Chief Information Officer Transition Binder: February 12, 2024
On this page
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat: overview
In this section
This section will outline the mandates of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) and the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) along with their respective organizational structures.
Treasury Board
Established in 1867, the Treasury Board is the only statutory Cabinet committee. It has two distinct functions:
Part A: Management Board
Makes decisions about:
- funds (expenditure manager)
- authorities, rules and compliance (management board)
- people (employer)
Treasury Board responsibilities are delegated by the Financial Administration Act, which creates the Board’s public service support:
- Secretary
- Comptroller General of Canada
- Chief Human Resources Officer
- Chief Information Officer of Canada
Part B: Governor in Council
Since 2003, the Treasury Board has been designated as the Cabinet committee responsible for considering Governor in Council matters.
Makes recommendations to the Governor General about:
- regulations
- most orders-in-council (that is, non-appointment orders-in-council)
In addition to the Financial Administration Act, over 20 other statutes establish the Treasury Board’s roles and authorities. Powers and responsibilities are also set out in regulations, orders-in-council, policies, guidelines and practices.
Where the Treasury Board fits
Between the genesis of a policy idea and its implementation by a department, ministers must secure certain approvals to ensure policy alignment, affordability and feasibility.
Text version - Figure 1
The graphic presents the process from policy idea to implementation by a department.
The first step is mandate and policy development.
The second step is policy cover by Cabinet, which includes confirmation that Cabinet as a whole supports the approach.
The third step is a funding decision through the budget, which includes approval by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance to fund the measures (policy cover and the funding decision are not always sought in the same order).
The fourth step is implementation authorities by Treasury Board, which includes the right to seek spending authority from Parliament and/or to carry out certain operational steps. This fourth step (implementation authorities by Treasury Board) is circled to indicate where Treasury Board fits within the process.
The fifth step is parliamentary spending authorities, which includes approval from Parliament to release money to departments (parliamentary approval is obtained through supply bills, which include multiple spending proposals).
The final step is departmental implementation.
Combined, these key decisions help ensure the government can deliver its agenda effectively.
Key features of the Treasury Board
- The Treasury Board ensures financial and Treasury Board policy suite compliance at the program design stage.
- Ministers play a corporate role as opposed to representing their own departmental priorities.
- High-volume Cabinet committee with a wide scope of decision-making authority: the Treasury Board takes approximately 1,400 decisions per year.
- TBS officials present proposals, unlike at Cabinet, where ministers present their proposals: officials’ advice is provided to all Treasury Board ministers, not just the Chair.
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
TBS has approximately 2,500 employees and plays a central coordinating function for the Government of Canada, promoting coherence across programs and services. It is one of three central agencies, which include the Privy Council Office and the Department of Finance Canada. TBS is led, as department, by the Secretary and Associate Secretary.
As a central agency, TBS:
- sets the government-wide management agenda and provides guidance to departments on a wide range of management issues
- performs a challenge function and advises ministers on proposals brought forward by departments (for example, on memoranda to Cabinet, budget items, and Treasury Board submissions)
- supports the Treasury Board’s mandate; this role is generally carried out by the following groups:
- Office of the Comptroller General
- Office of the Chief Human Resource Officer
- Office of the Chief Information Officer
- Expenditure Management Sector
- Regulatory Affairs
- Program sectors
- Centre for Greening Government
As a department, TBS:
- submits proposals to Cabinet for the President’s own initiatives
- has enabling functions supporting its operations; these functions are carried out mainly by the following groups:
- Priorities and Planning
- Strategic Communications and Ministerial Affairs
- Legal Services
- Human Resources
- Corporate Services
- Internal Audit and Evaluation
The Treasury Board’s mandate is derived from the Financial Administration Act. The Act also creates the positions, as public officers, of Secretary of the Treasury Board, Chief Human Resources Officer, Comptroller General of Canada and Chief Information Officer of Canada. All four public officers rank as, and have, the powers of a deputy head of a department. They also have specific delegated powers and authorities from the Treasury Board. They report directly to the Clerk of the Privy Council Office.
