Canadian taxpayers are demanding more efficient service delivery. They want it done quickly, and at a reasonable cost. They are not convinced that government is living up to these goals, and we have to work harder to regain their confidence and to maintain our relevance. Managing information has never been merely a maintenance issue. With the speed at which technology is evolving and the availability of more information from more sources than ever before, we must merge opportunity with necessity.
Technology is no longer simply a means to an end.
In many cases, information technology is redefining the very nature of what we do and how we do it. In the space of just four short years, government has implemented a phenomenal number of electronic services. There are now millions of electronic transactions on a daily basis running the gamut from payments to people for various programs to electronic filing of income tax returns. And, as you are well aware, there are hundreds of thousands of government documents available online. Technology is critical to how we manage information, how we formulate programs and policies and how well we deliver services to the public.