:
  • Retweet: @FinanceCanada: #ScamAlert If you get a text message saying you received a deposit for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. Beware it is a scam! Do not reply or click on the link, delete the text and warn others. #COVID19 #EconomicResponse

Digital Government

• @MajidJowhari: The #HoC has been recalled by the @HoCSpeaker and will sit Saturday, April 11, at 12:15 pm ET. For more info on a recall of the House: http://ow.ly/45W430my5f0
• @Irek_K:
  • #COVID19 information is available in multiple different languages. Click here for factsheets, infographics and other #GoC resources to keep you and your family safe and informed. http://ow.ly/RhuJ50yUPeK
  • Retweet: @fsorbara: Our #Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy portal is now open to accepting applications for all Canadian businesses impacted by #COVID19. See the guides below & sign up through https://bit.ly/3bIV4sW. #SmallBizRelief #business #businesssupports @YorkRegion
• @stevenmackinnon: To do before asking for CERB (translation) https://twitter.com/stevenmackinnon/status/1244998228619284482/photo/1
• @KellyMcCauleyMP: Retweet: @natnewswatch: Dale Smith: Parliament is an essential service – and it cannot be done virtually /via @globeandmail https://t.co/RFXdMlmWqa?amp=1
• @ziad_aboultaif: Retweet: @MichelleRempel: Let it be known for the annals of history that the first words uttered on virtual Parliament, on our dry run, was @marcomendicino going to @WayneEaster “HEY WAYNER!” And it was perfect.
• @MatthewGreenNDP:
  • Retweet:
    • @GovCanHealth: Stay informed about how the #COVID19 outbreak is evolving in Canada. Visit our interactive COVID‑19 Situational Dashboard for Canada to learn more: http://ow.ly/vKLf50z5nf5
    • @CanRevAgency: Reminder! Born in January, February or March? You can now apply for the 2nd period of the #CERB (April 12–May 9). If you haven’t applied for the first period, you can still apply. Find out more http://ow.ly/psE250zcydc #COVID19 #CdnTax
  • Don’t forget to tune in at 3 pm for another segment of #ParlToThePeople with today’s guest, #LeftTube, #CanLab historian, and #CdnPoli commentator @christoaivalis talking about the role of everyday people in reBuilding a better Canada. Check him out. http://christoaivalis.com/youtube
  • #ParlToThePeople with today’s guest @ChristoAivalis talking about the role of everyday people in reBuilding a better Canada. https://t.co/VAMs1yOtjb?amp=1

Telework

• @stevenmackinnon:
  • Retweet: @SPC_CA: #Rappel : Work offline as much as possible to decrease network traffic so that #GC operations can continue. That means avoiding the transfer of large data and reducing the download of non-essential data. (translation)
  • Over the last few days, I’ve spoken to several citizens, elected officials, community leaders and business representatives, including the Chamber of Commerce of #Gatineau. @CCGatineau #Outaouais #PolCan 1/. 2/ The government is taking exceptional measures to help Canadians, businesses and health agencies to deal with the situation. I am in constant communication with my team. For all questions: steven.mackinnon@parl.gc.ca, 613‑992‑4351, 819‑561‑5555.)(translation)
• @Irek_K:
  • Each week I join Windsor- Essex-Chatham MPs @DaveEppCKL @ChrisLewisEssex @BrianMasseMP on a cross-party call to discuss regional issues from Emergency Benefits to borders, from farms to food banks, small businesses & students. I value their questions, concerns, ideas. #TeamCanada
  • Appreciate joining my colleagues on the Southwestern Ontario Caucus call this afternoon - sharing concerns from CERB to flooding to transit with Liberal MPs from communities in and around London, Guelph, Cambridge, Kitchener & Waterloo. A strong united Southwestern Ontario voice!
  • Thank you @NancyDuffyShow for having me on your podcast - I really enjoyed our conversation and sharing insights about the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB).
  • Great call with the Tech CEO Leadership group in #YQG discussing COVID challenges & opportunities as well as our Government’s Emergency Response measures. Thanks. @redpiston @coultersoftware @DataRealmInc @AlphaKORGroup @iDream_Interact @WEtechAlliance
  • That was pretty cool. Taking part in the first virtual sitting of Parliament in Canada’s history with all 338 MPs connected by the bridge of technology from coast to coast to coast. Proud to represent the residents of Windsor-Tecumseh on this historic meeting. #YQG #43inVR

