[ Backgrounders ]December 10, 2003OTTAWA - The Honourable Lucienne Robillard, President of the Treasury Board of Canada and Member of Parliament for Westmount - Ville-Marie, today received the third and final report of the Government On-Line Advisory Panel.Established by the President in September 2001, the Panel was charged with providing advice and guidance on the development and implementation of the Government On-Line (GOL) initiative. The Panel's two previous reports focused on three broad themes: governance, the scope of GOL and communications. The final report presents detailed recommendations in four areas: leadership, management and governance; implementation strategies; public service engagement; and communication and marketing.Minister Robillard commends Panel Members for their commitment and enthusiasm in sharing the benefit of their experience in service transformation with the Government of Canada."The Government On-Line and Service Improvement initiatives are enormous undertakings," said Minister Robillard. "The thinking and analysis provided by Panel members have helped us to focus our efforts and we have been able to advance on many of the issues they have raised."With the 2005 GOL deadline around the corner, Minister Robillard says the government is on track to meet its commitments. In its report, Government On-Line 2003, tabled in Parliament in June, the government reported that almost all of the 135 most commonly used services were at least partly on-line. "Substantial progress has been made and I am pleased that our progress has been recognized by the Panel and others," said Minister Robillard.Canadians are increasingly relying on the Internet to communicate with the Government of Canada. By regularly consulting citizens and businesses on their service priorities and expectations, the government ensures it responds to changing needs of users. This client-centric approach is what has kept Canada among the world leaders in e-government.The GOL Advisory Panel report is available online at: http://www.gol-ged.gc.ca/pnl-grp/reports/rep-rap_e.asp- 30 -For more information, contact:Russell MilonSenior Legislative AssistantOffice of the President of the Treasury Boardof Canada(613) 957-2666Mario BarilMedia RelationsTreasury Board of Canada Secretariat(613) 957-2391IF THERE IS A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN ANY PRINTED VERSION AND THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THIS NEWS RELEASE, THE ELECTRONIC VERSION WILL PREVAIL.TTY (Telecommunications device for the hearing impaired) - (613) 957-9090BACKGROUNDERSGovernment On-Line Advisory PanelThe Government On-Line Advisory Panel was established by the Honourable Lucienne Robillard, President of the Treasury Board of Canada, in September 2001.The Advisory Panel is comprised of 22 representatives from all facets of Canadian life, including the general public, business and high-technology sectors, the academic and educational sector, and the voluntary sector.The Panel is co-chaired by Barbara Stymiest, CEO, TSX Group and Guy Savard, Vice Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Board for Quebec Operations, Merrill Lynch Canada.Members of the Panel were selected for their knowledge, interest and expertise in how best to harness the opportunities presented by emerging information technologies, such as the Internet, to improve the delivery of information and services to citizens and business.The Panel served as sounding board, working collaboratively with the President of the Treasury Board and federal government officials to provide advice and recommendations to the Government On-Line initiative.In its final report, Connecting with Canadians: Pursuing Service Transformation, the Panel said "that the federal government must commit to a citizen-centric approach and transform its operations - as a matter of highest priority - into an integrated, multi-channel, multi-service delivery network operating across programs, departments and jurisdictions." The Panel made four recommendations summarized below:1. Leadership, Management and Governance - Strong leadership from the Prime Minister and the very highest levels of the government and public service is imperative if the federal government is to succeed in transforming its services.2. Implementation Strategies - The government must transform its internal services and develop a common approach to service transformation based on a common technology platform.3. Public Service Engagement - The government must fully engage the members of the public service in the initiative and ensure it has the capacity to deliver existing services and innovate for the future.4. Communication and Marketing - The service transformation initiative must be supported by a government-wide communication and marketing strategy.With this final report, the Panel ends its two-year mandate.A copy of the GOL Advisory Panel report is available at: http://www.gol-ged.gc.ca/pnl-grp/reports/rep-rap_e.aspA complete list of Panel members is available at: http://www.gol-ged.gc.ca/pnl-grp/index_e.aspService Improvement and Government On-LineGovernment On-LineThe Government of Canada is recognized as a world leader in on-line services. By 2005, 135 of the most commonly used services will be available on the