Responsibilities
The Secretary of the Treasury Board is the deputy head of TBS. The enabling functions of the department report to this position.
The Associate Secretary supports the Secretary by providing leadership on the management of the Treasury Board. The program and policy sectors report to this position.
The Chief Human Resources Officer is responsible for government-wide direction and leadership on people management to recruit and retain talent, support a work environment in which employees can thrive, and manage human resources using the best possible tools and evidence.
The Comptroller General of Canada is responsible for government-wide direction and leadership on comptrollership in the areas of financial management, management of assets and internal audit.
The Chief Information Officer of Canada is responsible for the planning and management of technology and the stewardship of information and data for the Government of Canada.
The Assistant Deputy Minister of Public Service Accessibility is responsible for supporting the Canadian public service in meeting the requirements of the Accessible Canada Act.
The Centre for Greening Government works to ensure the Government of Canada is a global leader in government operations that are net-zero emissions, climate-resilient and green.
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat organizational chart
President of the Treasury Board
The Honourable Anita Anand
Parliamentary Secretary
Vacant
Associate Secretary
Dominique Blanchard
Secretary of the Treasury Board
Graham Flack
Acting Chief of Staff to the Secretary
Matthew Partridge
Program sectors
International Affairs, Security and Justice
Jen O’Donoughue
Social and Cultural
David Peckham
Government Operations
Heather Sheehy
Economic
Anuradha Marisetti
Policy sectors
Expenditure Management
Annie Boudreau
Regulatory Affairs
Tina Green
Centre for Greening Government
Nick Xenos
Enabling functions
Priorities and Planning
Mallika Nanduri Bhatt
Strategic Communications and Ministerial Affairs
James Stott
Corporate Services
Karen Cahill
Human Resources
Marie-Pierre Jackson
Internal Audit and Evaluation
Manon LeBrun
Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer
Chief Human Resources Officer
Jacqueline Bogden
Associate Chief Human Resources Officer
Francis Trudel
People and Culture
Assistant Deputy Minister
Mireille Laroche
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister
Heidi Kutz
Strategic Directions and Digital Solutions
Assistant Deputy Minister
Jean-François Fleury
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister
Pankaj Sehgal
Employee Relations and Total Compensation
Assistant Deputy Minister
Marie-Chantal Girard
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister
Carole Bidal
Office of the Comptroller General
Comptroller General
Roch Huppé
Financial Management
Monia Lahaie
Internal Audit
Sheri Ostridge
Acquired Services and Assets
Samantha Tattersall
Financial Management Transformation
Christine Walker
Office of the Chief Information Officer
Chief Information Officer of Canada
Catherine Luelo
Senior Advisor to the Chief information Officer
Gini Bethell
Chief Technology Officer
Minh Doan
Chief Data Officer, Digital Policy and Performance
Stephen Burt
Security Policy Modernization
Mike MacDonald
Special Advisor to the Chief Information Officer / Digital Community Development
Len Bastien
Office of Public Service Accessibility
Assistant Deputy Minister
Alfred MacLeod
Justice Canada
Legal Services
Carol McLean
Office of the Chief Information Officer of Canada
In this section
- Overview
- What we do
- Legislative and policy landscape (authorities placemat)
- Role of the Chief Information Officer of Canada
- Office of the Chief Information Officer of Canada organizational chart
- Office of the Chief Information Officer of Canada’s strategic vision: the Digital Ambition
- Office of the Chief Information Officer of Canada Business Plan
- Communications
- Stakeholder landscape
Overview
What we do
OCIO provides leadership, direction, oversight and capacity-building for data, information management, information technology (IT), government security, access to information, privacy, and internal and external service delivery.
