November 2005, Vol

NOVEMBER 2005, VOL. 12, NO 5 InterfaceMUNICIPAL National Journal of the Municipal Information Systems Association

The pending launch of BizPaL points to a new era of e-government collaboration

See page 12

Also in this Issue: Telecommunications and Networks Page Wireless solutions: Start with business needs, not technology 16 Emerging community portals support Web-based democracy 18 Portal helps build a smart community in Sudbury 19 Leadership principles guide Hamilton portal project 21 How two key technologies are enabling today’s networks 25 St. John’s monitors snow clearing on a wireless network 29

MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 Table of Contents News MISA news across Canada 5 Advertisers Index Municipal News 39 Page Report from RIMQ ABTS Global 27 Installing fibre optics in the Laurentians 8 AESI (Acumen Engineered Solutions) 22 Agresso 36 Columns Bell Canada 28 President’s column – Keeping In Touch 4 Diamond Municipal Solutions 15 Roy Wiseman – Security Issues 42 Direct IT Canada 44 ESRI Canada 34 Features iPLANcorp 17 BizPaL services advances e-Government 12 Motorola Canada 40 Wireless solutions should meet business needs 16 Océ-Canada 20 Community portals support Web-based democracy 18 Packet Works 41 Portal helps build a smart community in Sudbury 19 Panasonic Canada 7 Leadership principles guide Hamilton portal project 21 Polar Bear Corporate Education 32 Key technologies behind today’s networks 25 Teranet Inc.2 St. John’s monitors snow clearing on network 29 Trend Micro 38 Policies for licensing and procuring software 31 Vadim Software 24 Report on MISA BC Fall Conference 33

InterfaceMUNICIPAL

Journal of the Municipal Information Systems Association Advertising Rates Suite 910, 2680 Skymark Avenue, $1,350 pre-printed insert Mississauga, ON L4W 5L6 $1,200 back page Phone: 905-602-4564 Fax: 905-602-4295 www.misa.on.ca; www.misa.bc.ca; www.misa-asim.ca $900 inside front Journal Production $600 1 page $400 1/2 page Co-Chairs, Communications Committee: $250 quarter page Ron Blakey (Durham) 905-571-4111 Kathryn Bulko (Toronto) 416-397-9921 $150 business card Co-Editors: Articles are subject to approval by the Communications Committee. Lawrence Moule 416-458-4410 The views expressed in this journal are those of the individual writers Jane Morgan 416-488-2878 and do not necessarily reflect those of the Municipal Information Systems Association. French-language editor: Gaston Huot, Longueuil, 450-463-7202 No part of the publication may be reproduced by anyone without prior Design: Natalie Coombs written permission from MISA. Printer: Select Printing,Toronto © 2005 Municipal Information Systems Association

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KEEPING IN TOUCH Cooperation With Caution By David Muise President, MISA Atlantic

No matter how hard I try, I occasionally fall victim cross-municipal service delivery. The potential for to the tendency to over-commit and under-deliver, and economies of scale for everything from procurement my new role as president of MISA Atlantic is no excep- and sharing of application development efforts to flexible tion. I reflect back on the beautiful Moncton summer day hosting services leads to exciting possibilities. in late July when our informal gathering of municipal IT Communications infrastructures that enable data-centre organizations agreed to represent MISA in Atlantic consolidation are now becoming commonplace, and Canada. Did the others in the room sense this tenden- those investments in scalable architectures can soon be cy, especially with vacation a scant two hours away? put to the test. Reciprocal arrangements seem to have major advantages and can create multiple diverse However it happened, I walked out the door as the centres of excellence, eliminating duplication and dilu- president of MISA Atlantic with what sounded like some tion of IT services. simple tasks, including writing this column. For the record, I should identify the other members of the executive: Substantial Challenges Daya Pillay, Halifax Regional Municipality, treasurer; and The challenges of ensuring that services are not provided Bill Todd, City of Saint John, secretary. at the expense of the wrong tax base, selling the concept, For a couple of years now, Atlantic Canada has held service-level agreement management and organizational an informal meeting of municipalities to discuss common commitment are all substantial. Perhaps if anything IT issues – Halifax Regional Municipality, Cape Breton tangible comes from linking various levels of govern- Regional Municipality, St John's, Charlottetown, Saint ment for electronic service delivery, it will be the recog- John, Moncton and Fredericton. Lac Carling has proved nition that we can and should cooperate effectively. invaluable in facilitating introductions and providing an To survive in the fast-paced world of technology excellent venue for making these municipal connections. today, we will be forced to be more entrepreneurial, and Despite the differences in geography, political climate, look to our friends and neighbours for solutions and size and mandate, we have always found common issues models to adopt. and challenges to discuss, and the opportunity to share Will any of this happen during my tenure as president our experiences is always of mutual benefit. of MISA Atlantic? I am now more aware of my personal over-commit-and-under-deliver pitfall, so let me say Collective Memories I’m cautiously optimistic we can move toward more The decision to join MISA as a formal chapter was not a cooperative ventures. simple one. Perhaps our collective genetic memory of George Brown may have said it all in describing the Confederation (either 1867, 1873 or 1949, depending Charlottetown Conference of 1864: on locale) caused a more cautious approach than was “On Wednesday, the Conference gave the Canadian warranted, but in the end the obvious benefits of mem- Delegates their answer – that they were unanimous in bership in a national organization won out. regarding Federation of all the Provinces to be highly In the coming months we will establish a more formal desirable, if the terms of union could be made satisfactory structure and modus operandi, determine our operating – and that they were prepared to waive their own more relationship with MISA Canada, and begin reaching out limited questions until the details of our scheme could to other municipalities within the region. be more fully considered and matured.” One of the most difficult yet potentially rewarding areas for municipal cooperation in Atlantic Canada is [email protected] n 4 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005

MISA NEWS ACROSS CANADA MISA IT Security Conference to Introduce New Concepts and Advanced Strategies

Have you heard of “security implemented by municipalities, other public-sector staff to learn convergence?” It’s a formal method other levels of government and together, exchange ideas, discuss for bringing together the cumulative major private-sector companies. trends, and review technologies and security resources of an organization, The Region of Peel, City of industry best practices,” says confer- and it’s the newest and hottest Brampton, City of Mississauga and ence chair Roy Wiseman, CIO and topic in IT security, says Dave Tyson, the Town of Caledon are hosts director of information technology senior manager, IT and physical of the conference at the Delta services for the Region of Peel. security for the City of Vancouver. Meadowvale Resort and Conference Municipal delegates from across Tyson’s presentation on security Centre in Mississauga. the country have registered in convergence will be a highlight The conference theme is “Cyber advance for the conference through of the 3rd annual MISA IT Security Security and Integrity.” Content will MISA Ontario’s Web site, Conference, taking place November include policy, administration and www.misa.on.ca. 21-22. technical issues as well as forensic Conference speakers are drawn The conference will also explore techniques. from every region of Canada. They other concepts, strategies, programs “This event will provide an excel- include senior security officials from and solutions being developed and lent opportunity for municipal and the Atlantic Provinces, Manitoba, Ontario and Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada. MISA/ASIM Canada Members The program also includes police experts from the RCMP and the Officially Join Association Region of Peel, and educational specialists from Dalhousie University and Sheridan College. MISA/ASIM Canada, the At a teleconference October 5, Fraser Hirsch of the City of Ottawa, emerging national association the Interim Executive composed of which was the host municipality for formed to coordinate the work of two representatives from each of the the first two MISA IT security confer- municipal IT organizations in all five member organizations approved ences, will present a session on areas of the country, has advanced and adopted a By-laws and Operations employee monitoring. Klem Vessel several steps toward its official Manual defining the mission, principles and governance structure of the of the City of Brampton will speak launch. national association. on internal audits, and a panel of Executives of all five member The association has also made its speakers from several Ontario organizations – including the four first contribution to public-policy municipalities will discuss vulnera- chapters of MISA and Réseau de discussions by submitting recom- bility management. l’Informatique Municipale du mendations on telecommunications Bell Canada is platinum sponsor Québec (RIMQ) – have formally policy to a federal government of the conference. Other sponsors agreed to join MISA/ASIM Canada, panel. They can be read at include MetaComm Inc., Microsoft based on approval of their respective www.misa-asim.ca. Canada, Nortel Networks, Ontario members. The Interim Executive is proceeding Ministry of Government Services MISA/ASIM Canada stands for with plans for the official launch of and Trend Micro. Several executives Municipal Information Systems MISA/ASIM Canada during the MISA from these companies will address Association/Association des systèmes Ontario Annual Conference in Ottawa, topics such as crisis management d'information municipale Canada. June 4-7, 2006. and anti-virus techniques.