Internet, making services easier, more accessible and satisfying for users.Government On-Line is broader than a mere conversion of government services to the Internet. It represents a major change in the way we serve Canadians made possible by applying the full potential and power of information and communications technologies. This potential enables the government to enhance access by citizens and businesses to improved and integrated services at any time or place and in the official language of their choice.Some of the new interactive tools now available on the Internet include, for Canadians, the Benefits Finder and the Retirement Income Calculator and for businesses, the Export Planner and the Lease or Buy Calculator. Listening is Key to Success of Government On-LineIn order to provide services that meet the needs and expectations of Canadians, we involve citizens and businesses in the on-going development of these services. Regular user feedback ensures that our Government On-Line and Service Improvement Initiatives evolve and adapt over time.Over the past year, we heard from over 20,000 individuals and businesses, in focus groups and by phone, in person and over the Internet, on their priorities and expectations with regard to service delivery. User views and suggestions have resulted in new features on the Canada Site such as personalization, improvements in the way information is organized and as well as more user friendly secure access. The highest service satisfaction ratings are attributed to services delivered on-line - 80% of Canadians say they are satisfied with government on-line services.For the third consecutive year, the international consultancy firm Accenture singled out Canada as the world leader in e-government. In large measure, this rating is due to our government's progress to the service transformation stage of e-government. "While many countries have loudly proclaimed they will use technology to transform government, Canada has quietly accomplished what others are still talking about," public CIO magazine recently reported.Service Improvement InitiativeTreasury Board Secretariat's Service Improvement Initiative, introduced in 2000, is aimed at increasing Canadians' satisfaction with government services by at least 10 per cent between 1998 and 2005. The initiative requires departments and agencies to plan for continuous improvement, set baselines and targets for client satisfaction, set and publish service standards by delivery channel - in-person, telephone and on-line -- and report on progress in the annual Reports on Plans and Priorities and Departmental Performance Reports. Based on the mean satisfaction rating of 18 federal services measured in 1998, satisfaction with government services had improved by over 6 per cent by 2002, the most recent year for which statistics are available, and we are on track to meet the 2005 target.Making On-Line Service Better and More ResponsiveThe Canada Site (www.canada.gc.ca) is the first point of contact for Canadians using government services on-line. It organizes the vast array of government information and services in a way that makes sense to Canadians, Canadian businesses and people from outside Canada.Information and services are organized according to subject, rather than by the organization providing them, so that people can find what they are looking for quickly and easily.Users can also contact their Member of Parliament, fill in forms and buy government publications on-line. They can even register to be notified by e-mail whenever new links are added about their favourite topics. The Canada Site is always open for business - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and more than 1.2 million people visit www.canada.gc.ca every month.Making Government More AccessibleThe Internet is transforming the world in which we all live. It enables us to access information and services from anywhere, at any time and in ways that we could not have imagined twenty, ten or even five years ago. 70% of Canadians now use Internet and they expect the Internet will be the primary way of interacting with government in five years.The Treasury Board Secretariat has assumed a leadership role in Web standards that can serve as an example to all. All Government of Canada Web sites share a common look and navigation making them easily recognized and easy to use. Switching from French to English and back again can be done with just one click.Building Trust and Confidence in On-Line ServiceThe government has also made great efforts to build confidence in electronic services to encourage their use by Canadians and businessesThe Secure Channel, a key component of our technology infrastructure, built in partnership with the private sector, allows us to provide our services in a highly secure environment. Two new services have been introduced over the past year: the first enables users to make credit card payments over the Internet; the second is an on-line authentication service that gives Canadians access to a new generation of on-line transactions.New security measures coupled with the government's recent decision to make privacy impact assessments mandatory for all new or redesigned services make Canada a world leader in the protection of citizen's personal information.
