PACC Committee Meeting

(TEXT)

Meeting No. 44

Tuesday, November 3, 1998

The Standing Committee on Public Accounts met at 3:53 p.m. this day, in Room 209, West Block, the Chair, John Williams, presiding.

Members of the Committee Committee present: John Finlay, Ivan Grose, Mac Harb, Steve Mahoney, Philip Mayfield, Lynn Myers, Beth Phinney, Jerry Pickard and John Williams.

Acting Members present: Benoît Sauvageau for Gilles-A. Perron; Charlie Power for Elsie Wayne.

In attendance: From the Parliamentary Research Branch of the Library of Parliament: Jean Dupuis and Brian O'Neal, Research Officers.

Witnesses :From the Treasury Board of Canada - Secretariat: Linda Lizotte-MacPherson, Chief Information Officer; Guy McKenzie, Assistant Secretary; Richard B. Fadden, Assistant Secretary; Jim Bimson, Program Director.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(e), the Committee resumed consideration of Chapter 12 of the April and October 1997 Report of the Auditor General Of Canada (Information Technology: Preparedness for Year 2000).

Linda Lizotte-MacPherson made a statement and, with the other witnesses, answered questions.

On motion of Lynn Myers, it was agreed, - That the written presentation of the Treasury Board Secretariat be printed as an appendix to today's Minutes of Proceedings (see appendix "PACC-1").

At 5:23 p.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.

Carol Chafe

Committee Clerk

• Good afternoon Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee. I am pleased to be with you to discuss the Government’s Year 2000 progress. My name is Linda Lizotte-MacPherson, and I am the newly appointed Chief Information Officer - CIO - of Canada. I bring over seventeen years of experience in the informatics and consulting field to the position. As CIO, Year 2000 is a top priority.
• I would like to introduce Guy Mc Kenzie, Assistant Secretary responsible for the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) Year 2000 Project Office. The role of the Project Office is to act as a single window for the federal government’s Year 2000 activities. I rely on Guy to manage all aspects of the Project Office on a day-to-day basis, working closely with all departments. I provide executive oversight and work with Guy to identify potential risks and develop mitigating strategies.
• Richard Fadden, Assistant Secretary, Government Operations Sector at TBS, is also with me today. Contingency planning is becoming increasingly important as the focus of the Year 2000 program moves from internal government issues to external considerations. Dick is actively involved in these activities.
• Finally, Jim Bimson is responsible for monitoring departmental progress, challenging departments and providing advice on a wide range of Year 2000 system issues.
• This afternoon, I will discuss how we are organized to meet the Year 2000 challenge, the government’s progress since our last appearance before the committee and I will conclude with next steps.

• Treasury Board’s role has recently been expanded to deal with Year 2000 issues on behalf of Cabinet. It has been charged with the overall co-ordination of the government’s activities related to the Year 2000 problem.
• TBS leads the Government-wide Year 2000 action plan to fix its systems. We play a strategic intervention role and regularly challenge the results and progress of departments.
• In collaboration with all departments and the private sector, Industry Canada has been charged with ensuring that reasonable efforts are made to help the private sector meet the challenges by Year 2000.
• In a similar fashion, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade will co-ordinate Canadian efforts with those underway elsewhere in the world.
• The Department of National Defence has been charged with co-ordinating the government’s national contingency planning and emergency preparedness.
• Notwithstanding these lead roles, all federal departments remain responsible for their own Year 2000 preparedness and for liaising with their stakeholders.
• We have a well thought-out structure in place.

