Building A Government That Works For You
Editor’s Note: Peter Bethlenfalvy, President of the Treasury Board, is now overseeing Ontario’s efforts to lead digital and data transformation for the people of Ontario, including oversight of the Ontario Digital Service.
Last month, I had the chance to welcome the Ontario Digital Service (ODS) to the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) at a virtual town hall meeting.
The ODS is the skilled team responsible for leading the digital and data transformation that is currently happening across our province’s public sector.
It’s a big job that’s focused on making your interactions with government services simpler, faster, and better.
We’ve been working on modernization since taking office, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made it even more important to put more services online where they can be done easily at a safe social distance.
I’m happy to say the ODS has helped us advance and expedite this vital work. This includes initiatives like putting the most used transactions at ServiceOntario online and the rapid development of critical online resources that are helping us address the challenges we are facing due to COVID-19.
At the Treasury Board, we’re responsible for ensuring that the government is able to make the best, most efficient and effective use of taxpayer dollars. Our goal is to build a government that works for you, so that we deliver better services, optimize the value of every public dollar and, ultimately, restore long-term prosperity across the province.
As Ontario battled the COVID-19 global pandemic, it became clear that ‘business as usual’ would not do. We needed to successfully adapt to new realities with bold thinking and introduce faster, more innovative approaches to meet the rapidly shifting needs of people and businesses.
Our economic efforts came first. We had to move quickly, and we did.
Our response plan includes $30 billion to help protect the health and economic well-being of the people of Ontario. This includes providing support to families, businesses, workers, municipalities, long-term care homes and those on the frontlines.
Our plan also includes a one-time top-up of $4.3 billion to the COVID-19 Health Contingency Fund and $3.0 billion in one-time funding for direct supports to people and jobs.
We also enabled the public service — consisting of more than 60,000 people — to quickly shift to remote work where possible, which helped ensure social distancing without compromising the quality of services.
In addition, the in-house expertise of the ODS enabled a rapid digital response, which underpinned provincial efforts. One stand-out example was Ontario’s leadership on the COVID Alert app.
Canada’s COVID Alert app leverages technology to protect the health and safety of Ontarians.
The COVID Alert app allows users to send and receive phone alerts if they may have been exposed to the virus. The app uses Bluetooth technology, and does not share any personal information. You can even inspect the app’s code (government developers made it openly available here).
COVID Alert demonstrates what’s possible when governments work differently and put people’s needs first. It’s the result of extensive collaboration between the ODS, the Canadian Digital Service, Health Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Health, both provincial and federal Privacy Commissioners, Blackberry and Shopify. By coming together to solve a common challenge, the public and private sectors expanded possibilities, introduced new capabilities and sped up time to launch. Frankly, it’s a model that will inspire us as we build the future of Ontario.
Harnessing the power of tech
As someone who has spent 30 years in the financial sector, overseeing the modernization of banks and other financial institutions on Wall Street and Bay Street, I’ve seen how harnessing technology can drive innovation and create a seamless customer experience. Government should be no different. In fact, we must do better, knowing that our work impacts more than 14 million people province-wide.
In 2020, we’ve reached a tipping point. We simply can’t be an offline government in an online world.
The people and businesses of Ontario deserve better outcomes, and their needs are driving us to accelerate change across the public sector.
Ontario as a digital leader
I believe that Ontario can lead as the most digitally advanced province in Canada, and the most digitally advanced jurisdiction in the world. I’m willing to put our teams up against all others, and to create real space for more collaboration between the public and private sectors to achieve this ambitious goal. Ontario is home to the best and brightest — a deep research bench, leading innovators, forward-thinking companies, driven entrepreneurs, a skilled workforce and world-renowned educational institutions.
We have all of the building blocks needed to reboot government for the digital world, to help improve the way that people and businesses interact with their government, and to deliver the best customer experience.
Ontario is ready not only to meet this new challenge, but to lead the way.
