Transport Canada’s IM/IT Environment 2012/2013

1. OVERVIEW

a. Background

Transport Canada’s mission is to develop and administer policies, regulations and services for a modern, efficient, reliable, safe and affordable transportation system essential to strengthening Canada’s growth and prosperity. The department consists of groups working at headquarters in Ottawa and in five regions, as well as Transport Canada (TC) Service Centres.

Within the Government of Canada (GC), Minister Denis Lebel leads the Transport, Infrastructure and Communities (TIC) Portfolio. The Minister’s portfolio includes TC, Infrastructure Canada, the Canadian Transportation Agency, the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada, the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund, and 11 Crown corporations.

The portfolio is a point of convergence for some of the most important issues facing Canada today: the productivity of our economy; transportation safety and security; environmental sustainability; and the quality of life in our cities and communities, as supported by the public infrastructure. The portfolio also brings together a range of tools, including programs, legislation, policy frameworks and stakeholder networks.

TC Vision…

A transportation system in Canada that is recognized worldwide as safe and secure, efficient and environmentally responsible

TC Mission…

To serve the public interest through the promotion of a safe and secure, efficient and environmentally responsible transportation system in Canada

b. Organization

TC is organized as shown in Exhibit 1.

EXHIBIT 1

DEPARTMENTAL ORGANIZATIONAL CHART

 

Minister, The Honourable Denis Lebel

Minister of State (Transport), Steven Fletcher

Parliamentary Secretary, Pierre Poilievre

Deputy Minister, Louis Lévesque

Associate Deputy Minister, Anita Biguzs

Assistant Deputy Minister, Gerard McDonald Safety and Security

Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Laureen Kinney  Safety and Security

Assistant Deputy Minister, Helena Borges Programs

Assistant Deputy Minister, Scott Streiner Policy

Assistant Deputy Minister, André Morency Corporate Services

Director General, Natalie Bossé Corporate Secretariat

Director General, Dan Dugas Communications and Marketing

Chief Audit and Evaluation Executive, Laura Ruzzier

Departmental General Counsel, Henry K. Schultz Department of Justice

Regional Director General, Marc Fortin Atlantic Region

Regional Director General, André Lapointe Quebec Region

Regional Director General, Debra Taylor Ontario Region

Regional Director General, Michele Taylor Prairie and Northern Region

Regional Director General, Michael Henderson Pacific Region

Policy Group

• The Policy Group’s role is to develop, recommend and coordinate modal and multi-modal policies. The Group also provides advice, analysis and intelligence on transportation issues, system performance and stakeholder positions. Advice on policy options is based on efficiency, competitiveness, safety and security, environmental sustainability, and intermodal integration. This role is fulfilled through a multi-modal program of policy analysis, briefings, coordination, consultations, evaluation and economic analysis, which develops and utilizes necessary data, forecasts, models, research and intelligence.

Safety and Security Group

• The Safety and Security Group is responsible for the development of regulations and national standards, as well as for the implementation of monitoring, testing, inspections and subsidy programs, which contribute to safety and security in the aviation, marine, rail and road modes of transport. The Group administers the delivery of aircraft services to government and other transportation bodies. The Group develops and enforces regulations and standards under federal jurisdiction to protect public safety in the transportation of dangerous goods and to prevent unlawful interference in the aviation, marine and railway modes of transport. It also ensures that the department is prepared to respond to transportation and transportation-related emergencies.

Programs Group

• The Programs Group has responsibility for a vital economic portfolio. Given the Canadian economy's dependence on trade and the fact that trade, in turn, is highly dependent on efficient transportation, the programs delivered by the Group are of utmost importance. Itsupports the priorities of government and contributes to the Minister's policy objectives.
• While in the past the Programs Group concentrated on the divestiture of airport, port and surface transportation facilities, it now has a stronger focus on its custodial and stewardship role while divestiture continues. The Group is in touch with a broad base of stakeholders and it plays a key role in the implementation of sustainable transportation infrastructure projects. Its environmental programs seek to create awareness and educate Canadians about sustainable transportation. The Group's contribution programs are complex and managed through a risk-based approach, with effective monitoring and ongoing review.

Communications and Marketing Group

• The role of the Communications and Marketing Group is to help ensure effective and comprehensive communications between the department's internal and external clients. The Group exercises an oversight role in all communications areas.
• Group and Regional Heads are responsible for the integration of communications planning and implementation into policy development and delivery, and for the allocation of resources to fulfill this need. The Communications and Marketing Group provides services and advice to its departmental clients and ensures that high standards are maintained for communications activities.
• Web Services (WS) offers both Internet and intranet services to Transport Canada (TC). WS uses the Web and related technologies (Twitter, Facebook, Flikr, etc. ) to effectively deliver key messages to our external and internal audiences. WS ensures that TC's Web content and design meets TC and Government of Canada (GC) standards.

Corporate Services Group

• The Corporate Services Group provides overall administration, finance, human resources (HR), executive services and information management / information technology (IM/IT) support to the department. IM/IT products and services are delivered under a shared accountability model and within a corporately understood framework in partnership with Shared Service Canada (SSC). Centralized activities are corporate in nature, while decentralized activities are those that are driven by regional requirements. The Group is also responsible for providing public access to TC’s records in accordance with the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act. The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office is responsible for processing requests made under these acts.

Regions

• Regional offices are responsible for carrying out the regional activities of TC. Regional heads report directly to the Deputy Minister. Main regional offices are located in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montréal and Moncton.

Key Contacts

Technology and Information Management Services (TIMSD)
Director General and CIO – Chris Molinski, 613-998-6465

Information Management (IM) Services
Director – Diane Lavigne, 613-991-2867

IM/IT Architecture and Planning
Director – Joël Comeau, 613-993-8040

Application Management Services (AMS)
Director – Tracey Boicey, 613- 998-0739

Production Operations and Service Management (ProdOps)
Director – Louise Séguin, 613-991-6559

Resources Available

• Approximately $45 million department-wide for IM/IT related activities (capital and ongoing operation costs included, salary and wages excluded). It must be noted that, as of November 2011, a significant portion of the corporate IM/IT Physical environment and corresponding funds have been transferred to SSC.
• Staffing – Approximately 245 IM/IT Full Time Equivalent (National Capital Region [NCR] + five Regions). This number includes around 40 FTE from SSC that are embedded both in the NCR as well as within the Regions. It is important to note that, due to the ongoing Consolidation of IM/IT Application Development and Support initiative, the number of FTE within TIMSD is expected to change over the next 12 to 24 months.

Technology Overview

• There are approximately 5,500 personal computers (PCs) installed, mostly local area network (LAN)-attached. The Microsoft (MS) suite of products is the departmental standard including Windows XP Professional SP3 and Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, MS Office 2007, MS Exchange 2007 (Internal, X. 400 and Internet Mail). MS Internet Explorer (IE) 7. 0 is the primary baseline Web browser and Mozilla Firefox 12 is the secondary Web browser, while Internet Information Services (IIS) is the standard Web application server platform. New application development will leverage this environment. A migration to MS Office 2007 and Records, Documents and Information Management System (RDIMS) eDOCS DM 5. 2 was completed in the Spring of 2011.
• RDIMS DM is part of the departmental desktop standard. This includes eDOCS DM 5. 2 with LiveLink RS 9. 2 (iRIMS).
• Of the approximately 5,500 TC intranet clients, half are located in the NCR while the remainder makes up the other five regions. Windows computers and network resources are logically interconnected and managed by Microsoft Active Directory. TC uses a single forest/single domain model. The Active Directory domain/forest functional level is Windows Server 2003. A plan is underway to migrate the Active Directory Domain to MS Windows Server 2008 R2 before the end of FY 2012-2013.
• Mid-range platforms include HP Proliant running Windows 2003/2008/2008 R2 and Redhat Enterprise Linux, and Itanium servers running HP/UX and VMWare ESXi running on HP Proliant servers. The VMWare ESXi servers run Redhat Enterprise Linux and Windows 2003, XP, 2000, 2008 and 2008 R2 in Virtual Machines (VMs). High Availability is provided by clustering technologies on these platforms.
• Citrix XEN Server 5. 0 is the basis of the departmental thin client environment. It has been implemented to facilitate access to, and delivery of, specific TC Enterprise business applications.
• Servers are co-located in centralized server rooms, specially designed to provide fault tolerance capability and provide upwards of 99% availability.
• The TC intranet is the departmental TCP/IP-based wide area network (WAN) to interconnect LANs, and servers. The TC intranet provides service to 89 dedicated sites and provides external access through the Citrix Access Gateway (known at TC as TCMyDesk/TCMonBureau) as well as a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)-based Secure Remote Access (SRA) service and firewall service.
• Designated as TC’s VideoNet, the videoconferencing service is comprised of approximately 50 video endpoints located in 13 sites nationally. The endpoints are connected over IP, using SIP and H323 protocols, directly into the Transport Canada’s network. Cisco/Tandberg is the departmental standard for endpoints, as well as for the bridge, gatekeepers, and firewall traversal services.
• Centrex is the Shared Services Canada voice communications standard for the department, with approximately 5,500 lines department wide.
• WebEx is the Shared Services Canada web conferencing standard for the department.

