Rolling out Canada’s public service AI strategy: The year ahead with chief data officer Stephen Burt
In this ‘Five Minutes With’ series, we interview senior civil servants about their achievements in 2024 and goals for the year ahead. This interview features Stephen Burt, chief data officer for the Government of Canada.
What was your organisation’s top achievement in 2024?
The proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) has been inescapable in 2024. While the Government of Canada’s Data and Digital Policy team has continued to deliver across our full range of files – in service, transparency and open government, privacy, data and information management – I am most proud of the fact that we have maintained and enhanced our leadership on AI use in the public sector. Whether helping senior officials’ offices to make productivity gains through the appropriate use of Generative AI, updating our Directive on Automated Decision Making, or launching a vast and successful consultation on a new AI Strategy for the Federal Public Service, we have kept the government on the leading edge of this latest wave.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in 2024?
The successful delivery of Canada’s Trust & Transparency Strategy at the end of May 2024 was the culmination of months of hard work that flowed from the important 2019 modernisation of our Access to Information Act (ATIA) and subsequent 2020 ATIA Review. The strategy emphasises the deep linkages between this quasi-constitutional legislation and Canada’s approach to open government.
Simultaneous with the strategy, the release of new policy guidance on disclosure of historical records was the first step on a new approach to building on public sector transparency and openness to create trust with citizens and other clients. This was a heavy lift, and the required culture change continues to present some challenges, but I believe that we are creating momentum that will ultimately move us in the right direction.
Read more: Final call as deadline approaches to enter the Canadian Public Service Data and AI Challenge
What are your priorities for the year ahead?
I am looking forward to finalising the AI Strategy for the Federal Public Service and releasing it with an embedded implementation plan in early 2025. As that winds down, the legislated 2025 Review of the Access to Information Act will be gearing up and will be an important part of our continued work to enhance transparency, safeguard privacy and improve data access to ensure we deliver modern and trusted services across Canada.
What change would you most like to make to how government uses digital, data and technology in 2025?
Canada is fortunate in having a research ecosystem in data and AI, as well as a digital-ready workforce that is the envy of the world. However, to take full advantage of this, Canada’s federal public service needs to fundamentally rethink its approach to policy and legislation. The savvy “policy-generalist” is a mainstay of public service culture, but while many other parts of our workforce have already adapted to digital and data-driven tools and technology, some in our core policy workforce have been complacent and – at times – seem intimidated by or dismissive of technology. As a result, we have missed opportunities to revisit long-established policy and legislative processes. The Canadian public service needs our policy officers and executives to embrace digital principles and design thinking, invest in their own skills to become more tech-savvy and data literate, and to engage in updating our legal and policy frameworks to make them more nimble, flexible and digital-ready.
What would your dream holiday destination be for a break in 2025?
I’m dreaming about branching out from destinations in Europe and the Caribbean to maybe go a bit further and spend some time in the Maldives! Not sure yet that we’ll be able to make it work, but it would be a great adventure if we do.
About GGF reporter
Related Posts
