Amendments to the Policy on Service and Digital and the Directive on Service and Digital
Date: 2025-08-29
From: Chief Information Officer of the Government of Canada
To: Departmental Chief Information Officers
Subject: Amendments to the Policy and Directive on Service and Digital
Message:
Sent on behalf of the Chief Information Officer of Canada
***
Dear Colleagues,
A number of amendments to the Policy on Service and Digital (PSD) and the Directive on Service and Digital (DSD) have recently been approved by the Treasury Board. These amendments clarify expectations regarding the role of Internal Enterprise Service Organizations (IESOs) in client-centric service design and delivery. Amendments do not introduce new mandatory requirements for departments that are IESOs, nor do they alter their existing powers, duties and functions.
Amendments to the PSD and DSD are summarized in the attached document titled “Highlights of Amendments to the PSD and DSD” and aim to:
- Increase clarity on the role of IESOs
- Improve readability of requirements
- Increase coherence through minor, technical amendments (e.g., introducing definitions)
A crosswalk that aligns the previous PSD and DSD section numbers to the newly approved numbering is also attached to this email.
Overall, amendments seek to reinforce the notion that requirements apply as much to departments that provide internal enterprise services as they do to those that provide public-facing services. They also pave the way for broader digital transformation ambitions envisioned in the 2025-26 FY.
Please encourage your respective teams to familiarize themselves with the newly amended Policy on Service and Digital and Directive on Service and Digital.
Should you have any questions, you may contact servicedigital-servicesnumerique@tbs-sct.gc.ca.
Thank you,
Committee Secretariat, Office of the Chief Information Officer
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat / Government of Canada
Attachment 1
Highlights of Amendments to the Policy on Service and Digital (PSD) and the Directive on Service and Digital (DSD)
The following key improvements have been made to the PSD and DSD:
- 1. Increased clarity on the role of Internal Enterprise Service Organizations (IESOs) through:
- Amending section 4.1 and 4.4.4 to specify that IESOs are subject to the requirements of section 4 of the PSD and are responsible for bringing forward proposals to the Government of Canada Enterprise Architecture Review Board.