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MISA NEWS ACROSS CANADA Expanded MISA Prairie Plans First Election

MISA Prairie has expanded Strathcona County. municipalities attended a meeting its membership to 20 municipalities “MISA Prairie is in motion,” September 14 during the MISA BC in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Interim President Georganne Fall Conference at Kamloops. Manitoba. Dupont of the City of Airdrie, The number of member munici- It is also planning its first formal Alberta, enthusiastically reported palities in the Prairie chapter has election of officers at a meeting, after delegates from 13 member grown by 20 per cent since 2004. to be held November 15 in Member delegates agreed to hold a minimum of two chapter Nasim Karsan Honoured Posthumously meetings a year. The November 15 For Her Contributions to MISA BC meeting will be held in the City of Sherwood Park, with Richard Kirke of Strathcona County as host. The meeting will include a review and discussion of draft bylaws. MISA Prairie is developing bylaws modelled

r on those of the BC chapter. e l t s i

h A formal election of executive W , officers will also be held at the s e e

t Sherwood Park meeting. Interim r u S

Executive members, besides Dupont, t r

e are: treasurer, Darren Young, City of b o R

Lethbridge; membership, Natalia y b Madden, County of Grande Prairie; o t

o Web site, Mark Humphries, Parkland h P County. MISA BC has named Nasim Karsan as the posthumous recipient of the Spirit of MISA Humphries will develop a Web Award for 2005. Nasim, who died of cancer in June, was executive secretary of the BC site for MISA Prairie, and Dupont chapter and manager of application systems at the City of Richmond. MISA BC reported that a domain name has President Gerry Matte, right, presents the award to Nasim’s husband, Akbar Karsan, and son Sajid at an October 19 executive meeting. been purchased: www.misa-prairie.ca. The meeting in Kamloops opened with a moment of silence for Peter MISA BC Associate Members – 2005 Bennett of Winnipeg, the chapter’s founding president, who died sud- We appreciate the support and participation of 14 associate members: denly in May. Kevin Peacock of Saskatchewan, who is chair of the Access BC/ BC Online Island Internet Interim Executive of MISA Canada, Bell West Inc. J. E. T. T. Corp. described the design of the Peter Boardwalk Communications Ltd. Kinetix Wireless Inc. Bennett Award, etched glass mounted ComVault Systems Canada Pacific Alliance Technologies on a wood base, which he will be E-Comm Panasonic Canada presenting at an early opportunity ESRI Canada Ltd. Sierra Systems Consultants Inc. to Bennett’s widow, Renate, from IKON Office Solutions Inc. Tempest Development Group MISA Canada.

MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005

REPORT FROM RIMQ

Villages branchés du Québec La fibre optique: une locomotive pour la MRC des Laurentides La renommée et très fréquentée piste cyclable du P’tit Train du Nord, installée sur une ancienne voie ferrée, sillonne la MRC des Laurentides. Un autre réseau circule maintenant sur ce territoire : quelque 320 kilomètres de fibre optique.

Editors’ note: The four MISA chapters in Canada have Effectivement, il y a une porte d’avenir que l’on n’a pas joined with Réseau de l’Informatique Municipale du Québec le choix de prendre.» (RIMQ) to form MISA/ASIM Canada. At the invitation of the Interpellé par le milieu scolaire en 2000, le directeur national association’s Interim Executive, RIMQ has agreed général de la MRC des Laurentides n’a cependant pas to contribute one or more articles in French to each issue of souscrit d’entrée de jeu à la proposition d’installer un Municipal Interface, which has a national distribution réseau de fibres optiques. « Au début, on s’est dit que including many municipalities in Quebec. l’on n’avait pas d’affaire là-dedans, que l’on n’y connaissait The following article describes how fibre optics have become rien, avoue Sylvain Boulianne. On s’est informé d’abord.» “the locomotive for the Laurentides region.” The acronym MRC stands for a type of Quebec municipal structure. « D’emblée, l’ensemble des maires a voulu aller voir plus loin, commente Ronald Provost, préfet de la MRC The regional government and its 18 municipalities, as well des Laurentides et maire de Brébeuf. On ne pouvait pas as a school board, Bell Canada and the Province of Quebec, passer à côté. Les dix huit municipalités ont embarqué cooperated to get fibre-optic cables rolled out in the rural region and provide it with high-speed communications et y ont cru jusqu’au bout ! and IP telephony. Sous les projecteurs Ça a été un gain exceptionnel. Un gain exceptionnel Par Caroline Pelletier pour les coûts associés également. » Direction des communications « On a fait une profession de foi : on va partout sur ministère des Affaires municipales, du Sport et du Loisir le territoire, poursuit Sylvain Boulianne. On partage les coûts selon la richesse foncière et non pas au coût réel Dans cette MRC où le paysage est semé de lacs, de la construction. Sinon ça coûte plus cher pour les de rivières et de montagnes qui attirent villégiateurs et petites municipalités, souvent les plus loin et les plus touristes, on croit à la fibre optique et à son fort potentiel pauvres. Il y a eu un consensus là-dessus. » de développement économique. Aller partout sur le territoire voulait dire également, « Pour les maires, et ils ont raison, c’est l’équivalent pour la MRC, aller dans tous les bâtiments municipaux, d’un chemin de fer au début du siècle dernier. Il n’y a autant les hôtels de ville que les garages, les casernes pas une région qui va se développer dans le futur si elle de pompiers, les bibliothèques ou encore les stations n’a pas accès à la fibre optique », lance sans hésiter Sylvain Boulianne, directeur général de la MRC des Laurentides. d’épuration. Ce choix a été fait pour deux raisons, expose le directeur général. « La première, couvrir le plus d’en- Prendre le train droits possible. Ensuite, permettre le développement du « Le leitmotiv de janvier 2001 que l’on a présenté devant plus grand nombre d’applications informatiques possi- une centaine d’élus municipaux, ça a été : le risque dans ce ble. » Deux cent quarante kilomètres de fibre optique projet là, c’est de ne pas y aller, fait valoir M. Boulianne. constituent cette toile municipale.

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REPORT FROM RIMQ

Mont-Tremblant sur les rails en vue pour le personnel. Et l’assurance pour les utilisa- À la Ville de Mont-Tremblant, « on revient un peu de loin », teurs du site Web d’un équipement dernier cri. de dire Jules Deslauriers, responsable de l’informatique Pour mettre en place les composantes du réseau de et de la téléphonie. Il n’y avait aucun lien entre les quatre fibres optiques, les promoteurs, peu familiarisés, comme anciennes municipalités fusionnées pour former la tout le monde, avec cette technologie, ont pu compter nouvelle Mont-Tremblant en 2000, entre la quinzaine sur les gens de Bell et sur le fournisseur de services PG d’édifices du territoire. Il n’était pas rare qu’un modem Systèmes d’information. De plus, Jules Deslauriers n’a serve à dix-sept personnes. Le matériel était devenu que des bons mots pour Yves Le Saux, technicien en désuet, les pièces se dénichaient difficilement en cas de informatique, systèmes et soutien, « un des piliers de ce pépin, et chaque service avait son propre serveur. projet-là », dit-il. «La gestion du parc de serveurs, c’était probléma- Un réseau sécuritaire tique », poursuit M. Deslauriers. De plus, trois bases de données, pour la gestion financière et du territoire entre Employé de la Commission scolaire des Laurentides, autres, « ne se parlaient pas ». Yves Le Saux a été « prêté» pour configurer, avec un technicien de Bell, quelque 80 bâtiments relevant de « L’avènement de la fibre optique nous a permis de la MRC. Le travail s’est fait en parallèle à la commission créer un seul réseau unifié. Peu importe où l’employé se scolaire. trouve, il peut avoir accès aux données. Tout est automa- tisé. C’est un changement majeur. Cette centralisation Comme le précise M. Le Saux, « on passe dans les permet aussi une gestion beaucoup plus simple, beau- mêmes conduites de fibres mais ce sont deux réseaux coup plus efficace. » complètement isolés, qui ne se touchent pas physique- ment. Éventuellement, ils pourraient être reliés. Où il y a M. Deslauriers est maintenant moins souvent sur la eu du partenariat, c’est vraiment dans l’ingénierie du route. Il n’était pas rare qu’il fasse près de 5000 kilomètres projet, le financement et le déploiement avec Bell. en un mois pour assurer l’entretien du parc informatique. Maintenant, ces deux entités volent de leurs propres ailes. Actuellement, tous les postes de travail sont accessibles à distance. Donc, des économies appréciables de temps, « Il fallait que je m’assure qu’aucune municipalité ne d’argent et d’énergie. puisse aller dans le réseau d’une autre. C’est là que l’on a créé des zones DMZ [zones démilitarisées] pour des Les gains ne s’arrêtent pas là. Grâce à la bande passante, la municipalité sera en mesure d’installer un projets communs des municipalités. On a des serveurs système de téléphonie IP. «Le nombre de lignes télé- en commun. » M. Le Saux s’est promené pendant phoniques va diminuer ainsi que le nombre d’appels plusieurs mois d’un bâtiment à l’autre pour configurer, interurbains », explique M. Deslauriers. Un seul numéro tester et soutenir les gens des municipalités dans leur permettra de joindre l’ensemble des services municipaux. introduction à la nouvelle technologie. Et les employés n’auront qu’à composer quatre chiffres À la commission scolaire, l’arrivée de la fibre optique pour communiquer entre eux. Le système permettra permet aussi de relier 31 bâtiments et d’améliorer le aussi de confier le service 911 au poste de police et d’en parc informatique. « On a enlevé les coupoles installées améliorer la prestation. dans une quinzaine d’écoles pour Internet. C’est main- De grandes nouveautés sont également à venir sur le tenant l’Internet rapide pour l’ensemble des écoles, site Web de Mont-Tremblant. Un service de recherche, même les plus éloignées.» entre autres pour les notaires et les agents immobiliers, La commission scolaire se mettra aussi à l’heure de la est déjà en place soulageant de ce fait la Ville des 300 à téléphonie IP,ajoute-t-il. Son territoire comprend trois 400 appels par mois qu’elle recevait de ces professionnels. indicatifs régionaux. Ses frais d’interurbain sont importants. La dimension transactionnelle sera ajoutée, particulière- Les parents, les enseignants et le personnel administratif ment pour les citoyens. Encore une fois, gain de temps pourront bientôt communiquer sans frais. Comme le

