Governments of Canada and Ontario unveil Contact Tracing App Jun. 18, 2020 • By Kevin Tetreault Today the Prime Minister and the Premier of Ontario announced the upcoming launch of a new nation-wide mobile app to provide notifications of exposure to COVID-19 across Canada, with testing to begin in Ontario. The Canadian Digital Service is leading the development of the app, in collaboration with the Ontario Digital Service and building upon […] Read More
Internet for All – Canada’s First Connectivity Strategy Jun. 28, 2019 • By DisGovr Canada The Canadian government has pledged to connect all Canadians to reliable, high-speed internet by 2030. In doing so, the federal government has confirmed that the internet is no longer a luxury – connectivity is vital to communication, education, and economic development, especially in rural communities. According to the Connectivity Strategy, released June 27th, 2019, one-quarter […] Read More
GovStart relaunch: Introducing DisGovr! May. 28, 2019 • By DisGovr Canada Our valued members, Today, we are relaunching GovStart Canada under a new name – DisGovr Canada. We have chosen to rename the organization to better reflect our mission: to help companies navigate the Canadian government ecosystem. Our initiative is a division of the Capital Hill Group, one of Canada’s leading public affairs firms. The Capital […] Read More
DisGovr Insights: PEI Election Apr. 24, 2019 • By Shae McGlynn Prince Edward Island rarely takes the spotlight, but many Canadian politicos were tuned into their provincial election last night. The Greens had been polling ahead, looking to secure a landmark victory as the first-ever Green government in North America. They came shy of the over-hyped expectations but performed incredibly, earning 8 seats and 31% of […] Read More
Shared Services Canada (SSC) Departmental Plan for 2019-2020 Apr. 18, 2019 • By Lucas Veiga Overview Released on April 11, 2019, SSC’s 2019-2020 departmental plan sets out priorities for the year and how the department plans to deliver on key projects and initiatives around five areas of responsibility: Email and Workplace Technology, Data Centres, Telecommunications, Cyber and IT Security, and Customer Relationship and Service Management. This document summarizes the main […] Read More
Federal government wants to invest in AI, but spending is slow Apr. 10, 2019 • By Dennis Burnside Over the past year, the federal government has demonstrated a heightened interest in leveraging the capabilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (MR), and Robotic Process Automation (RPA). The government has publicly recognized the potential of these capabilities to serve as a “force multiplier” that enables the government to provide services faster, better and more […] Read More
Québec: Investing in innovation and digital transformation Mar. 28, 2019 • By Shae McGlynn Last week the Québec government delivered their 2019-2020 budget, the first from the newly elected CAQ government. Overall, the provincial government is committing $709 million to innovation in the region. Here are the details on those investments: Investing in Artificial Intelligence Québec, and Montréal in particular, has been a hotbed of artificial intelligence (AI) […] Read More
Phoenix pay system stabilization in 2019 and beyond Mar. 27, 2019 • By Dennis Burnside How much does it cost to launch a new payroll processing system for federal employees? If you said $309 million, you were probably looking at original estimates for the new Phoenix pay system. If you said $1.2 billion, you would have answered what the federal government has spent so far. Estimates from within government have […] Read More
A Closer Look: Canada’s Treasury Board Mar. 22, 2019 • By Dennis Burnside The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat – the organization underneath new Treasury Board and Digital Services Minister Joyce Murray – sits in the driver seat of digital transformation happening across the federal government. Recognizing that Government of Canada’s need for a serious digital renewal – Canada has now slipped to 23rd in the UN’s global rankings […] Read More