IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

Governments should enact new legislation giving the deputy prime minister and provincial deputy premiers responsibility for e-government and the coordination of horizontal policy development, states a new study by an expert committee of federal, provincial and municipal politicians. The Internet and information technologies, it concludes, could help engage citizens in the democratic process and restore confidence and public trust in government if political leaders take steps to transform core government activities. The study's authors come from six jurisdictions, involving three levels of governments and four political parties, as well as a leading Ottawa-based think tank. Their study, Finding Our Digital Voice: Governing in the Information Age (www.crossingboundaries.ca), makes a series of recommendations based on an eighteen-month international and Canada-wide consultation, conducted through the Crossing Boundaries III initiative. The recommendations will be the focus of a major national conference in Ottawa, May 7-9, 2003.

Among its recommendations, the committee calls on the federal government to allocate one percent of its program-spending budget - over a billion dollars - to support new initiatives in information services, horizontal policy-development and e-democracy initiatives. It recommends that Parliament and provincial legislatures launch a series of e-democracy pilot projects, where elected officials and citizens could explore new forms of public participation in governance. It states that all legislatures should ensure the education and training of elected officials in the use of the new technology, in particular, by setting minimum standards for a "smart office."

"The Internet and other technologies represent an extraordinary opportunity to change the way government services are delivered, and to help Canadians establish competitive advantages in the Information Age," says Tony Valeri, committee co-chair and MP for Stoney Creek. "Politicians in particular should be using it to improve the effectiveness of government, and to engage citizens more directly in the democratic process."

The report identifies a series of additional steps that governments could take to realize these opportunities, including:

• The office of the Chief Information Officer should be established as a separate office, reporting to the deputy prime minister, premier or mayor. The CIO should be a deputy level appointment.
• Information is a key resource for Canadians and government is a major provider of it. Government should clarify its responsibilities to certify information in key areas; and should provide public assessments of the quality of the knowledge underlying its policies.
• Government should begin organizing its information holdings in new ways to promote horizontal policy development.
• Ministers from key departments should sit on a new horizontal policy council chaired by the deputy prime minister/premier/mayor and would be responsible for developing new information-sharing relationships based on a new set of "bridging rules."
• The federal government should lead a non-partisan, intergovernmental committee made up of elected officials and distinguished Canadians, to consult Canadians on the development of a new governance charter. The process would be an act of recognition by government that the society is changing and that representative government should be renewed in light of the changes.

"Governments have an historic opportunity to improve Canadians' quality of life and strengthen their democracy," said Crossing Boundaries Chair Don Lenihan. "But they must rise to the challenge. It will take clear vision and strong leadership," he added.

The authors of this report are members of the Crossing Boundaries Political Advisory Committee (PAC). Crossing Boundaries is Canada's largest research and consultation process on "electronic-government," involving some 16 federal departments and a variety of private sector sponsors.

Over the last year and a half, the Crossing Boundaries PAC has committed itself to speaking out on e-government issues, raising their profile among politicians and producing a series of practical recommendations on how to enhance the democratic process and strengthen the role of elected representatives through the use of new technologies. These recommendations will be vetted in the Crossing Boundaries National Conference in Ottawa, May 7-9, 2003 (www.crossingboundaries.ca/conference).