Minister Clement Announces New Measures to Improve Canadians' Access to Government Services

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 8, 2013) - The Honourable Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board, today announced measures that will make it easier for Canadians to access their online service accounts with the Government while improving security, achieving cost savings and protecting the privacy of individuals.

"Our Government is committed to making it as seamless and user-friendly as possible for Canadians to access government services," said Minister Clement. "These new measures not only give Canadians choice in how they interact with the Government, but allow them to have a consistent experience no matter what department they are dealing with."

The Standard on Identity and Credential Assurance provides a framework for departments and agencies to adopt standardized authentication services. This will allow government institutions to reuse, with the consent of users, information related to their identity. As a result, in the coming years, Canadians will only have to provide personal information once to access multiple services.

This standardized approach to confirming identity will minimize duplication among government departments and agencies, saving taxpayers unnecessary costs, while protecting their privacy and personal information.

"Our vision is that this standard becomes the model that other jurisdictions and the private sector would follow to make it even easier for Canadians to access federal, provincial and private services," Minister Clement added. "This new standard allows for a pan-Canadian approach to this issue."

In 2011, the Government of Canada introduced a strategy that outlines a whole-of-government approach to help departments and agencies articulate and manage identity risk across their programs and services. Standardized identity and credential assurances are an integral part of this strategy.

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