Correctional Service Canada: Open Government Implementation Plan

Table of Contents

• 1. Executive Summary
• 2. Approvals
• 3. Purpose
• 4. Context
• 5. Outcomes
• 6. Governance Structures and Decision Processes
  • 6.1 Roles and Responsibilities – Deputy Head and Information Management Senior Official
  • 6.2 Roles and Responsibilities – Key Stakeholders
  • 6.3 Communication, Awareness, and Engagement
• 7. Planning Tables
  • Planning
    • Table A: Directive on Open Government Requirements
  • Performance Measures
    • Table B: Implementation Planning
    • Table C: Data and Information Inventories
    • Table D: Maximizing the Removal of Access Restrictions
• Annex A – Definitions
• Annex B - List of the GC’s 12 Open Government Action Plan Commitments

1. Executive Summary

Canada has a longstanding commitment to openness and accountability as a cornerstone of a strong, modern democracy.  From the passing of access to information legislation over 30 years ago to current open government and proactive disclosure activities, the Government of Canada has worked to ensure transparency on federal operations to enable Canadians to hold their government accountable.  The commitments included in Canada’s Action Plan on Open Government 2014-16 will further the progress on the delivery of transparent and accountable programs and services focused on the needs of Canadians.

The proactive release of data and information is the starting point for all other open government activity.  Accordingly, the Government of Canada has firmly established an “open by default” position in its mandatory policy framework by issuing the Directive on Open Government.

The Correctional Service of Canada supports the Directive on Open Government and through this implementation plan will advance the Government of Canada Open Government Action Plan Commitment to build an Open Government Foundation and an “open by default” mindset within the organization to facilitate the release of data and information unless subject to valid exceptions.  The plan will be implemented under the direction of Correctional Service Canada (CSC)’s Chief Information Officer (CIO), serving as the department’s Information Management Senior Officer (IMSO).  The plan will be published on the Open Government Portal and updated annually.

The implementation plan will enable CSC to be compliant with the directive as required by 2020 and support the advancement of the digitalization of business processes, leverage existing data holdings and develop a “digital by default” mindset.  The plan will facilitate the development of a strong data governance infrastructure.  It will leverage the work completed to identify information records of business value (IRBV) and support CSC in managing its electronic information resources throughout their life cycle.

CSC supports the Open Government obligations under Canada’s Action Plan on Open Government 2014-16.  This plan focuses on building a strong open government foundation focused on compliance with the Open Government Directive.  CSC will work with the leads at Treasury Board Secretariat to advance the Open Information commitments for Open Contracting and Open Information on Budgets and Expenditures, and are not included in this plan.

The deliverables and activities that will be required to foster and promote an “open by default” mindset within CSC will be achieved by leveraging existing committees and working groups.  Integration of activities into the existing framework will enable CSC to achieve the long-term objectives to support Open Government on an on-going basis.

2. Approvals

3. Purpose

This document describesCorrectional Service of Canada’s (CSC) plan to complete activities and deliverables aligned to the requirements of the Directive on Open Government, in order to achieve full compliance by the March 31st, 2020 implementation deadline.

The objective of the Directive is to maximize the release of government information and data of business value to support transparency, accountability, citizen engagement, and socio-economic benefits through reuse, subject to applicable restrictions associated with privacy, confidentiality, and security.  (Directive on Open Government, Section 5.1)

The expected results of the Directive on Open Government (Section 5.2) are that Canadians are able to find and use Government of Canada information and data:

• to support accountability;
• to facilitate value-added analysis;
• to drive socio-economic benefits through reuse; and,
• to support meaningful engagement with their government.

