Shared Services Canada allocated $200m to enhance IT infrastructure
The Government of Canada has earmarked C$197m (US$150m) to support the migration of 12 legacy data centres to more modern facilities, and for activities to support the “establishment and adoption of cloud services”.
The funding commitment was included in the ‘supplementary estimates’ for 2019-20, tabled in the House last week.
Shared Services Canada is the federal agency responsible for consolidated IT services. It supports the use of cloud services within the federal government, and “provides departments with new, modern and flexible alternatives to make more efficient use of information technology, while protecting the security and privacy of Canadians”, it noted.
In a statement shared with iPolitics, it said the funds “will be used to upgrade hardware, including new data centre services, secure cloud services, vendor contracts, and upgrading existing IT infrastructure, to ensure government departments are better able to serve Canadians and fulfil their mandates”.
Seeking approval for $4.9bn spending spree
Trudeau’s government is seeking parliament’s approval for a total of C$4.9bn (US$3.7bn) in ‘voted spending’ as set out in the supplementary estimates, with 10 organisations accounting for 81% of the funding provisions. The Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development and Treasury Board Secretariat are set to gain the most, being earmarked C$857.4m (US$651m), C$565.5m (US$429m) and C$526.4m (US$400m) respectively.
Funding set aside for the Department of Veterans Affairs will be spent on “demand-driven” benefits and services which provide support to veterans and their families, while that allocated to the Treasury Board Secretariat will cover the cost of salary adjustments agreed with unions between 1 April and 18 October this year.
The money earmarked for the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development is to help developing countries tackle climate change via the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Bank, which will establish the Canada Clean Energy and Forest Facility. The money will be spent over five years, and represents the latest instalment of a C$2.65bn (US$2bn) contribution announced in November 2015.
The funding package will need to be passed by Parliament before funding is distributed to the relevant agencies.
About Mia Hunt
Mia has been editor of globalgovernmentforum.com since 2019. She has 15 years’ experience as a journalist and editor and specialises in writing for civil and public servants worldwide, including covering sustainability policy and related issues. She has led the Global Government Women’s Network since it launched in 2023. Previously, she covered commercial property having been market reports and supplements editor at Property Week and deputy editor at Retail Destination. She graduated from Kingston University London with a first-class honours degree in journalism and was part of the team that produced The River newspaper, which won Publication of the Year at the Guardian Student Media Awards in 2010.
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