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REPORT FROM RIMQ système téléphonique est déjà désuet, l’investissement Le partage des coûts entre les partenaires a été fait n’est pas aussi considérable qu’on pourrait le croire. selon les normes de l’industrie, précise Sylvain Boulianne. « La commission scolaire a attendu que la téléphonie Il ne fut cependant pas facile à établir. « Notre chiffrier IP se développe pour l’implanter à des coûts assez Excel a 325 lignes par à peu près 72 colonnes ! Les 325 raisonnables. On va pouvoir offrir un meilleur service lignes représentent chacune les petits tronçons du à la clientèle, un meilleur service aux employés. » réseau. » Et certains tronçons sont communs à deux partenaires ou aux trois. L’arrivée de la haute vitesse à la commission scolaire permettra l’émergence de plusieurs projets de portail Mais démêler cet enchevêtrement de coûts a valu la pour l’administration, le personnel et les élèves. Les peine. Et les comptables des municipalités pourraient enseignants pourront bientôt entrer les notes de leurs bientôt être appelés à établir les coûts de l’offre aux élèves dans leur dossier à l’école à partir de leur ordinateur citoyens de la haute vitesse. La MRC des Laurentides ne à la maison. Depuis la mise en place du réseau, des citoyens, souhaite rien de moins que de devenir télécommunicateur ! surtout dans les petites municipalités, bénéficient de Mise à part l’installation d’un réseau municipal, centres d’accès communautaire à Internet logés dans les «l’objectif que l’on avait, c’était d’amener la fibre optique écoles. En fait, la grande majorité des municipalités n’aurait là où le privé ne veut pas aller, souligne Sylvain Boulianne. pas eu accès à Internet haute vitesse sans ce projet. Notre investissement, on s’en est servis comme levier Un investissement payant pour attirer le privé dans les villes, mais aussi pour éventuellement offrir la haute vitesse. La MRC a obtenu es a donné en 2002 son aval pour Le conseil des mair une licence du CRTC comme télécommunicateur non entreprendre les démarches afin de doter la région d’un dominant. » réseau de fibres optiques. Les promoteurs ont alors frappé à la porte des programmes gouvernementaux en Cet automne, avec l’aide de spécialistes, cette infrastructures. Finalement, c’est grâce au programme dernière va analyser les technologies susceptibles Villages branchés du Québec que la MRC et la commission d’offrir Internet haute vitesse aux commerces, aux entre- scolaire ont pu dire adieu aux multiples serveurs qui prises et aux citoyens de certains milieux qui doivent encombraient leurs bâtiments. actuellement débourser des sommes considérables pour l’obtenir. Divers scénarios sont à l’étude. Par exemple, Une somme de près de 5 millions a été nécessaire pour mettre sur pied l’ensemble du projet. La MRC et la on pourrait avoir recours à des réseaux indépendants de commission scolaire ont investi 3 800 000 $ dont les télévision par câble présents dans deux municipalités. deux tiers (2 533 333 $) ont été fournis par le ministère «Dans ma vision des choses, ça [devenir un diffuseur] des Affaires municipales, du Sport et du Loisir et le peut être un outil pour aller chercher des sommes ministère de l’Éducation. Pour sa part, Bell a consacré un d’argent assez majeures. On pourrait alors commencer à million de dollars à cette entreprise. se faire un fonds de développement économique pour De l’avis de Ronald Provost, aucun des partenaires la région », laisse entendre le préfet de la MRC. Ce fonds n’aurait pu se permettre de piloter seul ce projet. « Il y a pourrait notamment servir à prêter à des municipalités eu un partenariat exceptionnel qui devrait nous rapporter qui souhaitent construire des logements à prix modiques, à court et à moyen termes des résultats exceptionnels. de plus en plus en demande dans la population vieillis- On est chanceux d’être une des premières MRC au sante. Ce serait aussi une façon de couvrir les coûts, ce Québec à avoir réalisé ça avec un partenariat de cette qui permettrait de poursuivre le projet de prévention ampleur-là également », constate-t-il. de la criminalité amorcé par la MRC comme pilote du Les trois partenaires financiers, la MRC des Laurentides, ministère de la Sécurité publique. la Commission scolaire des Laurentides et Bell sont Qui pense Laurentides pense souvent lieux de villé- copropriétaires du réseau. Il va sans dire qu’en tant que giature luxueux pour Montréalais en manque d’air pur détenteur de l’expertise, Bell a la responsabilité de son ou étrangers charmés par la beauté de nos quatre entretien. La MRC agit comme maître d’oeuvre du projet. saisons. Pourtant, douze des dix-huit municipalités de la Chacun paye pour sa fibre optique et en est le propriétaire. MRC des Laurentides sont considérées dévitalisées.

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REPORT FROM RIMQ

«Au niveau des immobilisations, on est une MRC très comme la chambre de commerce et le bureau d’infor- riche, mais on a des poches de pauvreté exceptionnelles. mation touristique de Mont-Tremblant. Peut-être qu’avec un projet comme ça, on va pouvoir Télémétrie pour les stations d’épuration et les égouts donner des services à ces douze-là qu’on ne pourrait se et aqueduc, surveillance par caméra à distance sans frais, payer autrement », soulève M. Provost. conseils sans papier. Les projets sont nombreux pour les Comme diffuseur, la MRC pourra éventuellement municipalités et la MRC. On aimerait aussi relier le 911 dégager des bénéfices importants. Mais les avantages et le rôle d’évaluation foncière. Les pompiers pourraient financiers de la fibre optique sont déjà bien réels. Dès le ainsi recevoir des photos numériques de la maison en début, les élus savaient que leurs municipalités y gagn- feu, pour connaître notamment son revêtement, à même eraient beaucoup. « Les dépenses annuelles de 240 000 $ le camion ! Toujours en service incendie, les pompiers sont presque remboursées à 100% juste par l’économie volontaires qui ne peuvent compter que sur des des municipalités qui n’ont plus de liens Internet à payer téléavertisseurs peu performants dans les endroits isolés maintenant. Seulement les 80 bâtiments qui ne payent et éloignés devraient avoir accès à un meilleur service plus de liens Internet, juste ça, ça paye quasiment le de communication pour donner une meilleure réponse projet », s’enthousiasme Sylvain Boulianne. en cas d’incendie. Comme la Ville de Mont-Tremblant, Sainte-Agathe a Mais pour la MRC, la prochaine étape sera la poursuite maintenant son réseau local. Auparavant, elle utilisait du développement d’un réseau intermunicipal. Les bib- des tours à micro-ondes, une technologie moins efficace. liothèques sont déjà reliées par un réseau indépendant Et les coûts associés étaient plutôt vertigineux. depuis un an et offrent aux citoyens l’accès à Internet Sans compter l’arrivée possible de villégiateurs et de haute vitesse. Maintenant, on pense à des applications travailleurs ou de grandes entreprises et d’usines pour pour des échanges entre les municipalités et la MRC, qui la fibre optique est une condition sine qua non pour la cour municipale et pour la délivrance des permis de leur installation dans la région. Des travailleurs de construction. autonomes ont choisi d’habiter Val-Morin parce qu’il y a maintenant la haute vitesse, donne en exemple « On avait une vision d’avenir très grande. On avait Ronald Provost. passé le message pour que l’ensemble des municipalités ait les mêmes logiciels, pour qu’il n’y ait pas de pagaille. Droit devant Tout le monde a suivi le mouvement. Les directeurs Le choix d’aller de l’avant a donc été fait pour économiser généraux, les employés, les gens en urbanisme, tous des sous, mais aussi pour assurer le développement sont drôlement contents. « Il y a un consensus autour économique de la région. « Ce qu’on va faire avec la de la table des dix-huit maires et mairesses et j’en suis fibre optique dans cinq ans, on ne le sait pas aujourd’hui, très fier. Il y a une très très belle harmonie chez nous. dit Sylvain Boulianne. Il y a tellement de possibilités que Il y a une collaboration et c’est le message depuis cinq c’est illimité ! La fibre optique est reconnue comme le ans : on est un territoire, on est une région et quand on moyen de télécommunication le plus fiable, le plus s’assoit ici, on parle pour la région. Ici, il y a une volonté performant. » d’aller de l’avant », se réjouit le préfet de la MRC des « Elle va nous permettre de nous donner des services Laurentides. auxquels on ne pensait même pas il y a cinq ans, croit Le mot de la fin appartient à Jules Deslauriers qui pour sa part Ronald Provost. On n’en est qu’au balbu- recommande sans hésiter la mise en place d’un tel réseau : tiement de son utilisation. » Comme la MRC est proprié- « Il est l’heure de se mettre à jour partout. Pour toutes taire de fibres excédentaires partout sur le réseau, des les MRC et villes du Québec. » demandes lui sont déjà parvenues. Des cliniques médi- cales privées souhaitent être branchées au réseau de santé publique, par l’intermédiaire de l’hôpital de Source: "Municipalité" – Vol. 35 No. 3 – Octobre 2004. Sainte-Agathe. Des organismes en bénéficient déjà, Reproduction autorisée par: Les Publications du Québec. n 11 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 BizPaL Service Advances the Case For e-Government Collaboration

