2021-22 Departmental Plan: Operating Context

Shared Services Canada (SSC) is responsible for operating and modernizing the Government of Canada’s information technology (IT) infrastructure throughout the public sector. SSC’s mandate is to deliver email, data centre and telecommunication services to federal government departments and agencies. The Department also provides services related to cyber and IT security, workplace technology devices and other optional services on a cost-recovery basis. SSC currently shares responsibility for certain aspects of its federal IT portfolio and services with other federal departments, including the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Public Services and Procurement Canada and Communications Security Establishment Canada.

SSC’s role continues to mature to reflect evolving business practices. In 2017, amendments to the Shared Services Canada Act allowed SSC’s customers to purchase some of the most frequently-requested IT goods and services directly, without going through the Department. Through its enterprise approach, SSC focuses on the Government of Canada in its entirety, moving away from the provision of unique services to departments and agencies. While there can be no single “one-size-fits-all”, SSC is working with its federal partners and customers to consolidate, modernize and standardize digital services wherever possible to achieve a collaborative, user-focused approach to meet the real needs of Canadians.

SSC supports the Government of Canada’s digital vision to expand and improve the scope of digital service capacity, accelerate the pace of digital modernization, and strengthen the ongoing support for digital tools, systems and networks government wide. The Department will build on successes achieved early on during the COVID-19 pandemic related to improving remote access, increasing network capacity and rolling out collaborative tools—such as Microsoft Teams—as it assists in moving digital government forward.