"Enabling E-Government: Stepping Up to the
Challenge"
Notes for the Opening Address by
Mel Cappe
Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet
at the
Technology in Government Week (TIGW) 2001 Conference
October 15, 2001
Introduction
- This is the year 2001. As we look back on this year, it will be remembered
as the year that the world focussed on terrorism.
- As I was thinking about my remarks, I was reflecting upon the role of
technology in this war. In the Globe and Mail last week, there was an
article on the ease of pinpointing the location of Canada’s northern warning
radar stations and nuclear power sites due to the Internet. When information
of this nature is available to anyone who has access to the Net, what does it
mean for national security?
- Throughout this conference, I am sure that many of you will be reflecting
on this new reality and what it means for all of us.
- 2001 is also the year that Sir Arthur C. Clarke, in writing 2001: A
Space Odyssey, envisioned us journeying to the moons of Jupiter and
Saturn, and having HAL – the computer with emotions that could outsmart the
human mind.
- When reflecting upon his predictions I have to ask myself: How far
have we really come?
- In many respects, we have come a long way. For example, in the 1960s
would we have believed that we could do our banking and pay bills over the
telephone and on-line, file our income tax on-line, carry around our own
cellular telephone, and conduct stock market transactions on a wireless
communications device?
- Well, we are there now! Yet, in many other respects, we still have a long
way to go.
- As an event, Technology in Government Week has come a long way. Today,
all levels of government participate in the conference. This year, there
will be more provincial and municipal participation than ever before.
- We are proud to welcome Prince Edward Island and the City of Ottawa
as the 2001 Showcase Province and Showcase Municipality, respectively.
- International recognition of this event is also growing. This year, we
are proud to welcome Australia as the first ever Showcase Country, and to
welcome the more than 40 countries that are participating in this event.
- Technology in Government Week 2001 is also hosting, for the first time,
an International Forum on Bridging the Digital Divide.
- The forum will bring together senior government officials from around
the world to share information about the challenges of the digital
divide and the various national initiatives under way to address them.
- As Canada takes over the presidency of the G8 in 2002, it is
committed to helping bridge the digital divide and has agreed to lead
the follow-up work of the G8 DOT force.
- Finally, a major highlight of Technology in Government Week has become
the Distinction Awards Gala.
- This evening, some 33 medals will be awarded to the most outstanding
federal, provincial and municipal public sector individuals and teams,
in recognition of their leadership and excellence in the innovative use
of technology.
- The next few days provide great opportunities to share experiences and
learn from one another.
- This morning you will hear about and see demonstrations of the exciting
exploits of Canada in space. Over the next few days, you will hear about
advances in the Human Genome Project research and you will hear how
information technology (IT) is enabling Canadians who are serving abroad in
our armed forces.
- Today, governments in Canada and around the world are engaged in
E-Government efforts. So the theme of the conference, Enabling E-Government: Stepping Up to the Challenge, aptly describes where we
are today and where we need to go for tomorrow.
- This brings me to my key message today: E-Government is not a fad! In
Canada, we are committed to making E-Government a reality.
- We have a plan, known as Government On-Line (GOL), for putting our
information and services on-line by 2004, and we are well on our way to
achieving success.
- And we are planning for the broader transformation to E-Government.
- The recent events in the United States only reinforce the importance of,
and our commitment to, building a strong and modern public service capable
of ensuring the continued well-being of all citizens – of which
E-Government is a key part.
Canada’s Place in the Global E-Government Environment
- So where does Canada fit in the global E-Government environment?
- Thomas Friedman argues in The Lexus and the Olive Tree, that in
the new, wired world, governments will either be "shapers" or
"adapters."
- Friedman also argues, that while being wired is a necessary component of
competitiveness and success, it alone will not be sufficient. He says:
- "Power will flow not simply to those who are the most wired, but
to those who are the most creative at bringing together firms,
governments, capital, information, consumers and talent in networked
coalitions that create value."
- In Canada, we are in a position to be a shaper – to shape our future
with technology and remain at the forefront of the e-frontier.
- In fact, our journey to becoming an E-Government is well underway.
- I am proud that the Government of Canada’s GOL initiative has made
Canada a leader in the area of on-line government.
- A recent Accenture report ranked Canada first among 22 nations as an
"innovative leader" in on-line service delivery.
- This is a great achievement, and I commend all of you who have been
involved in making it happen.
- The challenge is to remain a leader. This will require a collective
effort and a commitment to innovation and creativity.
- Being a shaper in a wired world is about being innovative, dynamic and
creative.
- It also means that we must not allow ourselves to be driven by
technology. Rather, we must think through the question of how we can use
technology to help us achieve our goals, while respecting our public
sector values.
- And remember, E-Government is a much broader concept than GOL. It reaches
beyond the delivery of services on-line.
- E-Government is more than a digitized government. It is a new model
of government for the information age.
- For me, the "E" in E-Government stands for:
(use of technology in government);
(a government that is equipped to meet its objectives);
and
(empowering citizens and facilitating the links between
them and their elected officials).