By Ralph Blauel Halton Region, Ontario

A new online service is being launched across Canada that promises to help municipalities provide better services to businesses, while streamlining their administration and improving productivity for both municipalities and their corporate citizens. This service – BizPaL – is also a step forward for e-Government. It is among the first online public services designed from the ground up as a collaborative initiative of all four levels of govern- Key benefits to partners include: ment and launched on a national basis, with the purpose of • Spend less time with clients – with BizPal, aligning those services and making them seamless to the public. business clients can self-serve and answer a BizPaL is a permit and licence identification system. Seamlessly significant majority of virtually all questions integrated into municipal Web sites or portals, it gives business themselves. owners and entrepreneurs a single point of contact so they can find out what permits and licences their businesses will need • Increased compliance – businesses gain a from municipal, provincial/territorial and federal governments. better idea of their obligations and have all the information they need to meet them. This service is badly needed. Today, entrepreneurs must often go to many departments within multiple levels of government to • Reduce enforcement costs – by assisting ascertain what permits and licences they need, never being sure clients to get all permits and licences if they’ve found them all. Research conducted in Halton Region, right the first time, there will be reduced Ontario, found that as many as 80 different licences and permits enforcement costs associated with non- must be obtained from all levels of government before someone compliance fines. can open a restaurant. • Gain a competitive advantage – by stream- Halton Region and two towns within it, Milton and Halton lining the business permit and licence Hills, have participated in a pilot project, together with Kamloops, process, BizPaL makes your municipality BC, and Whitehorse,Yukon, which contributed to the development more attractive to business. of the BizPaL service (Business Permits and Licences). This fall and • Capitalize on existing Web forms and winter, those municipalities will realize the product of their efforts services – BizPaL works with your existing as businesses will start using BizPaL on their Web sites. Web investments to reduce the time and BizPaL has also grown into a national collaborative project, with cost involved in developing new tools. a Web site at www.bizpal.ca. An interim governance structure has been implemented with seven partners – the Province of British • Consistent information – BizPaL provides your Columbia, the City of Kamloops, the Province of Ontario, Halton call centre and counter staff with accurate, Region,Yukon Territory, the City of Whitehorse and Industry Canada up-to-date, and consistent information – in preparation for a formal launch in fall 2005/winter 2006. In Halton Region, we have found that our Small Business Centre staff can answer questions Benefits to Partners about permits and licences required for start-ups The BizPaL team is looking for new municipal partners. The fol- in minutes rather than days. Small-business lowing background and implementation detail is provided to clients can use BizPaL outside of the Small encourage your municipality to participate.

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Business Centre’s business hours to obtain such informa- the full power and flexibility of BizPaL. The second tion from all levels of government in one place. option permits a partner to provide essentially the same To gain these benefits, we invested 10 person-days user experience through an inline frame approach that of .Net programming time, 10 days of business-process is extremely easy and inexpensive to implement, but mapping and five days to verify the master data and which limits the flexibility of the BizPaL solution. questions and answers once they were loaded into BizPaL. Option 1 – Web Services Implementing BizPaL The Web services implementation option is targeted at larger partners who have or want to get experience with To benefit fully from BizPaL, each partner is expected to Web services technology. An important prerequisite for commit to the following six fundamental elements: this option is that the partner must have access to a • Business process mapping:This is an exercise in Microsoft .NET or J2EE Web application server and have which partners examine the licences and permits (or develop or contract) the skill sets to manage such a they deliver, assemble information about them, and server and implement Web services functions. That said, evaluate the types of questions users need to answers the BizPaL Secretariat will provide detailed instructions to link to the right licence or permit. This information and comprehensive sample codes that will enable even is then converted into a format that can be input into the least experienced technical resources to implement the BizPaL database using the administration module. a basic Web services-based BizPaL service. • Adoption of compatible data standards:The Web To implement the Web services option, a partner services model requires that all data sent to the technical team would follow the detailed instructions BizPaL database use some simple common standards. provided in the BizPaL Partner Implementation Kit and Partners agree to ensure that the data they provide create approximately 20 new Web pages – one for each conforms to these standards. potential page of the BizPaL business user experience. • Regular updating of information: Partners are respon- The partner technical team would cut the appropriate sible for the content and currency of the information sample code provided by the BizPaL Secretariat and that they provide about their licences and permits. paste it into the corresponding Web pages on their site, They agree to authorize designated staff members to perform any fine tuning or customization required, and use the administration module for making changes proceed to test the site to ensure that it is correctly and adjustments, as required. accessing the BizPaL Web services. • Participation at meetings: Partners co-manage BizPaL Advantages of the Web services option are that it by participating in the meetings of several committees gives partners full control of the look/feel and user inter- including the Steering Committee, the Project Managers’ action. It also permits integration with existing or new Committee and the Service Transformation Committee. services (including user accounts and related services.), Participation also involves responding to requests for and provides the partner technical team experience information or other questions. with a leading-edge technology. • Contribution to maintenance: BizPaL is a shared This option requires the partner to have a Web appli- resource that belongs to the partners. Within this cation server (BizPaL will provide sample code for .NET context, partners agree to share the costs of operation, and J2EE servers) and associated technical expertise. It maintenance, and expansion of the service according also requires significant effort to code, test, and maintain to a formula agreed to by the partners. multiple pages (one week+ depending on the level of • Coordinated approach to communication: Partners existing skill sets). agree to coordinate their approach to promoting Option 2 – Inline Frames BizPaL to other jurisdictions and users. The inline frame option is targeted at smaller partners Technology Implementation Options who don’t have access to a Web application server and To best support a wide range of potential partners with a those who want to get BizPaL working on their Web site wide range of technical capabilities, BizPaL has developed in the fastest possible time. two distinct technical implementation options. The first To implement the inline frames option, a partner option employs Web services and will appeal to partners technical team would create a single new Web page who are fairly technologically advanced and wish to use within their site that will “host” all BizPaL functions. In

13 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 addition to their normal “look and feel” HTML code, they tion module permits partners to modify and update this will add a single line of HTML code that will establish an information. As partner information changes, authorized inline frame on the page. The inline frame will access a representatives can use the administration module to generic implementation of the BizPaL user experience enter new licences and permits, modify information from the BizPaL servers for use by the partner’s clients about the old ones, adjust the questions asked of users, while they are on the partner’s site. add new business sectors, or make other adjustments The inline frames option does not require a Web as required. application server, and it is very easy to implement, test, In this way, each partner has both direct control over and maintain (approximately one day of effort). and responsibility for their own information. Data updates may be provided by each jurisdiction in either Business Process Mapping an automated or manual fashion, depending on their Business process mapping is a critical step in the BizPaL technological capabilities. process. For the purposes of the BizPaL project, business Through the BizPaL administration module, partici- process mapping involves charting every step a business pating jurisdictions also gain a tool to maintain a central client must go through at all levels of government to inventory of all their business permits and licences. Until obtain the appropriate permits and licences to operate a now, many jurisdictions had no way of tracking all the specific type of business in a particular jurisdiction. permits and licences issued by their programs. To begin, a specific business type is identified, such as a restaurant. Then, representatives knowledgeable in the Technology Implementation Planning permits and licences required for operating a restaurant While each partner’s technical implementation experience are brought together from each level of government will vary with the exact nature of their requirements and within that jurisdiction to chart the combined require- the source (in-house vs. contract) and experience of ments. The final product is a comprehensive list of BizPaL process reveals service redundancies the permits and licences required to operate a restaurant in that jurisdiction, along with their resources, the following generic high-level steps the questions the client must answer to customize that should provide some indication of the process and time- list to their specific needs. lines required for implementation: Bringing together representatives from each level of 1. Determine where to incorporate BizPaL: Partners government in this way also initiates a valuable dialogue must determine where they will offer BizPaL on their for long-term service transformation. As existing processes respective Web site(s). This may include business are charted, any regulatory redundancies, conflicts or information portals and customer support areas. inadequacies among departments and governments are 2. Select a technology option and timeline: Project deci- clearly highlighted and captured. sion makers must meet with their technical personnel The comprehensive inventory of permits and licences to discuss the fit of those options with existing or that the business-process-mapping team has identified planned infrastructure and priorities, and select a is entered into a central BizPaL database using the BizPaL technology option and timeframe. administration module. This documentation is itself a 3. Plan technology implementation project: The BizPaL valuable asset and can be reused within each jurisdiction Secretariat will provide a Partner Implementation Kit for a variety of other purposes. that consists of a generic project plan, recommended A business-process-mapping How-To Guide and tem- resource requirements, sample code, and detailed plates to use in data gathering has been developed. implementation instructions and guidelines. Partners must customize the generic project plan to their Administration Module requirements, identify appropriate staff, and initiate The full inventory of each jurisdiction’s business permits the project. and licences that was collected and organized through 4. Complete technology implementation project: Using the business-process-mapping exercise is then loaded the sample code, instructions and guidelines provided into the central BizPaL database. The BizPaL administra- in the BizPaL Partner Implementation Kit, partners

