Information & Ethics committee  Eleven core service departments. It's a front-line set-up.

Information & Ethics committee  I believe the number is 187, but we'll confirm that.

Information & Ethics committee  I will validate that, but I do not believe the list has been shared, but the project intent itself has been shared, yes. We've not finished the work. We're at year one of two right now.

Information & Ethics committee  Absolutely.

Information & Ethics committee  It's important not to dissociate issues related to data protection, AI and automation. For instance, we're doing a lot of work with France right now on issues around ethics, data management, privacy and automation, so I encourage you to explore those elements.

Information & Ethics committee  You raise some very good points. The current Privacy Act has been in force since 1983, well before the Internet era. The discussion we're having today attests to the big changes on the way that will affect society. The act applies to 265 institutions. I mention that not to make excuses, but simply to highlight how colossal the undertaking is.

Information & Ethics committee  In the timetable we gave ourselves, we set aside two years to review certain legislation that might hinder information sharing. We wanted to ascertain whether an issue was real or merely just a rumour, so after examining 11 departments, we identified 187 amendments to legislation that could affect the sharing of information.

Information & Ethics committee  I haven't had any interaction directly with the bankers' association, but I can say that the banks have been engaged in the pan-Canadian trust framework, for example, so this isn't something that is necessarily new to them. We have architecture conversations with the banks fairly regularly on some of their investments, including their sign-in protocols, and ours, and making sure that we're working together.

Information & Ethics committee  Let me add as well a few statistics. According to Statistics Canada, in the 65-plus age group about 80% of homes are Internet-connected, which is not a great but not a bad statistic. I think the question is—and this will relate to what Aaron was saying—if we can make the service seamless, transparent and easy to use, we'll go a long way in shifting the behaviour of the teams and the service model that they choose and want.

Information & Ethics committee  I am happy to jump in. A few weeks ago, in Washington, I met with my American counterpart, Suzette Kent. I'll repeat what Mr. Snow said. The Americans have a better grasp of certain elements, particularly cloud computing, an area where they do business with U.S. companies, and that may give them a data protection advantage.

Information & Ethics committee  Our strategy is to make sure that every Canadian is able to access services. We recognize that it's perfectly acceptable if someone opts for in-person service at a Service Canada office. I should point out that TBS has begun gauging public opinion on digital service delivery. We've learned that two out of three Canadians are comfortable with federal government departments sharing their personal information to improve service quality.

Information & Ethics committee  That's a question I would have to put to Service Canada. We'll take it under advisement, as we would any feedback from Canadians and MPs' offices. We want to make sure our services better target the right people to prevent those kinds of situations.

Information & Ethics committee  Yes. For the past 14 months we've been working on direction and policy for the way government departments use automated services, moving forward, because this is something we're seeing increase. You heard me say that PSPC has done a procurement action for creating an AI vendors catalogue.

Information & Ethics committee  I think there are a few things. I do think that we are gradually—and possibly not quickly enough—applying the lessons we've learned from some of our major failures. You heard me speak to the NextGen process. I think that the culture shift is going to be the big change, and it's not necessarily the culture of the public sector.

Information & Ethics committee  What we would like to deliver is a system without any closed doors, so to speak, a system that provides digital services to Canadians on the IT platform of their choice or in person at a Service Canada office. They would be able to obtain a service at a Service Canada desk or through their Apple or Samsung smart watch, for instance.