- Specifying that organizations listed in section 5 of the PSD provide internal enterprise services (IES).
- Adding Employment and Social Development Canada, including the Canadian Digital Service, to section 5 of the PSD.
- Amending the description of Public Services and Procurement Canada’s roles and responsibilities to align the PSD with legislation and machinery of government decisions.
- Adding a definition for IESO and modifying the existing IES definition to align with the Policy on Government Security.
- 2. Improved readability of requirements through re-ordering and re-organizing responsibilities per key actor.
- 3. Increased coherence through minor, technical amendments such as introducing definitions (e.g., Application Hosting, Artificial Intelligence System).
Attachment 2
| Old requirement number (PSD) | New requirement number (PSD) |
|---|---|
| 4.1.1.1 | 4.2.1 |
| 4.1.1.1.1 | 4.2.1.1 |
| 4.1.1.1.2 | 4.2.1.2 |
| 4.1.2.1 | 4.4.1 |
| 4.1.2.1.1 | 4.4.1.1 |
| 4.1.2.1.2 | 4.4.1.2 |
| 4.1.2.1.3 | 4.4.1.3 |
| 4.1.2.2 | 4.4.2 |
| 4.1.2.3 | 4.4.3 |
| 4.1.2.4 | 4.4.4 |
| 4.1.2.5 | 4.4.5 |
| 4.1.2.6 | 4.4.6 |
| 4.1.2.7 | 4.4.7 |
| 4.1.3.1 | 4.1.1 |
| 4.1.3.2 | 4.1.2 |
| 4.1.3.3 | 4.1.3 |
| 4.1.3.4 | 4.1.4 |
| 4.1.3.5 | 4.1.5 |
| 4.1.3.6 | 4.1.6 |
| 4.1.3.7 | 4.1.7 |
| 4.1.3.8 | 4.1.8 |
| 4.1.3.9 | 4.1.9 |
| 4.2.1.1 | 4.1.10 |
| 4.2.1.2 | 4.1.11 |
| 4.2.1.3 | 4.1.12 |
| 4.2.1.4 | 4.1.13 |
| 4.2.1.5 | 4.1.14 |
| 4.3.1.1 | 4.4.8 |
| 4.3.2.1 | 4.1.15 |
| 4.3.2.2 | 4.1.16 |
| 4.3.2.3 | 4.1.17 |
| 4.3.2.4 | 4.1.18 |
| 4.3.2.5 | 4.1.19 |
| 4.3.2.6 | 4.1.20 |
| 4.3.2.7 | 4.1.21 |
| 4.3.2.8 | 4.1.22 |
| 4.3.2.9 | 4.1.23 |
| 4.3.2.10 | 4.1.24 |
| 4.4.1.1 | 4.4.9 |
| 4.4.1.2 | 4.4.10 |
| 4.4.1.3 | 4.4.11 |
| 4.4.1.4 | 4.4.12 |
| 4.4.1.5 | 4.4.13 |
| 4.4.1.6 | 4.4.14 |
| 4.4.1.7 | 4.4.15 |
| 4.4.1.8 | 4.4.16 |
| 4.4.1.9 | 4.4.17 |
| 4.4.1.10 | 4.4.18 |
| 4.4.2.1 | 4.1.25 |
| 4.4.2.2 | 4.1.26 |
| 4.4.2.3 | 4.1.27 |
| 4.4.2.4 | 4.1.28 |
| 4.4.2.4.1 | 4.1.28.1 |
| 4.4.2.4.2 | 4.1.28.2 |
| 4.4.2.5 | 4.1.29 |
| 4.4.2.6 | 4.1.30 |
| 4.4.2.6.1 | 4.1.30.1 |
| 4.4.2.6.2 | 4.1.30.2 |
| 4.4.2.6.3 | 4.1.30.3 |
| 4.4.2.7 | 4.1.31 |
| 4.4.2.8 | 4.1.32 |
| 4.4.3.1 | 4.5.1 |
| 4.4.3.2 | 4.5.2 |
| 4.5.1.1 | 4.4.19 |
| 4.5.1.2 | 4.4.20 |
| 4.5.2.1 | 4.1.33 |
| 4.5.2.2 | 4.1.34 |
| 4.5.2.3 | 4.1.35 |
| 4.5.2.4 | 4.1.36 |
| 4.6.1.1 | 4.1.37 |