Teleconference

• @Francis_Drouin:
  • Heureux d’avoir participé au comité spécial avec mes collègues parlementaires. Great to participate with my parliamentary colleagues today in a historic special committee. Many thanks to the House of Commons service! (translation)
  • Retweet: @EricDuncanSDSG: Full day of video meetings & calls that wrapped up tonight w/ a great discussion alongside @Francis_Drouin with our local Fair Boards in our region. Good exchange of info & ideas on we can make sure these vital community events can get through COVID‑19 & be back better than ever. https://twitter.com/EricDuncanSDSG/status/1255300238396530690/photo/1
• @Irek_K:
  • This Week - Interactive Webinars with Local Officials @WERCofC is hosting interactive webinars with @Irek_K @drewdilkens, @MayorTomBain and @roccorossiTO to help #YQG navigate the impact of COVID‑19 on our regional business community.
  • Looking forward to joining Minister @MonaFortier for a Virtual Town Hall organized by @WorkforceWE and talking to local residents & businesses about the Canadian government’s COVID19 economic response plan. Thursday, April 30, 10–11 am Register: https://workforcewindsoressex.com/town-hall/
  • Retweet: @WorkforceWE: Join us LIVE on Facebook now, as @justinf3672 hosts a Virtual Town Hall with the Hon. @MonaFortier and MP @Irek_K! Hear answers to your COVID‑19 questions and an update from the federal government! https://t.co/sGKq6rflHl?amp=1
  • Thank you to the Honourable Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages @melaniejoly for virtually visiting #WindsorTecumseh. We appreciated your insights on the Government of Canada’s economic response programs and how they will support #YQG businesses. In response to:
    • @WERofC: What a great way to start our Friday! Thank you Minister @melaniejoly and MP @Irek_K for sharing information and discussing the government programs available for #YQG businesses and employees. The #WEChamber is happy to bring these important discussions to our region. https://twitter.com/WERCofC

Videoconference

• @PatrickBWeiler: This week, we held a virtual Constituency Youth Council meeting to discuss transitioning to online learning and staying productive from home. Here are some tips from our CYC for youth. @cyc_cjc #WestVancouver #SunshineCoast #SeatoSky #COVID19
• @ziad_aboultaif: Glad to have taken part in this meeting with my fellow @CPC_HQ colleagues from #Edmonton to address the current challenges we are facing together as a city. Thank you to Mayor @DonIveson for your leadership during these uncertain times. In response to:
  • @jameskcumming: Last week some of my @CPC_HQ #yeg colleagues & I had a productive zoom meeting with Mayor @doniveson in which we discussed the state of municipal affairs during #COVID19AB. Thank you to the mayor & my colleagues for the engaging chat #covid19Canada #cdnpoli

Enhancing Network Infrastructure Capacity

• Over the past six weeks, Shared Services Canada has been working tirelessly to enhance the network infrastructure capacity in order to enable the Government of Canada to work during the COVID‑19 crisis. The team members continue to travel to Government of Canada work sites regularly to perform essential network infrastructure deployment activities. Activities include:
  • enabling Government of Canada users to work remotely and supporting the new COVID‑19 programs launched by the Government for Canadians. The work increased the Government of Canada internet infrastructure capacity by 50% as well as implementing more than 30 major Internet and Secure Remote Access Connections for Government of Canada departments. Departmental bandwidth upgrades ranged from increases to 20% to 300%, depending on the department including for Canada Revenue Agency and Employment and Social Development Canada to support COVID‑19 response.
  • completing the establishment of a Regional Network Hub in Toronto to provide access to Cloud and Internet Services for the Government of Canada. Currently working with onboarding Employment and Social Development Canada as the first client to enable the deployment of the Government of Canada’s emergency relief programs in the cloud;
  • in the process of establishing second Regional Network hub in Vancouver to provide distributed and enhanced access to Cloud and Internet Services for Government of Canada users and services in Western Canada.