The CSC plan focuses on the activities and deliverables aligned with its obligations for compliance with the Directive on Open Government to build a strong open government foundation identified in Canada’s Action Plan on Open Government 2014-16.  CSC will work with the leads at Treasury Board Secretariat to advance the Open Information commitments for Open Contracting and Open Information on Budgets and Expenditures.  Implementation of these two commitments are not included in this plan.  In support of commitment for Open Contracting, in August 2014, Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) proposed the migration of the Disclosure of Contracting Data on the Open Government Portal (Open.Canada.ca) by all departments.  CSC’s Contracting and Materiel Services within the Comptroller’s Branch provided input in August 2015 to Treasury Board on the draft specifications.  CSC will continue to work with TBS once the specifications are finalized and an implementation timeline is set.

Figure 1 - Text version

Circle 1 (in the middle): Open Government Directive

Circle 2 (around circle 1) divided in 3 sections: Open Info, Open Dialogue and Open Data.

Open Info:

• Open Science
• Mandatory Reporting on Extractives
• Open Contracting (PWGSC co-leads with TBS)
• Open Information on Budgets and Expenditures
• Digital Literacy
• Open Information Core Commitment

Open Data:

• Open Data Canada
• Canadian Open Data Exchange
• Open Data for Development
• Open Data Core Commitment

Open Dialogue:

• Consulting Canadians

Circle 3 (around circle 2): Availability of Information, New technologies, Citizen Participation and Professional Integrity.

4. Context

The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) is an agency within the Public Safety Portfolio responsible for administering court-imposed sentences of two years or more for adult offenders, and supervising offenders on different forms of conditional release in the community.  CSC also administers post-sentence supervision of offenders with Long Term Supervision Orders for up to 10 years.  The Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) and related regulations provide both CSC’s legislative mandate and the basis for its Mission.^{Footnote 1}

CSC is led by a Commissioner who is responsible for managing CSC’s business and operations.  The Commissioner reports to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and is responsible for three levels of management: National, Regional, and Local (Institutions/District Parole Offices).  The Commissioner is supported by an Executive Committee of national and regional members who meet on a regular basis.^{Footnote 2}

The Commissioner and the Executive Committee are supported by a large, decentralized workforce of more than 18,000 staff.  CSC staff work to ensure that institutions operate in a secure and safe manner and that offenders are properly supervised.  CSC’s workforce is diverse to reflect the diversity of the Canadian population:   47.9% of CSC staff are women, 8.9% are from visible minority groups, 5.3% are persons with disabilities and 9.5% are Aboriginal peoples.^{Footnote 3}

To support the operation of its many facilities, 85% of staff works in institutions or in communities, with 43% of staff in the Correctional Officer category and 15% in the Welfare Programs group that includes the Parole and Program Officers.  CSC also employs nurses, psychologists, trades people, human resources advisors, financial advisors and others to sustain the Service’s offices and institutions.^{Footnote 4}

CSC is responsible for 22,958 offenders, 15,043 of whom were in federal custody and 7,915 who were supervised in the community^{Footnote 5}.  Offenders are managed and supervised by staff working in facilities and offices across the country that includes:

• 43 institutions (including 4 Aboriginal healing lodges) (comprised of 6 maximum security, 9 medium security, 5 minimum security, 12 multi level security, 11 clustered institutions)
• 92 parole offices and sub-parole offices, and
• 15 community correctional centres

5. Outcomes

The implementation of the Directive on Open Government will assist in positioning CSC for digitalization in support of transitioning to on-line services.  CSC has worked diligently to identify, document and validate information records of business value.  The Open Government Implementation Plan will leverage this work and enable the introduction of initiatives that will increase the visibility of our data and information assets that may lead to innovative solutions to existing business problems.

The expectations of Canadians for increased access to, and the proactive release of, federal data and information will require government departments and agencies to make their information resources that are eligible for release to be more easily discoverable.  The process of creating inventories of our data and information assets and reviewing the format of these assets may lead to an opportunity to increase access internally as well.  The increased awareness of these assets will assist in streamlining business processes and procedures to increase effectiveness of our program delivery and support the Government of Canada Red Tape Reduction Plan.

