2023-24 Departmental Plan

From the Minister

As the Minister responsible for Shared Services Canada (SSC), I am pleased to present the 2023-24 Departmental Plan which details the department’s mandate, priorities and resources for the fiscal year.

My role is to ensure that SSC provides modern, secure, and reliable information technology (IT) services to Government of Canada organizations. As a key player in the Government of Canada’s Digital Ambition, SSC leads how the government builds, manages, modernizes and replaces major IT infrastructure. SSC designs key IT systems to be adaptable, resilient and secure. This helps to ensure that Government of Canada partner organizations have safe and efficient digital infrastructure for the Canadians and businesses that rely on them.

The focus for the year is on strengthening the foundational pieces of IT infrastructure to support a hybrid workplace and enhancing security. With the shifting needs required by a hybrid workplace, SSC is modernizing infrastructure to better support both remote and onsite work. It is also continuing to provide secure and reliable IT and communication solutions that public servants need to do their jobs.

SSC continues to strengthen 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. SSC’s focus on an enterprise approach to network, security and digital services ensures a stronger cyber security posture across the whole of government. This includes accelerating its work to provide this bundle of services to small departments and agencies.

Finally, I support the commitment to using common IT solutions across government, such as a modern Human Resources and Pay system.

Please read the Departmental Plan to learn how SSC will make the Government of Canada more responsive, resilient and effective in serving Canadians.

Plans at a glance

As the world continues to evolve and become more and more digitally enabled, Canadians expect to be able to easily access government services online, at any time, and on any device. To meet these expectations, the Government of Canada (GC) continues to focus on modernizing its IT infrastructure and adapting its service delivery towards a truly digital government model. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) has published Canada's Digital Ambition, which outlines the government's long-term strategic vision and sets government‑wide priorities to modernize service delivery, improve sustainability and promote digital stewardship.

SSC is responsible for operating and modernizing the GC's IT infrastructure, which is the backbone of digital government. SSC supports Canada's Digital Ambition by playing a key role in provisioning, operating and modernizing the GC's IT landscape. SSC has already made significant progress to increase reliability, effectiveness and capacity of the GC IT infrastructure and will continue to support the GC transformation towards a digital government. SSC provides a wide range of shared services that enable the public service to effectively deliver services to Canadians in the following areas:

• networks and security
• data centres and application hosting
• cloud offerings
• digital communications tools
• other core IT infrastructure

Enterprise Approach

SSC has used an enterprise service approach that meets the common needs of the enterprise at speed and at scale, while still allowing enough flexibility to address unique departmental requirements. An enterprise approach focuses on reducing the proliferation of similar IT solutions across the GC that meet common IT needs. The enterprise approach is key to the success of digital government keeping up with new technologies and managing emerging risks as it simplifies IT maintenance and operations and allows for continuous improvement while reducing overall costs for the GC. ‌

This year, SSC will continue to strengthen its enterprise approach by focusing on the needs of SSC's clients and partners as the government adopts a hybrid work model, and by continuing to adopt enterprise approaches to new technology. ‌

The following summarises SSC's key initiatives for 2023-24:

Core responsibility: planned results and resources, and key risks

This section contains information on the department’s planned results and resources for its core responsibility. It also contains information on key risks related to achieving those results.

Common Government of Canada IT Operations

Description

Using a government-wide approach, SSC delivers reliable and secure IT Operations, IT infrastructure, and communication and workplace technology services that support and enable government-wide programs and digital services for the Public Service.

Planning Highlights

Building on the progress made by SSC towards a digital government, the Departmental Results Framework has been updated for 2023-24 to highlight continuous technological advances and support the ongoing transformation of the GC’s IT infrastructure and services to meet current and future needs. To support enterprise operations and the modernization of IT infrastructure, the 2023-24 Departmental Plan focuses on the following four Departmental Results.

Networks, Security and Access

Departmental results

Government of Canada benefits from reliable and responsive networks and SSC-managed security services that protect the information of departments, agencies and Canadians

A high-performing and resilient enterprise network is key to realizing a digital government and to providing digital services to public servants and Canadians. SSC provides the network infrastructure, and operational and security services to ensure that government departments and agencies have reliable and secure networks that allow service delivery to Canadians. The secure infrastructure SSC provides also safeguards information, assets and services in accordance with GC policies.

Network Modernization

SSC continuously assesses technology trends and developments to ensure it builds and adjusts a GC network that is responsive to current and future needs. As such, SSC is updating how it delivers network or connectivity services to partner organizations to support modern enterprise networks that are secure, fast, reliable, and meet the increasing demands of a digital government.

SSC will leverage the five network hubs that it has established across the country to improve data delivery speed and service availability and reliability. Building these hubs has been a key component of the network modernization strategy. A hub approach leverages software-defined network infrastructure and artificial intelligence to automate traffic flow and maintenance.

In 2023-24, SSC will be working to improve overall network performance by strengthening connections between government buildings and regional network hubs. The hubs are equipped with SSC’s enterprise perimeter security services to improve network security, including enhanced monitoring by the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security. SSC will continue implementing modern network technology and, ensure that necessary network components, such as fibre optic cable, are ready and available when required.

Hybrid Workplace Enablement

SSC is adapting its networks to support the GC’s hybrid workplace model, which is a combination of both remote work and office work. SSC has been developing plans and updating worksites to support this hybrid approach while also continuing to improve GC IT infrastructure. Key network and security updates include:

• Improving bandwidth: SSC will continue to upgrade GC buildings to improve the network bandwidth required by partner departments.
• Implementation of Wi-Fi service: In addition to the wired connections available, SSC is working with Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) and GC partner organizations to expand Wi-Fi in GC buildings.
• Zero trust security model: A zero trust security model supports a distributed, flexible model that allows people to work on any network, in any location in Canada, with appropriate security assurances and access restrictions, while protecting GC assets and information.