Expanding Secure Remote Access Capability

• Over the past several weeks, Shared Services Canada has been expanding Secure Remote Access capabilities to the Government of Canada by implementing and upgrading infrastructure with capacity up to 250,000 public servants to securely connect to their departmental network. This allows the government to ensure network security by encrypting traffic from the user home network to the office and allows Shared Services Canada to securely authenticate and identify the user, while also providing continued visibility to the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security.
• Canada Revenue Agency upgrades include Secure Remote Access capacity increases from 20,000 to 60,000 (as of May 4, 2020) as well as major improvements to CRA testing capability.
• Employment and Social Development Canada upgrades include Secure Remote Access capacity increases from 17,500 to 53,000 (with 33,000 users as of May 13).
• Shared Services Canada provided 10 times more Secure Remote Access capacity to Correctional Service Canada and tripled the capacity for the Department of National Defence.

Increasing Teleconferencing Capacity

• Teleconferencing capacity has been increased from a daily average of 1.5 million minutes a day to in excess of 5 million minutes a day.

Microsoft Office 365 / Digital Communications and Collaboration Project

• To help the Government of Canada continue its work during the COVID‑19 crisis, the Government of Canada has adopted Microsoft Office 365 to immediately support digital communications and collaboration. There are three types of workspaces that are provided within the Government of Canada:
• Efforts are underway to ensure each department and agency has access to their own standalone Microsoft Office 365 cloud environment to support work and collaboration up to and including Protected B using Government of Canada-issued and managed endpoint devices, this work is being accelerated to support the demands of remote workers requiring modern communication and collaboration tools.
• A temporary Government of Canada COVID Collaboration System (using a standalone Microsoft Office 365 environment) supports any federal employee’s unclassified work and collaboration when departments and agencies request access. This service was launched on March 15, 2020, to help resolve pressures on the Government of Canada network. As of May 13, 2020, there are over 93,000 users from 38 departments on the Government of Canada COVID Collaboration System. Several departments are being migrated to their own Microsoft Office 365 environments in an accelerated fashion, further enabling work and collaboration within a secure environment. As departments are migrated to their departmental collaboration tenant, we will see a lower number of users on the unclassified GC collaboration solution.
• A permanent Government of Canada Emergency Communication System (using a standalone Microsoft Office 365 environment with dedicated tablets) for senior officials and essential employees supporting the Government of Canada’s business continuity activities for work and collaboration up to and including Protected B.

Accelerating Deployment of Mobile Virtual Private Network

• Shared Services Canada is accelerating the deployment of a new service that enables public servants to securely access their department’s internal resources on their work-issued mobile (iPhones/iPads, Android phones and tablets) devices thereby increasing the ability of the Public Service to work remotely. This service is tailored to meet each department or agency’s requirements, and supports web-based applications or applications designed specifically for mobile devices.

Increased Flexibility and Capacity of the Contact Centre Infrastructure

• Shared Services Canada has been working with partners in industry on a daily basis, most notably the top three telecommunications providers, to ensure that the Canadian telecommunications network and the underlying infrastructure can support the unprecedented level of calls that were received across the Government of Canada contact centres, examples include:
  • increasing infrastructure capacity to meet Canada Revenue Agency’s and Employment and Social Development Canada’s number of requests for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy and Employment Insurance;
  • delivering more than 7,000 cellular devices to contact centre agents, including headsets to enable agents to work from home, while ensuring that the cellular infrastructure was capable of supporting the influx of cellular usage;
  • responding immediately to increase capacity on Global Affairs Canada’s emergency contact centre, enabling it to handle the large amount of calls and allow the public servants in the contact centre to work closely with airlines and missions to get fellow Canadians home (e.g. Morocco, Spain, Peru); and
  • increasing capacity across countless other contact centres, including Service Canada, Canada Border Services Agency, Public Health Agency, Health Canada, and many others.

