Not so long ago, when you gave a speech, you focussed on the people in the audience in front of you. Today, it's different. Since I'm appearing on the Web right now, I get to think about viewers around the world. I already have some experience with this. For example, people around the world have downloaded other speeches from my Web site - which, by the way, is currently being hot-linked to the Web site of The Leadership Network. But Webcasts, live and in person, are another thing altogether. And since they're normally associated with interviews with rock stars and entertainers, I'm in pretty exciting company.

This Webcast is a good example of how technology is at the heart of our new ways of defining and reaching government goals for Canada and Canadians. So I am glad to welcome everyone to the Professional Development Forum part of Technology in Government Week. I want to open the forum with one message: The creative, innovative and widespread use of technology is key to addressing the issues facing Canadians today and into the new millennium. And we are determined to develop federal public service leaders who are a full part of that effort.

I want to link this speech to one I gave a few months ago to APEX, the Association of Professional Executives in the Public Service. I talked to them about what we had to do in terms of the quality and nature of our work, the work processes we use, the environment that we work in, and the way we develop leaders - as a way of improving the Public Service of Canada and making it truly an employer of choice. I also want to connect this speech to one I'm going to give later this week, to the Forum of Assistant Deputy Ministers, on the subject of the government's policy agenda. I believe it's important to link the future of the public service to the government's policy agenda because both are so closely tied in with technology. Meanwhile, this conference is nice meat in the sandwich. Here is where we relate technology to making the public service of Canada an employer of choice, and to implementing a very vigorous agenda, a dynamic government agenda for serving Canada and Canadians.

Because of the major federal presence at this forum, it is just the right place for that message. Our presenters extend from deputy ministers and the Chief Information Officer to specialists in specific programs, services and initiatives. Other federal employees have helped organize the events of the week, and many initiatives of federal departments and agencies are up for awards. I'd also like to mention that I, myself, am an avid user of technology, specifically information technology. (Just ask some of the officers at the Privy Council Office who receive e-mails from me!) I'm even involved in the interdepartmental Public Key Infrastructure pilot project, which is looking at secure messaging, the secure transmission of documents, within government.

Our commitment to creativity and innovation reflects many themes. One is the importance of technology in delivering services of all kinds to Canadians now and into the future. Another is how citizen expectations will accelerate and define the uses and management of technology in government. And a third theme is the importance of managing the critical people issues in the federal public service, especially developing leaders, because that will affect our ability to use technology well. In covering all three themes, I don't intend to intrude too far into topics that, I am sure, people like Kevin Lynch, PeterHarder, Linda Lizotte-MacPherson and Jocelyne Bourgon will discuss.

Policy Agenda. I want to anchor all three of those points in one fact: Our technology choices in government don't exist in a vacuum. They stem from the strategic choices we make to improve Canada and the lives of Canadians. Last week, the Speech from the Throne gave us the "what" and the "why" of what serving Canadians really means. This week, at the Government Technology Exhibition and Conference, we're talking about the "how". This is good timing, because the Speech from the Throne really sets a challenge for public servants in terms of making Canada a better place. And that challenge can be met partly through the implementation of technology. Because technology is changing our economy, our culture and our society, governments have to think ahead in order to help Canadians to make the most of these changes. Even the Speech from the Throne touched on the "how" of serving Canadians. We've seen an evolution in Throne Speeches. We've now gone from alternative service delivery to a focus on electronic service delivery. That's a dramatic change in thinking about the role of government. And the role of government is manifest in the political direction set by government.

The "how" in last week's Speech from the Throne identified several key areas where energy and investment will be expended. One involves drawing on the expertise of young Canadians to help connect rural and urban communities to the information highway - by hiring these young people to put in place additional Internet access sites for public use. Another "how" involves developing a leading, knowledge-based economy that creates new ideas and puts them to work. To do all this, we must improve Canada's knowledge infrastructure by supporting a new generation of leaders, attracting the best researchers, and encouraging our graduates to put their talents to work here at home.

The foundation for these activities is continued improvement of Canada's information infrastructure, including an accelerated adoption of electronic commerce. In the Throne Speech, the government pledged to make Canada a centre of excellence for electronic commerce and encourage its use throughout the economy. We are also working to protect personal and business information in the digital world and to recognize the use of electronic signatures. We will provide increased access to high-speed Internet service for classrooms and libraries, and stimulate the production of Canadian multi-media learning, content and applications. This will build on the success of SchoolNet.

In short, the government will become a model user of information technology and the Internet. The government's goal is to be known around the world as the government most connected to its citizens, with Canadians able to access all government information and services on-line at the time and place of their choosing.

Finally, the knowledge-based economy is more than high-tech companies. It is an economy in which all sectors strive to use leading technologies and processes, both in urban areas and rural communities. The point to remember is that the government will encourage the development and adoption of new technologies in all sectors.

The government's approach is co-ordinated and horizontal. It is based on partnerships between departments and between levels of government, the private and voluntary sectors, communities and citizens. The government's approach is based on clear links to how we deliver services and manage operations. We're putting technology to work to turn the agenda of co-operation and partnerships into the results that the government expects from us - so more Canadians can succeed in this new environment. The challenges put forward in the government's agenda pose challenges for the public service, and it will be called upon to do its part.

Service Delivery. Now, technology is hardly a new tool for government, especially in service delivery. We've been using it for years. Critical systems enable us to deliver some of those high-profile services that Canadian expect us to get right every time: Canada Pension Plan payments, benefits to veterans, the Child Tax Benefit, and Employment Insurance cheques. The fact that we started using technology in the `60s and `70s is the reason why we have this Year 2000 challenge. Who would have thought that those systems would actually last this long? But, thanks to thousands of information technology professionals and contractors, we've been able to deal with our Year 2000 problem.