2. TODAY’S PLATFORM AND APPLICATIONS

a. Client/Server Environment

• TC’s desktop software installations are accomplished using the Windows Active Directory Group Policy Object software installation feature and the Distributed File System (DFS) component of Windows server 2008 R2. There are currently 89 DFS shares located across the TC network.
• Windows XP SP3 Professional is the standard desktop operating system.
• Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit is the standard for LAN workgroup, application, mail post office, Web services and network communication.
• Server environments include HP Itanium (Integrity) servers running HP/UX; HP Proliant running Redhat Enterprise Linux, Windows Server 2008, 2008 R2, 2003 SP2, and VMWare ESXi virtual server environment hosting corporate data resources and other data services.
• TCP/IP is the WAN protocol.
• The LAN technology is Ethernet.
• TC uses a Storage Area Network (SAN) solution based on HP and Hitachi high availability disk arrays, IBM/Diligent VTL, Brocade Fibre channel switches, and virtual and physical tape libraries. In addition, TC uses a CommVault Simpana solution for backups and Symantec Enterprise Vault for automated e-mail archiving.
• TC uses Citrix XEN Server 5. 0 to deliver national corporate applications. In remote locations where bandwidth is not available, Citrix is also used to deliver the full office automation applications and to provide desktop-like functionalities for TC’s teleworkers using TCMyDesk. (Citrix Access Gateway software).
• TC's automated Systems Management tool, HP Service Manager 7. 01, is an ITIL-based system used nationally to manage all Change Requests (CR) and Problem Management incidents. This system has been in use at TC since November 2010.
• Exhibit 2 shows the PC software environment.

EXHIBIT 2

DESKTOP SOFTWARE ENVIRONMENT
Application	Today	Future*
Antivirus	McAfee VirusScan Enterprise 8. 8, McAfee Host Intrusion Prevention 8. 0, McAfee SiteAdvisor Enterprise Plus 3. 5, McAfee Agent 4. 6	McAfee VirusScan Enterprise 9. 0, McAfee Host Intrusion Prevention 9. 0, McAfee SiteAdvisor Enterprise Plus 4. 0, McAfee Agent 5. 0
Word Processing	RDIMS DM / MS Word 2007 integration	RDIMS DM / MS Word 2010 integration
Spreadsheet	RDIMS DM / MS Excel 2007 integration	RDIMS DM / MS Excel 2010 integration
Presentation Graphics	RDIMS DM / MS PowerPoint 2007 integration	RDIMS DM / MS PowerPoint 2010 integration
Database	Oracle 9i,10g, 11g	Oracle 11. 2. 04g
Messaging	RDIMS DM / MS Outlook 2007 integration (Desktop) MS Exchange 2007 (Server)	RDIMS DM / MS Outlook 2010 (Desktop) MS Exchange 2010 (Server)
Desktop Operating System	MS Windows XP SP3	MS Windows 7
Browser	Primary - MS Internet Explorer 7 Secondary – Firefox 13	MS Internet Explorer 9 or higher Firefox 14. 0. 1
Web Editing Tools	Dreamweaver CS4/CS5 with Internet WCMS using OpenText Web Solutions	Dreamweaver CS5 Intranet WCMS using OpenText Web Solutions
Security	Entrust PKI and SSL Nortel Contivity	Entrust PKI, SSL Nortel Contivity
Document Management	RDIMS DM ccmMercury Evault	RDIMS DM ccmMercury Evault
Record Management	LiveLink RS 9. 2 (iRIMS)	LiveLink RS 9. 2 (iRIMS) or eDOCS RM or Content Server 2010 RM
Other	Adobe Reader 9. X WinZip 9. 0 QuickView Plus 10. 0 Citrix Program Neighbourhood Agent 10. 2 . NET Framework 4 Java 6 Update 17	Adobe Reader 10. X WinZip 16 QuickView Plus 12. 0 Citrix Receiver 12. 1 . NET Framework 4. 5 Java 7 Update . X

* The future software environment will be determined based on business requirements and strategic business and IM/IT directions.

b. Web Environment

TC uses Network Load Balanced Web farms with MS IIS servers for both the Internet and intranet Web sites and also for the secure environments. The Web clustering solution and its associated server platform were updated by the end of 2011. As a result of the update, the baseline software installed on these servers is now as follows:

• Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bits, Internet Information Services (IIS) 7. 5, Oracle Client 11g R2 drivers, IE 8. 0, MDAC 6. 1, XML 4. 2, MSXML 6. 2, Crystal Reports 10. 2 run time (Visual studio 2005), Crystal Reports 10. 5 run time (Visual Studio 2008), Crystal Reports 13 run time (Visual Studio 2010), . NET Framework 1. 1 SP1, 2. 0 SP2, 3. 0 SP2, 3. 5 SP1 and 4. 0; TCMailer. Net 2. 0 and 3. 0 (a custom . NET component that provides mailing capability, logging and error handling), CLF Page (2. 0, 2. 2, 3. 0, 4. 0, External 1. 0, Plug-in 1. 0) (a custom . NET component that provide the CLF shell for all Web applications).

c. Application Development Environment

TC’s corporate application development toolset is composed of the following tools:

• Web/Internet/intranet - MS Visual Studio, Visual Studio 2010 and Team Foundation Server 2010, Java, Dreamweaver CS4/CS5, Oracle Forms, Business Objects and Crystal Reports are used. The following tools are also used for SQL development: Toad for Oracle, SQL Navigator, SQLPlus and SQLServerClient.
• Client/Server - MS Visual Studio 2010 (MS Visual Studio 2005 and 2008 are legacy), Java, PowerBuilder and Centura are used. PowerBuilder and Centura are considered legacy platforms, and use of MS Access is only supported for single user desktop application. Work is underway to transition to a Service-Oriented Application Architecture (SOA) approach focused on n-tier and smart client designs.
• Team Foundation is Transport Canada’s main code repository and work item tracking system.
• Database applications requiring out of the box integration with RDIMS DM and/or need workflow tracking capabilities are developed using the ccmMercury tool.
• Forms Management – TC has standardized on Adobe LiveCycle Designer for the creation and editing of corporate forms. Publishing is facilitated through the Forms Management System, an internally developed client/server . Net application. Client access to all published PDF and paper forms is available through the TC Internal and External Forms Catalogues. The default forms and PDF document viewer is Adobe Reader, which continues to be part of TC's baseline corporate desktop. The Forms Catalogue Web application (where all electronic and paper forms are stored and accessed) has been modified to use Adobe Acrobat. Adobe LiveCycle Extension 8. 2 is used to extend PDF forms. Extending a PDF form provides a Save feature when the form is opened with the Adobe Reader software.
• TC evaluated, acquired and implemented Adobe Acrobat Lifecycle Designer Version 8 as the new standard Forms designer package. Extended PDF forms can be edited and saved using Adobe Reader, a software product which is installed on all desktops as a baseline application.
• TC uses the CA ERwin Modeling Suite of tools for metadata development and management within the department. The suite consists of Model Manager (Metadata Repository), Erwin Data Modeller, Erwin Process Modeller and Model Navigator. This Data Modelling framework consists of models based on international standards, a common business approach and TC’s business line data subject area categories. The aim is the creation of a department-wide set of models that is built on data/information sharing, standardization, reusability and data integrity.
• The Oracle® Database Management System is the standard Database Management System for National, Corporate, and Internet/Extranet applications. All TC corporately supported applications use the Oracle Database Management Software. There are over 600 corporate horizontal Oracle database implementations (development/training, acceptance and production) in the department. Oracle database software is the departmental standard for all corporate applications. TC’s Oracle infrastructure is supported by seven extensively trained Oracle Database Administrators who provide 24/7 on call support for TC’s Corporate Oracle applications. TC’s corporate Database infrastructure includes Oracle Database Management System licensing, tools, processes and most importantly expertise to provide and/or support: TC’s applications; a secure Oracle Internet environment (Oracle Demilitarized Zone [DMZ]) used by all TC Internet applications; mission critical backup/recovery; problem and analysis resolution; performance analysis and tuning; installation, testing and implementing Oracle release and patch software to manage TC extensive Oracle environments. While TC has some other database products in the department, these products are limited to vertical workgroup applications in nature or are used in conjunction with MS components such as MS Exchange Storage Management, Citrix Implementation or Team Foundation Server.
• TC has acquired and implemented the following SAP BusinessObjects products as the departmental standard BI suite for reporting and analysis:SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise Premium (for standard, ad-hoc, and multidimensional reporting and analysis); Crystal Reports, Desktop Intelligence, Web Intelligence, and BusinessObjects Dashboards.
• Fujitsu’s (formally DMR) Web based Macroscope ProductivityCentre is used as the corporate systems development life cycle (SDLC) methodology tool. TC also makes use of Shared Services Canada’s Secure Channel services for externally facing Protected "B" Web applications for authentication. The new Secure Channel Access Key solution has replaced Secure Channel e-Pass. TC now has Credentials Federation that offers the option to leverage the financial institutions credentials for authentication. As well, Access Key will soon be replaced by a new government of Canada credential called Verified.Me. TC also makes use of Secure Channel’s secure file transfer protocol service known as Secure File Transfer. It’s important to note that Transport Canada’s implementation will be named "TC Secure File Transfer".
• TC's solution for its internally facing Protected "B" Web applications is based on the Entrust Truepass and Entrust SDK as well as Oracle Advanced Security.

