Government On-Line Annual (Final) Report

Canadians expect to be able to interact with their government easily, conveniently, quickly and in the manner of their choice. Canadians want their government to use information productively and securely to support improved service, and to deliver better policy outcomes for their benefit.

As a result of the Government of Canada's Government On-Line (GOL) initiative, launched in 1999, the government is heading in this direction. The GOL initiative succeeded in making the Canadian government the world's most connected country to it citizens.

Throughout the GOL initiative, the objectives remained focused on:

• providing clients with a more accessible government, where information and services are organized according to clients' needs, and are available 24/7, in English and French;
• delivering better and more responsive services by implementing more efficient and timely electronic services; and,
• building trust and confidence in on-line service delivery by ensuring that electronic transactions are protected and secure, and that personal information is safeguarded.

Two basic principles guided the GOL initiative to benefit Canadians, Canadian Businesses and international clients:

• group information and services around clients' needs and priorities, NOT around the organization of governments; and,
• build partnerships among federal departments and agencies or with other levels of governments to cluster services for the benefit of clients, NOT according to jurisdictions.

For the past five years, Accenture's independent assessments have ranked Canada number one for e-government in the world. Released in April 2005, the latest Accenture study cities the Government of Canada's leadership in customer services and its significant efforts in informing and educating citizens about its offerings as a reason for Canada's continued success.

News Release - http://www.accenture.com/xd/xd.asp?it=enweb&xd;=_dyn%5Cdynamicpressrelease_826.xml

Full Report - http://www.accenture.com/NR/rdonlyres/F45CE4C8-9330-4450-BB4A-AF4E265C88D4/0/leadership_cust.pdf

Today, countries look to Canada's leadership and accomplishments in implementing electronic service delivery.

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada has participated in GOL since its inception. During this time, the department has developed many successful online services.

Canada International - The Non-Canadians Gateway (www.canadainternational.gc.ca)

The Government of Canada's primary internet site intended for international audiences provides a wealth of useful information about Canada. Whether you're travelling to Canada, preparing to do business in Canada, or just interested in finding out more about Canada and its place in the world, this internet site is a one-stop source of information. As part of Canada International's activities, a Vision for International Services was developed. This Vision's objective was to establish integrated and unified government-wide points of service on each of the three channels, phone, Internet and in-person channels that create world-class efficiency, accessibility, responsiveness and standards for excellence. The partner departments are determining how best to implement this Vision.

Canada International is organized into three user-friendly subject areas.

1. Canada and the World Cluster - provides up-to-date information concerning Canada's international relations and global activities. On this site, visitors can find out about Canada's commitment to multilateralism, development assistance, global peace and security, a healthy global environment and international technical cooperation.
2. Doing Business with Canada -provides foreign businesses and front-line staff abroad with essential information pertaining to the “why” and “how” of doing business with Canada by integrating the various federal on-line programs and services that are of greatest relevance to foreign clients, partners and contacts of Canadian businesses. The cluster aims to engage foreign companies, governments and other organizations that are interested in buying from Canadian suppliers, investing in or establishing a business in Canada, or identifying Canadian science and technology partners.
3. Going to Canada - (lead by Citizenship and Immigration Canada) provides detailed information on what is required when travelling to Canada, studying in Canada, or making it your home. Other information covers tax refunds, customs and border issues, tourism and much more.

Canada International also co-lead a transformative project with Citizenship and Immigration Canada and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada called Live, Learn and Succeed. The Live, Learn and Succeed project launched a Study in Canada Web portal that is available through the Going to Canada cluster on Canada International as well as through some embassy and consulate Web sites. It integrates information about schools and programs of study in Canada for international students in addition to providing estimated costs of study and relevant student visa information. It also provides information on scholarships for international students and what an international student should expect to experience when they arrive in Canada. The Web portal has integrated provincial marketing information and has been launched in three provinces.

Public Diplomacy On-line Services

What happens beyond our borders is having a greater impact on our lives than ever before. This makes our engagement with the world increasingly important to our well being today and into the future. The Public Diplomacy Online web site is designed to provide information, views, and analysis on the key issues that touch on Canada's role in the international community. It describes the foundations of Canada's international policy and provides insights into new policy thinking.