This leadership is expressed through Canada’s Digital Ambition, a three-year forward-facing strategic plan which focuses on outcome-driven, action-oriented approaches that address the challenges of digital modernization. The Digital Ambition contains the four themes that are supported by a set of government-wide priorities:
- Excellence in technology and operations
- Data-enabled digital services and programs
- Action-ready digital strategy and policy
- Structural evolution in funding, talent and culture
In practice, OCIO’s role is to:
- support the review of Cabinet documents (Treasury Board submissions and memoranda to Cabinet), investment plans and concept cases to provide initial direction on digital and ensure that initiatives comply with policy direction as set out in the Policy on Service and Digital and are aligned with the Government of Canada Digital Standards
- support the administration of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act
- provide oversight of major digitally enabled projects and programs, and IT investments to encourage sound stewardship and value for money, and measure and report on performance via the service and digital area of management in the Management Accountability Framework
- develop policies, plans and standards for a 21st-century digital government
- provide whole-of-government leadership for the digital communities, as well as work with the Open Government Partnership, Digital Nations and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Legislative and policy landscape (authorities placemat)
Role of the Chief Information Officer of Canada
The role of the Chief Information Officer of Canada is prescribed in the Financial Administration Act (RSC, 1985, c. F-11). This position ranks as and has the powers of a deputy head of a department, with the sub-delegated authority to set enterprise direction and standards by the Treasury Board. The role is further defined in the Policy on Service and Digital.
The Chief Information Officer of Canada is responsible for:
Direction-setting
- Direct transition to digital government and more client-centred services
- Enterprise-wide strategy and prioritization around service design and delivery, technology, data, information, cyber security and talent, including innovation and experimentation
Governance
- Provide advice to the Secretary of the Treasury Board of Canada and the President of the Treasury Board of Canada about:
- governing and managing enterprise-wide service design and delivery, information, data, IT, talent and cyber security
- prioritizing demand for IT shared services and assets
- using emerging technologies
- chairing the Government of Canada Enterprise Architecture Review Board and prescribing expectations around enterprise architecture
- providing enterprise direction on IT solution procurement
- providing enterprise direction on shared IT assets and support for Shared Services Canada procedures
Standard-setting
- Prescribe standards for service design and delivery, IT accessibility, data and information, and talent and cyber security
Planning, reporting and measurement
- Establish enterprise IT investment priorities
- Approve an annual, forward-looking three-year integrated enterprise plan, including a progress report based on the alignment of deputy head reports on progress and how it was implemented
- Report via the Service and Digital Area of Management for the Management Accountability Framework and as prescribed in directives
- Require departments to submit an inventory of services and how they meet departmentally established standards
Talent
- Functional leadership of the IT communities
Standard-setting
- Prescribe standards for service design and delivery, IT accessibility, data and information, and cyber security
Office of the Chief Information Officer of Canada organizational chart
Digital portfolio priorities
Chief Information Officer of Canada
The Chief Information Officer provides leadership in the pursuit of excellence in information management, IT, cyber security, privacy and access to information across the Government of Canada. They oversee and guide the Digital Portfolio in their work to achieve the aims of the Digital Ambition – a plan for how government will provide secure and modern digital services through four themes.
Strategy
- Support planning and delivery of high impact priorities across OCIO
- Promote the innovative and sustainable management of IT
- Facilitate the engagement of digital leadership in domestic and international events
Senior ADM of Digital Community Development: Len Bastien
Key Digital Ambition priorities
- Priority 4.1: Drive a systemic cultural shift across government to digital-first mindset
- Priority 4.2: Attract, retain and develop diverse digital talent
Digital Talent and Leadership Sector
- Manage recruitment, retention and development of digital talent across the Government of Canada
- Drive improvements to the GC Digital Talent platform and other talent tools.
