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Chronicle
Activities Preceding Government On-Line
The event that marks the beginning of Government On-Line as an initiative, is the October 1999 Speech from the Throne. However, prior to that date, numerous activities had taken place that helped set the stage. The most important ones are listed below.
1999
- identification by an ad-hoc Cabinet Committee on Government Communications of the establishment of a federal online presence as a government priority;
- expansion of the Public Sector Chief Information Officers' Council to include participation at the municipal level;
- conceptualization of Service Canada in view of setting up a network of in-person service centres across Canada and enabling the launch of the 1-800-O-CANADA telephone service delivery;
- release of the "Strategic Directions for Information Management and Information Technology: Enabling 21st Century Service to Canadians" where the role of technology is contextualized in regard to the citizen-centered service delivery vision;
- publication by the Canadian Centre for Management Development of the results of the "Citizen/Client Surveys: Dispelling Myths and Redrawing Maps" that take stock of what is known about the public's perception of public sector services and identify an array of factors that drive service satisfaction.
1998
- establishment of the Public Sector Chief Information Officers' Council that brings together Chief Information Officers from provinces, territories and the federal government;
- transformation of the Citizen-Centred Service Delivery Network into a more structured council named the Senior Service Delivery Officials Forum;
- publication of the results of the original Citizens First study that was sponsored by federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments. It identified the drivers of satisfaction with service delivery, dispelled myths about the relative quality of public services, and highlighted the importance of service standards;
- release of the original Common Measurements Tool, an easy-to-use client satisfaction survey instrument that facilitates benchmarking across jurisdictions of face-to-face services.
1997
- commitment that became known as "Connecting Canadians" in the Speech from the Throne: "We will make the information and knowledge infrastructure accessible to all Canadians by the year 2000, thereby making Canada the most connected nation in the world. This will provide individuals, schools, libraries, small and large businesses, rural and Aboriginal communities, public institutions, and all levels of government with new opportunities for learning, interacting, transacting business and developing their social and economic potential.";
- programs such as SchoolNet and Community Access Program become important building blocks of the "Connecting Canadians" agenda;
- launch of Crossing Boundaries that initially focussed on e-democracy;
- inauguration of the Lac Carling conferences that bring together on an annual basis private and public sectors key players in the area of technology;
- establishment of the Citizen-Centred Service Delivery Network by the Canadian Centre for Management Development, a first effort at collaboration within the service community.
1996
- publication of "Building the Information Society: Moving Canada into the 21st Century" by the Department of Industry that constitutes a response to the Information Highway Advisory Council report and that embraces the principles that have guided all e-government initiatives afterward;
- reclassification of the Chief Informatics Officer as the Chief Information Officer, with an upgrade to branch status within the Treasury Board Secretariat;
- release of Deputy Minister Task Force Reports. Undertaken in 1996, this series of publications addresses issues of values and ethics, service delivery, overhead services, horizontal policy and policy capacity.
- launch of "Strategis", a Web site championed by Industry Canada and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade to engage the business community in on-line government service delivery.
1995
- publication of the final report of the Information Highway Advisory Council "Connection, Community, Content: The Challenge of the Information Highway" that contained more than 300 recommendations to enable the smart use of technology;
- adoption of a government-wide Internet Strategy sponsored by the Treasury Board Secretariat where departments are encouraged to use the Internet in the course of their normal business activities;
- launch of the Canada Site (Canada.gc.ca) as a primary repository of electronic documentation administered by Communications Canada.
1994
- commitment in the Speech from the Throne of January 18, 1994 to develop a Canadian strategy for the Information Highway;
- publication of the "Blueprint for Renewing Government Services Using Technology", a document that proposes an approach to make "Government services... affordable, accessible, and responsive" through the use of technology;
- publication of "The Canadian Information Highway: Building Canada's Information and Communications Infrastructure" that outlines policy issues and guiding principles to build a service infrastructure;
- creation of the Information Highway Advisory Council: 29 members representing all areas of Canadian Society discuss the evolution of the first Canadian Information Highway.
1993
- establishment of the Department of Industry as part of the reorganization of government;
- appointment of a Chief Informatics Officer who reports to Treasury Board and is mandated to promote the use of technology in government and in particular in service delivery.
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