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must modify their Web site(s) to provide their business scale and ideas about continuous improvement. clients with data transmitted from the central BizPaL Ideas generated from the BizPaL project might well database. Depending on which technology option is be used in other areas of client service improvement selected, this will require either basic Web site devel- and e-Government. opment skills or more advanced knowledge of Web BizPaL will provide businesses a way to identify programming, XML and Web services architecture their entire permit and licence requirements at one and technology. time through the access point of their choice, saving Joining BizPaL them time and money. As BizPaL is a self-service tool, governments will be able to redirect valuable client- For municipalities, the commitments required to partici- service resources. pate include: The collaboration within and among governments • Securing access to and commitment of permit and that is at the core of the BizPaL initiative will ultimately licence expert staff lead to more streamlined and efficient government services. • Completing a few weeks of business process mapping Facilitating a level playing field and more productivity using the implementation kit for businesses and governments will create a stronger • Integrating BizPaL into your municipal Web site using economy that benefits all Canadians. either Web services (one week) or the simpler inline For more information please visit www.bizpal.ca and frames option (a few minutes). contact the BizPaL project manager at [email protected]. BizPaL will provide the opportunity for staff from various jurisdictions to meet (virtually and in-person) Ralph Blauel, director of technology services at Halton to share best practices, lessons learned, economies of Region, can be reached at [email protected]. n

15 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 TELECOMMUNICATIONS & NETWORKS Wireless Networks: The Basics Today’s wireless solutions are designed to meet defined needs

By Mark Quigley The City of Denver also issued an RFP designed to Bell Canada provide a series of solutions that would improve efficiency and productivity within its employee base. Public safety solutions, field force automation and internal wireless services among How pervasive are employee Internet access solutions are all part of the municipalities? mix. A technology path has not been defined, which is The mainstream media is filled with stories about an important factor to consider. many municipalities south of the border. The City of The needs of most municipalities are diverse and Philadelphia, for example, awarded a contract to a consortia cannot easily be classified in a short, defined list of led by Earthlink to blanket the city with a wireless MESH needs. Nor does it make sense to consider everything in network (see box below) that will eventually provide its terms of wireless. While tremendous enablers, wireless citizenship with access to the Internet at reduced rates. technologies are not municipal cure-alls. To assume this Philadelphia claims that it will begin to fund digital-divide might be short-sighted. programs via subsidized PCs once the venture becomes Let’s take a step back and consider municipal needs cash-flow positive. more broadly. These needs can be put in three broad The City of San Francisco issued an RFI for a citywide categories, each with their own challenges. wireless network. The RFI in itself was not surprising. 1. Internal operations. Simply put, this is the business One of the respondents, perhaps, was. Everyone’s of operating a city on a day-to-day basis. This involves favourite search engine, Google, responded to the RFI management of personnel from public works and police with a plan that would blanket the city with wireless departments to fire departments and city inspectors. It access for both public and city use. The catch is that the also involves management of city assets – consider city work would be done for free. Google believes that the transportation (both public transit and internal city use company will enjoy a significant revenue stream if it is as determined by various departments), traffic lights, able to advertise using the service. water and sewage facilities, libraries, hockey rinks and other municipal assets. Making this broad ecosystem more Technology Description Bandwidth Coverage efficient drives cost down, and should raise the customer satisfaction rating WiFi Wireless local Can get as 300 ft. maximum radius from the tax base. area networking high as 54 Mbps 2. External client. This refers to the MESH Networked WiFi It depends – typically Depends on the number 1 Mbps delivered of WiFi access points in municipal tax base – keeping citizens operation. Bell Canada and business engaged and interested in and Nortel have a trial of this technology in staying around. Consider electronic voting, the city of Chapleau. the provision of Internet access in public It can be seen at: (www.projectchapleau.sl.ca) buildings, public transportation systems The City of Philadelphia that are more efficient, and better police network will use MESH as and fire departments. For business a part of the solution. customers, consider a municipality that WiMax Wireless Up to 13 Mbps Up to 15 km broadband keeps its citizens engaged (reducing employee “churn”), the presence of a 1xEV-DO 3G mobile Up to 2.4 Mbps Bell Canada mobility network network robust telecommunications infrastructure (both wired and wireless) in business

16 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 TELECOMMUNICATIONS & NETWORKS parks or technology corridors, and a municipality The most sensible way to consider this is in terms that demonstrably understands the needs of a 21st- of an ecosystem – an environment that is made up of century company. different parts fulfilling different roles (and not all 3. Business Development. The lifeblood of any necessarily wireless ones – fibre and DSL play a signifi- municipality is its citizens and its business base. cant role as well). Continued growth will only come if a municipality has For some applications,WiFi may be the best technology the ability to attract new investment from the business to use. In others, it might make more sense to use a world, bringing with it an infusion of new citizens. wireless mobility network, such as Bell Canada’s Municipalities that can demonstrate the value of what 1xEV-DO network. they deliver to existing citizens and business clients will As a provider of telecommunications solutions, we have more success in attracting new investment. An can build whatever needs building, and we understand efficient city that provides well for the needs of its citizens that technology is only an enabler. What is paramount is and business base will be more successful than those having a conversation with our municipal partners – that do not. Technology can act as an enabler. especially if we are going to successfully work together to achieve results. When we add these needs together, we arrive at a set of municipal business issues that are quite complex.They cannot be solved simply by throwing the latest and Mark Quigley is director for strategic business development greatest technology at the problem, hoping that some- in the Bell Canada Enterprise group. He can be reached at thing sticks and letting us walk away happy that a good [email protected]. n job has been done. There needs to be a fundamental shift in how we, as service providers and municipalities, arrive at a solution to these business problems.Webster’s dictionary defines a solution as “an action or process of solving a problem.” Note the word process. An interesting notion – the solution is not only the end point. It is also the manner in which we arrive at that end point. So, what does that mean? For Bell Canada, it means that we are willing to engage in a series of conversations with our municipal partners, spending time to better understand how they function across the three identified broad service buckets. For municipalities, it means that they must be open to having these conversations and sharing the things that keep them awake at night. It means that this has to be approached as a partnership. Once we have had those conversations, only then can we begin to consider how we can jointly solve some of the problems. It is clear that wireless technologies are transforming the way that we do business. In the final analysis, however, wireless technologies merely act as another conduit to get information from point A to point B. Note that the plural “technologies” has been used. This is important to consider. The world of wireless is composed of countless technologies (and associated acronyms) that provide different bandwidths and power different devices, as well as different coverage zones.

17 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 TELECOMMUNICATIONS & NETWORKS Fast-Changing Community Portals Are Shaping Web-based Democracy

Editors’ note: The author was the lead speaker at a workshop able to access community portals for information but also called “Lessons Learned from the Municipal Community” at to participate in a wide range of transactional activities, Showcase Ontario in Toronto on September 20. This article including participating in public debate and shaping is adapted from a presentation to that workshop. government decisions. Community portals are undergoing intense change By Craig Sisson to correspond with public demands and the goals of Microsoft Canada economic development and enhanced democracy. Municipal governments like Sudbury and Hamilton are rising to the task by creating inviting, multi-functional Community portals are changing the way that portals that permit citizens to conduct transactions municipal governments interact with their stakeholders. more effectively and tap into the vast holdings of They are using new technologies to overhaul and rede- government information more easily. fine their relationships with businesses, employees, Another promising possibility other public agencies and, most of all, their constituents. of e-government is the pro- Community portals like mysudbury.ca and vision online of a democracy myhamilton.ca are becoming the key to meeting centre that permits citizens increasing citizen demands for better access, govern- to interact with public offi- ment transparency, enhanced timeliness and quality of cials on important issues. information. Citizens can better convey There are four vital building blocks that contribute to their expectations and the success of portals like these. needs from government, 1) They must marshal unwavering commitment and access official documents, support from political leaders. In this kind of project and take part in electronic nothing gets done without political will. Craig Sisson surveys of public opinion. 2) They must have a clear focus on serving the citizen, All of this has the potential not primarily on the technology. to bolster citizen participation in community affairs and 3) They must have a strategy to encourage early and the democratic process. measurable wins. Deliver the project in timely, To accommodate changes in government strategies complete modules. Take one step at a time. dictated by shifting citizen demands and governance 4) They must build trusted relationships with their project policy, governments need a flexible foundation that can partners: political, private and other government adapt quickly and easily to new Web content and service organizations. delivery. It is important to keep in mind the need for extensible solutions to ensure that a municipality can From the citizen’s perspective, e-government has connect more people, systems and devices as it takes grown from a process requiring multiple interactions steps to further integrate future e-service initiatives. with various government departments to the much better prospect of convenient, streamlined interactions Infinite scalability is the key to the Web-based with a single, integrated government portal. democracy of the future. On the technological side, we have witnessed a transformation from a simple process of posting information Craig Sisson is director, public sector of Microsoft Canada, to an impressive and promising move to develop fully an associate member of MISA Ontario. He can be reached online communities. The aim is for citizens not only to be at [email protected]. n 18 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 TELECOMMUNICATIONS & NETWORKS mysudbury.ca – Helping to Build A Smart Community in Greater Sudbury

