SSC AI guidance
SSC AI guidance
Ensuring SSC workers use AI tools in a responsible, ethical and safe way.
As the Government of Canada (GC) adopts artificial intelligence (AI), governance becomes just as important as innovation. At Shared Services Canada (SSC), we’re putting trust at the heart of our AI journey. By developing and using AI responsibly and transparently, we’re ensuring that Canadians can feel confident in how AI supports government services.
To guide our department through the entire AI lifecycle, we’ve developed three key governance documents that reflect our commitment to ethical AI use and ensure that our AI initiatives align with GC-wide regulations every step of the way.
SSC AI Governance Framework
This framework ensures that every AI system and application we procure, develop, deploy, use, monitor and decommission adheres to principles of transparency, ethics, inclusivity and consistency, and is in full compliance with GC regulations.
It is also our proactive shield against potential risks, enabling us to identify and mitigate harms while continuously testing and improving AI initiatives.
This framework applies to everyone at SSC. With clear safeguards, we can safely explore AI’s potential, strengthen collaboration and accountability, create business value, and build stakeholder trust.
(available only on the GC network)
SSC Responsible AI Guiding Principles
We follow seven foundational principles to guide our decision-making and problem-solving through the development, deployment and use of responsible AI initiatives:
- Accountability
- Transparency
- Fairness
- Privacy
- Safety and security
- Societal and environmental well-being
- Human-centric
(available only on the GC network)
SSC Guide on the use of generative AI
Our guide is for SSC employees exploring generative AI in their work. It promotes confident, safe, responsible and ethical use by providing:
- Clear definitions: Simple explanations of key terms like generative AI, large language model, and prompt engineering
- Approved tools: A list of generative AI tools SSC is currently using
- Known capabilities and limitations: What generative AI can and can’t do
- Best practices: Practical guidelines for ethical and responsible use, including lists of permitted and prohibited activities
- Employee responsibilities: Clear expectations for users
(available only on the GC network)
SSC AI Program and Centre of Excellence
SSC AI governance is inherently cross-functional—involving producers, operators, evaluators, procurement teams, platform providers, auditors, users and data providers, all coordinated through the SSC AI Program and Centre of Excellence (CoE). This ensures that executive leadership, policy, legal, privacy, security, technical experts and workforce impacts are all considered in governance decisions.
SSC’s AI Program and AI CoE also support, enable and guide GC departments and agencies in achieving their AI goals by fostering digital innovation, promoting the responsible use of AI in government, collaborating and applying cutting-edge technologies.
Other departments and agencies can build on our guidance documents for their own use.
Aligning with GC-wide guidance
SSC’s AI guidance aligns with key GC resources that support the lawful, ethical and consistent development and use of AI across the federal public service.
Key GC resources include:
- AI Strategy for the Federal Public Service 2025-2027 (drafted by SSC with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat [TBS] and other GC organizations)
- Responsible use of artificial intelligence in government
- Guide on the use of generative artificial intelligence (developed by SSC with TBS)
- Generative AI in your daily work
- Directive on Automated Decision-Making and its Algorithmic Impact Assessment tool
Note
The AI Strategy for the Federal Public Service 2025-2027 sits within the broader National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: AI for All, which applies across Canada’s AI ecosystem. Together, these strategies promote a safe, responsible, inclusive and distinctly Canadian approach to AI.
By protecting privacy, building trust, strengthening communities and supporting economic growth, AI for All aims to ensure Canadian-made and Canadian-owned AI benefits people across the country—now and in the future.
For more information, visit:
.Environmental awareness
AI uses energy to train and operate. We need to weigh that impact against the efficiencies it creates.
AI is evolving quickly, and its use in the federal public service is still new. SSC is monitoring policy changes to better address AI’s environmental footprint. In the meantime, we follow current GC guidance, which emphasizes considering environmental impacts before and during AI use, while promoting employee education and awareness for responsible, sustainable use.
Here’s how we’re putting this into practice.
Understanding limits
We emphasize the importance of understanding AI’s capabilities and limitations to ensure it is used responsibly.
Encouraging smart and mindful uses
We guide employees to use AI tools thoughtfully, prioritizing them for tasks that would otherwise take much longer or require more resources.
Warning against skills atrophy
We remind employees of the importance of learning or continuing to perform some tasks manually—such as writing computer code or using spreadsheets—to not let their skills atrophy.
To learn more about the environmental impact of AI, visit Unpacking the Environmental Effects of AI (DDN2-A60) - CSPS (available only on the GC network).