Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to thank the committee for inviting me here again to discuss the 2020-21 supplementary estimates (B) for the digital government portfolio.
I'm joining you from the traditional unceded territory of the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish peoples.
As Minister of Digital Government, I lead the teams of the chief information officer and the Canadian Digital Service—both in the Treasury Board Secretariat—as well as Shared Services Canada, to deliver the government's digital service agenda.
Today, I'm joined again by Karen Cahill, chief financial officer for TBS; Marc Brouillard, CIO for the Government of Canada; Paul Glover, president of Shared Services Canada; and lastly, Samantha Hazen, CFO for Shared Services Canada.
As the minister responsible for the government's digital transformation, part of my mandate is to work with my ministerial colleagues to provide federal public servants with the tools and strategies they need to design and deliver the services Canadians expect in the digital era: services that are secure, reliable and easy to use.
To continue our successful shift so far to digital government, we must also change how we work within. Instead of seeing departments as siloed organizations with separated responsibilities, we need to think across government as a whole because that's the only way that we can provide seamless service to the public.
Each of the teams that I lead—SSC, CDS, and OCIO—has a key role, from setting government-wide policy and standards on service and digital, to supporting and modernizing the IT that supports digital delivery, to building the digital tools that are deployed across departments and that serve Canadians on the front lines.
This work is starting to break down the culture of silos and bring in an enterprise approach. This is how we will become a modern, digitally enabled government that delivers reliable service at any time from any device—including in person—the kind of service that Canadians expect.
COVID-19 has highlighted the fact that new policies and programs are important, but even more important is just how we deliver them.
Is a particular service convenient for the person receiving it? As an MP with an office that helps constituents, I can tell you that, historically, sometimes it's not that convenient. However, last spring when Canadians and businesses urgently needed financial support, they couldn't wait and couldn't apply in person, so departments worked together to quickly deliver new programs and services digitally. It was all hands on deck. That's how we delivered programs like the CERB or the COVID Alert app in a matter of weeks.
This urgent digital response to COVID-19 often took public servants outside of their regular processes and comfort zones. That culture change is critical to my work going forward. I'm focused on seizing this momentum so that our government can deliver better, faster and more-reliable services to Canadians in the future.
The items included in the supplementary estimates (B) reflect the increasing need to deliver the types of services that Canadians expect.
In these estimates, Shared Services Canada is requesting Parliament's approval to increase its authorities by $278.4 million to $2.49 billion.
This increase includes $91 million for IT services that directly support COVID-19 emergency relief programs, including rapid deployment of connectivity, collaboration tools, and emergency IT equipment for public servants.
It includes $84 million to replace data centre equipment for safe storage of information and network tools to reduce vulnerabilities and meet security standards.
It includes $37.3 million for IT modernization initiatives, including activities that advance a digitally enabled workforce, and $31.1 million for the secure cloud enablement and defence project to build secure access to cloud services, which will in turn provide better services to Canadians.
It will include $23.5 million for core information technology services and funding to support partner-led initiatives, and $10 million for secure video conferencing to expand secure communications for ministerial communications and cabinet committee meetings. These investments will help to provide federal public servants and departments with the tools, guidance and capacity they need to improve operations and support the delivery of better services in the digital age.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and I am pleased to take questions from the committee.