Citizens' Expectations. Initiatives like the Citizen-Centered Service Network respond to the changing expectations of Canadians. Canadians want more convenience. They want the services that they want. Right now, they aren't the services we want to deliver. We have to think about what citizens want, when they want it, and what ways will be efficient and convenient for them. We're used to citizens complaining about long lineups at our offices. Our challenge is to ensure that any future complaints switch to how long it takes to get on the Internet. Seriously, I want to make sure we have the capacity to serve citizens on-line, when they want, where they want.

Canadians also want prudent management. We must do more than just spend wisely and strategically, though we must always do that. Prudent management also means showing leadership in the use of advanced security and privacy technologies - so Canadians can be confident that program dollars are going where they're supposed to and that their personal information is being used appropriately. And Canadians want interactivity - so people can really communicate with us, with their governments, and so we can get their ideas and consult on major new policy objectives. In short, Canadians want a thoroughly professional public service in the new millennium, one that is knowledge-based, knowledge-intensive, creative and innovative.

People Issues. Let me turn for a minute to some people issues. We're using the technology creatively and we're innovating in how we use technology, but the real source of creativity and innovation is still our people. These are the technical experts who design, apply and troubleshoot the technologies; the staff who see how technology can help us do more and do it better; and the leaders at all levels who "get it" when it comes to technology - who can see the potential and magnitude of change.

There's a problem in this room. There's a problem with this conference. Sure, it attracts a lot of technical experts. But we need to attract many more program and policy people. They're the ones who will come here and get ideas about how to do their business differently. I encourage you all to go back and invite your friends and colleagues to come and participate. We need to work in teams, with technical, program and policy specialists thinking together about how to use technology to change the way we do business.

So what is our people situation right now? Let me refer to the Speech from the Throne: "To ensure that the Public Service of Canada . . . provides Canadians the highest quality service into the 21st century, the Government will focus on the recruitment, retention and continuous learning of a skilled, federal workforce."

I firmly believe that a professional, non-partisan and representative public service is vital to Canada's economic competitiveness and quality of life of its citizens. But to get the strongest possible public service, we have to adapt to the new world of work. And this means looking at how we can attract, train and keep our workers.

We're seeing a core shift to a world of knowledge workers. That may be obvious in the information technology community but it's also true that virtually everyone who works in government now has a much higher technical component and knowledge requirement for their job. People who have different expectations about their career, job, workplace and employment conditions are the ones we're attracting now. And we, as a government and as leaders in government, have to adapt. There's a recognition that the young people we need to attract expect a different workplace.

The impact of these trends and these realities is that we need to take the kind of action that will enable the federal government to respond to a competitive hiring environment. A lot of you in the private sector are always looking for the next great computer application, the "killer app". For the public service manager, the killer app is a work environment where ideas are valued and where creativity and innovation are dominant. It has to be a work environment that is progressive, innovative, competitive and vibrant if that's the way we want to keep Canada.

We can aim to create the most attractive working environment and career choice possible. That is what we need to further develop the public service as a "workplace of choice", one that projects a strong sense of values and where employees feel valued. We want a workplace where the quality and nature of the assignments are stimulating and challenging, and provide new opportunities and room to grow. Leading-edge technology projects and applications are good examples. As well, we must reduce the red tape, communicate more freely, consult with partners and stakeholders, and share information. We need a public service that has a clear sense of contributing to the country and its well-being.

We're making important progress, especially in the information-technology field, toward creating that working and career environment. I don't mean hard-wiring stuff. I mean we're creating people networks and adopting information-technology-based solutions. We are working with partners in a variety of ways, such as the SchoolNet project, to support Canadians. And we are exploring new ways of doing business and innovative ways of training and developing our people - using Web technology to make training accessible to people wherever they are, for instance.

Coming up next month, we will have the results of the first universal employee survey in the Public Service of Canada. It will give us a benchmark from which we can measure progress in achieving the goal of making Canada a better place by improving the quality of the public service workplace. But there's certainly more to do. For example, our work environment has to promote a better balance between work life and private life. We don't have to be like the places that put staff through 90-hour weeks until they burn out. We can offer something more lasting for everyone. Technology has to help us manage the workload, not increase it.

If we want to attract creative and innovative people and enable them to contribute their best, we need to foster the leadership climate. Leadership development is not just about people in management roles. It applies to all positions. Leadership involves flexibility, orientation to values, and openness to change and new ideas. It includes an awareness and appreciation of technology and its role and potential in government.

We need to be as innovative in our leadership approaches and in our workplaces as we are in our use of technology. To ensure that this continues well into the future, we must continue investing in our people and providing them with proper tools and training. In this day and age, to stand still is to fall behind.

In conclusion, this is an exciting time in the Public Service of Canada. We have a clearer sense of the strategic contributions we can make to Canada and Canadians. And we have a clearer sense of the kinds of changes we must continue to make in what we do and how we do it. The new ways of thinking about management that technological change has helped to drive are at the heart of those changes. They are setting the conditions that tell us the kinds of workplaces that we need to build to attract and retain excellent people.

This is all wrapped up in the message that I started this speech with: The federal public service is addressing the key issues facing Canadians today and into the future, and we are determined to develop leaders who can ensure that the creative, innovative use of technology is a full part of that effort. I have challenged all public servants to show leadership in making our workplace climate the best it can be. This has to happen if we are to rise to the challenges of a labour market competing for quality people. This has to happen if we are to unleash the kinds of innovations that Canadians expect in policies and services.