• Since the May appearance of the TBS before this Committee, we have accomplished a great deal. We have intensified our efforts and put in place the stepped-up work plan across all departments. We reported on some of the work on October 5 in our response to the detailed interim report of the Standing Committee on Industry. I will take a few moments to highlight the work to date.
• Let me state that we are progressing as planned. Canada, as a country ranks third in terms of Year 2000 preparedness, just behind Holland, after the United States, according to GartnerGroup, an internationally recognized information technology research organization. In terms of the status of our Government-Wide Mission Critical functions, we are at a level of sixty-four percent (64%) readiness as of the end of September. This is up significantly from forty-three percent (43%) that we reported last April. In fact, some departments are nearing completion. Others are not as far along. However, they have aggressive plans and they are meeting these plans. We are also monitoring them closely.
• We have made continued progress because of strong political, departmental, and financial commitments – all key components of our stepped-up action plan.
• Year 2000 is far more than a technical problem – it is everybody’s problem. It is a complex, cross-jurisdictional issue that knows no boundaries. Year 2000 demands a comprehensive approach, with strong leadership, co-operation, solid planning, monitoring, and adequate resources. The government’s approach accommodates all of these areas.
• We are monitoring the progress of departments: Treasury Board Ministers have asked for monthly reports on the state of readiness of Government-Wide Mission Critical functions, reports that shape our planning. All Ministers and Deputy Ministers are accountable for Year 2000 in their respective departments, agencies, and Crown corporations. Departments have established strong Project Management Offices with a good cross-section of resources which may include business, information technology, and audit capabilities. We are also
  co-operating with other jurisdictions as much of the
  Year 2000 challenge falls within their purview: federal/
  provincial/territorial meetings are taking place regularly.
• Clearly leadership, co-operation and engagement are in place. The next component of our comprehensive program is adequate funding.
• Financial commitment to address federal government needs is well entrenched. The first estimate by Braiter/Westcott was $1-1.4 billion. We reported in May that we were allocating about $400 million in loans. We have already exceeded that amount by over $40 million. Canada, along with the rest of the world, is discovering the complexity of embedded systems and interfaces. As a result, additional funding pressures have emerged. The TBS, the Department of Finance, and individual departments are assessing these new funding pressures such as further work on our Government-Wide Mission Critical functions, Departmental Critical systems, embedded systems, industry/private sector readiness and contingency planning.
• You may recall that we also have an innovative procurement contract in place with a guarantee of
  $100 million. In return, seven information technology firms guarantee the availability of skilled people. Departments have participated actively, and we are pleased to report that the $100 million has been completely allocated. Given the increasing difficulty in securing skilled resources, this has proven to be a vehicle vital to our program.
• Another key component of our stepped-up action plan, is strategic intervention. You will recall that we said that we would take strategic intervention – we have done so, in the areas of embedded systems, electricity, risk management and contingency planning.

• Let me start by summarizing our interventions with respect to embedded systems. TBS worked co-operatively with specialized departments to create centres of excellence for embedded systems.
• Public Works and Government Services Canada is creating a centre of excellence for embedded systems in government buildings. Similarly, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is taking the lead in establishing a resource centre for embedded systems in all government laboratories.
• On October 30, we held a workshop on embedded chips to share best practices with senior federal and provincial officials with Year 2000 responsibilities.

• As you know, electricity is key to the provision of government services – and a critical pillar of the economy. Because of this, TBS, in collaboration with Natural Resources Canada, organized a meeting on October 8 where the Canadian Electricity Association and three power utilities shared their state of readiness. We will continue to monitor their progress.

• You will also remember that our goal is to minimize the disruption of essential services to Canadians. Since risk assessment is key to the development of contingency planning, we held a Risk Management Workshop in June; expected attendance was 120, we had more than 300 participants. On October 14, we held a follow-up session on contingency planning to assist departments in the development of their contingency plans.

• Contingency planning and emergency preparedness are now on the planning horizon. On October 6, the Prime Minister appointed a National Year 2000 Contingency Planning Co-ordinator.
• DND has created a National Planning Group to be headed by this Co-ordinator. It is actively involving Emergency Preparedness Canada in its operations. A national assessment will be co-ordinated by the National Planning Group.

• We have an ambitious plan in place. We are on target with the goals we set and plan to have contingency plans in place for Government-Wide Mission Critical functions by December 31, 1998.
• Again our goal is to minimize disruption to Canadians.
• By June 30, 1999, departments are expected to have completed total live environment testing.
• We also plan to meet with other infrastructure service providers, such as the oil and gas industry, to learn about their state of readiness.
• We will continue to work across jurisdictions, on common issues and on interfaces. Although we are working aggressively, TBS will continue to intervene as required. We recognize that there is no room to relax. We are, however, confident that the Government of Canada will minimize the disruption of essential services to Canadians through the turn of the century.
• We will continue to assist the Department of National Defence’s contingency and emergency preparedness efforts.
• In summary, I would like to reiterate that we have a comprehensive plan in place that is unfolding as expected. TBS’ leadership has made a difference over the past few months, but the Treasury Board, Cabinet and Parliament can only steer so far. An effective response to the Year 2000 challenge ultimately depends on the engagement and action of individual departments and agencies.
• Mr. Chairman, we are now prepared to answer your questions. Thank you.

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