What we’re doing: Providing services to people when and where they need them

It can be a challenge for Canadians and businesses to find and use government services. They may experience lineups at service centres, longer than expected call wait times and websites that are not user-friendly, all of which can affect Canadians’ trust in their government. The federal systems and processes do not operate seamlessly together, which can result in a duplication of effort across departments, inconsistent services and login experiences that are not always efficient.

We’ve also seen government deliver services rapidly and effectively to Canadians. Services like the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit, the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy , and the COVID-19 Benefits finder highlight the government’s shift to becoming more agile, open, and user-focused.

People expect government services to be as convenient as the services they get from the private sector. They also expect the government to keep their personal information safe and secure. This is a challenge the government will endeavour to meet.

By the numbers

  • The Government of Canada (GC) has over 200 call centres handling millions of calls every day. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic immediately resulted in a surge in calls, which far exceeded any historical demand. For example, at its peak, the Employment Insurance Call Centre alone was receiving one million calls a day
  • 103 government services across the government still communicate with applicants primarily by paper mail delivery, receiving over 6 million applications by mail a year
  • There are thousands of outdated and hard-to-find PDF forms online, many of which are printed and submitted by mail or in person. The costs to the government for data re-entry alone are estimated to range from $8 million to $31 million a year, based on conservative salary costs and estimated time to re-enter and validate mailed-in forms

To streamline services to Canadians, the GC is:

  • improving government websites to make it easier for Canadians to find and access the information they need, while reducing duplication of effort across departments
  • continuing to explore options to simplify and streamline the sign in process for individuals and businesses to securely access GC online services no matter what platform or location they are coming from
  • scaling Notify to more and more services so that individuals can opt in to receive updates by email, by text message, or both, on relevant information or on their transactions with government
  • exploring ways to replace thousands of inconvenient PDF forms with mobile friendly web forms so that applications can be submitted easily and securely, and so that financial and other transactions can be completed online

What this means for Canadians

The investments in digital services announced in Budget 2021, including proposed funding for the Canadian Digital Service, increased funding for the Office of the Chief Information Officer, and support for departments and agencies to improve and streamline their online services represents the GC’s commitment to transforming people’s experience with government. By making these changes, the government will be able to design and deliver services that put people’s needs first, increase access to services for all Canadians, and improve citizen trust.

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