Low Earth Orbit Satellites

SSC is using satellite services to support communication services to and from remote areas, both nationally and internationally. The department is exploring the use of low earth orbit satellites to complements the current satellite services. This satellite service is closer to earth, which improves connectivity and increases availability for partner departments. Low Earth Orbit satellite technologies also provide connectivity to northern and remote sites to ensure continued operations as when, for example, RCMP conducts policing operations in remote locations.

Cyber Security of Networks and Systems

Cyberthreats and attacks are rapidly evolving, becoming more complex and diverse. The frequency of attacks is increasing exponentially, and the attacks are becoming more sophisticated. New and emerging cyber threats undertaken by malicious actors take advantage of security gaps, low cybersecurity awareness, and rapid technological developments to compromise IT systems. This could disrupt, and even destroy, the infrastructure that the GC relies upon for essential services, or corrupt critical data.

The GC has been investing in improving the resiliency of the IT infrastructure to protect all departments and agencies against cyber security related attacks. This has been done as part of IT security tripartite approach to the management of security events between SSC, TBS, Communications Security Establishment (CSE) and departments and agencies. SSC works with the CSE and the TBS to maintain and improve the GC's cyber security posture through administrative policy and common standards (TBS), perimeter protection and monitoring (CSE), and defensible and resilient infrastructure (SSC).

With funding announced in the 2022 Fall Economic Statement to reinforce cyber security, SSC will continue to make advancements towards a centrally-managed enterprise solution that will provide visibility and automated response to cyber attacks for SSC and its partner departments and agencies. This will enable SSC and the CSE to better predict, detect and identify cyber threats, and reduce response time.

In 2023-24, in alignment with the GC's cyber security vision and plan, SSC will outline a cyber security strategy and roadmap to set direction for the evolution of cyber security capabilities within SSC-managed IT infrastructure. This will provide an accurate, near real-time view of the security landscape across the SSC-managed infrastructure. This strategy will also allow SSC to make informed decisions on investments and actions to mitigate threats. Once completed, SSC will oversee the implementation of this strategy.

Two of SSC's current cyber and infrastructure security projects that are set to be completed in2023-24 are:

• Administrative Access Controls Service: This service will give SSC the capability to manage privileges, rights, and accesses across all SSC services effectively and efficiently in an enterprise-wide and standardized way. This will also provide security to all services within SSC's mandate by ensuring authorization, authentication, and real-time monitoring.
• Smart Phone for Classified communications: This service will provide senior leaders secure mobile communications (voice and instant messaging capabilities), high availability, and 24/7 enterprise-level support.

Extending Core IT and Security Services to Small Departments and Agencies (SDA)

In February 2022, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) tabled its Special Report on the Government of Canada's Framework and Activities to Defend its Systems and Networks from Cyber Attack. The NSICOP found that the government has established a robust framework and clear governance mechanisms to support the defence of government networks against cyberattacks. However, these frameworks are weakened by the inconsistent application of policy and the inconsistent use of cyber defence services across the whole of government. Of note, it recommended that the government extend advanced cyber defence services, notably SSC's Enterprise Internet Service and Communications Security Establishment's cyber defence sensors, to all federal organizations.

Many SDAs are optional clients of SSC and operate outside the GC internet infrastructure, do not use the enterprise services provided by SSC, and hence, those of CSE monitoring. Instead, they have provisioned IT services that are self-managed, or provided by a third-party to meet their organizational requirements. In Budget 2022, the GC made a commitment to increase cybersecurity across federal organizations. and extend cyber defence services to SDAs. In 2022-23, SSC worked with SDAs to extend a mandatory sub-set of services and provide those more autonomous arms-length organizations with the option of implementing a package of SSC-managed network and security services now in use by core departments. The package includes Enterprise Internet Service, secure remote access (allowing employees to work from a location outside of government buildings while ensuring data security is protected), and Digital Communications and Collaboration Enterprise Email enabled by Microsoft 365.

Following the progress made in 2022-23 with an initial number of SDAs, SSC will continue engaging with SDAs in 2023-24 to review their current IT network and security services and determine the best approach to migrate them to SSC-managed Internet and secure remote access services. Bringing SDAs within the enterprise IT infrastructure will improve their overall IT security. The CSE will also monitor the network traffic for potential threats or vulnerabilities.

Digital Workplace Services

Departmental results

Public servants have access to the collaboration tools and workplace technology needed to work effectively to deliver services to Canadians

SSC is implementing modern, secure and robust enterprise tools, and supporting infrastructure capabilities. These are necessary elements for providing digital workspaces from which public servants can work flexibly in either GC buildings or remotely. Standard digital tools across the enterprise, such as Microsoft 365, provide a common experience for every GC employee. They also enable seamless digital communications and collaboration between public servants across various departments to support service delivery to Canadians.

Contact Centre Modernization

Contact centres provide communication systems that allow Canadians to interact with GC departments online or by telephone. SSC supports the operation of approximately 220 contact centres for departments and agencies. These operations range from Employment and Social Development Canada contact centres for Employment Insurance, the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security, to the Canada Revenue Agency contact centre for the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program. As part of a multi-year initiative to improve services to Canadians, SSC is modernizing and standardizing contact centre services by migrating them from legacy solutions to commercially available public cloud, hosted and in-house solutions. SSC's approach aligns with the Government of Canada's Cloud Adoption Strategy and will give partners and clients modern cloud-based contact centre solutions through an enterprise delivery approach.

In 2023-24, SSC will continue planning and coordinating the modernization of GC contact centres.