d. Transport Canada Intranet (TCI)

• A TCP/IP-based department-wide network, TCI network, has been established interconnecting all TC offices across Canada. It is a router-based network supporting 10/100/1000 Base-T (Ethernet) LAN connectivity.
• Wireless capability exists within the NCR Tower C premises as well as in a number of regional offices and service centers.
• LAN servers are interconnected within the TCI, providing secure access to key corporate services.
• Perimeter defences provide secure external access and gateways to external services (e. g. the government X. 400 Network and Global Internet). It includes firewall, Intrusion Detection and host agents for anti-virus.
• Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) is currently employed as the WAN backbone and has the potential to support Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) for high-speed voice, data, and video, etc… requirements. Government Fibre Network Services has been implemented in Metropolitan areas where TC offices exist. MPLS is part of production network services.
• The TCI is a service that is now delivered by Shared Services Canada (SSC).
• The TCI supports access to the GoC X. 500 Directory and SRA capabilities for the mobile/teleworker.
• PKI Entrust software has been installed on every TC desktop. This allows secure exchange of electronic information created using TC’s national messaging system, MS Exchange, internally and between any government or private entity that participates in the PKI model. A secure Web infrastructure service, based on the Entrust technology, is being implemented for applications requiring such security. TC has an intranet secure infrastructure for "Protected B" Web applications on the intranet, using Entrust Truepass.
• A national SRA service has been implemented to support an increasingly mobile workforce. In addition to providing a standardized service for remote access to e-mail and LAN services for teleworkers during non-business hours, the service fulfils a critical need to support travelling inspectors during core business hours. Other remote connectivity requirements are met with tools such as Webmail and TCMyDesk. (Citrix Access Gateway software).
  • This service is available to all regional offices on a remote-dial phone number basis and provides secure access to that individual’s electronic work environment regardless of where they may be at any particular point in time.
  • This service is now provided by SSC and it incorporates PKI capability for all TC remote users.
  • At this time, there are 15 sites connected via digital subscriber line (DSL)/Cable using SRA Next Generation Gate-to-Gate technology. Currently this service is available on a case-by-case basis.

e. E-Services Delivery Environment

• TC currently utilizes approximately 130 national applications to deliver its programs and meet its administrative requirements (these are included in the 400+ applications recorded in TC’s departmental application inventory). These applications run in a mixed environment of LAN based (client-server considered our legacy environment) and intranet/Internet Web (predominant platform for all new application development) environments. Thin-client technology (Citrix Metaframe) has been rolled out to facilitate access to Enterprise applications. TC is also a strong supporter of Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) / shared solutions and of cluster-group arrangements, where the fit is right.
• TC has developed an Application Management Framework (AMF) to provide a policy, standards, guidelines and best practices for application development and support. The AMF is a blueprint for how business application systems are planned, developed, implemented, maintained and supported within TC. Its cornerstone is the Fujitsu Macroscope methodology tool.
• TC has an internal Web service (intranet) and an external Web service (Global Internet) for access by the public. The platform used for those environments consists of the following predominant products: Windows Server 2008 R2 64 bits, Internet Information Servicesv. 7. 5 and Oracle Client 11g R2 drivers,Google Search Appliance search engine for intranet and Internet, as well as Dreamweaver CS4. A phased implementation of an Enterprise Web Site Content Management solution (OpenText’s Web solutions, formerly known as RedDot) started in 2008/2009 and will be ongoing until March 31, 2013. The Internet part is completed.
• Both the intranet and Internet sites are compliant with version 1. 1 of the GoC "common look and feel (CLF)" standards and guidelines. TC is in process of applying the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2. 0 to all its externally facing Web sites and business Web applications. Treasury Board has identified a target completion date of July 2013 for applying the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2. 0. Clients and members of the general public are currently able to:
  • Receive general TC information including speeches and press releases;
  • Obtain names and phone numbers from the TC directory;
  • Read TC Acts, regulations and policies;
  • Review and comment on revisions to regulations;
  • Query registration data for Canadian aircraft and vessels.
• Web application development and acceptance (DEV and ACC) servers have been implemented to provide more capacity to perform application/database code development and a significantly improved integration and user-testing environment. VMware is used extensively in this environment.
• TC undertook a study a few years ago, known as TC’s Application Review and Consolidation Study (TC-ARCS) to determine long-range application development and evolution plans (including a review of possible efficiencies). The Study proposed the need to move to a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) in addition to proposing certain cost efficiencies in our end-to-end planning and system management processes. Since then, a number of Web services modules have been developed providing common master-data access services and a study was conducted on how to implement a Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) library at TC.
• The TC Directory empowers TC managers and employees to manage their own personal information and quickly acquire the TC services and assets directly through the Web environment. The TC Directory consolidates existing directories, automatically manages system and application accounts, Security Screening Functionality and helps promote and enforce safety and security for TC buildings and networks. The TC Directory is an internally developed and supported . NET application which integrates with Exchange, Active Directory, TIPS and R12.
• TC has recently upgraded the Oracle ERP to Oracle R12. The E-Services are comprised of an online payment module (Oracle Payments), E-Receivables (i-Receivables), electronic ordering and inventory management (i-Store) of TC products sold to the public, and a Web browser-based interface making the system far more effective and efficient to use. A customized i-Expense module is used to manage employee travel claims (iTravel). As part of Treasury Board requirements, an API interface has been implemented that ensures all credit card transactions are processed by PWGS’s RGBB (Receiver General Buy Button).
• The method for selecting and funding e-services candidates has been integrated into the ongoing departmental IM/IT investment planning activities