Complying with the Directive on Open Government will reinforce that information is viewed as the cornerstone of a democratic, effective and accountable government; therefore, information must be well managed throughout its life cycle, allowing for an effective and responsive government.  The expectation is that with compliance to the Directive on Open Government, CSC will have better governance and management of information and data assets.

6. Governance Structures and Decision Processes

The following sub-sections describe the governance structures and decision processes that support open government and how those responsibilities are delegated and fulfilled within CSC.

Figure 2 - Text version

Director of Information Management

• Manages the IM Program for CSC
• Leads implementation of Open Government

Chief Information Officer

• Fulfills the role of Information Management Senior Official
• Oversees compliance with the Directive on Open Government

Senior Deputy Commissioner

• Provides oversight on the implementation of specific Service-wide initiatives and files directly assigned by the Commissioner, including Information Management Services.

IMTAB

• Information Management and Technology Advisory Board
• Sub-committee of the CSC Executive Committee (EXCOM) that oversees IM/IT initiatives.

Commissioner

• Deputy Head 
• Approves the Open Government Implementation Plan

7. Planning Tables

The deliverables and activities to support CSC’s Open Government Implementation Plan (OGIP) are identified in Planning Table A - Directive on Open Government Requirements.  The plan will be posted to the Open Data Portal and updated annually as part of the implementation activities, with the goal of full compliance by March 2020.  The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat will review this directive and its effectiveness at the five-year mark from the effective date of the directive.

The implementation of this plan will promote a mind-set of “open by default” and strive to maximize the open and proactive release of data, subject to privacy, security and/or confidentiality restrictions. 

The Open Government Directive was effective as of October 9, 2014.  For planning purposes, the following are the dates that correspond with the planning table:

• Year 1 is from October 9, 2014 to October 31, 2015
•  Year 2 is from November 1, 2015 to October 31, 2016
•  Year 3 is from November 1, 2016 to October 31, 2017
•  Year 4 is from November 1, 2017 to October 31, 2018
•  Year 5 is from November 1, 2018 to March 31, 2020.

Key Deliverables:

• Year 1:  CSC will develop its Open Government Implementation Plan, publish it on the website designated by TBS, define the methodology for establishing the data inventory.  Determine methodology for establishing a data inventory.
• Year 2:  Consult with Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) to receive guidance on access restrictions in terms of information to be released.  CSC will complete the data inventory and determine the data sets that are deemed eligible for release on the open.canada.ca.  Document CSC’s Data Release Plan.  Publish the first annual update of the OGIP on the website designated by TBS.
• Year 3:  Continued publishing of data sets deemed eligible for release.  Publish the second annual update of the OGIP on the website designated by TBS.
• Year 4:  Complete the publication of the data sets deemed eligible for release.  Document CSC’s Information Release plan.  Publish the third annual update on the OGIP on the website designated by TBS.
• Year 5:  Complete the publication of the data sets deemed eligible for release.  Publish the fourth annual update on the OGIP on the website designated by TBS.   Establish methodologies to ensure that comprehensive data and information inventories are maintained.

Annex A – Definitions^{Footnote 6}

Access restrictions

Security identification and categorization that ensures that appropriate safeguards are applied to mitigate security risks to the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of information.

Data

Reinterpretable representations of information in a formalized manner suitable for communication, interpretation, or processing.

Inventory

A detailed, itemized list that describes the volume, scope, and complexity of structured or unstructured information resources of the department.

Machine-readable

In a form that can be used and understood by a computer.

Open data

Structured data that is machine-readable, freely shared, used and built on without restrictions.

Open government

A governing culture that holds that the public has the right to access the documents and proceedings of government to allow for greater openness, accountability, and engagement.

Open information

Unstructured information that is freely shared without restrictions.

Release

Make publicly available online in a downloadable format

Structured information

Digital information residing in fixed fields within a repository.

Unstructured information

Digital information that is often created in free-form text using common desktop applications such as e-mail, word-processing, or presentation applications.

Annex B - List of the GC’s 12 Open Government Action Plan Commitments