Digital Communications and Collaboration - Email Transformation

SSC is migrating from both vendor-managed email services and in-house email services to the Digital Communications and Collaboration Email Service. This involves the migration of partner departments' email systems to one common cloud-based system. It provides public servants with a modern cloud-based email solution that allows them to work from anywhere. SSC has already successfully migrated 33 departments and clients. In 2023-24, SSC will continue the migration of the 13 remaining partner departments to enterprise email. This final migration is planned to be completed over the next three years. SSC is also preparing to extend its enterprise email service to SDAs across the GC.

Telecommunications Modernization

The evolution of technology has increased the number of options employees have to meet their telecommunication needs. It has also made some tools which were once commonly used obsolete. SSC is taking action to continue offering high-quality, efficient and affordable tools across the GC.

• Mobile Refresh: The Enterprise Mobile Device Management service enables mobile devices and tablets to securely access government networks. SSC continues to enhance service stability and mobile device security. In 2023-24, SSC will continue to replace aging mobiles using this service to ensure compatibility.
• Fixed Line Reduction: Given technological advances, traditional and wired office desk phones are no longer useful for many employees and are costly to maintain. Consequently, SSC has been working with its partner departments to aggressively retire all non-essential landline services and modernize cloud-based phone lines. Partner departments have identified over 97,000 landlines to disconnect out of the 350,000 in use across the GC. SSC will continue its progress to disconnect non-essential lines in the upcoming years with a target to retain only 10% of fixed lines within the next three years. In 2023-24, SSC also aims to modernize 28,000 cloud-based lines.
• Softphone: The softphone service, which allows a user to make and take phone calls over the Internet using Microsoft Office 365, will enhance the digital workspace for public servants. This service will provide unified communication services that can be accessed from any GC-issued device. In 2023-24, SSC will introduce the softphone service to SSC partners and clients.

Conferencing Services Modernization

Videoconferencing, mostly through Microsoft Teams, has become the main communication channel for employees, given the ongoing requirements of a hybrid work model. SSC is responsible for the connectivity to boardrooms and conference rooms, while departments and agencies are responsible for procuring boardroom equipment and peripherals. Conferencing services enable communication, discussion, and collaboration within the federal government and externally with officials, partners, and stakeholders. As such, SSC is modernizing its conference services by offering more accessible, fully integrated services to partner departments and agencies to support meetings where some participants are together in a GC building and others are joining off-site.

In 2023-24, SSC will continue implementing cloud video interoperability technology to allow the existing approximately 7,800 videoconferencing-enabled meeting rooms within government offices to connect to Microsoft Teams meetings. SSC will be upgrading or replacing devices to ensure that meeting spaces meet the newly defined technology guidelines for conferencing services, which include accessible and reliable conferencing capabilities. SSC will also continue to pilot with select departments the use of new video conferencing technology for conference rooms to meet ongoing needs.

Hosting Infrastructure

Departmental results

Government of Canada benefits from responsive and reliable hosting solutions that support its applications and data used to deliver services to Canadians

Providing reliable hosting solutions and platforms—through Enterprise Data Centres or cloud options—reduces the risk of service outages and failures for the applications they host. SSC completes regular repairs and upgrades to mitigate the risk of service interruptions from failing IT equipment and ensures ongoing IT infrastructure sustainability. SSC will also continue to work with TBS and partner departments to ensure that the application platforms and systems that directly support services are modern, secure, and reliable.

SSC is also evolving its Hosting Service Strategy to better meet the needs of clients and support changing technologies. The Hosting Service Strategy aims to seek optimal workload placements, establish a hosting advisory service, drive simplification through automation, build in sustainability and security by default, and offer self-service in areas such as cloud and Enterprise Data Centres.

Cloud Services Evolution

As the centralized provider of IT infrastructure and provider of cloud services for the GC, SSC plays a key role in supporting departments and agencies modernize and update their IT platforms, including the use of various cloud-based services. The updated Government of Canada's Cloud Adoption Strategy outlines how SSC plays a key role in supporting departments' alignment to the most appropriate hosting model as they look to rationalize their application portfolio. Cloud services provide access to shared IT resources through "pay for use" models, like those for water and electricity utilities.

To fulfill its cloud service role, SSC developed the Cloud Framework Agreement, which provides the overarching mechanism for the procurement of cloud services across government. Through this agreement, SSC provides government departments with access to eight public cloud suppliers, the fulfillment of supply service orders, cloud resourcing and guidance and the maintenance of the cloud services web portal.

As SSC and departments undertake the journey to cloud, many lessons have been learned that are informing the ongoing strategy. SSC is exploring opportunities to expand, optimize and strengthen cloud service offerings, including their delivery and operation, to bring greater value to partner departments and ensure they have the right tools as they shift to a 'cloud smart' adoption approach. In 2023-24, SSC will:

• begin authorizing new enterprise cloud services
• implement an automatic security solution
• expand procurement offerings with optimized enterprise pricing

Workload Modernization and Enterprise Data Centres

The GC's move to a digital government hinges upon the capacity of its IT infrastructure to run a multitude of applications and data, together referred to as workloads. The GC's applications and data must be healthy, updated, reliable and secure for program and service delivery systems to function effectively. The GC uses data centres to store and run the thousands of applications required for day-to-day government activities. These activities include fundamental operations like delivering services to Canadians and supporting mission critical operations. SSC launched the workload modernization program to migrate workloads to modern Enterprise Data Centres or to a cloud migration solution operated and managed by SSC.

