Monthly Archives: March 2023

Canada’s trusted digital ID leader, the DIACC, welcomes Budget 2023

Canada’s trusted digital ID leader, the DIACC, welcomes Budget 2023; applauds the government for investments in digital transformation and Canada’s shift to a digital economy

TORONTO, MARCH 29, 2023 — Joni Brennan, President of the Digital Identification and Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC) released a statement following the tabling of the federal budget yesterday:

The DIACC welcomes the federal government’s investments for digital transformation and Canadian innovation to enable a thriving digital economy announced in yesterday’s budget.

Canada has an opportunity to be a global leader in digital ID, and unlock opportunities for Canadians, decrease costs for governments, consumers, and business, improve service delivery, and drive GDP growth. 

A digital identity is a highly personal yet critical component to both serve and protect Canadians. From increasing data protection and privacy in the public sector to strengthening national security, public safety and child protection through effective authentication and authorization, digital ID is an important part of our transition to a digital world and a digital economy. Further, we know that an effective, safe and secure digital ID ecosystem will save manual operation costs and reduce fraud, saving an estimated $482 million for provincial and federal governments, and $4.5 billion for private sector organizations.

This budget announcement reinforces the government’s commitment to Canada’s digital transformation as it looks for ways to be a full participant in the global digital economy and shift to a digital-first mindset. The government has made some encouraging progress in adopting digital technology solutions to better deliver programs and services, and Canadians are benefiting from that progress. 

We were pleased to see the following commitments included in the budget:

  • A commitment to introduce legislative amendments to the Criminal Code and the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA) to strengthen the investigative, enforcement, and information sharing tools of Canada’s AML/ATF Regime.
  • A commitment to improving Airport Operations and Passenger Screening, including $1.8 billion over five years to the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) to maintain and increase its level of service, improve screening wait times, and strengthen security measures at airports.
  • Commitments to improve service delivery for Canadians including $156.7 million over five years to reduce backlogs in Veterans Affairs Canada; $123.9 million over seven years for Old Age Security IT modernization; and a commitment to amend the Citizenship Act to enable the electronic administration of the citizenship program, automated and machine-assisted processing, and the collection and use of biometric information.

The budget provides an opportunity to further advance digital ID in Canada, and the DIACC remains committed to partnering with both government and industry to continue building a trusted digital ID ecosystem and educating Canadians to combat dis and misinformation regarding digital ID.

About Digital ID and Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC)

The Digital Identification and Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC) is a non-profit coalition of public and private sector organizations committed to developing research and tools to enable secure, robust, and scalable Canadian digital ID solutions and services. With privacy, security, and choice at the forefront of all DIACC initiatives, we aim to enable all Canadians to participate safely and confidently in the global digital economy.

For more information:

communications@diacc.ca

Request for Comment & IPR Review: PCTF Trust Registries Draft Recommendation V1.0

This review period is now closed.

Notice of Intent: DIACC is collaborating to develop and publish the Trust Registries component of the Pan-Canadian Trust Framework (PCTF) to set a baseline of public and private sector interoperability of identity services and solutions. During this public review period, DIACC is looking for community feedback to ensure that the conformance criteria is clear and auditable.

To learn more about the Pan-Canadian vision and benefits-for-all value proposition please review the Pan-Canadian Trust Framework Overview.

Document Status: These review documents have been developed by members of the DIACC’s Trust Framework Expert Committee (TFEC) who operate under the DIACC controlling policies and consist of representatives from both the private and public sectors. These documents have been approved by the TFEC as Draft Recommendations V1.0.

Summary:

A Trust Registry is a key component of the new and emerging decentralized digital identity architecture. In this decentralized (or Self Sovereign) architecture a Digital Wallet receives Verifiable Credentials from Issuers and then subsequently provides presentations of these Credentials to Verifiers. In this architecture a Trust Registry provides Issuers, Verifiers, Digital Wallets (and their human Holders), and other Trust Registries the information necessary to verify the identity and status of the other parties as well as the authenticity and status of Credentials and Presentations that a Digital Wallet receives and presents.

Invitation:

  • All interested parties are invited to comment.

Period:

  • Opens: March 27, 2023 at 23:59 PT | Closes: April 27, 2023 at 23:59 PT

When reviewing the components Conformance Criteria, please consider the following and note that responses to this question are non-binding and serve to improve the PCTF.

  1. Would you consider the Conformance Criteria as auditable or not? That is, could you objectively evaluate if an organization was compliant with that criteria and what evidence would be used to justify that?

Review Documents: Trust Registries

Intellectual Property Rights:

Comments must be received within the 30-day comment period noted above. All comments are subject to the DIACC contributor agreement; by submitting a comment you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions therein. DIACC Members are also subject to the Intellectual Property Rights Policy. Any notice of an intent not to license under either the Contributor Agreement and/or the Intellectual Property Rights Policy with respect to the review documents or any comments must be made at the Contributor’s and/or Member’s earliest opportunity, and in any event, within the 30-day comment period. IPR claims may be sent to review@diacc.ca. Please include “IPR Claim” as the subject.

Process:

  • All comments are subject to the DIACC contributor agreement.
  • Submit comments using the provided DIACC Comment Submission Spreadsheet.
  • Reference the draft and corresponding line number for each comment submitted.
  • Email completed DIACC Comment Submission Spreadsheet to review@diacc.ca.
  • Questions may be sent to review@diacc.ca.

Value to Canadians:

The PCTF Trust Registries component will provide value to all Canadians, businesses, and governments by setting a baseline of business, legal, and technical interoperability. The DIACC’s mandate is to collaboratively develop and deliver resources to help Canadian’s to digitally transact with security, privacy, and convenience. The PCTF is one such resource and guides digital identity ecosystem interoperability by putting policy, standards, and technology into practice aligning with defined levels of assurance. The DIACC is a not-for-profit coalition of members from the public and private sector who are making a significant and sustained investment in accelerating Canada’s Identity Ecosystem.

Context:

The purpose of this review is to ensure transparency in the development and diversity of a truly Pan-Canadian, and international, input. In alignment with our Principles for an Identity Ecosystem, processes to respect and enhance privacy are being prioritized through every step of the PCTF development process.

DIACC expects to modify and improve these Draft Recommendations based upon public comments. Comments made during the review will be considered for incorporation into the next iteration and DIACC will prepare a Disposition of Comments to provide transparency with regard to how each comment was handled.