f. Administrative Systems Environment

• The Oracle Enterprise Business Suite system enables the department to integrate its financial and materiel resources. It is based on the Oracle Financials 12 (Oracle R12. 1. 3) suite of applications with support for Citrix MetaFrame thin clients. The core Oracle suite of applications includes Accounts Payable (AP), Accounts Receivable (AR), General Ledger (GL), Fixed Assets (FA), Purchasing (PO), i-Procurement (internal to TC only), Oracle Payments, i-Receivables, i-Store, TC Billing System and various interfaces to internal TC systems and external systems such as the ones hosted by the Receiver General of Canada. The Oracle Portal (10g) technology solution was implemented to create an Employee portal and a Manager portal to expose financial information, and has been successfully used by hundreds of TC users.
• TC provides process support to the HR professionals working in its offices across Canada via the TC Integrated Personnel System (TIPS), a suite of some seventeen integrated applications serving the various HR disciplines. The TIPS applications utilize the Gupta Centura Team Developer (v. 3) platform and share a common Corporate HR Database (Oracle 11g). TIPS is presently a shared system solution for CSA and CED_Q and contains many features, such as a direct link to the PWGSC Regional Online Pay System. Self-service to managers, employees and the Canadian public are provided through a smaller suite of eight Web applications on various platforms - all utilizing the same Corporate HR database. These include LEX, which provides full workflow support to Leave and Extra Duty, a single sign-on HR services portal and an automated organization chart generation/HTML publication facility that is available to managers. Significant changes have been incorporated over the last 12-18 months to comply with the coming into force of Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) and Public Service Modernization Act (PSMA), and to provide further self-serve business efficiencies such as the online processing of HR Service Requests, the Staffing Tribunal Automated Complaint Tracking System and the Staffing Action Management System.
• Now under the responsibility of the SSC, the departmental e-mail system continues to evolve in support of internal and external electronic communications requirements. An MS Exchange 2007 rules-based architecture allows users to dynamically manage the inflow and outflow of electronic information through an intuitive, highly graphical interface. Outlook Webmail has been enabled that allows TC employees to access their corporate e-mail via the Internet. All servers that are part of the corporate email infrastructure have been transferred to SSC.

g. Information Management Environment and Initiatives

• RDIMS DM is part of the GoC Shared System Initiative. This system was initially installed on every desktop within TC as of August 2002. RDIMS DM is an integrated set of tools and rules that facilitate the creation, capture, storage, organization, retrieval, sharing, re-use protection and disposal of information in an electronic environment, regardless of the format and without geographical or organizational barriers. It is a fundamental component of the infrastructure necessary for the government to deliver on the Government’s information management agenda. The RDIMS DM implementation for TC enables the storage of Unclassified and Protected "A" information. Provision for storing Protected "B" information is a requirement for the future evolution of RDIMS DM. RDIMS DM is the key information service supporting the GoC Policy on IM and its related Directives. RDIMS DM’s main functionality includes:
  • Document Management: storage and retrieval of electronic documents or other types of information assets, access control, version control and document history;
  • Records Management: life cycle management of records and documents, classification, retention and disposal;
  • Full Text Search:content based search and retrieval of a document;
  • Workflow: defined flow of information to people and processes based upon rules. The integration between RDIMS DM and ccmMercury provides workflow functionality;
  • Imaging: scanning, viewing, Optical Character Recognition to create editable text from images;
  • Reporting:Standard and ad hoc reports.
• It is the department’s objective to maintain one comprehensive document repository to ensure effective sharing and management of document based information holdings for the department.
• Workflow:ccmMercury is the Department's primary application tool that allows business units to monitor and manage ad hoc workflow and processes, track tasks, documents and other items. Examples include:Executive documents, correspondence, projects, work orders, permits, phone calls, monitoring and inspection reports, application security patches, frequently asked questions, agreements, etc. ccmMercury is integrated with RDIMS DM, enabling enhanced workflow for business units that require tracking while ensuring document attachments are stored and maintained in the corporate repository. This combination has enabled development of more effective business processes in several business units and is encouraging similar initiatives in others. To date, more than 30 database applications have been created using ccmMercury which has proven to be a cost-effective and efficient application development platform.
• Records Management Information System (RMIS-WEB) to manage its legacy hard copy files (paper) and Livelink (RDIMS DM) for electronic documents. TC uses the Automated Labelling Process System (ALPS-WEB) to manage addresses, publications, routing symbols and subscriptions in order to produce reports and labels for large mailings.
• TC is committed to the GoC IM Strategy and complying with the requirements of the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) Policy on IM and other central agency IM policy instruments. Through the IM Strategic and Implementation plans, TC has completed a number of activities covering the broad spectrum of IM. These activities include:
  • The development and implementation of IM policy instruments such as the TC IM Directive, the TC Directive on IM Procedures for Employee Departures, the TC Standard for Backup Retention Periods, and the TC Data Administration Metadata Standards;
  • An IM/IT Governance Framework;
  • The development of a sustainable and ongoing national IM awareness training program;
  • An IM Succession plan for NCR;
  • The adoption of TC Metadata Standards department wide;
  • The review and inclusion of IM principles into the departmental System Development Life Cycle (Macroscope Productivity Centre), the TC Change Control Board process, the Program Approval Document Process, the Non-Standard Product Justification Process, Contracting documents and other types of documents;
  • The development of the IM Compliance Review Methodology; and
  • The development of a Performance Measurement Framework for IM.
• TC has a Data Administration Framework and Standards that deal with Application Development, Application Maintenance, Data Modelling, Information Needs Assessments, IM Plans, and Data Warehousing. There are currently three documents which deal with TC’s Data Administration:
  • The TC Data Administration Metadata Framework;
  • The TC Data Administration Metadata Standards;
  • The TC Data Administration Quick Reference Guide.
  • The TC Data Dimensional Modelling Standards
  • The TB Standard on Geospatial Data came into effect July 1, 2009 with all GoC Departments required to be fully compliant by May 31, 2014. TC is working to ensure this standard is met (specifically meeting ISO 19115 Geographic information - Metadata standard, ISO 19128 Geographic information - Web Map Server Interface as prescribed by the TB standard).
• With the release of the TBS Policy on IM in July 2007 and its supporting directives (Directive on Roles and Responsibilities, October 2007, and Directive on Record keeping, June 2009), TC has reviewed and updated all its IM standards, directives and documentation (IM Awareness Sessions, Departmental IM Directive etc. ). A new annual TC IM Strategy/Action Plan was created in 2008 and is reviewed annually. The TC IM Strategic Plan is updated on an annual basis to address the implementation requirements of the GoC IM Strategy, the Policy on IM, other central agency IM Policy instruments, and the evolutionary IM needs within the department over the upcoming four fiscal years.
• TC has built on the original Transport IM Compliance Review Methodology and performed an initial pilot compliance review of TC’s Audit and Advisory Services Branch. Since the pilot, additional IM Compliance Reviews have been done nationally and will continue to be performed.
• Collaboration and Web 2. 0 Technologies – Collaboration can be defined as a mutually beneficial, well-defined relationship entered into by two or more persons or organizations to achieve common goals. Collaboration and Web 2. 0 technology refers to programs that help people work collectively regardless of location and include social media tools (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube etc), shared calendaring and scheduling, file sharing, collective writing, e-mail handling, communities of practice (COP), public consultation, bulletin boards, shared database access, electronic meetings, Instant Messaging etc. TC has performed an in-depth user requirements analysis and is making strides at the implementation of Web 2. 0 technologies, which factor IM implications (see IM/IT project 16 below).
• There have been a number of Data Warehousing projects completed, including Rail and Marine Occurrences. The completion of the BIRM ORACLE 11i reporting project using the Data Warehousing methodology marked a major milestone in Data Warehousing for the department. New initiatives are underway that will expand the scope and capability of the corporate Data Warehouse, including Civil Aviation Business Intelligence Infrastructure (ABII). There will also be activities to increase the scope and breadth of TC Core Tables establishing a broader set of master reference data for use across applications.
• The SAP’s Business Objects Business Intelligence platform and tools have been implemented to address the reporting, analytical and DashBoard requirements of various user groups at TC. Casual users and information consumers can leverage various Web interfaces (InfoView, Oracle Portal etc. ) to access content, Crystal Reports for enterprise reporting requirements, Web intelligence and Desktop Intelligence for power-users and analysts and: Xcelcius for DashBoard analysis. The department stands to benefit from a Data Warehousing and operational systems reporting approach and the use of Business Intelligence Software in the following ways:
  • Accelerate the definition of new performance indicators;
  • Enable the creation and iterative development of integrated performance measures where real business value can be derived, e. g. average cost/inspection by mode by inspection type;
  • Enable a consistent understanding of trends and performance measures throughout the organization;
  • Eliminate redundancies in data collection and analysis;
  • Enable improved analysis and reporting of operational data;
  • Reduce/eliminate paper reporting, a typical benefit derived by most organizations embarking on a Data Warehouse

h. Management of Information Technology Security Standard (MITS)

• MITS, a TBS standard, defines baseline security requirements that all departments must fulfill to ensure the security of information and information technology assets and is key in the GoC-wide effort to improve IM/IT Security. TC has achieved MITS compliance.
• The priorities for IM/IT Security at TC include:
  • Inclusion of IM/IT Security strategic objectives in the newly mandated Departmental Security Plan;
  • Continuation of an Enhanced Security Awareness Program;
  • An increased emphasis on the responsibilities of managers and employees;
  • The safeguarding of TC’s sensitive information assets;
  • An improved monitoring/auditing framework;
  • Implementation of advanced IM/IT Security tools.