By Jody Cameron transformation of cold, impersonal infrastructure and City of Greater Sudbury, Ontario technology into a personal and inviting solution that This article is based on a presentation at Showcase Ontario enables individuals and organizations to find a place within in Toronto on September 20. the community and connect with those around them. The City of Greater Sudbury’s borders are broad – its 3,600 hectares make it Ontario’s largest municipality in The Greater Sudbury we know today has size. Through mysudbury.ca, however, physical location emerged from a history of forestry, railway and mining. In is no longer a barrier to service. the 1970s, Greater Sudbury employed more than 50,000 people in the mining sector. By the mid 1990s, however, High-speed Internet connections are available in nearly that number dropped to just more than 6,000 people. every neighbourhood, levelling the playing field and permitting residents to access the portal and participate For the city to survive and prosper, Greater Sudbury fully in their community by providing content and e-feed- needed to diversify its economy. And diversification is back, as well as obtaining services online. Content is exactly what has happened in the past few decades. generated by members of the community, human The city is now a more viable option for both large services organizations and tourism providers. Through and small enterprises, boasting features such as 2,500 km this portal, the city’s sense of community is strengthened of fibre optic cables, several post-secondary institutions, and technological capacity is built. a new teaching hospital and medical school, extensive The main sections of mysudbury.ca include: mysudbury research and development opportunities, low cost of living, Home, myPage, mySeniors, myYouthZone, myKidsZone, vast amounts of land and an ideal community size of myCommunity and myTourism. These sections provide 155,000 people. citizens with the ability to easily find information, services In March 2005, the City of Greater Sudbury, together and events that are relevant to them. with the Social Planning Council of Sudbury, launched One of mysudbury.ca’s key features is the myCommunity mysudbury.ca, a community Web portal. The goal of workspaces offered to each of the city’s human services mysudbury.ca is to provide a gateway into the community, organizations. The myCommunity section of the portal improving access to information and services for local helps the Social Planning Council of Sudbury to fulfill its residents and organizations. mandate to maintain a comprehensive database of human Greater Sudbury is a wired community. Its residents services information. It also provides these agencies are increasingly turning to the Internet to find what they with functionality and opportunities that would have are looking for – and mysudbury.ca is there to provide it. never before been available. Recent surveys show that more than 70 per cent of resi- Based on Microsoft Sharepoint Portal Server, these dents have Internet access at home, and more than 68 workspaces reside within the myCommunity section per cent of businesses have Internet access. and are managed by each individual human services In the past, however, information in Greater Sudbury agency. An agency can use its workspace as its sole Web has been fragmented and difficult to find. This situation presence or as an augmentation of an existing Web site. was problematic for both the city’s residents and for Through its workspace, agencies have access to tools those who work to serve them. The creation of the such as events calendars, document and photo libraries, mysudbury.ca community portal recognizes the need discussion boards and surveys – all of which can be for improved access to information by all. made available for public or private access. Through mysudbury.ca, technology is being used to To begin administering a myCommunity workspace, engage people. Part of this innovation is the distinct training is required. To date, more than 200 individuals

19 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 TELECOMMUNICATIONS & NETWORKS have been trained, representing 100 of Greater Sudbury’s participate directly in council meetings via e-mail and 900 human services agencies. mysudbury.ca is truly real-time chat with councillors. becoming a network for the Greater Sudbury community, Because the portal was built on a scalable solution, it in terms of both the technology and the people. With is fully adaptable for future needs and opportunities. In access to server space, functionality and training provided fact, since its launch, it has already begun to enhance through the portal infrastructure, the entire community the information and services it provides to residents. has been given the opportunity to become part of These key enhancements include real-time flight infor- this network. mation from the Greater Sudbury Airport and online The portal also has the capability to make democracy volunteer postings in partnership with Volunteer more accessible to all. Coming later this fall, council Sudbury/Bénévolat Sudbury. meetings will be Webcast via the site, permitting In the few short months since its launch on March 29, residents without access to the local cable station’s 2005, mysudbury.ca has achieved great success. Some broadcast to view it online. of the highlights of this success include: The portal is also equipped with e-feedback centres, • More than 13.6 million hits were generated by which can be used by council to enable citizens to 107,000 different people. express opinions and provide input into municipal issues. This e-feedback tool can also be used by other • More than 500 content submissions were submitted organizations to solicit community input. Future possi- by community members and organizations. bilities for the portal include the ability for citizens to • 100 human services organizations have received training and are using myCommunity workspaces. • In partnership with Sudbury Discoveries (sudbury- tourism.ca), 150 weekend packages have been sold online, valued at $60,000. • More than 1100 portal users have created personal profiles. • 60 volunteer positions have been posted online. What’s more, mysudbury.ca won the 2005 Municipal Innovation Award for Excellence from Association of Municipalities of Ontario, and Navantis won an award at the 2005 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference for its work on mysudbury.ca. It also won the Information Worker Solution Award at Microsoft Canada’s 2005 Impact Awards Gala. With less than one year of operation behind it, the mysudbury.ca community portal has already proved to be a resounding success in Greater Sudbury. A single point of entry into the community, a forum for collaboration and involvement, a very personal use of Greater Sudbury’s technology infrastructure – mysudbury.ca is continually forging ahead to bring new opportunities to the people of this community.

Jody Cameron is project manager of mysudbury.ca, an initiative of the City of Greater Sudbury. He can be reached at [email protected]. n 20 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 TELECOMMUNICATIONS & NETWORKS

Measurable Success the First Week

• Portal accounts created in first 24 hours: 266 • Total portal accounts in first week: 883 • Visits first 24 hours: 47,985 • Visits in first week: 301,523 • eServices/transactions conducted: 12 ($464, dog licences and zoning verification reports) • Number of content contributors: 100+ Shannon McKay of the City of Hamilton and Jody Cameron of Greater Sudbury participate in a panel discussion at Showcase Ontario. Application of Leadership Principles Builds Success for Hamilton Portal

By Shannon McKay new account holders were randomly selected and four City of Hamilton, Ontario tickets awarded to each winner. This article is based on a presentation at Showcase Ontario The contest was advertised on local radio stations in Toronto on September 20. and launched a community awareness campaign that included billboards, print advertising and promotions on the day of the game. When residents typed www.hamil- portal shows just Hamilton’s new community ton.ca to access the City of Hamilton municipal site, they how much can be accomplished when organizations found themselves at a new area of the myhamilton.ca work together to produce a new community service. portal – City and Government Services. Subsequently, With an investment of almost $4 million, the Hamilton when library patrons visited www.hpl.ca, they arrived at team succeeded in overcoming many risks. And the the new Library Services section. The result was a result? Not only is myhamilton.ca an instant hit with myhamilton.ca buzz – success in the first seven days! citizens – but valuable lessons about leadership were learned along the way. The site’s information and services are structured in eight sections including the City and Library channels. Off to a Good Start! The remaining six areas include Arts, Sports and The myhamilton.ca community portal project began in Recreation, Business and Industry, Communities and June 2001 with 12 founding partners. It was launched Organizations, Education and Careers, Health and September 13, 2005. Environment, and Tourism and Visitor Information. The new portal also features a rural sub-site with information With little media hype and no ribbon cutting, the and key resources for those living in Hamilton’s rural portal was successfully launched with a contest for early communities as well as hot topics in the agricultural sector. subscribers and a high-profile campaign. In the days following September 13, visitors who registered for a new Key features and functions include completely portal account qualified to win tickets for a September 17 integrated municipal and library services, personalization football double-header: McMaster University vs.Western and single sign-on for secure transactions, comprehensive and the Hamilton Tiger Cats vs. Calgary. For four days, 50 events listings and extensive search capabilities. Also 21 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 TELECOMMUNICATIONS & NETWORKS included are collaboration spaces and tools including Here are some of the lessons we learned. surveys, discussion forums and document sharing, as Learn from Others well as Webcasting capabilities. To varying degrees, it really has all been done before. Without the $1M in provincial funding from the With so many communities who have or who are in the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and the process of deploying portal technology, there are Connect Ontario Partnering for Smart Community numerous examples of best practices, lessons learned, (COPSC) program, the site would not be as extensive. recipes for success, case studies, checklists, takeaways The total value of Hamilton’s initiative is $3.9 million – a and even pitfalls to avoid. Take the initiative to connect combination of financial and in-kind support from more with others, build new relationships, and communicate than 45 community partners. regularly. It will prove invaluable. Special thanks to Jody The resolve and commitment of numerous organiza- Cameron with www.mysudbury.ca , Donna Lunn from tions and individuals to work together for the good of www.elginconnects.ca , Gilles Dupuis of the Guelph- the greater community is a hallmark of our success. Wellington project www.wellingtonguelph.ca, and Time and time again, Hamilton has proven that its Kristina Verner with www.windsor-essex.info for their strength, spirit and success are in its people – and advice, support and friendship. myhamilton.ca is no exception. By design rather than Engage Stakeholders Early chance, the good news for others who are considering similarly ambitious projects is that the roadmap to success Stakeholders will be varied and numerous. Endeavour is easy to emulate and costs next to nothing to acquire. to engage all users. From citizens to staff and volunteers in partner organizations, you need to communicate early and regularly. Assumptions must be validated, and needs must be tested and retested. Hamilton’s team conducted usability testing a number of different ways: from simple card sorting exercises to testing paper prototypes of the site. The team conducted surveys, one-on-one interviews and even hosted more formal usability testing sessions, facilitated by external consultants in which the sessions were captured in digital format for review in the future. Whatever the methods, plans should include a certain degree of activity-based testing but must also permit sufficient time for editing and retesting the solution to ensure that changes correct the problem. Most importantly, the entire process should be repeated on a regular basis. Portals will always evolve, and the sooner and more comfortable the team is in engaging users and soliciting stakeholder feedback, the better the solutions that will result. Anticipate Risks The dual nature of risks means there will always be opportunities and threats. Attempt to identify, analyze, and respond early to potential risks. Develop a risk- management plan and ensure that the project team monitors, controls, and continuously plans ahead. You may not be able to prevent the threat from occurring, but with a plan you’ll be prepared. Without it, you’ll simply have problems.

