Queen’s Park to hire digital guru at cost of $200K annually

Deputy Premier Deb Matthews wants government services to be easier for people to access and cheaper for Queen’s Park to deliver.

Thestar.com
June 14, 2016
By Robert Benzie

Deputy Premier Deb Matthews wants government services to be easier for people to access and cheaper for Queen’s Park to deliver.

And the new minister responsible for digital government is hiring a guru to help show the way.

Appointed by Premier Kathleen Wynne in Monday’s cabinet shuffle to better use information technology (IT) to improve government, Matthews is now looking for Ontario’s first chief digital officer.

“We will do an international search to find the right person who can lead this across-government digital strategy,” she said Tuesday of the deputy-minister-level post that will pay more than $200,000 a year.

Ultimately, Matthews said the digital strategy “will save money” and improve services for Ontarians.

Mindful of past government digital controversies like eHealth Ontario and SAMS (Social Assistance Management System), the minister does not mince words.

“This is not about a new IT project. This is in fact about doing what we’re already doing in a much more efficient way,” she said firmly.

Matthews, who as Treasury Board president spent the past two years looking for cost-savings, acknowledges there is work to do.

“There are some initiatives that are under way and already accomplished when it comes to a digital strategy,” she said.

“But it’s time to take an all-of-government approach to make sure all of us across government are using the tools available to make government work better for people.”

Matthews noted the government has already embraced digital technology driver’s licence renewals.

“That’s done digitally and it’s front office and back office so that it’s easy for consumers but it’s also easier on our end. That’s one example of what’s done,” she said.

As head of the rebranded ministry of advanced education and skills development, she is especially eager to make it simpler for students to take advantage of the government’s free university and college tuition and grant program.

“It’s really, really hard to figure out what your ‘net tuition’ is going to be,” she said of the current “form-filling and applications” that appear to be designed to discourage would-be post-secondary students from participating.

“So our goal is to really remove the financial barrier, but also that psychological barrier because a lot of people think they can’t afford to go when they could go if they could figure out the student assistance.”