- Develop and strengthen partnerships to enhance in-house digital skills and build innovative programming
Key files
Government of Canada Digital Talent Strategy, GC Digital Skills Implementation Plan, digital competencies for all public servants, apprenticeship programs
Senior ADM of Security: Mike MacDonald
Key Digital Ambition priorities
- Priority 3.1: Embed Government of Canada priorities into governing frameworks and policy
- Priority 3.4: Establish an agile operating model
Security Policy Modernization
- Oversee and strengthen the Policy on Government Security and related instruments
- Modernize security screening for the Government of Canada
- Evolve Government of Canada security policy to support and enable a digital government and workforce
Key files
Directive on Security Screening, Information Categorization Modernization and Declassification, Update to Significant Event Information Sharing Protocol, Guidance for Security Considerations in a Hybrid Environment, Security Awareness course (COR310) redesign
Chief Data Officer of Canada: Stephen Burt
Chief Information Security Officer of Canada: Po Tea-Duncan
Key Digital Ambition priorities
- Priority 1.5: Plan and govern for the sustainable and integrated management of service, information, data, IT, privacy and cyber security.
- Priority 2.1: Maximize public value of data and information
- Priority 2.3: Manage and use data and information as strategic assets
Data and Digital Policy
- Priority 1.5: Plan and govern for the sustainable and integrated management of service, information, data, IT, privacy and cyber security
- Priority 2.1: Maximize public value of data and information
- Priority 2.3: Manage and use data and information as strategic assets
Key files
Access to Information Act review, artificial intelligence governance, Data Strategy implementation, Policy on Service and Digital reset, Government of Canada’s Enterprise Cyber Security Strategy
Chief Technology Officer of Canada: Minh Doan
Key Digital Ambition priorities
- Priority 1.1: Strengthening the health of the application portfolio
- Priority 1.2: Strengthen the delivery of the Government of Canada digital transformation
- Priority 3.5: Implemented Government of Canada–wide architecture and standards
Chief Technology Officer
- Assess overall application portfolio health and management
- Review and standardize enterprise architecture (Government of Canada Enterprise Architecture Review Board)
- Perform challenge function on IT proposals, spending and Treasury Board submissions
- Consolidation and optimization of enterprise vendors and contracts
- Perform risk assessments and develop assurance measures for large-scale digital transformation projects
Key files
Cloud Funding Model, HR and Pay, E-Payroll, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Digital Platform Modernization
Office of the Chief Information Officer of Canada’s strategic vision: the Digital Ambition
The OCIO Business Plan is underpinned by the Government of Canada’s Digital Ambition. The Digital Ambition is the government’s three-year plan for service, information, data, IT and cybersecurity. The plan lays out how the government will strive to meet Canadians’ expectations of simple, secure and efficient delivery of services and benefits through the effective use of modern technology and data.
In 2023–24, OCIO will focus on the four strategic themes set out in the plan:
- Excellence in technology and operations
- Data-enabled digital services and programs
- Action-ready digital strategy and policy
- Structural evolution in funding, talent and culture
1. Excellence in technology and operations
TBS will continue to work with departments to modernize how the government replaces, builds and manages its technology. For example, it will:
- develop a strategy to assess what technology needs updating or replacing
- implement an Application Portfolio Health Index, which will give departments a more accurate picture of the overall health of their applications
- compile a government-wide inventory of software assets that are at the end of their life to identify and mitigate any security issues
- provide a costing model and guidance to help departments decide whether to move their applications and databases to the cloud
- review planned investments in IT projects to make sure they are appropriate to the project phase
- work with departments to collect data on administrative services to see how the services are performing
TBS will also help protect government information and services by:
- creating a vision and plan for the cybersecurity of government operations
- providing tools to improve how departments manage cybersecurity events
2. Data-enabled digital services and programs
TBS will work with departments to improve federal programs for Canadians and for public service employees by championing cross-government initiatives. It will, for example:
- enhance Sign-In Canada, an authentication method that lets individuals and businesses log in just once when accessing multiple Government of Canada online services
- pilot the GC Task Success Survey to make government websites more usable
- update the government’s data strategy to include guidelines on the quality, sharing, accessibility and ethics of data
- implement the 2022–24 National Action Plan on Open Government
- address issues raised by the Access to Information Act review
3. Action-ready digital strategy and policy
TBS will continue to embed digital standards into its policy suite and to update the policy, legislation, and governance that guide digital government. This includes advancing the delivery of services and the effectiveness of government operations through the Policy on Service and Digital.