22 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 TELECOMMUNICATIONS & NETWORKS

Develop Detailed Plans • Mayor’s Initiatives partnering – Hamilton Celebrates With projects of this size, the old adage the devil is in Month, Physician Recruitment, Strengthening the detail is a fundamental truth. While deliverables and Hamilton’s Community Initiative, Recruitment, milestones must be clearly identified, do not neglect to Retention and Relocation, and Hamilton’s include time-consuming tasks and parts of a task. There Education City. will be numerous mini-plans within overall project plans: Success Needs to be Understood by Everyone plans for usability testing, user acceptance testing, policy development, content contribution and migration, mar- You will not know if you are successful unless you are keting and communications, and launch and appreciation specific in defining success and can measure the results. event plans. They all require human effort and resources. Goals must be realistic. For myhamilton.ca the team has set the following business objectives to be attained No parameters and constraints (such as timescale, within the first year of launch: budget, scope and authority) should be overlooked. Once developed, all plans will need to be articulated • Ninety per cent of households with Internet recog- and communicated with relevant stakeholders, and they nize myhamilton.ca brand – 85 per cent indicate must be revisited often. Vagueness will only lead to mis- they rely on it. interpretation, scope creep and frustration. • Seventy-five key organizations and businesses have Web content indexed by the search engine and Ensure Useful and Effective Governance assist in contributing content. First ask why, and then ask what. Whatever the structure, • Fifteen per cent of referrals to key local organizations roles and responsibilities must be clearly defined. It is and business sites come from myhamilton.ca. important that risk, liability and legal issues are under- • Fifty per cent of Culture and Recreation registrations stood and communicated early in the process, and are made online. progress reported regularly with targeted communications. Reporting to many different masters should not • Fifteen per cent of available e-commerce services translate into many different reports, and quality assurance (pets, professional service licences, library holds, must help and not hinder project progress. In the end, small building permits, zoning verification reports) keep it simple, manageable and realistic. are done online. • Citizens frequently view Webcasts concerning city Rely on Partners administration, emergencies and public service All partners and stakeholders have ideas and can bring announcements. resources and talent to the table. People, skills, experience, connections and generous offers should never be Hard and Soft Skills Matter overlooked. Everyone can and should be expected to If you are fortunate to have some control over the selec- contribute something. In-kind exists everywhere. tion of individuals for your team, remember that to Partner contribution to myhamilton.ca included the have great performance and results, you have to start following examples: with great people. Competent and motivated people are • McMaster University – User Adoption and Uptake Study critical to success. Commitment, enthusiasm and pride will always result in greater engagement. And a will- • FibreWired Hamilton – Free wireless access to ingness to grow and develop new skills increases effi- myhamilton.ca ciency and productivity. • Mohawk College – 40 second-year marketing and Do not underestimate the critical importance of knowledge advertising students provided the initial creative succession, and delegate leadership responsibilities. platform Orientation with new policies, procedures and products • Mohawk College – three summer students contributed must be a continuous effort. Evaluation should take to a new logo and creative copy including billboards place with adjustments made accordingly. and print. • Hamilton Public Library – three temporary project Inspiration and Motivation are a Must positions (trainer, community collaboration, space A difficult and demanding project will quickly tax ener- and training coordinators) gy and enthusiasm. Although it is not always easy, you

23 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 TELECOMMUNICATIONS & NETWORKS must lead by example. Challenge Leadership Learn from others others to overcome obstacles and hold Don’t be fooled into believing that each other mutually accountable. Engage stakeholders early responsibility for leadership can and Conflicts will inevitably arise. Be pre- Anticipate risk must reside at the top. Leaders are pared to acknowledge them as soon as Develop detailed plans everywhere. As your project progresses, they occur, and deal with them in a pos- new leaders will rise to the occasion, itive manner. Ensure effective governance with strengths, hidden talents and Rely on Partners Praise Often and Praise Early unique skill sets that can profoundly Success must be defined It is to be expected that at the com- influence the team. pletion of major milestones, there will Hard and soft skills matter In the end, do not look for the “portal be cause for celebration. It is equally Inspire and motivate of all portal solutions” that comes in a important however, to recognize and Praise often and early box. Hamilton’s technical infrastructure acknowledge the quick wins and may have been purchased at a cost – smaller successes. These successes but our success was inspired by need to be communicated regularly L.E.A.D.E.R.S.H.I.P. and shared throughout the organization. Every community portal project will be unique, with a different scope, different budget, different vendor and Shannon McKay is the senior project manager for myhamil- a different solution for customer needs. But success in ton.ca and the eGovernement coordinator for the City of every instance has L.E.A.D.E.R.S.H.I.P as the foundation. Hamilton. She can be reached at [email protected]. n

24 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 TELECOMMUNICATIONS & NETWORKS Key Technologies Enable the Development of Fully Integrated Communications Networks Jason Martin By Jason Martin technologies can also enable community groups President, Navantis to meet and share ideas – all without having to leave This article is based on a presentation at Showcase Ontario their homes. in Toronto on September 20. As more Canadians adopt broadband Internet connections they are becoming more Web-savvy, It’s almost five o’clock before you realize you expecting information, tools and services to be have to sign up your kids for skating lessons in the next available online. They are demanding easier, faster 10 minutes or their Hockey Hall of Fame dreams will go transactions when they interact with organizations, and down the drain. Unfortunately, the note with the number this includes the municipalities where they live. New for the municipal recreation department is at home, on technologies like CMPs and 3-1-1 services make this your refrigerator door. What do you do? easy to accomplish. Most Canadians would waste time rifling through the Dial in or log on? phone book, dashing their kids’ chances for sports stardom. E-government pioneers are betting on broadband. But there is a better way. Many of these connected communities are deploying Today’s Realities 3-1-1 voice services and community municipal portals, Ninety per cent of Canadian communities with a citizen and linking them to help streamline information flow. base of 500 or more have a basic online presence that The resulting efficiency reduces costs for the municipality provides static information. This offers residents few and makes services more accessible and transparent for opportunities to interact with municipal officials and residents. departments, however, and no opportunity to interact Dialing 3-1-1 provides access to all government and with each other. municipal services other than emergency services. It This is changing. Most large municipalities are now reduces the expensive strain on 911 emergency call- beginning to implement full-scale e-government strategies centre operations by diverting non-emergency calls to facilitate better collaboration, enable more efficient and to another service. productive business processes, and improve community For more than three years, residents of New York City relations and communication. and Chicago have been using 3-1-1 to report potholes Once online, many communities are looking at the or request the garbage collection schedule. Now a number next step – a fully integrated communications network of US municipalities are using 3-1-1 in addition to their built upon two main technologies: community municipal online presence to provide information to residents. portals (CMP) and 3-1-1 voice service. In Canada, the cities of Calgary, Gatineau and With these technologies, various interactions between Windsor have implemented 3-1-1 services. Several other citizens and government are possible. Residents can pay municipalities are preparing implementations, and still their parking tickets, search the municipal library database, others are starting to evaluate the opportunities associated and provide feedback on bylaw amendments. These with 3-1-1, such as the measurement of service delivery.

25 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 TELECOMMUNICATIONS & NETWORKS

Depending on the technologies used, a 3-1-1 system in the same or another kind of operating system by can provide councillors and the mayor with scorecards using the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) and so they can report facts and information back to their extensible markup language (XML) as the method for constituents. information exchange. Community municipal portals are based on a mesh • XML is a flexible way to create common information of sophisticated communications software configured formats and share both the format and the data on by professional software integrators to meet the needs the Web, including portals. XML can be used by any of an individual municipality. In addition to providing individual or group of individuals that wants to share access to some of the same information available information in a consistent way. by dialing 3-1-1, CMPs enable additional functions including polling, virtual meetings and calendars, as • WSDL – Web services description language – is an well as payment collection. XML-based language used to describe the services Adoption of portal technology is moving faster than an organization offers and provide a way for individuals 3-1-1 in Canada, with most large municipalities and other organizations to access these services (500,000+ residents) already having a form of CMP solution. electronically. The next step will be the integration of these two Voice, data and Internet applications can be linked modes of communication. • UDDI – universal description, discovery and integration Linking Online with Phone Lines – is an XML-based registry for organizations around Voice and Web communication is supported by a range the world to list themselves on the Internet. Its of hardware and software that must interact and share ultimate goal is to streamline online transactions information if they are to be integrated. The open stan- by enabling organizations to find each other on dard for this integration is services-oriented architecture the Web and make their systems interoperable (SOA). This model creates a collective digital environment for e-commerce. that enables services to be defined, developed, and inte- These languages and processes permit the data on grated with other services. current municipal servers to be accessed through one Within this environment, larger solutions are created system, creating a single point of contact between residents and the municipality. SOA frameworks ensure by adding processes, interaction mechanisms, user inter- that key municipal systems can interact. faces and rules to establish how everything works together. SOA integrates servers with software and databases, SOA-enabled CMPs also offer the additional benefit so municipal managers and citizens alike can access the of integrating call centre software with 3-1-1 services, which before the advent of open standards proved information they require at any time, anywhere. incredibly difficult. For example, a citizen may want to pay a parking ticket The continuing merger of the information on these online. To accomplish this, sophisticated back-end servers with municipal call centres and CMPs cannot be integration is required. With SOA, these linkages are accomplished without these processes. Because of SOA, transparent to the citizen paying the bill. voice, data and Internet applications are seamlessly SOAPing Up Your Network linked, enabling systems to process all contact with the municipality in a digital format, regardless of how the Services-oriented architecture is enabled by the following communication was initiated. languages and processes: SOAP,XML WSDL and UDDI. With these new technologies, instead of searching • SOAP – simple object access protocol – is a way for the phone book to find skating lessons for your kids, you a program running in one kind of operating system, access your community portal or dial 3-1-1 to access such as Windows, to communicate with a program municipal information. The service directs you to infor-