Enabling E-Government
- In 1999, during the launch of Technology in Government Week, I talked
about the importance of the creative, innovative and widespread use of
technology in helping keep Canada strong.
- Last year, I re-emphasized the importance of people in building an E-Government and talked about teamwork and collaboration as key to making
E-Government a reality.
- E-Government requires public services in which people continually aim to
be innovative and achieve excellence in all they do.
- To foster the kind of innovation and excellence that citizens and
ministers expect, we will have to:
- value the culture and skills that lead to improved results;
- encourage collaboration within government, with other levels of
government and with citizens and other sectors of society (while
respecting ministerial accountability);
- be continually alert to opportunities and encourage and reward
innovation; and
- encourage risk taking, while ensuring that public servants have the
tools, skills and support to know what risks to take.
- The spirit of collaboration in the Public Service of Canada was never
more in evidence than when so many public servants rallied to tackle the
challenges presented to us in the aftermath of the tragic September 11
terrorist attacks in the United States.
- An example is the immediate launch of the U.S. crisis link on the
Canada Site and the provision of similar information via 1-800-O-Canada.
- Key departments and agencies came together instantaneously to provide
a multitude of information on-line and by phone on issues such as
foreign travel, border wait times, and security measures.
- This example illustrates our capacity to work together, in new ways,
so that Canadians have the information and services they need in a
timely, convenient and relevant fashion. It also illustrates our
capacity to achieve results even in the most difficult of times.
- Employees of the federal public service also worked in collaboration, in
an exemplary fashion, with provincial and municipal colleagues and other
partners, to deal with the many tasks at hand.
Challenge to Public Servants
- Our challenge as public servants is to begin to plan for and think
through the implications of the transformation to an E-Government.
- How do we, as public servants, add value when anyone can get access
to the same or better information?
- How do we continue to respect ministerial accountability, a
cornerstone of Westminster democracy, when information networks and the
complexity of issues require us to work horizontally?
- As governments become better at connecting to citizens, how do we
ensure that elected officials are not disintermediated?
- How is E-Government altering the relationship between citizens and
government? What are the implications for governance and democracy?
- As we work collaboratively in an environment of shared decision
making, how do we share accountability? Should we? What is modern
accountability?
- How do we protect privacy and security?
- How do we ensure access to all Canadians and avoid a digital divide?
How can we help bridge the global digital divide?
- And, as E-Government transforms the workplace, how do we ensure we
have the people with the right skills?
- E-Government requires "fonctionnaires sans frontières" –
people who can work effectively across departmental, program and other
borders; who are able to think outside the box; who see issues in a broader,
horizontal context; and who understand that information has value when it is
shared and that teamwork and collaboration are key to innovation.
- E-Government is perhaps one of the most important reasons why we are
taking steps to modernize how we manage the people of the public service.
- It is essential that we have a flexible legislative and policy
framework that enables us to get the right talent in place to build
E-Government.
- We want to attract, keep and foster the kind of people who can make
the transformation of E-Government happen.
Conclusion
- As I reflect upon how far we have come since the first Technology in
Government Week nine years ago, I can only begin to imagine what a
Technology in Government Week conference might look like nine years from
now.
- Will we come together in person or will we meet virtually?
- As technology becomes more pervasive in government, will the event be
called Technology in Government? Maybe we should start calling it
Government in a Technological World.
- What will be the theme of the conference? Perhaps it will be a
"Jetsons" version of Technology in Government Week, or an
Arthur C. Clarke version, with the focus on artificial intelligence.
- Will HAL give the opening address?
- And what will we be talking about? One could imagine sessions with the
following titles:
- Remember when we had Chief Information Officers?
- Has e-democracy rendered parliament redundant?
- Maintaining human contact in a virtual world
- Machines with an attitude
- While it is fun to speculate about a future Technology in Government
conference, no one can honestly say what government will look like in nine
years.
- But we do know that E-Government is about transformation – it will
transform how we work, do business, organize ourselves, manage, and
engage citizens and other partners.
- As I said at the outset of my remarks: E-Government is not a fad! In
Canada, we are committed to making it a reality.
- We are in it for the long haul and committed to the transformational
change associated with becoming an E-Government.
- The end result will be an excellent government – one that is helping to
shape the future, not adapting to it.
- In fact, nine years from now, we will no longer be talking about E-Government – it will simply be "the" government.
- Before I hand over the floor to our keynote speaker, I am pleased to
launch the latest on-line version of A Day in the Life of the Public
Service of Canada. This magazine was created by The Leadership Network
to profile public service employees on the job and help put a human face on
the Public Service of Canada.
- The new issue is devoted to E-Government. The magazine is filled with
examples of collaborative, horizontal work between individuals, agencies and
departments, between levels of government and between unions and management.
- The launch of the magazine’s third on-line edition is particularly
appropriate during Technology in Government Week 2001. I hope you will visit
the site at www.leadership.gc.ca.
- Thank you and have a great conference.
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