Workload modernization and migration supports the government's efforts to reduce the risk of system outages and information technology infrastructure failures by adopting new technology. It provides the services for departments to assess and move their software applications and data from legacy data centres to modern hosting solutions such as cloud and Enterprise Data Centres. Workload migration projects are multi-year endeavours based on the analysis of current and future requirements developed in consultation with partner departments and industry experts.‌

In 2023-24, SSC will continue to help departments move applications to modern computing facilities. Thus far, SSC has closed 400 of the 720 legacy data centres and will continue its progress toward consolidation over the coming years.‌

Service, Projects and Enterprise Advice

Departmental results

Government of Canada benefits from enterprise IT and client-specific solutions that support the delivery of programs and services to Canadians

The last few years and need for the federal government to respond at speed and scale to emerging issues have highlighted the value of taking an enterprise approach in the context of IT infrastructure and services. SSC has been able to position the GC to deliver robust, secure, and reliable digital services and programs – which are essential for success as a digital government. SSC monitors digital trends to understand, and be positioned to best advise on and serve partners’ needs. SSC also provides departments with enterprise IT infrastructure solution design, and often plays a supporting role in IT projects in offering service management and procurement services. In 2023-24, SSC will continue with its ongoing efforts to improve service delivery to its clients and partners.

Improving Support to Partner Departments

Partner Engagement and Communication

Strong engagement and communication strengthen the relationship between SSC and its partner departments. As SSC continues to implement large scale enterprise projects and initiatives, client service delivery teams work with partners to identify their priorities and support their operations. The teams review partners' Departmental Plans on Service and Digital (DPSD) to ensure alignment between the identified priorities and the overall workplan. Overall, this approach strengthens the focus on service and delivery for partner departments and agencies.

In 2023-24, SSC will pilot a new Customer Relationship Management tool and strengthen partner engagement processes. This tool will provide SSC with a better view of issues and requests and facilitate faster and more precise responses to partner departments and agencies. It will also provide a centralized source of information on partner demand to facilitate SSC's partner engagement and support.

Renewing SSC's Serving Government Website

To support service delivery, SSC is taking steps to redesign the content and improve the self-service and interactive component of the Serving Government website. This is important because it is SSC's primary digital channel to connect, transact and engage with partner departments and agencies. IT decision-makers and employees from client and partner departments frequent the website to get information about SSC plans and services. This includes both the provisioning of services but also getting further information on policies and plans. In 2023-24, SSC will upgrade the website's platform and begin the process of transforming it into a more user-friendly site with easier access to the service portals and performance measures.

Enterprise IT Service Management (ITSM)

SSC is adapting and continuing to establish an enterprise-wide approach to ITSM, which includes the activities performed by SSC to implement and manage IT Services for partner departments. The enterprise approach to ITSM is a strategic approach to IT management, with a focus on delivering value to customers by managing end-to-end delivery of IT services to clients. This includes all the processes and activities to design, create, deliver, and support IT.

• Enterprise ITSM Tool: The implementation of an enterprise ITSM tool will reduce the number of service management tools in operation across government and provide better automation and exchange of information for SSC and its partner departments. In 2023-24, SSC will onboard new service offerings, further reducing the number of systems, processes and costs across the GC. It will also deliver improved GC integration and operational efficiencies by enhancing automation and streamlining workflows and improve the quality of data that supports service standard analytics in alignment with best practices.
• Government of Canada Enterprise Portfolio Management Program (GC EPMP): TBS launched this multi-year program in 2018 to enable the GC to effectively track IT investments and enhance IT planning across the GC. SSC and TBS have continued to mature this online tool to allow departments and agencies to include their investments into the tool along with a GC prioritization rating. Already rolled out to a few departments in 2022-23, SSC will onboard the remaining partner departments to this new capability in 2023-24, which will improve the information flow for all investments.

Customer-Led projects

SSC will continue working closely with partner departments and agencies and focus on advancing the implementation of several of their projects. SSC provides the necessary IT infrastructure and services required to support customer-led projects. Some examples of these projects include: ‌

• Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada - Asylum Interoperability Project: This project aims to improve processes and increase the efficiency of asylum registration and intake processes at Ports of Entry and Inland Offices. SSC will implement the required infrastructure, connectivity, and capacity for this project.
• Canada Border Services Agency - Land Border Crossing Project: This project aims to modernize technology the Agency uses within ports of entry at land border crossings. SSC will replace aging technology with modern tools for efficient border crossing and validation.
• Canada Border Services Agency – Travellers Modernization Program: This project aims to modernize the traveller's experience by establishing new digital tools to automate declaration, crossing, validation, and reporting.
• Employment and Social Development Canada – Benefits Delivery Modernization: This project aims to transform the delivery of benefit programs such as Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security by creating a new, agile platform for delivering services. SSC will support the department to quickly add and update services to Canadians based on real-time, real-world requirements and feedback.
• National Research Council – Federal Open Science Initiative: This project aims to create a technology solution to make federal science research publications from multiple science departments and agencies available to citizens.

Developing Enterprise Solutions for Partners

Next Generation Human Resources and Pay

The Next Generation Human Resources (HR) and Pay (NextGen) initiative is aligned with the GC's efforts to develop enterprise IT approaches and replacing legacy systems with modern digital solutions. NextGen has undertaken a structured experimentation process. SSC is working with industry experts to develop and make an informed recommendation on the best user-centric, sustainable and modern digital HR and pay solution for the GC.‌

In 2023-24, SSC will complete the final research and experimentation report. It will outline the results of the four research and experimentation objectives:‌

• Test the proposed solution against the complexities of GC HR and pay requirements
• Determine if there is a viable commercial grade solution to replace the many HR and pay systems and lack of standardized processes across the GC
• Seek clarity of business process redesign, change management activities and training required to adopt a new solution
• Test viable working relationships with vendors

Science Program

SSC is collaborating with partner departments to develop new enterprise solutions that respond to the specific needs of federal scientific researchers. Proofs of concept related to cloud experimentation for science and initial components of a Federal DataHub for science have been successful. SSC will further evolve these innovative solutions in 2023-24. This will include expanding capabilities and establishing the foundations for moving to enterprise-wide solutions. SSC will also continue to develop new solutions to support the needs of new federal laboratories.