3. INFORMATICS DRIVING FORCES

Exhibit 3 outlines some key influences, which will affect the informatics activities within the department.

IM/IT exists to support service delivery and business needs. Development, implementation, and application support must be done in close cooperation with lines of business. Because business requirements drive IM/IT activity, the department needs to:

• Find and capitalize on opportunities by coordinating plans and initiatives across the organization through improved governance, communication and planning processes.
• Balance large department-wide and smaller initiatives.
• Integrate IM/IT into the business planning process.

IM/IT priorities as well as needs and opportunities within TC Business Lines suggest the following "top ten" common department-wide IM/IT priorities:

• Information integration, interoperability and interchange – Including the consolidation/rationalization of existing information systems;
• Business Information Intelligence - Including Enterprise Reporting, Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence tools for information access, analysis, and reporting of financial and non-financial information;
• Document and Information Management – The long-term upgrade roadmap for RDIMS DM from eDOCS 5. 2 with LiveLink RS 9. 2 (iRIMS) to eDOCS 5. 3 or 5. 4 or Content Server 2010 DM in combination with eDOCS RM or Content Server 2010 RM, continued IM Awareness training, IM Integration into applications, Development and Maintenance and IM Strategic Plan FY 2010/11 - 2013/14
• Security - Electronic Signature, Authentication, Privacy, and Encryption of documents, ability to house Protected "B" documents in an electronic repository (RDIMS DM) (put on hold), information and electronic communications;
• Internal Service Improvement - Specialty information systems, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Wireless / Mobile worker applications, collaborative solutions, new desktop tools (migration to MS Office 2007 / MS Exchange 2007 / RDIMS DM 5. 2 were completed in FY 2010/11);
• External Services Delivery – Initiatives which provide electronic information, transactional and collaborative capabilities to external stakeholders;
• Communications – An evolved infrastructure providing speed of access for mobile/remote usage while incorporating appropriate security.
• The departmental IM/IT governance structure has evolved to include a Business IM/IT Council, IM/IT Investment Committee and IM/IT Architecture and Standards Committee made up of program and IM/IT senior managers. The Council functions as a liaison between TC and the Executive Management Committee (TMX) through the Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services. The Council, as a departmental governance body, establishes sound IM/IT principles and guidelines and recommends IM/IT investments (through the recommendations of an IM/IT Investment Committee) in support of program requirements, approves IM/IT standards and architecture (through the recommendations of an IM/IT Architecture and Standards Committee), and ensures integrated IM/IT project planning, all in support of program delivery. Launched April 1^st 2009, The Project Oversight Secretariat’s (POS) main responsibilities are to build on the existing IM/IT governance structure and processes, and improve overall management of IM/IT projects. The POS’ key objective is to facilitate the successful delivery of IM/IT projects by the various IM/IT, business/program area community contacts/resources within TC. The POS supports and is in-line with TB’s Policy on the Management of Projects and the Policy on Investment Planning-Assets and Acquired Services. As required by these policy directives, the POS continues to develop a departmental capacity to improve the overall management of IM/IT projects.
• By leveraging the revised departmental IM/IT governance structure, a TC IM/IT Strategic / Investment Plan was approved, and will evolve to meet the Department’s requirements and will be driven by TC’s business direction and priorities. The main purpose of this Plan is to guide the development and management of the IM/IT environment within TC to contribute to effective program delivery and to meet a broad set of evolving client needs. These clients are diverse, from external stakeholders who help shape policies, to businesses and citizens transacting with TC, and to TC employees working together, with external clients, with other government departments and with other levels of governments in order to assure the best transportation systems for Canada and Canadians.
• The TC IM/IT Strategic / Investment Plan lays the foundation for a business driven IM/IT investment program, ensuring that all investments across all business lines contribute toward corporate success, maximize business benefits and minimize risk. Realizing the TC IM/IT Strategic / Investment Plan will result from a combination of reductions and careful management of costs, both through the IM/IT efficiencies, investing in new projects (feasibility studies, pilots, new projects and enhancements) and ensuring that the IM/IT goals and objectives not addressed by specific investments are otherwise achieved through a series of planned, budgeted activities. Departmental IM/IT related spending must remain in line with the internal business needs and balanced against the government wide common shared services agenda, and each project undertaken must be linked back to the goals and objectives of the TC IM/IT Strategic / Investment plan.

EXHIBIT 3

INFORMATICS DRIVING FORCES

• TC has a plan in place to deal with TB IM Standards (Standards on Metadata, and Geospatial Data).
• Integrating and consolidating existing information and information systems.
• Implementing Enterprise Reporting, Business Intelligence including data warehousing.
• Application consolidation from all modes to be centralized under AMS over the next 18 months. Key IM/IT staff from all TC areas to be gradually transferred to AMS.
• Improving document and IM.
• Implementing new security features and safeguards including electronic signatures. lBroadening the use of e-services to serve external stakeholders.
• Developing the communication infrastructure without compromising security.
• Assessing its Protected "B" information handling capability. lSSC now responsible for key IM/IT areas such as e-mail system, data center and server/back-end infrastructure deployment, maintenance and support.

4. PLANNED CHANGES AND UPCOMING PROJECTS

The envisioned IM/IT capabilities for TC include:

• The TC intranet network infrastructure capacity and technology is continuously upgraded to meet evolving business needs (e. g. supports combined wireless, voice, data, images and video).
• Application services are delivered in a consistent and efficient manner.
• There exists a common means of ensuring that applications are secure.
• Clear IM/IT governance, management and accountability model is in place and is evolving on business governance changes.
• Service Level Agreements (SLA) are in place to ensure consistency and measurability of IM/IT services delivered.
• A department-wide IM Strategy is in place and widely adopted.
• An IM Compliance Review regime is operational.
• There exist sufficient skilled IM/IT resources to maintain and evolve the IM/IT environment based on business needs. Succession planning is being emphasized to mitigate the effects of departures due to retirement.
• A department-wide life cycle approach is adopted to maintain desktop, server and associated software.
• Legacy and new application systems are integrated and interoperable.
• Enterprise Electronic Document Management tools will be fully integrated with applications and an integral part of the way people do business.
• The philosophy of "Information as a valued asset" will be ingrained in the TC culture fostering the sharing and reuse of information.
• Solid IM and record keeping practices are part of the normal business processes in TC. This includes training new and existing TC employees on IM roles and responsibilities.
• All IM and record keeping processes are fully integrated together and across application systems.
• TC becomes a learning organization where knowledge management plays an integral role.
• The use of Enterprise TC Directory is being fully implemented into all applications and related processes within TC.
• A single search engine is adopted for all Web content searching.
• A single solution is implemented for Web site content management for both intranet and Internet Web environments.
• Common standards are adopted in the areas of information, application, technology and security.
• An enterprise information model is in place and the acquisition and implementation of a Metadata Repository.
• Enterprise Reporting and Business Intelligence software solution is utilized for all TC reporting.
• IM accountabilities are included in the accountability accords of TC’s Senior Management.
• An Internal (intranet) Access Portal is available for employees to access all work-related information.
• TC's automated Systems Management tool HP Service Manager 7 is an ITIL-based system used nationally to manage all Change requests and Problem Management incidents. This system has been in use at TC for approximately three years.
• TC’s automated e-mail storage technology known as Evault, allows TC to better manage unstructured data stored in MS Exchange mailboxes and PSTs.
• Mobile workers such as inspectors are provided with mobile services that are more complex than can be provided on a laptop computer. This will require new communications services including satellite, high-speed cable services and other alternatives. Handheld devices and wireless solutions will be required.
• TC Internet/intranet sites evolve from static to transaction-oriented pages and content increases both for internal and external consumption. New self-service applications and enabling and enhanced collaboration infrastructure (e. g. Web 2. 0) are being envisioned for TC in support of the e-services (internal and external service delivery) agenda.
• Sound IM principles will be incorporated into the AMF and the Macroscope SDLC.
• IM/IT Project Management Framework is developed and adopted.
• TC business planning practices and Business Cases will include IM requirements.

