E-Government in Canada
Governance Series
Governance is the process of effective coordination whereby an organization or a system guides itself when resources, power and information are widely distributed. Studying governance means probing the pattern of rights and obligations that underpins organizations and social systems; understanding how they coordinate their parallel activities and maintain their coherence; exploring the sources of dysfunction; and suggesting ways to redesign organizations whose governance is in need of repair.
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The Governance Series is part of the publications division of the Program on Governance and Public Management at the School of Political Studies. Nine volumes have previously been published within this series. The Program on Governance and Public Management also publishes electronic journals: the quarterly www.optimumonline.ca and the biannual www.revuegouvernance.ca
Editorial Committee
Caroline Andrew
Linda Cardinal
Monica Gattinger
Luc Juillet
Daniel Lane
Gilles Paquet (Director)
E-Government in Canada
Transformation for the Digital Age
Jeffrey Roy
The University of Ottawa Press gratefully acknowledges the support extended to its publishing programme by the Canada Council for the Arts and the University of Ottawa.
We also acknowledge with gratitude the support of the Government of Canada through its Book Publishing Industry Development Program for our publishing activities.
National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Roy, Jeffrey
E-government in Canada : transformation for the digital age/Jeffrey Roy.
(Governance series, ISSN 1487-3052)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7766-0617-0
ISBN-10: 0-7766-0617-4
1. Internet in public administration--Canada. 2. Electronic government information--Canada. 3. Public administration--Canada. 4. Organizational change Canada.
I. Title. II. Series: Governance series (Ottawa, Ont.)
JL86.A8R69 2006 351.7102854678 C2005-907821-9
All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocoping, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Cover design: Sharon Katz
Interior design and typesetting: Brad Horning
Copy-editing: Dallas Harrison
Proof-reading: Sylvie Nantais-Bourdeau
Indexing: Nancy Mucklow
Published by the University of Ottawa Press, 2006
542 King Edward Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5
press@uottawa.ca / www.uopress.uottawa.ca
Printed and bound in Canada
Reprinted in 2008.
Contents
Acknowledgements
This book examines the emergence of e-government in Canada over the past decade. My own learning path during this time frame extends across doctoral studies at Carleton University, teaching and research duties at the University of Ottawa, and a recent sabbatical at the University of Victoria. I have benefited from a rich assortment of affiliations and friendships across this countrys finest academic venues devoted to public sector management and governance.
Indeed, much of this book was written on a beautiful Pacific island. My sabbatical at the University of Victoria was made possible by the Director of the School of Public Administration, Evert Lindquist (as well as Jim McDavid who served as acting director in 2004). I am grateful for their support and that of the schools highly competent administrative and academic staff. The research assistance of In-In Pujiyono was particularly helpful. Discussions with faculty enriched my time in Victoria, and the opportunity to collaborate with John Langford on research that parallelled this book proved both intellectually beneficial and thoroughly enjoyable. IPACs Patrice Dutil would join us in a shared effort that has since provided a platform for a stimulating and still-unfolding research agenda.
Much of my interest and activities in the realm of e-government began within the confines of the Centre on Governance at the University of Ottawa. Drawing on the best of the School of Management, the Faculty of Social Sciences, and elsewhere, the centre served as a dynamic and entrepreneurial setting for both scholarly exchange and outreach activity. With regard to specific e-government projects, the efforts of Barbara Ann Allen and Chris Wilson would prove particularly instrumental, as would the intellect and friendship of Luc Juillet. Funding provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council proved essential to our efforts.
I must also acknowledge and thank all of those officials and managers from government, industry, and elsewhere who took the time to partake in interviews. With few exceptions, names are withheld in the book due to the promise of confidentiality: it is clear that what progress has been made in furthering the e-government agenda in Canada is owed to the creativity and determination of a great many individuals striving to realize positive change. Many others provided strategic counsel and collaborative support, including Fawn Annan, Stuart Culbertson, John Eger, Patricia Fletcher, Mila Gasco, Don Lenihan, Don Norris, Greg Lane, Bob Parkins, Dan Remenyi, and Teddy. The editing expertise of Dallas Harrison and the production oversight of Marie Clausen have also been invaluable. Feedback provided by anonymous reviewers has proven extremely useful, although any errors in the final product remain the responsibility of the author alone.
Finally, I must acknowledge and thank two special individuals. Amanda Coes efforts within the Government of Canada to help forge a more encompassing e-government agenda than online service, as well as her subsequent research at Harvard Universitys National Center for Digital Government, have been enlightening in terms of both academic debate and government policy. Gilles Paquets intellectual leadership in forging critical reflections and new insights on matters of governance is unmatched: the same is true of his teaching and mentoring capacities. Professionally and personally, the presence of Amanda and Gilles in my life has been and remains a blessing.
Introduction
The purpose of this book is to examine the prospects for Canadas public sector in this emergent era shaped increasingly by digital technologies, human and organizational connectivity, and institutional change. The book progresses through a conceptual presentation of e-governments main drivers ().
Electronic government (e-government) has emerged over the past decade parallel to the rapid, mainstream expansion of the Internet in many regions of the world. In one sense, this development is hardly new since information technologies and electronic systems have been engrained in public sector operations since the advent of the mainframe computer. There is indeed much debate within the literature on e-government as to whether digital technologies and the Internet are new tools to be deployed mainly within current public sector structures and traditions or whether they are inherently transformational in driving the need for more holistic changes to our systems of democratic governance (Perri 6 2002).
