Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 3119 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION OF CANADA ASSOCIATION CANADIENNE DE LA TECHNOLOGIE DE L’INFORMATION ITAC on Digital Government | Page 2 THE VOICE OF THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY (ICT) SECTOR IN CANADA | www.itac.ca Invest in Today to Fuel Tomorrow Only a strong, stable and secure IT infrastructure will successfully innovate public service delivery. Getting to that point requires investing in systems starting now. Solve the legacy dilemma ITAC applauds the Government of Canada and Public Safety Canada for conducting a Federal Cyber Security Review. This review will go a long way in identifying gaps, opportunities and new ideas for shaping Canada’s approach to cyber security, new technology and the digital economy. However, equally important in this review process is addressing how to solve governmental legacy systems. There are many complexities associated with the Government of Canada’s aging IT systems—including data breaches at National Research Council1 and newly discovered cyber security issues at Canada Border Services Agency.2 ITAC’s recent response to the Government’s Strategic IT Plan3 also speaks to the “legacy dilemma,”as do many other governmental publications including the: • 2010 Spring Report of the Auditor General of Canada,4 • Report on the State of Aging IT Across the Government of Canada,5 and • 2015 Fall Report of the Auditor General.6 Adding to the challenge, the Government’s central IT agency Shared Services Canada (SSC) still has to invest in legacy systems in the near term. Canada has added nearly $400 million to SSC’s budget to maintain mission-critical legacy data centres, networks and security infrastructure. But more funding is needed to maintain a secure, stable state until a transition to newer systems can take place. In the U.S., the government has recognized the need to maintain legacy while transitioning to newer systems, having 75% of its annual IT budget allocated to operations and maintenance.7 Moreover, as part of the Obama administration’s Cybersecurity National Action Plan (CNAP), the White House is seeking legislation for $3.1 billion in revolving funds to help transition toward more modern options. This revolving fund will enable agencies to invest money upfront and realize the return over time by retiring, replacing or modernizing antiquated IT infrastructure, networks and systems that are expensive to maintain, difficult to secure, and provide poor functionality.8 Centralize digital leadership ITAC commends the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) for making strides around its Strategic IT Plan and Cloud Adoption Strategy. This type of central leadership is essential to ensuring a common vision across the Government of Canada. Equally important is an integrated service strategy and mandate to ensure the whole of government is pulling in the same direction. Innovating public service delivery is a shared responsibility and therefore its underpinnings must be considered so that government’s capacity to deliver services is strong, stable and secure. Governments including the U.S., United Kingdom and Southern Australia have centralized their modernization efforts through the creation of a digital service organization. These entities are responsible for providing digital services to citizens and businesses, report directly to the head of Government, and yield strong benefits. The Cabinet Office inside the Government of the United Kingdom recently reported a savings of £1.7 billion (approximately CDN$2.5 billion) through digital and technology transformation.9 Currently, Canada has no central body of this sort—instead following a more cumbersome, ad hoc approach spanning numerous departments. If Canada were to create a digital service organization, the whole of government would benefit. Departments and agencies would be able to access ICT subject-matter experts—people who could provide integrated modernization planning and expertise to help those embarking on transformation, modernization and digitization plans. Moreover, the service could report directly to (and be held accountable by) the Prime Minister or a central agency like TBS. 1 http://business.financialpost.com/fp-tech-desk/canadian-spy-agency-says-chinese- hacked-into-national-research-council-computers 2 http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/shared-services-canada-cbsa-report-1.3786286 3 http://itac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Letter-to-Mr.-John-Messina-Strategic-IT- Plan-response-September-2016.pdf 4 http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/parl_oag_201004_01_e_33714.html#hd3d 5 http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/hgw-cgf/oversight-surveillance/itpm-itgp/it-ti/rsai-revt/rsai- revtpr-eng.asp 6 http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/parl_oag_201602_04_e_41061.html 7 http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/677436.pdf 8 https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/02/09/fact-sheet-cybersecurity- national-action-plan 9 https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2015/10/23/how-digital-and-technology-transformation- saved-1-7bn-last-year/ As such, ITAC asks that—until a strong, stable and secure IT service delivery system can be supplied— the Government of Canada identifies and accounts for all costs associated with Shared Services Canada’s need to maintain legacy infrastructure. Additionally, ITAC recommends the Government develop a transition fund to help departments and agencies kick-start digital initiatives and innovate public service delivery.