| 4.6.1.2 | 4.1.38 |
| 4.6.1.3 | 4.1.39 |
| 4.6.2.1 | 4.3.1 |
| 4.6.2.1.1 | 4.3.1.1 |
| 4.6.2.1.2 | 4.3.1.2 |
| 4.6.2.1.3 | 4.3.1.3 |
| 4.6.2.2 | 4.3.2 |
| 5.1 | 5.1 |
| N/A | 5.2 |
| N/A | 5.2.1 |
| N/A | 5.2.2 |
| 5.2 | 5.3 |
| 5.2.1 | 5.3.1 |
| 5.2.2 | 5.3.2 |
| 5.3 | 5.4 |
| 5.3.1 | 5.4.1 |
| 5.3.2 | 5.4.2 |
| 5.4 | 5.5 |
| 5.4.1 | 5.5.1 |
| 5.4.2 | 5.5.2 |
| 5.4.3 | 5.5.3 |
| 5.4.4 | 5.5.4 |
| 5.5 | 5.6 |
| 5.5.1 | 5.6.1 |
| 5.5.2 | 5.6.2 |
| 5.6 | 5.7 |
| 5.6.1 | 5.7.1 |
| 5.6.2 | 5.7.2 |
| 5.6.3 | 5.7.3 |
| 5.6.4 | 5.7.4 |
| 5.7 | 5.8 |
| 5.7.1 | 5.8.1 |
| 5.8 | 5.9 |
| 5.8.1 | 5.9.1 |
| Old requirement number (DSD) | New requirement number (DSD) |
|---|---|
| 4.1.1.1 | 4.3.1 |
| 4.1.1.2 | 4.3.2 |
| 4.1.1.2.1 | 4.3.2.1 |
| 4.1.1.2.1.1 | 4.3.2.1.1 |
| 4.1.1.2.1.2 | 4.3.2.1.2 |
| 4.1.1.2.1.3 | 4.3.2.1.3 |
| 4.1.1.2.1.4 | 4.3.2.1.4 |
| 4.1.1.2.1.5 | 4.3.2.1.5 |
| 4.1.1.2.2 | 4.3.2.2 |
| 4.1.1.2.3 | 4.3.2.3 |
| 4.1.1.2.4 | 4.3.2.4 |
| 4.1.1.2.5 | 4.3.2.5 |
| 4.1.1.2.5.1 | 4.3.2.5.1 |
| 4.1.1.2.5.2 | 4.3.2.5.2 |
| 4.1.1.2.5.3 | 4.3.2.5.3 |
| 4.1.1.2.6 | 4.3.2.6 |
| 4.1.1.3 | 4.3.3 |
| 4.1.1.4 | 4.3.4 |
| 4.1.1.5 | 4.3.5 |
| 4.1.1.6 | 4.3.6 |
| 4.1.1.7 | 4.3.7 |
| 4.1.1.8 | 4.3.8 |
| 4.1.1.9 | 4.3.9 |
| 4.1.1.10 | 4.3.10 |
| 4.2.1.1 | 4.6.1 |
| 4.2.1.2 | 4.6.2 |
| 4.2.1.3 | 4.6.3 |
| 4.2.1.4 | 4.6.4 |
| 4.2.1.5 | 4.6.5 |
| 4.2.1.6 | 4.6.6 |
| 4.2.1.7 | 4.6.7 |
| 4.3.1.1 | 4.4.1 |
| 4.3.1.2 | 4.4.2 |
| 4.3.1.3 | 4.4.3 |
| 4.3.1.4 | 4.4.4 |
| 4.3.1.5 | 4.4.5 |
| 4.3.1.6 | 4.4.6 |
| 4.3.1.7 | 4.4.7 |
| 4.3.1.8 | 4.4.8 |
| 4.3.1.9 | 4.4.9 |
| 4.3.1.10 | 4.4.10 |
| 4.3.1.11 | 4.4.11 |
| 4.3.1.12 | 4.4.12 |
| 4.3.1.13 | 4.4.13 |
| 4.3.1.14 | 4.4.14 |
| 4.3.2.1 | 4.8.1 |
| 4.3.3.1 | 4.7.1 |
| 4.4.1.1 | 4.1.1 |
| 4.4.2.1 | 4.2.1 |
| 4.4.2.2 | 4.2.2 |
| 4.4.2.3 | 4.2.3 |
| 4.4.2.4 | 4.2.4 |
| 4.4.3.1 | 4.3.11 |
| 4.4.3.2 | 4.3.12 |
| 4.4.3.3 | 4.3.13 |
| 4.4.3.4 | 4.3.14 |
| 4.4.3.5 | 4.3.15 |
| 4.4.3.6 | 4.3.16 |
| 4.4.3.7 | 4.3.17 |
| 4.4.3.8 | 4.3.18 |
| 4.4.3.9 | 4.3.19 |
| 4.4.3.10 | 4.3.20 |
| 4.4.3.11 | 4.3.21 |
| 4.4.3.12 | 4.3.22 |
| 4.4.3.13 | 4.3.23 |
| 4.4.3.13.1 | 4.3.23.1 |
| 4.4.3.13.2 | 4.3.23.2 |
| 4.4.3.13.3 | 4.3.23.3 |
| 4.4.3.14 | 4.3.24 |
| 4.4.3.15 | 4.3.25 |
| 4.4.3.15.1 | 4.3.25.1 |
| 4.4.3.15.2 | 4.3.25.2 |
| 4.4.3.16 | 4.3.26 |
| 4.4.3.17 | 4.3.27 |
| 4.4.4.1 | 4.5.1 |
| 4.4.4.2 | 4.5.2 |
| 4.4.4.3 | 4.5.3 |
| 4.4.4.4 | 4.5.4 |
| 4.5.1.1 | 4.3.28 |