Gender-Based Analysis plus

To continue its commitment to improve equity and inclusion across the federal public service, the GC continues to emphasize the importance of gender- and diversity-based analysis (GBA Plus) across all departments and agencies. In line with this priority, SSC is committed to expanding and strengthening its use of GBA Plus in the design, implementation and delivery of its core shared services. As a common service-provider focused on enabling IT infrastructure for the GC, SSC is in a unique position to help expand and evolve how diversity and GBA Plus is applied to questions of technology and infrastructure. This means considering shared services in terms of their direct or indirect relation to equity, diversity, and inclusion, while also seeking to improve service delivery and outcomes for the federal government departments and agencies, as well as Canadians. In 2023-24, SSC will concentrate on enhancing the application of GBA Plus in three core areas:‌

Service Design and Delivery

To improve the ways in which GBA Plus can be applied to its mandate, SSC is running a qualitative experiment to test the efficacy and value of the current tools. The experiment will collect feedback from stakeholders to evolve practical guidance and tools for the IT environment. Following the completion of the experiment in 2023-24, SSC will publish revised tools as well as a lessons-learned report.

Planning and Decision Making

In 2023-24, SSC will continue to integrate GBA Plus, including accessibility considerations, in key decision making and planning documents. Branches across SSC will continue to work to identify links between their planned activities and GBA Plus and accessibility within their Branch Business Plans. Additional considerations will also be made throughout the planning and governance cycles for major initiatives and projects. SSC is also planning to further integrate GBA Plus considerations into its process for the authorization of new service offerings, with an emphasis on adapting those analyses to the IT services environment.

Data Management and Reporting

To be able to properly access, track and report on how GBA Plus provides unique perspectives and benefits, SSC will continue to support the identification and collection of key relevant data points to monitor its ongoing work in this area. In 2023-24, SSC will continue to explore how GBA Plus intersects with SSC's core programs and operational realities – with an emphasis on performance measurement. Building on lessons learned, the department will focus on the centralized management of data collection and exploring the development of key performance indicators which could be integrated into Program Information Profiles. These indicators will become part of an ongoing effort within SSC to build more robust data collection processes, ongoing performance monitoring and, ultimately, a greater understanding of how SSC's common services support gender equity and diversity objectives.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a global call to action. This agenda includes both greening and sustainable development objectives, as well as several objectives related to improving diversity, gender equality and accessibility.

In line with the GC’s priorities, SSC will continue to focus on ensuring it fulfills its core mandate in a way that supports broader green and sustainable development objectives. As part of its core responsibility for providing Common Government of Canada IT Operations, SSC also supports a number of the GC’s efforts to implement the United Nations 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. Listed below is a summary of these contributions.

SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

In 2023-24, SSC will continue to support "ScaleUp," which is a collaborative initiative to increase the diversity of bidders on information technology contracts (such as Indigenous businesses and businesses owned or led by underrepresented groups including women, visible minorities, and persons with disabilities).

In 2023-24, SSC will continue to participate in the Science, Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) Career Development Program, which seeks to develop a professional network and provide career opportunities for women, non-binary and gender diverse people working in STEM fields. SSC is also working to increase its recruitment of women in IT, by undertaking targeted outreach to address workforce gaps.

SDG 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all

In 2023-24, SSC will continue to use LEED Silver certified facilities for enterprise data centres which use less or no water for cooling and integrate other water conservation features (e.g., re-use of rainwater for toilets).

SDG 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

SSC and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) launched the plastic and Electronic waste recycling challenge under the Innovative Solutions Canada Program to find a solution that will enable recycling and repurposing of electronic waste (plastics and metals) in Canada while respecting domestic and international requirements and obligations. In 2023-24, SSC continue to support this initiative. ‌

SDG 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries

In 2023-24, SSC will continue to require that contractors adhere to the Federal Contractors Program (FCP) for employment equity. The FCP applies to organizations that have:‌

• A combined workforce in Canada of 100 or more permanent full-time or permanent part-time employees, and
• Received an initial federal government goods or services contract valued at $1 million or more (including applicable taxes)

FCP requires that organizations who do business with the GC implement employment equity in their workplace. This includes ensuring their workforce is representative of Canada's labour force with respect to the four designated groups under the Employment Equity Act:

• Women
• Indigenous peoples
• Persons with disabilities
• Members of visible minorities

In 2023-24, SSC will continue conducting voluntarily "set-asides" under the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous businesses for various procurements related to professional services (IT Strategic Design and Planning professional Services, Oracle Database Administrators, etc.) and for workplace technology devices (tablets, laptops, desktops, ruggedized tablets and engineered workstations, etc.). Maintenance and Support services (repair services, parts, software maintenance and technical support) are offered through contracts and, when appropriate, are set aside for indigenous businesses. SSC is committed to setting aside at least 5% of the total value of SSC funded contracts to indigenous businesses in 2023-24.

In 2023-24, SSC will create new opportunities for Indigenous Businesses to participate in federal procurement by piloting Indigenous Benefits Plans (also known as Indigenous Participation Plans) in sectors with limited Indigenous business capacity.‌

SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

As in past years, SSC will require most workplace technology devices (such as computers) it procures in 2023-24 to be registered under the EPEAT^{Footnote 1} eco-label, reducing environmental impacts and encouraging environmental stewardship.

In 2023-24, SSC will continue participating in the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada- (ISED-) led Computers for Schools Plus program, which refurbishes donated digital devices and distributes them to schools, libraries, not-for-profit organizations, Indigenous communities and eligible low-income Canadians. Equipment that cannot be re-used is either sold on GC Surplus (which ensures reuse of the equipment) or recycled with the Electronic Product Recycling Association (EPRA), which operates across nine provinces and ensures secure, efficient and ethical recycling of IT equipment.

SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

In 2023-24, through data centre consolidation, SSC will continue replacing aging data centres with new state-of-the-art enterprise data centres (which are minimum LEED Silver certified) that have built-in green technology and energy efficiency for reduced overall greenhouse gas emissions and environmental footprint. Closing older legacy data centres and migrating workloads to enterprise infrastructure supports the goal of being climate resilient as workloads can be spread across several data centres and can better adapt to climate disasters.

SDG 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

SSC will continue to leverage its network of diversity councils to further identify and reduce issues of inequality in the workplace.

Innovation

SSC's approach to innovation is to start small, be agile and scale up. Experimentation includes rigorous testing and comparisons of data in a controlled setting. This produces evidence of what works and what does not, which helps to minimize risk and identify gaps. In 2023-24, SSC will continue to strengthen service delivery by enabling a culture of innovation and laying the groundwork for more experimentation. This includes leveraging new capabilities, such as:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA): In 2023-24, SSC will continue to explore opportunities to leverage AI within the department to improve processes and service delivery. SSC is also studying the use of RPA, which is programmed to handle repetitive, long, mundane, and/or inefficient tasks to allow employees to work on more meaningful tasks. SSC is tailoring an RPA to assist Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP), which is now production ready. SSC is using RPA to automate repetitive tasks required to fulfill ATIP requests, such as creating dashboards and removing duplicated information. SSC is also establishing a Centre of Excellence and considering implementation of AI and RPA in other areas such as HR and IT and Service Management.
• Augmented Reality for Remote Support (Hololens): Hololens are hands-free "smart glasses" that enable IT subject-matter experts to see from a remote location what an onsite person is seeing and provide immediate help in resolving the problem. This has the potential to positively impact multiple client-service sectors in the GC by ensuring a faster response time and reducing down-time for all, no matter where they are located. In 2023-24, SSC will explore if the Hololens could be provided as an enterprise service offering.
• Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA): In 2023-24, SSC will continue to engage with internal and external partners to develop the enterprise strategy and roadmap for ZTA. SSC will continue to participate in the GC Science Program to establish pilot projects to explore, develop, and acquire ZTA capabilities in an agile manner. This will help identify any risks, requirements, or other gaps between the current state and target ZTA capabilities. It will also allow GC partners to thoroughly review security products and/or services before committing to wide-scale adoption.
• GC Application Platform as a Service (GCaPaaS): SSC is expanding the GC Application Platform as a Service (GCaPaaS) as a option to deliver common GC applications offered in the cloud and using utility-based ordering. Modernizing and centralizing common GC applications into modern enterprise solutions will allow for faster delivery and deployment while also ensuring security. In 2023-24, SSC will be identifying new opportunities for common commercial-off-the-shelf business applications that can provide value to the GC and be delivered through GCaPaaS. This supports the modernization of legacy applications, improves user experiences, and standardizes solutions.

Key Risks

SSC has adopted a bottom-up and top-down approach to the identification of the corporate risks faced by the organization. Informed by the consultation and collection of risk-data from internal stakeholders at both the operational and executive leadership levels – as well as the review of industry-leading risk assessment and research sources – the department has identified the following seven departmental risks for 2023-24.

Through SSC’s key initiatives, SSC works to effectively control and/or mitigate the negative consequences (likelihood, impact) associated with each of the potential risks.

Planned results for Common Government of Canada IT Operations

The following table shows, for Common Government of Canada IT Operations, the planned results, the result indicators, the targets and the target dates for 2023-24, and the actual results of the three most recent fiscal years for which actual results are available.

Planned budgetary spending for Common Government of Canada IT Operations

The following table shows, for Common Government of Canada IT Operations, budgetary spending for 2023-24, as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Planned human resources for Common Government of Canada IT Operations

The following table shows, in full time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to fulfill this core responsibility for 2023–24 and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Internal Services: Planned Results

Description

Internal services are the services that are provided within a department so that it can meet its corporate obligations and deliver its programs. There are 10 categories of internal services:

• management and oversight services
• communications services
• legal services
• human resources management services
• financial management services
• information management services
• information technology services
• real property management services
• materiel management services
• acquisition management services

Planning highlights

SSC’s internal services functions are vital for the efficient and timely delivery of services in support of departmental priorities. Many of the initiatives associated with internal services will contribute significantly to an SSC workforce that is engaged, enabled, empowered and accountable. SSC strives to create a culture through its leaders that enshrines psychological health, safety and well-being in all aspects of the workplace through collaboration, diversity, inclusivity and respect. SSC will continue to focus on further integrating its business and investment planning and prioritization efforts. SSC will also introduce an agile procurement approach to ensure its operations support its overall direction and priorities.

Skills and Workforce

Improve Leadership Capabilities and Management Skills

SSC continues to focus on developing current and future leaders. In 2023-24, an action plan for the leadership framework and character-based leadership will be developed to strengthen SSC's leadership culture by defining the requirements and ensuring expected behaviors for leaders and employees are clear.

SSC will also roll-out another phase of the Mentorship Plus program aimed at executives with a focus on Employment Equity (EE) groups to better support members of underrepresented groups who aspire to leadership and executive positions.

Digital Enterprise Skills

As technology has been rapidly evolving, SSC has been increasing its digital literacy and capacity by strengthening its understanding and ability to leverage emerging technologies to deliver better programs and services in the digital era. SSC implemented a pilot project to increase digital skills in cloud technology and provide SSC employees with the necessary knowledge from industry experts to inform our services and provide partner departments with modern solutions. As cloud services have grown, this pilot was expanded. In 2023-24, SSC will continue to grow this project to include skills for new emerging technologies, such as AI, RPA and Cyber Security. Additionally, innovative approaches to foster transformative and experiential learning will be piloted to reinforce sustainable digital skills and competencies. This will also create a culture of continuous learning and digital upskilling.

