Renewing the GC Data Strategy

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Led by Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Privy Council Office, and Statistics Canada, supported by the GC Data Community at the Canada School of Public Service

In 2018, the Report to the Clerk of the Privy Council: A Data Strategy Roadmap for the Federal Public Service was published, putting forward a “whole-of-government approach to creating, protecting, using, managing, and sharing data as a strategic asset”.

Since publication, the context, priorities and maturity of the federal data landscape has evolved and there is a need to update the data strategy to highlight the most important priorities and actions that will allow the government to mature into the future.

When we add materials to this page, we'll announce it on the GC Data Community group on GCcollab. Join us.

February 2023 Update

What We Heard report (Consultations from October 2022 to January 2023): English | French

Presentation on the Data Strategy: English | French

4 October 2022 — Renewing the Federal Data Strategy

• View consultation and event materials on GCpedia (accessible only within the GC)
• Read the Priorities for Advancing the Government of Canada Data Agenda

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This event highlights the priorities and actions to be included in a renewed data strategy co-led by the Privy Council Office, Statistics Canada and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. Invited guests will share the latest developments on what has changed since 2018 and how the Government of Canada must continue to drive innovation, prepare for the future of work, and ensure that Canadians have trust and confidence in how their data is used.

Speakers

• Stephen Burt, Chief Data Officer of Canada, Treasury Board Secretariat
• Kara Beckles, Chief Data Officer, Privy Council Office
• André Loranger, Assistant Chief Statistician for Strategic Data Management, Methods and Analysis, and Chief Data Officer, Statistics Canada
• Moderated by Vanessa Vermette, Vice-President, Innovation and Skills Development, Canada School of Public Service

23 June 2022 — Engagement Session

• Presentation - Data Strategy Renewal | Renouvellement de la Stratégie relative aux données
• Listen to the audio recording of the engagement session on Google Drive | Download the audio recording from GCcollab — Note: The recording does not include the polling section of the session.
• Read a transcript of the session: As recorded | English translation | French translation
• What We Heard report: English | French [PowerPoint download]

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Have your say and join us to kick-off the Data Strategy Renewal! Participants will hear from the Renewal co-leads Privy Council Office, Statistics Canada, and Treasury Board Secretariat on the scope and goals of this work, participate in a question and answer session, and provide real-time input on the current and future priorities that should be considered as the strategy is renewed.

Speakers

• Stephen Burt, Chief Data Officer of Canada, Treasury Board Secretariat
• Kara Beckles, Chief Data Officer, Privy Council Office
• André Loranger, Assistant Chief Statistician for Strategic Data Management, Methods and Analysis, and Chief Data Officer, Statistics Canada
• Moderated by Shaifa Kanji, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Digital Officer, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Speaker biographies

Stephen Burt

Chief Data Officer of Canada, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

In March 2022, Stephen Burt was appointed Chief Data Officer for the Government of Canada, at the Treasury Board Secretariat. His mandate is to provide leadership across government on information and data governance and integration, privacy modernization, and data-enabled digital services and programs.

Prior to this appointment, Mr. Burt was the functional authority for data governance and analytics capability for the Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces (DND/CAF). He drove the analytics adoption and maturity throughout DND/CAF, and led the department-wide initiative to establish analytics and data governance.

Mr. Burt began his career in the Government of Canada in 1997 with Revenue Canada. In 1999, he joined DND, where he worked in a variety of policy, operational and defence intelligence roles, including two years as Executive Assistant to the Deputy Minister.

Mr. Burt moved to the Privy Council Office (PCO) in 2007 to work in the Security and Intelligence Secretariat as Senior Advisor on National Security. In that role, he was secretary for the committees of the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister. In 2009, he joined the Intelligence Assessment Secretariat (IAS) at PCO, and held positions as Director for Afghanistan and, later, for Asia. Mr. Burt was appointed Director of Operations for the IAS in January 2012, and took on the position of Assistant Secretary on an acting basis in March 2014.

In April 2015, Mr. Burt assumed the role of Assistant Chief of Defence Intelligence at Canadian Forces Intelligence Command, where he led the federated production of intelligence within DND/CAF, and oversaw defence intelligence policy.

Mr. Burt has an undergraduate degree in history from the University of Ottawa, as well as a Master’s in Public Administration from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

Kara Beckles

Chief Data Officer, Privy Council Office

Kara Beckles was recently named the first Chief Data Officer for the Privy Council Office. Previously she was Director General of Data Integration at the Privy Council Office, a position she took on during the summer of 2020. Kara has held several positions across the Government of Canada. Before joining PCO, she was Director General of the Economic Research and Analysis Directorate and Departmental Data Lead at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Kara holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in economics and business from the University of Winnipeg and a Master of Arts from Dalhousie University.

André Loranger

Assistant Chief Statistician for Strategic Data Management, Methods and Analysis, and Chief Data Officer, Statistics Canada

André Loranger is currently the Assistant Chief Statistician for Strategic Data Management, Methods and Analysis. He is also Statistics Canada’s Chief Data Officer responsible for the overall stewardship of the organization’s information data holdings. André, an economist with an M.A. (Economics) degree from the University of Ottawa, began his career in the public service at Statistics Canada in 1997 where he spent most of his career compiling estimates of GDP. Prior to his current position, André was the Director of Producer Prices Division from 2008 to 2012 and the Director General of the Macroeconomic Statistics Branch from 2012 to June 2013. More recently, he was the Assistant Chief Statistician for Economic Statistics responsible for the key economic indicators (CPI, GDP, etc.) produced by Statistics Canada. In recent years, André has been involved in international projects related to economic statistics. He was a member of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Environmental-Economic Accounting, the United Nations Expert Group on International Trade and Economic Globalization Statistics, the United Nations Expert Group on the Future of Economic Statistics and a number of international statistical working groups. André is currently a member of the United Nations Global Working Group on Big Data.

Moderators

Shaifa Kanji

Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Digital Officer, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Shaifa leads the Digital Transformation Services Sector partnering across ISED and other ecosystem stakeholders to deliver value, seamless experience, and better serve Canadian Businesses. Over the past decade, Shaifa has led the digital transformation of Municipal Government (Region of Peel) and not-for profit (Toronto and Region Conservation Authority), including establishing the vision and strategic technology direction for these organizations within a highly complex, political and multi-stakeholder environment.

Before joining the public sector, Shaifa spent her career across multiple industries including Telecommunications - (Bell Canada), Financial - (Royal Bank) and Consulting - (Accenture). Those invaluable experiences have given her a broad perspective on the critical elements required to drive transformation including focusing on transparency, empathy, building relationships and continuous learning.

Shaifa holds an Executive MBA from The Western Ivey School of Business and a Computer Science degree from York University.

Vanessa Vermette

Vice-President, Innovation and Skills Development, Canada School of Public Service

Vanessa Vermette is currently the Vice-President of Innovation and Skills Development at the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS). She has also served as Director General of Communications and Engagement at the CSPS, and in other executive positions at the CSPS and Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS). In addition, she has worked at the Public Health Agency of Canada, Transport Canada, and Infrastructure Canada in both policy and communications and has over 20 years experience in the public service. In her current role, Vanessa actively supports the Government of Canada digital and data mandate and communities, and leads efforts to advance digital government and public sector innovation through learning. Vanessa holds a Master’s in Public Health from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario and is passionate about equipping public servants with the skills and tools they need to succeed in meeting needs of Canadians.

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