TBS will also continue to help departments with digital transformation so that they can improve their services to Canadians. To support this transformation, TBS will:
- develop and implement a framework for measuring the administrative burden of services on users and for measuring departments’ ability to develop and deliver services
- monitor and refresh security requirements for the services and functions essential to enterprise hybrid IT environments, and continuously applying appropriate risk-based measures
4. Structural evolution in funding, talent and culture
TBS will manage a government-wide shift to fully digital service delivery by fostering a more entrepreneurial mindset that focuses on outcomes and enabling rather than on compliance and mitigating risk.
The Government of Canada Digital Talent Strategy will play a key role in this shift by supporting initiatives that:
- eliminate barriers in staffing and speed up the hiring process, such as the GC Digital Talent platform
- recruit, retain and develop top digital talent, including in senior leadership ranks
- strengthen partnerships with external stakeholders to help increase access to employment for under-represented talent
- build on the success of the IT Apprenticeship Program for Indigenous Peoples to help increase recruitment of other under-represented groups
- create an onboarding and integration package for new employees in the digital community
TBS will also develop a Digital Skills Implementation Plan to better equip the federal government’s IT community to serve Canadians.
Office of the Chief Information Officer of Canada Business Plan
Office of the Chief Information Officer of Canada in the 2023–24 Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Departmental Plan
The OCIO Business Plan is part of the 2023–24 TBS Departmental Plan. OCIO’s work plan is primarily covered under the core responsibility of administrative leadership. This core responsibility comprises various high-priority initiatives, including IT modernization, improving service delivery, digital credentials, and making government easier to use. Other OCIO work activities included in the 2023–24 TBS Departmental Plan include revitalizing the global partnership for sustainable development (for example, Digital Nations) and support for innovation (that is, piloting tools for improving government websites).
Performance target
The 2023–24 TBS Departmental Plan includes one performance measure for OCIO. Detailed information is included in the figure below:
| Departmental results indicators | Target | Date to achieve target | 2019–20 actual result | 2020–21 actual result | 2021–22 actual result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of high-volume Government of Canada services that meet the service standards | At least 80% | March 31, 2024 | Not available | Not available | 46.0% |
| Degree to which Canadians complete high-volume tasks on Government of Canada websites | At least 80%Footnote * | March 31, 2024 | Not available; new indicator | Not available; new indicator | 64.5% |
| Percentage of Government of Canada business applications assessed as healthy | At least 40% | March 31, 2024 | 35% | 36% | 37.0% |
Communications
Context
Early engagement with OCIO staff and other federal stakeholders will be important to set the stage for collaborative and productive relationships. Early communication activities can be facilitated through email communications, established committee structures and bilateral engagements. A suggested list of early communication activities for the first 30 days in role is outlined below.
Communications approach
Engagement with Office of the Chief Information Officer of Canada executives and staff
- Welcome message to OCIO staff: via direct email or through the OCIO Digital Bulletin
- Welcome message to TBS staff: via TBS In-Brief
- Townhall with OCIO executives
- Introductory meeting with all OCIO staff: timing is flexible
Engagement with the Chief Information Officer Community
- Welcome message to chief information officers and heads of IT
- Monthly meeting of the Chief Information Officer Council: February 26
Engagement with key deputy ministers
- Scott Jones, Shared Services Canada
- Caroline Xavier, Communications Security Establishment (Cyber Security)
- Cliff Groen, Chief Operating Officer, Service Canada
- John Ostrander, Employment and Social Development Canada (Benefits Delivery Modernization)
- Paul Thompson, Employment and Social Development Canada (Service to Canadians agenda)
- Dr. Harpreet S. Kochhar, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (Digital Platform Modernization)
- Alex Benay, Public Services and Procurement Canada (Enterprise Pay Coordination)
- Arianne Reza, Public Services and Procurement Canada (Procurement)
- Bob Hamilton, Canada Revenue Agency (E-Payroll)
- Suzie MacDonald, Department of Finance Canada (Cloud)
Engagement with commissioners
- Caroline Maynard, Information Commissioner of Canada
- Philippe Dufresne, Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Engagement with provincial-territorial counterparts (co-chairs of the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Deputy Minister Table on Digital Trust and Cyber Security with the Government of Canada Chief Information Officer)
- Shauna Brouwer, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Citizens’ Services, Government of British Columbia
- Stéphane Le Bouyonnec, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Cyber Security and Digital, Government of Quebec
Stakeholder landscape
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and Office of the Chief Information Officer stakeholder engagements: high-level overview
Multilateral partnerships
- Digital Nations: Collaborative forum of 10 countries seeking to improve citizens’ services using technology. Canada joined in 2018 and is the lead of the Artificial Intelligence and Sustainable Digital Government Thematic Groups.