List of ongoing IM/IT-based projects for Fiscal Year 2012-2013:

CIVIL AVIATION

1. National Aviation Safety Intelligence Management System (NASIMS) (8449) - The NASIMS project has provided the Civil Aviation program officers centralized access to safety intelligence from a number of different sources and allowed the relation of these intelligence items to Civil Aviation stakeholders and program activities. It has moved Civil Aviation beyond simple data sharing into the integration of data at the operational level. There is a requirement to modernize the databases/data management tools into a common data management system that meets the requirements of the integrated branch and build on the foundation already established to add the following functionality:

• replace and improve several regional applications and provide essential intelligence to guide program activities;
• increase support for the Civil Aviation Integrated Management System through the creation of an automated means of document creation and document publication;
• increase support for the Safety Management System in Civil Aviation through the provision of risk management and planning utilities;
• increase integration with other Civil Aviation systems such as the Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System (CADORS), the Civil Aviation Issues Reporting System (CAIRS), the Notice of Proposed Amendments (NPA) system and the Enforcement Management System (EMS) to improve coordination and efficiencies;
• increase integration with corporate programs, such as RDIMS and CCM Mercury, to provide greater efficiency in the document management process within Civil Aviation.

2. Aviation Business Intelligence Infrastructure (ABII) (8462) - The project objective is the development of an infrastructure to provide tools required for the Aviation Safety Analysis Division to produce and deliver comprehensive analysis and reports in a more cost effective, efficient and accessible manner to all of Civil Aviation. The anticipated outcome of the project is a tool that can assist in decision-making with respect to the development of policies, regulations and standards. It will effectively rationalize the process by which analysis is done and results delivered, increasing productivity and producing cost savings for all of Civil Aviation. It will allow for different user interfaces for different user types; improve ad-hoc query abilities; and improve the ability to share and disseminate analysis and reports. The development of the infrastructure will reduce duplication of information and will increase the ability to perform analysis with information from separate systems.

3. National Aviation Company Information System (NACIS) (8771) - The objective of the project is to complete significant enhancements to NACIS to accommodate major changes to the layout and core elements of Canadian Air Operators Certificates (AOCs) and associated operations specifications for all fixed wing and rotary wing operations authorized under Part VI & Part VII of the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs). This project is the result of extensive revisions to the ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs), principally, Annex 6, Part I –International Commercial Air Transport, Aeroplanes and Part III – International Operations – Helicopter. Anticipated outcomes include, but are not limited to:

• Continuing to meet legal obligations as a signatory to the Convention on International Aviation through compliance with AOC and operations specification harmonization requirements;
• Adopting a global aircraft taxonomy maintained by the joint CAST/ICAO (Commercial Aviation Safety Team) to identify make, model and series of aircraft information on operations specifications. The new taxonomy will result in full harmonization between CCARCS and NACIS for NACIS issued operator certificates, FTAE flight test scanning, etc. , at a minimum;
• Support for regulatory changes to affected sections of the CARs;
  -mitigating all risk of placing Canadian air operators operating abroad in a situation of non-compliance with international requirements during routine surveillance by foreign National Aviation Authorities (NAAs);
• Continued confidence from stakeholders of the Civil Aviation Program stakeholders’ in the international recognition of Canadian AOCs and operations specifications;
• Continued confidence from member States in the international recognition of Canadian operator certificates and operations specifications;
• Significant upgrades to current NACIS functionality , certificate output, reports generation, and data analysis;
• ICAO authorized unrestricted data download access to the International Register of AOCs & Operations Specifications which is key to continual improvement of Canada’s foreign inspection program;
• Streamlined business processes as the result of regulatory, functional and technological changes and greater efficiencies in the workplace.

4. Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System (CADORS) (8773) –CADORS is a collection of accidents and incidents reported to Transport Canada on a daily basis. There are approximately 30 such occurrences reported through CADORS each day (an average of about 10,650 reports annually). Each report contains over 35 fields of data and includes information such as occurrence data (an accident or incident, date and time of occurrence and who reported it), event data (a set of different events that lead up to an occurrence), aircraft data (the type of aircraft, owner and operator information) and descriptive data (a narrative describing occurrence). CADORS was originally established to provide senior management with timely information concerning operational occurrences within the National Civil Air Transportation System (NCATS). While CADORS maintains the role of an early notification system, it has also taken on the role as an analytical tool. Information from CADORS is now being used in the early identification of potential hazards and system deficiencies, and to assist in the assessment of associated risks.

MARINE SAFETY

5. Marine Oversight System (MOS) (8640) - The Marine Oversight System supports Transport Canada’s publication and strategic direction as outlined in "Moving Forward – changing the Safety and Security culture – A Strategic Direction for Safety and Security Management" as well as the International Safety Management (ISM) Code published by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). By working in partnership by delegating vessel inspection with marine stakeholders, Marine Safety supports Transport Canada’s and the industry’s goal to achieve a safe, secure, efficient and sustainable transportation system. The MOS will:

• Provide the means to track the accreditation of delegated authorities thereby providing them with the authority to conduct delegated inspections thus providing multiple business transformation functionality;
• Allow for accountability and performance measurement to be captured and reported against;
• Provide the ability to conduct Risk Management assessments which will allow Marine Safety resources to be allocated more effectively;
• Through the Marine Safety Core Architecture (MSCA), forecasting and reporting against operational, MAF, PAA, PMF and SMS requirements will be possible and repeatable;
• Provide the ability to share up to date information with stakeholders such as EIS, Marine Security, DFO and the Marine Industry via the MSCA Web Services facilities;
• Prioritization of workload on basis of risk;
• Auditing;
• Analysing contributing and underlying factors of hazards, threats and events;
• Risk-based use of resources;
• Support development of risk and performance-based inspection regime.

With the coming into force of CSA 2001, Transport Canada’s move towards changing the safety and security culture, Corporate Services mandate to migrate from ASP based applications to . NET based applications, Treasury Board’s initiative for a Performance Measurement Framework, Management Accountability Framework & Risk Management, the need for a IMS-based Marine Safety dynamic application infrastructure is paramount. The MOS system will support IMS and will be developed in conjunction with the MSCA project to ensure consolidation, consistent architecture design and sustainability.

6. Marine Personnel Document Issuance System (MPDIS) (8645) – The Marine Training, Examination and Certification section is responsible for the development and maintenance of Regulations, Examinations, and Training Standards for the Certification of Seafarers. This section also issues Certificates of Competency to seafarers after they have successfully completed all prerequisites and examinations appropriate to the level of certification. MPDIS is a solution for the issuance of the following Marine Documents: Domestic Certificates of Competency (Examiner and Minister issued), Training Certificates, Medical Certificates, Discharge Booklets and Certificates of Equivalency. An additional objective of MPDIS is to consolidate and update the issuance process for the above-mentioned documents within one application. This will be accomplished by building on the existing Marine Personnel Document Issuance System to accommodate the new document types while retaining a consistent process and sharing data. This initiative is being undertaken within the mandate of the Marine Personnel Regulations, which provide Transport Canada with the authority to issue these documents. Comprehensive records are maintained on all seafarers who are candidates or recipients of the aforementioned certificates.

RAIL SAFETY

7. Rail Safety Data System Development formerly Rail Integrated Gateway System(RSIG) (8701) - The RSIG model is a series of fully integrated functional modules for the Rail Safety Program. These individual modules represent various program areas and support systems to meet the operational and reporting requirements for Rail Safety. From this integrated national data system, results will be produced for trend analysis, resource accountability, risk management, performance measures and decision-making. An integrated national data system will allow the Rail Safety Program to collect the information on audits and inspections in order to measure Railway industry compliance with rules and regulations and to assess the level of safety related risk by organization. The release of the Risk Based Planning, SMS, Audit and Inspection Business Process modules will allow for potential safety issues to be identified before they become problems. The Notice & Orders module will provide transportation organizations with direction on how to rectify the issues before they become problems and the Complaints Handling module will allow for the public to inform Transport Canada of issues between Audits and Inspections.
 