To meet the needs of the government, Canadians and the interested international community, the Web site has been developed and maintained based on three strategic goals:

• Frame and interpret the department's foreign policy for public consumption;
• Provide the opportunity and context for policy discussion; and,
• Become a principal resource for finding information on current and past Canadian international policy.

Assistance to Canadians Abroad

Information and Assistance for Canadians Abroad encompasses services offered to Canadian citizens travelling or living in a foreign country. The Consular Affairs Bureau is committed to make available immediately information that may impact the safety and security of Canadians abroad. The services include:

• Travel Information Program which encompasses Country Travel Reports, Travel Warnings, Current Issues, and Country Profiles that provide a broad range of information and official advice concerning conditions in other countries as well as advice to help travellers prepare for international travel.
• Safe travel publications to help travellers prepare for a problem free and healthy journey.
• Drugs and Travel Information Program, which aims at creating greater awareness about the consequences of drug use while abroad, as well as travelling with prescription medication.
• Consular assistance if a traveller has a problem abroad (e.g. assist with medical emergencies, replace passports, contact relatives or friends on the traveller's behalf, notify next of kin regarding accidents or death, help locate missing persons, etc.).
• Provision of a 24-hour Emergency Operations Centre (call centre) should an individual encounter difficulty during non-working hours in any country (the call centre also handles emergency e-mail 24/7 and general enquiries).
• Database for the registration of Canadians Abroad (ROCA) for those residing in a foreign country for three months or more, or, who are travelling to a known “hotspot” (in the event that there is a need to contact Canadians to offer urgent service/advice during natural disaster/civil unrest or of a family emergency at home).

Virtual Trade Commissioner

The Virtual Trade Commissioner's customized Web pages are created for Canadian exporters and foreign contacts. Through their own Web page, clients and contacts are able to access customized market information, news and events based on their industry sector and markets of interest, as well as request personalized services from the more than 130 offices of the Trade Commissioner Service abroad.

The second part of the Virtual Trade Commissioner initiative, acquires and implements a highly integrated electronic Client Relationship Management (eCRM) system to streamline service delivery to Canadian businesses that are or are planning to export.

e-CRM facilitates the sharing of client information between International Trade and its Team Canada Inc partners and, in combination with the streamlining of business processes and the provision of other tools such as mobile devices, provides a “solution” to meet the expanding needs of the Trade Commissioner Service and Team Canada Inc partners in delivering services to their clients.

Export/Import Controls Systems

The Export and Import Controls Bureau provides an electronic commerce business solution to licensed Canadian Customs Brokers to facilitate the acquisition of necessary permits for the importation and exportation of certain goods to and from Canada. The requirement for these permits is drawn from the Export Import Permits Act. The system is commonly known as the Export Import Controls System.

The Export Import Controls System supports two distinct approaches to access the system. The first and the most common to Brokers who deal with lower volumes (less than 50 to 100 permits per day) is a secure Web-based interface that allows them to apply for and receive import and export permits directly on their local desktop computer on a transaction by transaction basis. The second approach was developed to support the higher volume Brokers and is based on transaction exchange via an electronic data interchange (system to system). Under this approach all permits are returned to the originating system rather than an end-user.

Passport On-line

The Passport on-line project provides Canadians with on-line access to passport services, thereby facilitating the processing of the two million application requests received annually. This project has two objectives:

• Provide citizens the capability to fill out a passport application form on-line.
• Provide federal employees at Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada the capability to apply for their Official Travel documents on-line through secure access.

Summary

In addition to the web activities fund either wholly or in part by GOL, the department has created many other web presences. In order to create a more coherent internet presence and to ensure the sustainability of the GOL principles, the department, in collaboration with its partner departments, has completed an internet review. The objectives of the project are to:

• provide a more efficient user experience as a result of effective design and navigation;
• capture core content from the authoritative source in order to reduce duplication and inconsistencies;
• conduct systematic client engagement to drive continuous improvement;
• ensure that the internet helps fulfil policy imperatives and client needs;
• establish clear accountability, roles and responsibilities for its internet sites;
• allow for more effective resource investments in its internet sites;
• provide for greater integration of services with partner departments; and,
• yield more operational efficiency through common processes and technology shared with partners.

The implementation of the recommendations is slated to be complete by March 31, 2008.