Diversity and Inclusion

SSC is committed to fostering a culture that embraces its diverse, innovative, talented, and high-performing workforce and ensures it has a safe, respectful, healthy, inclusive, and accessible work environment. Through its Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, SSC will:‌

• Implement the amendments made to the Public Service Employment Act;
• Review staffing processes to remove barriers;
• Continue to hold regular meetings of the Diversity Networks;
• Continue developmental programs targeted to equity-seeking employees; and,
• Remove barriers and foster a work environment that is accessible and inclusive.

Advancing Accessibility

SSC continues to provide adaptive, accessible solutions, accommodations, and tools to employees both within SSC and throughout the GC. In 2023-24, SSC will evolve the Lending Library pilot project, a fast-tracked accommodations process put in place to efficiently provide adaptive hardware, software, resources, and tools to public service employees. SSC will also integrate accessibility into existing planning and begin implementation of the SSC Accessibility Plan: 2022-25

Integrated Planning

Integrated Workforce Planning

To achieve its mandate, SSC needs to have the right mix of talent to deliver on digital services and programs for Canadians. Strategic workforce planning integrates HR activities to ensure that SSC has the right people with the right skill sets in the right positions at the right time. To achieve this, SSC is implementing a process to identify, analyze and forecast HR needs to support the department's activities.‌

Integrated Investment Planning

Integrated Investment Planning helps SSC further advance its ability to plan for its multi-year investments in a more integrated manner, in support of its operations and priorities. As part of this exercise, SSC's key internal stakeholders work closely together to better understand and define the department's investments needs for both the short and long term and introduce clearer links to organizational priorities, to integrate decisions into SSC's budget planning exercise. ‌

SSC is also working on optimizing the departmental financial management system. In 2023-24, SSC will continue to explore the feasibility of moving to a modern cloud-based financial management solution. If successful, this project could serve as an enterprise solution in the future. ‌

Contracts and Procurement

Agile Procurement

SSC is working to transform IT procurements and is fostering a common understanding of agile procurements. SSC is implementing an agile contracting framework to execute procurement projects that will result in better contract outcomes, faster delivery, improved leverage of private sector expertise and that better meets the needs of the end-user. Work has been done in close partnership and through engagement with SSC’s partner departments and procurement clients. SSC will continue to ensure that procurement officers involved in transformational IT procurements have a more comprehensive understanding of agile and collaborative procurement methods through refinements to guidance, training, and support. This updated approach brings together IT and procurement experts on one team to increase efficiency when engaging industry experts.

Planning for Contracts Awarded to Indigenous Businesses

As part of reconciliation with Indigenous groups, the GC has established a new minimum mandatory target to award at least five per cent of the value of federal contracts to businesses managed and owned by Indigenous peoples, which SSC is committed to meet.

In support of these commitments, SSC continues to set aside procurements under the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business and considers Indigenous peoples’ participation in all new and renewed methods of supply. This includes qualifying Indigenous Original Equipment Manufacturers and resellers on SSC Standing Offers and Supply Arrangements in sectors with Indigenous business capacity. SSC is also creating new opportunities for Indigenous businesses to participate in federal procurement by piloting Indigenous Benefit Plans (also known as Indigenous Participation Plans) in sectors with limited Indigenous business capacity.

The following table shows in percentages the actual, forecasted and planned values for the targets.

Planned budgetary spending for internal services

The following table shows, for internal services, budgetary spending for 2023–24, as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Planned human resources for internal services

The following table shows, in full time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to carry out its internal services for 2023–24 and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Planned spending and human resources

This section provides an overview of the department’s planned spending and human resources for the next three fiscal years and compares planned spending for 2023–24 with actual spending for the current year and the previous years.

Planned Spending

Departmental spending 2019–20 to 2024–25

The following graph presents planned spending (voted and statutory expenditures) over time.

Long Description - Departmental spending 2020–21 to 2025–26

Item	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25	2025-26
Statutory	122,017,068	116,474,651	117,709,463	123,179,982	120,740,295	120,553,348
Voted	2,190,180,205	2,045,679,529	2,762,901,051	2,468,789,441	2,178,598,212	1,079,652,434
Total	2,312,197,273	2,162,154,180	2,880,610,514	2,591,969,423	2,188,388,507	1,200,205,782

The departmental spending trend graph presents trends in the department’s planned and actual spending over time. The data representing actual spending (from 2020-21 to 2021-22), forecast spending (for 2022-23) and planned spending (for 2023-24 to 2025-26) is broken down between statutory and voted expenditures.

Analysis of the variances in actual spending, forecast spending and planned spending is provided in the budgetary planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services section.

Budgetary planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)

The following table shows information on spending for each of SSC’s core responsibilities and for its internal services for 2023–24 and other relevant fiscal years.

SSC’s planned spending reflects the amounts approved by Parliament to support the department’s core responsibility. The approved amount is net of vote-netted revenue of $853.0 million in 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26.

The total expenditures net decrease from 2020-21 to 2021-22 is mainly due to decreases in funding for communications services and IT infrastructure during COVID-19, continued supply chain issues, as well as resource capacity constraints that impacted several planned deliverables in 2021-22.

The forecast spending for 2022-23 includes items such as the carry-forward from 2021-22, funding for Network Modernization and Implementation Fund from Budget 2021, and funding that will be reprofiled to future fiscal years. Funding is being reprofiled as SSC’s efforts in 2022-23 were refocused to support the delivery of new requirements such as public servants returning to the workplace across all partner organizations, the implementation of the Enterprise Service Model, and the continued increased demand for SSC services.