ROAD SAFETY

8. Compliance Audit Filing System (CAFS) (873W) - Transport Canada enforces the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (MVSRs) under the authority of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (MVSA). The MVSA requires that all prescribed classes of vehicles and equipment manufactured or imported for the Canadian market comply with the applicable Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. CAFS is a database in which the names and addresses of about 6000 companies are stored. CAFS contains information such as past inspection audits, past telephone conversations, exchange letters between Transport Canada and companies, the classes of vehicles or equipment the companies are manufacturing or importing, etc. This information is critical for the integrity of the entire Road Safety program. The purpose of this project is to redevelop the current software application in current and corporately supported technology. This will provide the necessary support for the CAFS application in the years ahead and allow for more efficient integration with other existing and planned systems to support Road Safety’s mandate. As well, redevelopment will comply with the departmental standards for data modeling and database development.
 

SECURITY PROGRAM SUPPORT

9. Lifecycle of TCAFIS Platform Hardware (88A8)

The objective of this project is the procurement and installation of replacement hardware including servers in support of the Transport Canada Automated Fingerprint Identification System. This hardware is intended to replace the platform hardware initially installed in 2003.

Annual maintenance agreements, in accordance with industry standards, are calculated as a percentage of the initial purchase price. Since the time the platform hardware was originally purchased in 2003, the procurement cost for the replacement infrastructure has dropped significantly. This means the cost of the annual maintenance agreement for the replacement hardware will be significantly lower than the agreement currently in place. The objective of this project is to replace the aging hardware and simultaneously realize significant cost savings as a result of the one year warranty period and the lower ongoing annual maintenance costs.

10. Secure Telecommunication Systems (88A5) - Transport Canada Emergency Preparedness encompasses the emergency management process for the Department. As such, the Transport Canada Situation Centre (TC SitCen) becomes the Departmental focal point when a crisis occurs. The nature of the work being handled by Civil Aviation Contingency Operations (CACO), Aviation Security Operations, the TC SitCen and Marine Security has changed tremendously in the past five years where all security / safety events have to be looked at holistically from a Safety and Security perspective. The installation of the Consolidated Secret Network Infrastructure (CSNI) and the Battle Control System (BCS / RTAP) will ensure that we are aware of the real time secret tactical intercept data of civilian aircraft by the military and permit us to effectively work with both RCMP and DND to ensure both the safety and security of the travelling public. It will allow Transport Canada to better manage the various situations at a strategic level, assist for critical decision making and ensure that we are not compromised by not being aware of all the information available when participating in Operation Noble Eagle events on the Canadian Defence Red Switch Network secure teleconferences. This project is the acquisition, implementation and installation of Secure Telecommunication Systems (Secret Level) including the servers, computers (which are all Tempest protected), peripherals and the required software and licenses.

TRANSPORTATION OF DANGEROUS GOODS

11. CANUTEC Information System (CIS) (8766) - CANUTEC is the 24/7 Canadian Transport Emergency Centre operated by Transport Canada to assist emergency response personnel in handling dangerous goods emergencies. CANUTEC is one of the primary programs instituted by Transport Canada to promote public safety during movement of people and goods in Canada. CANUTEC's scientists provide immediate advice and recommend actions to be taken during dangerous goods emergencies. The proposed CIS will allow CANUTEC to manage company Registration as well as Resource Information. There are two elements to this project:

1. CANUTEC Registration System (CRS)
   The CRS is used to capture and manage registration data for companies registered to use CANUTEC’s telephone number as their 24-hour emergency number and to index and manage the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) that these companies must submit as part of the registration process. This data effectively forms the CANUTEC contact database for emergencies. The application requires on-going redevelopment in order to resolve critical technical and compatibility issues with respect to departmental standards, to incorporate new user requirements and to bring the data model and program code to Transport Canada standards for IM/IT.
2. Internet Interface
   An online registration process would allow shippers to complete the registration form and upload their Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) electronically via CANUTEC’s web site. Upon receipt of the required information, an approval message granting the use of CANUTEC’s emergency response telephone number would be returned to the shipper along with an access code to browse and modify their registration file and MSDS index information. Automated reminders would also be generated to remind companies of the requirement to ensure their data is up to date. Benefits to dangerous good shippers and CANUTEC include less time to process registrations and a reduction of manual data manipulation for clerical staff. A prototype has been developed and the requirement for an Internet Interface has been integrated with the RFP for the CRS Redesign described above.

12. TDG 11S/ Automated Emergency Response Assistance Plan (AERAP) Redesign Development Project (A161) - The Compliance & Response Branch is responsible for issuing functional direction that promotes compliance in a regional program delivery. The existing Integrated Information System (IIS) application no longer supports the business needs of the user community and is inconsistent with departmental database development standards and application architecture. The application software is outdated and there is significant technical difficulty in keeping the application executing properly on current hardware and software. There is a need for a more effective work tool with a simpler, cleaner interface using up-to-date technology. As well, Inspectors nationally require the ability to use this tool in a telework environment and to provide information related to performance indicators, compliance rates, and risk management.

FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION

13. Oracle Release 12/Fusion ERP Upgrade (6838) – Transport Canada’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is the backbone of the Department’s financial and administrative functions. Applications and the official set of books for financial accountability are run by Oracle. It also provides a suite of business applications serving both Transport Canada employees and customers. Since its implementation in 1994, the system has typically followed a five-year life cycle in order to remain technologically up to date, reliable and responsive to departmental needs. Consequently, Oracle Applications are an integral component in operational and corporate service delivery. Common business processes are designed into the OFSS R12 shared solution, which means that Transport Canada and the other five partner departments will use common business processes, driving benefits such as consistent and robust financial controls, streamlined efforts in auditing, thereby contributing to a more efficient production of Auditable Financial Statements. The Oracle 12 upgrade, which includes the required security patches, is considered a technical upgrade critical to application sustainment and enabling the Department to continue to be responsive to its employees, customers and central agencies.

14. Receiver General Buy Button (RGBB) (689A) – RGBB is an on-line payment service mandated (September 30, 2011) by the Receiver General for all departments accepting credit card payments over the internet. Departments are expected to implement this solution by April 2012. Transport Canada currently accepts credit cards as a payment mechanism through various external facing websites. Credit card processing within the E-Business suite is currently ‘handled’ through the payments functionality within the Oracle suite of modules. The RGBB interface will replace the need for Transport Canada to capture and store credit card information from on-line transactions and will collect this information and perform the necessary authorization process on behalf of Transport Canada. It will provide the secure storage of credit card information and transaction data on Transport Canada’s behalf resulting in card information no longer being held within Transport Canada. The use of the Receiver General Buy Button is mandatory, as per recent announcements from the Receiver General.

15. Harbours and Ports Billing System (2566) – As part of the Finance and Administration Directorate's implementation of internal efficiency measures (in relation to the Deficit Reduction Action Plan / Plan d’action de réduction du déficit), a decision was made to centralize Harbours and Ports billing at the Quebec Region's accounting office. Quebec Region uses a regional billing system, SIHP (Système informatique Havres et Ports [harbours and ports computer system]), developed locally in 1996. In addition to streamlining the billing process for Harbours and Ports, this system facilitates the production of detailed operational reports, which is impossible when billing services use the "miscellaneous invoice" (facturation diverse) module in the Oracle financial system.

Unfortunately, the SIHP system was developed in 1996 with the programming languages that existed at that time. Since deployment, the system has been minimally maintained and updated. Various Oracle database migrations caused some data anomalies and affected the performance and stability of the system. This is tolerable in the context of regional use. However, the current system cannot support the entire national volume. Furthermore, since it was developed to support Quebec taxation levels, the SIHP system is not currently able to support other types of taxes (HST) and several other different rates. The SIHP system is not integrated into the Oracle financial system. In order to maintain up-to-date financial data, all information required to manage Accounts Receivable must be entered into the Oracle financial system manually. Thus, the goal of this project is to obtain a system for billing and generating Harbours and Ports progress reports, like the SIHP, but modernized, stable and able to support all national activities and various taxation rates, as well as being able to interface with the Oracle financial system. In 2010–2011, Harbours and Ports revenue represented nearly $5. 5 million dollars (6 400 transactions) for the entire department. Following a preliminary analysis of Harbours and Ports billing options (RDIMS #6974475), produced by Computer Operations and Network Services in Quebec Region, it was determined that the most viable option would be to acquire the Pro-Navire (version 3. 0) billing software from Progitech.