Key Secure Remote Access Facts:

• Government of Canada population: 417,142
• Original network capacity, pre-COVID‑19: 137,193 (33%)
• Current capacity as of May 13: 274,284 (66%)
• Target Capacity: 284,937 (68%)
• Employment and Social Development Canada upgrades include Secure Remote Access capacity increases from 17,500 to 53,000 (with 33,000 users as of May 13).

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) Canadian Shield

• On 23 April 2020, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) announced the official launch of the CIRA Canadian Shield.
• The CIRA Canadian Shield is a free DNS firewall service that provides online privacy and security to individuals and families across Canada, based on defensive measures that have already been in place to protect the Government’s own systems.
• CIRA partnered with the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre) to integrate its Canadian threat feed into Canadian Shield. No personally identifiable information (PII) of any kind is transmitted to the Cyber Centre as part of this process.

Overview

• The domain of cyber security is dynamic, with a threat environment that is constantly evolving. While no measures can prevent 100% of cyber incidents, the Government of Canada is committed to making the safety and security of Canadians’ information a top priority.
• The Government of Canada is continuously working to enhance cyber security in Canada by preventing attacks through robust security measures, identifying cyber threats and vulnerabilities, and by preparing for and responding to all kinds of cyber incidents to better protect Canada and Canadians.
• The Government has improved its enterprise capacity to detect and defend against cyber threats; centralized Internet access points; launched an enterprise security architecture program; and implemented a whole-of-government incident response plan.

Recent Investments

• Budget 2018 investments included $2.2 billion to enable digital services and to support related cyber security measures, and $507.7 million to implement a new National Cyber Security Strategy, including the establishment of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS) within the Communications Security Establishment Canada. Funding was allocated for the following four initiatives to strengthen protection of the Government’s networks and information:
  • Government of Canada Secret Infrastructure (GCSI): $102M to offer classified (up to SECRET) network service to a wider Government of Canada audience.
  • Endpoint Visibility, Awareness and Security (EVAS): $150.1M to provide the Government with a comprehensive understanding of its information technology assets and the ability to protect these assets and respond effectively to cybersecurity events.
  • Small Departments Agency (SDA) Study: $1M to conduct a study and cost benefit analysis to migrate all SDAs to secure SSC-managed Internet connections.
  • Secure Cloud Enablement and Defence Project (SCEDP): $55M to establish new private, secure, dedicated connections between the Government and major cloud service providers to minimize cyber security risks.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Government of Canada departments and agencies have responsibility to ensure cyber security within their organization.
  • The Treasury Board Secretariat, Shared Services Canada, and the Communications Security Establishment are the primary stakeholders with responsibility for ensuring the Government’s cyber security posture is effective and continues to evolve.
  • The Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) provides strategic oversight of Government cyber security event management to ensure effective coordination of major security events and support government-wide decision-making. The Chief Information Officer for the Government of Canada, at TBS, sets Information Technology security policy along with other delegated powers.
• Shared Services Canada provides the IT security infrastructure (design and operation). In conjunction with TBS and CSE, SSC also provides security and privacy by design as part of the establishment of new services. The security of goods and services at all stages of the procurement process is evaluated to ensure what we buy from suppliers is as safe from cyber security threats as possible.
  • The CSE houses the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS) which monitors government systems and networks for malicious activities and cyber-attacks, as well as leads the government’s operational response to cyber security events. The CCCS works to protect and defend the country’s valuable cyber assets and works side-by-side with the private and public sectors to solve Canada’s most complex cyber issues.
• Given the cross-cutting nature of cyber security, a number of other federal departments and agencies play a role in various aspects of cyber security:
• Public Safety Canada leads national cyber security policy and strategy by, for example, coordinating the overall response to significant national cyber events through the Government Operations Centre working closely with TBS.
  • The RCMP is the primary investigative department on all cyber security incidents dealing with actual or suspected cybercrime of non-state origin on the Government’s infrastructure.
  • Canadian Security Intelligence Service is the primary department responsible for investigating threats against information systems and critical infrastructure posed by foreign state actors and terrorists.
  • National Defence/Canadian Armed Forces is the primary department responsible for addressing cyber threats, vulnerabilities or security incidents against or on military systems.
• Each department has responsibilities under the TBS Policy on Service and Digital for specific aspects of cyber security, such as:
  • Integrating cyber security in overall governance of service, information, data and information technology;
  • Designating an official responsible for departmental cyber security management function; and
  • Including cyber security in departmental planning in alignment with enterprise-wide plan approved by the Chief Information Officer of Canada.