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): Multilateral organization whose work aims to build international norms and policies. OCIO engages actively through E-Leaders and the Open Government tables.
- Open Government Partnership: Leading multinational organization promoting transparent, participatory, inclusive and accountable governance.
- G7/G20: Key forums for international economic cooperation among the world’s leading economies. TBS works with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, which leads the Digital Economy Track.
- AccelerateGOV / Digital Summit: Co-hosted by the Global Government Forum and OCIO for public servants and digital leaders to explore digital issues.
- International Council for Information Technology in Government Administration: Facilitates the informal exchange of knowledge and experience on management and use of information communication technology in central government administration.
- Five Eyes: Intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
- Circular & Fair ICT Pact: International procurement-led partnership to accelerate circularity, fairness and sustainability in information communication technology.
Federal, provincial and territorial partnerships
- Ministers’ Table on Digital Trust and Cyber Security: The Ministers’ Table was established to enable inter-jurisdictional cooperation and collaboration to advance digital transformation, particularly in relation to digital trust and cyber security.
- Deputy Ministers’ Table on Digital Trust and Cyber Security: The Deputy Ministers’ Table facilitates intergovernmental cooperation and collaboration on shared digital priorities and supports the work of the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers’ Table.
- Joint Councils: The Federal, Provincial and Territorial Joint Councils work to advance priorities at the intersection between digital and service, leveraging the work of two supporting councils: the Public Service Chief Information Officer Council (PSCIOC) and the Public Sector Service Delivery Council. OCIO is the federal co-chair for PSCIOC.
Canadian partnerships
- Digital Government Leadership Summit: Hosted by OCIO to enhance collective knowledge in the digital community.
- Canadian Open Data Summit: OCIO is a key partner in the organization of the Summit, which is a key annual event for open data advocates, practitioners, users and champions.
- Government of Canada Security Summit: Annual event hosted by TBS in partnership with the Privy Council Office and Public Safety Canada for the Government of Canada Security functional community.
- Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Open Government: A standing advisory body composed of members of civil society to provide input and advice on the Government of Canada’s open government commitments.
- Women in Communication Technology: OCIO is on the Opening Doors Coordinating Committee, a program for women, nonbinary and gender-diverse people in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). Women in Communication Technology hosts an annual gala of industry female leaders.
- FWD50: A leading technology conference that usually features a heavy focus on digital government issues and provides a platform for the Government of Canada to engage on its priorities.
- DPI (Developing Professionalism in Informatics) Events: OCIO supports DPI’s annual professional development week and community awards gala.
International partnerships
- United States: Key ally andinternational partner; regular engagement with the US Federal CIO, Clare Martorana.
- Australia: Regular engagement through the Canada-Australia Public Policy Initiative; recent delegation visit in November 2023 hosted by OCIO.
- United Kingdom: Regular engagement through the Public Policy Forum.
- Estonia: Key partner in Digital Nations and the Open Government Partnership, with strong interest in collaboration with Canada.
- European Union: TheCanada-EU Digital Partnership was launched in November 2023 during the Canada-EU Leaders Summit. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada leads on the digital track.
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