Mari-Len De Guzman

Public Works and Government Services Canada has entered into a $91.8 million managed IT services contract with CGI Group Inc., under which the Montreal-based IT outsourcer will provide engineering and technical management services to PWGSC

IT departments have historically struggled with unnecessary complexities in managing existing systems as a result of duplicated assets and processes that achieve the same objectives. Forrester Research Inc. analyst Alexander Peters says the only way out of this web of redundancy is strategic consolidation. Peters offers three best practice approaches to an effective consolidation strategy.

Auditor General Sheila Fraser recently issued her Annual Report which found, among other things, certain weaknesses in procedures for awarding industrial contracts, posing security risks to sensitive government information. Responding to the report, Public Works and Government Services Canada shares its "robust action plan" to enhance the department's security procedures.

As provincial governments across Canada engage in various initiatives to attract highly needed skills to address the labour shortage, one industry observer says there should be more coordination of efforts between federal and provincial levels to provide potential immigrants an easier process of accessing immigration information.

Ontario's chief energy conservation officer Peter Love released this week his annual report containing 12 recommendations for provincial and municipal governments to implement in a bid to reach the province's power conservation goals, including energy efficiency requirement for government contracts. Plus, what governments across the country think about green procurement.

Law enforcement in Canada is taking advantage of over 20 e-learning courses offered through the Canadian Police Knowledge Network. Proponents say the online tool has significantly resulted in time and cost savings that allowed police officers to spend less time in classrooms and more time in patrol cars.

Social networking tools, like wikis and blogs, will have a place in what the CIO of the Government of Canada is calling a paradigm shift towards a Government 2.0 workplace. Ken Cochrane recently sat down with CIO Government Review editor Mari-Len De Guzman to share his thoughts on the changing face of public service, the aging workforce, and government's green initiatives.

Canadian organizations are showing high levels of confidence when it comes to the state of their IT security. That's not a good sign, according to IDC Canada's David Senf, because these organizations are failing to conduct proper risk evaluations.