GC CSEMP

• TBS is responsible for strategic oversight of Government cyber security event management to ensure effective coordination of major security events and to support government-wide decision-making.
• The Government Cyber Security Event Management Plan (GC CSEMP) is the whole-of-government incident response plan under the oversight of the TBS.
• TBS works closely with the CCCS, who leads the government’s operational response to cyber security events. The CCCS works to protect and defend the country’s valuable cyber assets and works side-by-side with the private and public sectors to solve Canada’s most complex cyber issues. The CCCS monitors government systems and networks for malicious activities and cyber-attacks.
• The GC CSEMP is an operational framework which outlines the stakeholders and actions required to ensure that cyber security events are addressed in a consistent, coordinated and timely fashion across the government. The objective is to enhance situational awareness of likely cyber threats and vulnerabilities, improve coordination, mitigate threats and vulnerabilities, minimize the impacts of cyber events, and ultimately to inform government decision-making.
• TBS and the CCCS actively lead and participate in the design, coordination and operation of the GC CSEMP, and are in regular contact with departments and agencies.
• The GC CSEMP was recently updated and took effect in April 2020 and is available publicly on canada.ca. The update was made to reflect the creation of the CCCS as well as lessons learned since 2018 and was not related to the COVID‑19 pandemic.

Security Assessment and Authorization of IT Systems:

• The Security Assessment and Authorization service supports Partners and Clients who are developing or modifying IT systems by helping to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of their systems and data.
• Security Assessment and Authorization helps to ensure that security requirements established for an IT System are met and that the controls and safeguards function as intended. Security Assessment and Authorization also formalizes the process for Shared Services Canada’s acceptance of any residual risks associated with a system, following organizational efforts to address them.
• Together with Security by Design, Privacy Impact Assessments and Enterprise Architecture services, Security Assessment and Authorization helps protect the integrity and continuity of Government of Canada operations. They ensure that IT Systems are put in place after providing rigorous analyses of the threats, vulnerabilities and risks for them and for other systems impacted by their operation.

Protection of Personal Information:

• Through the development of a Privacy Impact Assessment, Shared Services Canada validates that the appropriate privacy safeguards are implemented and functioning as intended. This ensures that personal information under the control of Shared Services Canada (as per the Shared Services Canada Act) is appropriately protected. These privacy safeguards and processes include but are not limited to:
  • Completing the Privacy Risks Checklist and Privacy Impact Assessments for enterprise initiatives to evaluate whether Shared Services Canada’s systems and programs comply with the Privacy Act.
  • Identification of all personal information and personal identifiable information which is handled (collected, used, disclosed, retained and disposed of) by a Shared Services Canada Enterprise service;
  • Ensuring proper privacy standard acquisition clauses and conditions are included in all Shared Services Canada enterprise contracts and evaluating vendors’ Privacy Management Plans;
  • Retaining and disposing of personal information in accordance with related privacy legislation and security standards;
  • Restricting or limiting the collection and use of personal information to only what is required;
  • Ensuring that personal information is only used for the intended purpose for which it was collected and/or generated; and
  • Providing privacy training for staff who will be processing personal information.