The decrease from 2022-23 forecast spending to 2023-24 planned spending is mainly due to a sunsetting or decrease in funding for the Implementation of the Next Generation Human Resources and Pay Solution as well as Budget 2021 and 2017 Fall Economic Statement initiatives. This is offset by an increase in funding for new initiatives such as the Network Modernization and Implementation Fund from Budget 2021 and for the Standardization of Mandatory Network, Security and Digital Services for Small Departments and Agencies from Budget 2022.

2023–24 budgetary gross and net planned spending summary (dollars)

The following table reconciles gross planned spending with net planned spending for 2023–24.

SSC is required to provide specialized IT services to its partners and clients. The 2023-24 planned revenues of $853.0 million represents the vote-netted authority for SSC which enables the department to re-spend the revenues received to offset the expenditures arising from their provision in the same fiscal year.

Planned Human Resources

The following table shows information on human resources, in full-time equivalents (FTEs), for each of SSC’s core responsibilities and for its internal services for 2023–24 and the other relevant years.

FTE increases throughout the fiscal years are mainly due to additional FTEs that were approved by SSC’s senior management to address the increased demand for SSC’s services and to support service delivery improvements.

The decrease from 2023-24 to 2024-25 and from 2024-25 to 2025-26 is due to a reduction in funding related to time-limited initiatives, including Budget 2021.

Estimates by vote

Information on SSC’s organizational appropriations is available in the 2023–24 Main Estimates.

Future-oriented Condensed Statement of Operations

The future oriented condensed statement of operations provides an overview of SSC’s operations for 2022-23 to 2023-24.

The forecast and planned amounts in this statement of operations were prepared on an accrual basis. The forecast and planned amounts presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan were prepared on an expenditure basis. Amounts may therefore differ.

A more detailed future oriented statement of operations and associated notes, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations with the requested authorities, are available on SSC’s website.

Corporate information

Organizational profile

Appropriate minister: TThe Honourable Helena Jaczek, P.C., M.P.

Institutional head: Sony Perron, President, Shared Services Canada

Ministerial portfolio: Public Services and Procurement Canada, and Minister responsible for Shared Services Canada

Enabling instrument(s): Shared Services Canada Act

Year of incorporation / commencement: 2011

Other: Associated Orders-in-Council include Privy Council Numbers 2011-0877; 2011-1297; 2012-0958; 2012-0960; 2013-0366; 2013-0367; 2013-0368; 2015-1071, 2016-0003 and 2019-1372

Raison d’Être, Mandate and Role: Who We Are and What We Do

Information on SSC’s raison d’être, mandate and role is available on the department’s website.

Information on SSC’s mandate letter commitments is available in the Minister’s mandate letter.

Operating context

Information on the operating context is available on SSC’s website.

Reporting framework

SSC’s approved Departmental Results Framework and Program Inventory for 2023–24 are as follows:

Changes to the approved reporting framework since 2022–23

Supporting Information on the Program Inventory

Supporting information on planned expenditures, human resources, and results related to SSC’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Supplementary Information Tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on SSC’s website:

• Gender-based analysis plus

Federal Tax Expenditures

SSC’s Departmental Plan does not include information on tax expenditures.

Tax expenditures are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for government¬ wide tax expenditures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures. This report provides detailed information on tax expenditures, including objectives, historical background and references to related federal spending programs, as well as evaluations, research papers and gender-based analysis plus.

Organizational Contact Information

General inquiries

Please send your inquiries to the following email address: SSC.information-information.SPC@canada.ca.

Media inquiries

Please send your inquiries by email to SSC.media-medias.SPC@canada.ca or to the Media Relations Office by telephone at 613-670-1626.

Website

Shared Services Canada

Appendix: definitions

Appropriation (crédit)

Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)

Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

Core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)

An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)

A report on the plans and expected performance of a department over a three‑year period. Departmental Plans are tabled in Parliament each spring.

Departmental result (résultat ministériel)

A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.

Departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)

A factor or variable that provides a valid and reliable means to measure or describe progress on a departmental result.

Departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)

A framework that consists of the department’s core responsibilities, departmental results and departmental result indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)

A report on a department’s actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

Full‑time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person‑year charge against a departmental budget. Full‑time equivalents are calculated as a ratio of assigned hours of work to scheduled hours of work. Scheduled hours of work are set out in collective agreements.

Gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS Plus])

An analytical tool used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs and other initiatives. GBA Plus is a process for understanding who is impacted by the issue or opportunity being addressed by the initiative; identifying how the initiative could be tailored to meet diverse needs of the people most impacted; and anticipating and mitigating any barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative. GBA Plus is an intersectional analysis that goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences to consider other factors, such as age, disability, education, ethnicity, economic status, geography, language, race, religion, and sexual orientation.

Government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2023–24 Departmental Plan, government-wide priorities are the high-level themes outlining the Government’s agenda in the 2021 Speech from the Throne: building a healthier today and tomorrow; growing a more resilient economy; bolder climate action; fighter harder for safer communities; standing up for diversity and inclusion; moving faster on the path to reconciliation and fighting for a secure, just, and equitable world.

High impact innovation (innovation à impact élevé)

High impact innovation varies per organizational context. In some cases, it could mean trying something significantly new or different from the status quo. In other cases, it might mean making incremental improvements that relate to a high-spending area or addressing problems faced by a significant number of Canadians or public servants.

Horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

An initiative in which two or more federal organizations are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

Non‑budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)

Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

Performance (rendement)

What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

Plan (plan)

The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead up to the expected result.

Planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in the Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

Program (programme)

Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

Program inventory (répertoire des programmes)

An inventory of a department’s programs that describes how resources are organized to carry out the department’s core responsibilities and achieve its planned results.

Result (résultat)

An external consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the organization’s influence.

Statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)

Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

Target (cible)

A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

Voted expenditures (dépenses votées)

Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an Appropriation Act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.