• Table of Contents
• Government On-Line Chronicle
• Overarching Principles & Key Areas of Activities
• 2006
• 2005
• 2004
• 2003
• 2002
• 2001
• 2000
• 1999
• Activities Preceding Government On-Line

Chronicle

2002

The year 2002 sees the implementation of the Common Look and Feel Guidelines, the adoption of the Privacy Impact Assessment Policy, and changes in the governance to support service transformation rather than just on-line service delivery.

The Common Look and Feel provides access to federal government Web sites to all clients, including those using assistive devices such as text readers and older Web browser. The Common Look and Feel also facilitates navigation across the Government of Canada sites as all federal sites incorporate common layout, font and symbols.

Issues of privacy over the Internet are important barriers. Public concerns over the issue are taken seriously from the very beginning of the initiative. In 2002, the Privacy Impact Assessment Policy ensures that privacy issues are addressed early in the design of new services through the submission of an assessment to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. Supplemented by guidelines on the use of cookies and on notice and consent, the privacy impact assessment ensures that no unnecessary information is collected, that clients know why the information is collected and that they agree.

The Government On-line Advisory Panel in its report, Transforming Government to Serve Canadians Better, expresses great confidence in the promise of the initiative and its integration with the Service Improvement initiative, as it will "encourage the necessary linkages between needs, service issues and integrated solutions"(p.4). However, it points out that the governance structure in place falls short of power " to establish accountability and authority to set goals across government and drive the service transformation agenda " (p. 11). In response, the Treasury Board Secretariat outlined a new governance structure in late 2002.

Funding, Common Solutions and Joint Councils

With budget allocated over four years in December 2001, the definitive target for the Government On-Line initiative is set at the 130 most frequently used services on line by the end of 2005. This target should help achieve the Service Improvement initiative target of 10% increase in citizen satisfaction by 2005, as 71% of Canadians who use the Government's Internet-based information or services are satisfied with the overall quality (EKOS, Fall 2001).

The trend towards common solutions (e.g. the Receiver General "Buy Button" or e-payment) that meet the needs of multiple departments, is forcing more innovative approaches that can be re-used across Canada.

The creation of the Joint Councils brings together the Public Sector Chief Information Officers' Council and the Public Sector Service Delivery Council on questions of interest to both Councils.

Other Government On-Line Milestones

• merger of Service Improvement Initiative and Government On-Line as both initiatives pursue complementary goals;
• publication by Accenture of the eGovernment Leadership Report, "Realizing the Vision" where Canada rates first for the second year in a row;
• release of the report "Government On-Line and Canadians", the first yearly public report on the initiative;
• distribution of the United Nations report on "Benchmarking E-government: A Global Perspective" where Canada ranks fifth after the United States, Australia, Singapore, and New Zealand;
• shift in focus from the three tiered approach favoured in the previous years of Government On-Line to a broader agenda of accelerated delivery of integrated federal and inter-jurisdictional services.