COVID‑19 Emergency Communications Response

• Given the urgency of the current COVID‑19 global pandemic response, the Government of Canada has required that its workforce work remotely. As such they require the ability to easily collaborate among departments and agencies as well as with provincial, territorial, and other entities to coordinate actions and services for Canadians. This must be carried out whilst ensuring that information is protected against unauthorized access and use.
• To help the Government of Canada continue its work amid the COVID crisis, the Government of Canada has adopted Microsoft Office 365 to immediately support digital communications and collaboration. There are three types of workspaces that are provided within the Government of Canada:
  • Efforts are underway to ensure each department and agency has access to their own standalone Microsoft Office 365 cloud environment to support work and collaboration up to and including Protected B using Government of Canada-issued and managed endpoint devices. This work is being accelerated to support the demands of remote workers requiring modern communication and collaboration tools.
  • A temporary Government of Canada COVID Collaboration System (using a standalone Microsoft Office 365 environment) supports any federal employees’ unclassified work and collaboration, when departments and agencies request access. This service was launched on March 15, 2020 to help resolve pressures on the Government of Canada network. As of April 27, there are over 100,000 users from 37 departments on the Government of Canada COVID Collaboration System.
  • A permanent Government of Canada Emergency Communication System (using a standalone Microsoft Office 365 environment with dedicated tablets) for senior officials and essential employees supporting the Government of Canada’s business continuity activities) for work and collaboration up to and including Protected B.

Secure Enablement of Cloud Services

• Privacy and security of information remains a top priority for the Government of Canada. The procurement process for cloud services has been orchestrated to ensure that protected B information will remain within Canada’s borders.
• Shared Services Canada supply contracts and framework agreements were developed in close collaboration with security partners, including the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security and Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Office of the Chief Information Office Cyber Security. This was to ensure that cloud service offerings met specified Government of Canada security requirements related to confidentiality, integrity and availability of data and business processes.
• Shared Services Canada, Canadian Centre for Cyber Security and Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Office of the Chief Information Office jointly developed a secure operationalization framework for the Government of Canada to access public cloud services securely and responsibly. This framework was endorsed by Government of Canada Enterprise Architecture Review Board in September 2019.

COVID‑19 Specific Response Measures

• Natural Resources Canada requested a Protected B environment and potential secure cloud-to-ground connectivity requirements to allow for information sharing with Public Health Agency of Canada and Statistics Canada. Cloud Brokering Service supported Natural Resources Canada with implementing the Government of Canada security guardrails including the deployment of an Amazon Landing Zone in a Protected B environment. The platform went live on April 1, 2020.
• Employment and Social Development Canada needs to implement secure cloud-to-ground connectivity requirements in support of COVID‑19 priorities to respond to needs that include the eSIN application, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and Canada Emergency Response Benefit. As a result, Employment and Social Development Canada will be able to reduce manual processing by allowing for automation.
• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada identified an immediate requirement to support digital processing of permanent resident applications while Global Processing Centres and Contact Centres are closed. Transport Canada has identified five applications which they feel support the Government of Canada response to the pandemic. Canadian Heritage and the Department of Justice have also identified COVID‑19 related cloud requirements. Shared Services Canada is working with these departments to obtain further details on specific requirements.
• To support remote work and collaboration, the Digital Communication & Collaboration Project has configured a temporary Government of Canada Collaboration M365 tenant. Microsoft Teams training will be offered to departments on the Government of Canada Collaboration system.

Specific Guidance on Collaborative Tools

• When choosing a collaborative tool:
  • Prioritize solutions that do not require participants to install a client unless necessary.
  • Choose a solution that allows control over how data is handled (some platforms may route data outside Canada or store shared data on servers they control).
  • Ensure all users are aware of and comfortable with any data sharing done by the software owner in order to realize a profit (ex. selling data analytics).
• Settings and features that can help keep video and teleconferencing secure are:
  • Disabling guest screen sharing
  • Requiring the host to be present
  • Securing the conference with a password
  • Keeping your personal meeting ID or invites private