Service Canada
Encyclopedia
Service Canada is part of a Government of Canada
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...

-wide service transformation initiative aimed at responding to Canadians' expressed desire for better, more responsive, less cluttered service from Canadian governments. The initiative seeks to do this by improving the design and delivery of government programs and services to Canadians.

History

Service Canada officially began operations on September 14th, 2005 with a mandate to provide Canadians
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 with a single point of access to a wide range of government services and benefits either in person, by phone, by Internet, or by mail. Service Canada's origins, however, date back to 1998 when the Government of Canada began developing an integrated citizen-centred service strategy based on detailed surveys of citizens' needs and expectations. In addition, it currently has well over 600 in-person offices and over 200 mobile outreach service units that operate in remote and isolated areas.

As of May 2007, Service Canada has partnered with over 14 other departments and agencies to provide access to more than 50 government programs and services. It also had established close to 500 points of service across Canada – many of which are outreach and mobile offices designed to deliver programs and services into rural and remote areas (see above).

These numbers are growing, as the ultimate goal is to provide Canadians with a single point of access to all government programs and services regardless of where they live or how they wish to interact with the government.

Description

Similar initiatives to Service Canada are well-established in many Canadian provinces jurisdictions across Canada, the first being Service New Brunswick
Service New Brunswick
Service New Brunswick , commonly referred to as SNB, is a crown corporation in the Canadian province of New Brunswick....

 (SNB). The goal of delivering citizen-centred service has also been embraced by most developed countries around the world for several years – with Canada consistently ranked as a leader in the field by consulting firms such as Accenture
Accenture
Accenture plc is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company headquartered in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It is the largest consulting firm in the world and is a Fortune Global 500 company. As of September 2011, the company had more than 236,000 employees across...

.

Service Canada is currently a part of the Human Resources and Skills Development portfolio, which includes Service Canada, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
The Department of Human Resources and Skills Development , operating under the FIP applied title Human Resources and Skills Development Canada , is the department of the Government of Canada responsible for developing, managing and delivering a variety of social programs and services...

 and Labour Canada. The portfolio is the Government of Canada's major provider of social programs, services and benefits, and is a key player in the development of the full range of social policies at the federal
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...

 level.

The current Minister responsible for Service Canada is Diane Finley
Diane Finley
Diane Finley, PC, MP is a Canadian politician. She serves as Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Of the 12 MPs in the Priorities and Planning Committee of cabinet , known as the inner cabinet, she is the only woman...

 and its senior civil servant is Liseanne Forand who is titled Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada, and Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
The Department of Human Resources and Skills Development , operating under the FIP applied title Human Resources and Skills Development Canada , is the department of the Government of Canada responsible for developing, managing and delivering a variety of social programs and services...

.

Service Canada announced in fall 2005 that it was subcontracting some of its service delivery to SNB, the first public sector multi-service agency in Canada; this is believed to be a precedent whereby a provincial agency was contracted to deliver a federal service.

Every May to August, the Service Canada Centre for Youth (SCCY) opens in all major cities in Canada. There are more than 300 SCCYs in Canada. They serve youth between the ages of 15-30 with resume and cover letter assistance as well as interview preparations. The SCCY can also provide information on Employment Standards, Health and Safety and other Government of Canada programs and services for Youth. The SCCY also posts jobs for local employers who are looking to hire.http://www1.servicecanada.gc.ca/en/nb/common/news/20051107a.shtml

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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