48. FROM DFO TO TC TO SUPPORT THE CREATION OF A PUBLIC FACING FISHERIES ACT REGISTRY

From DFO to TC to support the creation of a public facing Fisheries Act Registry

Requesting $153,171 for the 2020-21 Supplementary Estimates B

The Transport Canada Solutions Centre is seeking access to ($153,171) in planned spending authorities.

Key Messages:

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada to transfer TC with the MOU amount of $153,171 (excluding taxes and EBP)
  

• Support DFO’s legislative based requirements by building the public facing component of their IT solution
  
• Add DFO information to the existing Common Project Search (CPS), furthering transparency and efficient access of information for the Public

• Supporting DFO in creating the necessary API to feed the CPS
  
• Construct the “back end” online registry component to work with the CPS and information available in the internal DFO systems

• Establishing the necessary Cloud based infrastructure for the above

• Transfer of knowledge to DFO for support of the above

• Funding will enable Canadians with access to the following information and data, including geospatial data, under the Fisheries Act:
• Authorizations;
• Permits for designated projects;
• Habitat restoration sites;
• Codes of practice; and,
• Substitution agreements.
  
  If pressed:
  

• Release of information includes projects under any of sections 34 to 42.1 in the Fisheries Act.
  

Background

• Under the 2019 amended Fisheries Act (FA), DFO is required to have a public facing Fisheries Act registry (the FA Registry) to provide public access to: Authorizations; Orders; Permits for Designated Projects; Habitat Restoration Sites; Codes of Practice; and Substitution Agreements. Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program (FFHPP) will need to build the first phase of this FA Registry by March 2020 in order to meet publicly stated commitments.

• FFHPP is facing a critical business need to determine the most efficient way forward to deliver on the first development phase of the registry. Authorizations have been selected as the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for a FY 2020-21 go-live date.

• The FFHPP Program Activity Tracking for Habitat (PATH) system is a national “one window” application designed as a daily working tool for practitioners to track the flow and progress of a file from beginning to end, including the case management tracking of all Fisheries Act Authorizations. Database administration support for this application is currently provided by Information Management and Technology Services (IM&TS) within DFO and is governed by an MoU recently executed in November 2019.

• At DFO, the governance of data pushed to the Federal Geospatial Platform (FGP) is administered by the Marine Spatial Data Infrastructure (MSDI) team, part of the Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS), Ecosystems and Oceans Sciences Sector (EOSS). The physical infrastructure is maintained by DFO IM&TS. The MSDI provides the functionality required to collect data from internal DFO applications and make it available to external stakeholders. The MSDI is also in-line with GC Open Maps and GC Open Data and compliant with the FGP.

• Transport Canada (TC) built its Navigable Waters Registry in 2019. This TC Registry is accessed via the Common Project Search (CPS) website, a public facing portal that provides searching and hosting capabilities for projects undertaken by TC and/or the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC). These two departments comprise the Joint Public Registry.

• The Navigable Waters Registry can host the FA Registry Authorizations on the CPS, re-using and adapting to specific DFO requirements such relevant FFHPP program information stored in PATH, supplied via the MSDI’s infrastructure. The TC Registry uses software consistent with what FFHPP is considering for its FA Registry build, ensuring efficient use of resources when external resources are procured. The TC solution uses an approach previously endorsed at the TBS Enterprise Architecture Review Board (EARB).