TIMSD

16. Collaboration / Web 2. 0 (67A8) - This project will provide Transport Canada with the infrastructure and support necessary to provide departmental business lines with the ability to engage in web-based interactive information exchanges with both internal and external (other departments, public and private partners, general public) contacts. The full suite of Web 2. 0 tools will significantly facilitate the requisite level of collaboration that will help the department and its stakeholders (external/internal) improve how they work together in meeting their business objectives.

17. Application Performance Monitoring Tool (67C6) - The purpose of this project is to provide Transport Canada with an application performance monitoring tool that would allow proactive detection of web application problems, identification of their root causes, and quicker resolutions. This tool will be used in all environments of the web infrastructure:intranet, internet, secure, acceptance and production.

POLICY

18. Transportation Object Dictionary (TOD) (7421) – The TOD project aims to establish a database access bridge between the numerous Transport Canada systems as well as external data sources. The project’s main objective is to harmonize and logically integrate disparate information systems. It is expected that this will translate into an increased ability for the Department to dynamically address issues and provide timely and accurate responses in a cost effective fashion. Initial focus has been on the aviation sector and initial research has identified over 100 stand-alone air related databases within Transport Canada allowing for very little data sharing and standardization. The scope of the project is multi-modal and will include such attributes as: carrier, location, occurrence, make/model, operating certificate and licence. This project is aimed at addressing the genuine need to pull together the information available through several group’s applications or databases to support the Department’s business needs on both the Policy and Safety and Security side. 

19. Fluidity Indicator and Total Logistics Costing (7438) - To create a national transportation fluidity indicator and total logistics costing indicator. The purpose of these indicators is to help decision makers (both public and private) understand the performance (time and costs) of the Canadian Transportation System between city pairs for the purpose of policy creation as well as for optimizing daily business opportunities. Each indicator has an associated mathematical algorithm that forms the basis for all calculations of indicator values. These indicators are hypothetical and are the starting point for research into developing permanent versions for the Canadian transportation market. As such, there is a large R&D component to this project associated with vetting these algorithms, their assumptions, inputs and their mechanical approach to measuring the industry in Canada.

20. Modeling & Forecasting Tools/Systems (7439) - The Economic Analysis Directorate has the mandate to conduct socio-economic research and economic analyses, develop forecasts and models and, to collect and manage transportation data. The funding that was approved in September 2010 was to expand the modeling capacity of Transport Canada to include passengers and freight in all modes of transportation. Currently, the capacity only exists for passenger transportation in Aviation. To date, the project has successfully produced four papers covering the forecasts for coal, cereal grains, wood, and potash. These commodities represent a significant component of the goods flowing through the Pacific Gateway. Moving forward, we will begin a consolidation of all four papers (Coal, Grain, Potash, and Wood) to provide an analysis of the impacts of these exports on the transportation system. Of note, we will also aim to begin the integration of this work with our existing capacity on the aviation sector and revisit in the process some of the existing models on hand. The purpose of linking this work back to the aviation function is consistent with the Project Approval Document which sought to "expand the modeling capacity of Transport Canada to include passengers and freight in all modes of transportation".

PROGRAMS

21. Surface Infrastructure System (SIS) (941F) - The project is to implement a single, centralized, fully web-enabled system to manage contribution agreements, contracts, and claims information related to Directorate projects. Users will share information more readily, increase the quality of information shared, perform certain tasks more efficiently and allow management to monitor projects more closely. It will also provide necessary tools to permit program managers and executives to access and analyze the results of activities in support of performance measurement objectives. SIS will:

• Provide more flexibility in defining components of contribution agreements;
• Allow reporting by funding program;
• Require the implementation of business rules to allow the recording of information at the initiation stage;
• Record a range of infrastructure projects and types of agreements other than contributions;
• Provide flexible reporting to better meet ad hoc queries faced by project managers;
• Record results of Aboriginal pre-consultation processes, environmental assessments and risk assessments; and
• include features to meet reporting requirements.

SIS will directly support the delivery of a suite of infrastructure funding programs by supporting Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the Government of Canada’s key strategies for improving our national transportation system and enhancing other key strategic infrastructure.

22. Locomotive Emissions Information System (LEIS) (B725) – The proposed LEIS project is required to support the new locomotive criteria air contaminants emissions regulations. The creation of this system will allow the department to readily perform its regulatory tasks, such as overseeing industry's compliance with the new regulations, assist with determining annual criteria air contaminant emissions reductions from the rail sector, and will directly support any enforcement activities to ensure compliance with the regulations. This project directly supports the federal government’s clean air agenda by supporting the legal and regulatory frameworks to govern air emissions from the transportation sector and to oversee Industry’s compliance with regulatory obligations. These activities align with the departmental objectives and activities under Clean Air from transportation. The main outcomes are to create an automated online reporting system to support new locomotive emissions regulations, including modules to monitor, analyze and verify industry compliance as well as maintain records of non-compliance for possible enforcement action; establish a secure, user-friendly, online interface to better manage data submitted from industry; improve reporting timelines; avoid cost; and improve the overall efficiency for both Transport Canada and industry; enabling the Government of Canada to perform secure data exchange and analysis with industry.

COMMUNICATIONS

23. Intranet Web Content Management System Implementation (WCMS) (6238) - The WCMS Implementation Project will provide content owners and creators with automated support to efficiently design and manage an increasingly large and complex web presence and reduce the reliance on manual processes. Using a common template that is WCMS-generated will also increase search accuracy, as mandatory metadata is part of the template and enforced by the WCMS. With consistent metadata across all Transport Canada Web assets, it will be possible to focus on search engine optimization resulting in online searches that are consistent between and relevant to the search terms. This will help to increase employee productivity as search results can then be tailored and made more accurate.

SHARED SERVICES CANADA (SSC)

24. National Video Conference Service Expansion (67C8) – The project is now in year 3 of a three-year program to modernize and expand the videoconferencing service, now called "TC VideoNet". The modernization portion is complete. The new TC VideoNet endpoints (approximately 50 endpoints) and infrastructure are now compliant with the Shared Services Canada government wide telepresence strategy. This year will involve some further expansion of the number of endpoints, as well as an assessment and potentially an RFP for addressing the requirements for future years.

5. BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

Exhibit 4 summarizes the business opportunities in the department.

• Consulting is required on an on-going basis. Some areas include:
  • LAN / Desktop technical support
  • Service Desk Agent technical support
  • Application development and maintenance
  • Web site development and publishing
  • Systems Management
  • Problem and Change Management
  • Data Warehousing
  • Business Intelligence
  • Information Management
  • Data Management
  • Internet/intranet Web site Technical Support
  • Electronic document management and electronic forms
  • IM/IT security including TRA development
  • Evaluation of emerging technologies
  • Strategic Planning
  • Development of IM/IT requests for proposals (RFP)
  • Project Management
• Existing corporate systems will require hardware and software upgrades.
• Planning is underway for revised desktop hardware and software. (server infrastructure planning now the responsibility of SSC)
• Implementing changes/enhancements to the Oracle ERP Financial and Material Management system.
• Implementing changes/enhancements to the HR application suite (TIPS) to achieve PSMA and PSEA compliance and business efficiencies.
• Implementing program related IM/IT initiatives.
• SSC may conduct an operational review against best practices for Storage Area Networks.
• Expanding the current infrastructure for enhanced collaboration (e. g Web 2. 0) and secure exchange of information.

EXHIBIT 4

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

• Technical, application and strategic consulting is required on an ongoing basis.
• Existing corporate systems will require hardware and software upgrades.
• Planning is underway for revised server and desktop hardware and software.
• Expanding the current infrastructure for enhanced collaboration (e. g. Web 2. 0) and the secure exchange of information.
• Implementation of IM activities in support of the GC’s IM Policy
• Implementation of new Web site content management software for the Internet.
• Implementation of additional program related (internal and external e-services) initiatives.