26 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 TELECOMMUNICATIONS & NETWORKS mation about upcoming skating lessons at municipal Some residents of 3-1-1/CMP-enabled municipalities rinks. You then select your classes and enter your credit also have access to this information. New York City card information to pay. data is universally accessible through the Web, so a resi- Because 3-1-1 is part of the integrated communication dent can log on to find out how many bars were system, you can also find out whether the class you’ve caught ignoring the no-smoking laws and how selected has already been filled. Finally, your call auto- many broken water mains plagued their neighbor- hood last year. matically generates a message to the Recreation and Finance departments that informs them to track your As citizens become increasingly “wired,” municipalities class registration and process your payment. In some are being driven to establish transparent e-government cases, 3-1-1 even sends the lesson schedule to your models that link three applications – voice, data and e-mail account. Internet. The enabler for this integration – SOA architecture – has now made this a possibility for both large and Multiple Viewpoints small municipalities. These integrated systems can track citizen interactions Demand for online services will only increase. It’s through Web-enabled software dashboards – computer now time for municipalities to catch the wave – and interfaces that bring together valuable data and provide ensure more connected communities. the ability for user-defined manipulation. Councillors can use this information to build reports that help them Jason Martin is president at Toronto-based Navantis Inc. manage their wards, for example. He can be reached at [email protected]. n

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For more information, please contact your Bell representative or visit www.enterprise.bell.ca MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 TELECOMMUNICATIONS & NETWORKS Snow Clearing Can Be Monitored Minute by Minute in St. John’s

Winter is approaching. It’s time for municipali- stopped, how long they have stopped, and where they ties to prepare to spend a lot of money, effort and time have been. clearing snow from their wintry streets. Controlling A combination GPS/cell antenna mounted in the centre costs is difficult because there are so many operating of the cab of the vehicle transmits signals to the unit variables, such as how long it takes a vehicle to get installed within the vehicle. Input sensors run from their past a clogged intersection. And there’s a significant respective devices to the modems inputs. added burden to City Hall from the inevitable flood of calls from citizens asking why their street is still piled The wireless tracking units are modems that have with snow. embedded cell-phone modules, GPS modules, and input sensors. These units transfer location information along At the City of St. John's, a GIS solution has lowered with input information to a predefined IP address in a the anxiety levels for both City staff and the public. The formatted data string. The server then parses this City can track its snow-clearing vehicles using what is information and displays it to the appropriate services. essentially a wireless extension to its intranet. This information is also stored in the ArcSDE database Going one step further, St. John’s has also made for historical analysis and operational playback. the system public. Citizens can view the progress of snow-clearing activities during the winter season at Selective Monitoring http://avl.stjohns.ca. The intranet site permits Operations Centre staff to view It’s a popular site. In the winter the location of all vehicles if they wish, or just some of them. A view- of 2004-05, the public site received er can select vehicles by type, about 35,000 unique visitors. such as Sander, and view only Snow has a big impact on the lives those vehicles on the map. Or a of St. John’s citizens – an average viewer can select an individual of 322 cm of it falls every year. The vehicle from the menu and view a City budgets approximately $11 map of its location, along with valu- million annually for snow clearing able information from the sensors and ice-control operations. such as plow up/plow down status After severe storms in the winter and salt/sand spread values. of 2002, council instructed the Data from the vehicles is logged Public Works Department to track to an enterprise geodatabase using snow-clearing vehicles during a ArcSDE and can be used for analysis. storm. After a storm, Public Works can The City ultimately selected ESRI Canada to review their plow activities and look at the amount of provide an automatic-vehicle-location (AVL) solution resources that were used, such as sand and salt, and called Tracking Server. review which streets were cleared first. Knowing sand and salt volumes helps optimize future use, saving the Continuous Transmissions City money. Today the Public Works Operations Centre is able to fully “The benefit of better managing our fleet of more track a vehicle, monitor its location and resource use, than 100 vehicles has been a great financial saving for and perform queries on vehicles. Supervisors can locate us,” says Neil Martin, who is director of information and where their vehicles are and also find out if they are corporate services, as well as clerk and associate com- 29 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 TELECOMMUNICATIONS & NETWORKS

missioner for St. John's. “We have been able to access information quickly and easily for improving our future operations.” St. John’s used to receive claims from citizens that cars had been damaged by snowplows during a storm. The City would question their drivers about their locations during the storm but would not have any way of proving that their snowplows were not in the area of the incident at the time in question. Now the City is able to evaluate these claims by showing where their snowplows were at a particular time. As a result, the City has lowered its insurance costs. It has received support from the unionized work force for the AVL solution, because the City is now able to This screen capture is from http://avl.stjohns.ca, the City of refute liability claims and reduce the responsibility St. John’s public AVL Web site for viewing snow-clearing vehicles. of crews by showing where a vehicle was at an exact point in time. Citizens have also applauded the solution since it was extended to the Web. They can access up-to-date snow-clearing information over the Internet and follow vehicles as they move around St. John’s to get a better idea of when their street will be cleared. They can zoom and pan to the location of individual snow-clearing vehicles such as loaders, salters and graders. Further development is being done to tie the vehicle location data to the business data. The goal is for the AVL system to be a one-stop shop for departments. A manager in the fleet will be able to be access maintenance This view of the internal AVL Web site shows locations of garbage reports for a vehicle with a direct link to the DB2 database trucks in a neighbourhood. which contains the information. The service has now been expanded to garbage services and, in the summer of 2006, the public will be able to monitor their garbage vehicles. St. John’s is also using the system to keep an eye on contracted services, and several contracted vehicles have begun to transmit their input information to the City’s database. In the future, vehicle monitoring will be written into contract tenders.

Information for this article was provided by Neil Martin, associate commissioner, director of corporate services and city clerk of the City of St. John's, [email protected], and Matt Down, GIS marketing specialist with ESRI Canada, This internal vehicle-speed report keeps track of the speed of a specific vehicle. [email protected]. n

30 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 Municipalities Need Strict Policies For Licensing and Procuring Software By Paige Backman, David Takenaka and Denis While a number of strategies are available to munici- Chamberland palities, the important thing to remember is that these ABTS Global LP must be considered before the RFP is issued so that they can be incorporated into the RFP. The competitive tendering laws can be used to advantage, or they can A few months ago, Madame Justice Bellamy undermine the municipality’s negotiating strategy later issued a report inquiring into some of the procurement in the process. practices at the City of Toronto from the years 1997 to 2002. The Bellamy Inquiry was launched in 2002 to Price Protection investigate the acquisition by the City of Toronto of Often, the municipality is principally focused on ensuring some computer equipment from a company called MFP. that the current, up-front price payable by the municipality For reasons that were little understood at the time (at fits within the municipality’s current budget. Many least by most), the costs of the technology ballooned municipalities neglect to negotiate future rates at which from some $43 million to about $83 million. they can acquire training and consulting services, or As a result of the Bellamy Inquiry, municipal organiza- rates at which the existing licence can be expanded. tions are reviewing and fine-tuning their public procure- Similarly, the initial licence fee often includes the first ment processes and agreements. Municipalities must year of software maintenance (which is a key component ensure that they negotiate agreements that adequately in a licence of software), but not subsequent years. safeguard their interests. If future rates and fees are not negotiated at the time Procurement is difficult at the best of times, but perhaps that the software is procured, the municipality may be in especially so where software is involved. There are several for a rude awakening down the road. There will be budget considerations for municipalities in procuring software. implications and possibly tensions. A common situation occurs when a software vendor Re-licensing of Functionality grants the municipality a licence for a software product It is common practice for vendors to include wording in that is not out-of-the-box, meaning that is not subject to the software licence agreement that implicitly permits a shrink-wrap or click-wrap agreement. Our focus is on the vendor to remove functionality from a software terms of a licence agreement that are subject to negoti- module licensed by a municipality to a “new module,” ations. What is important to consider? while charging a separate licence fee for this new module. The RFP Process It is incumbent on the municipality licensing the software to try to minimize this risk by avoiding being forced to Software is commonly purchased through a competitive re-license that functionality, which has already been tendering process, which is a good way to optimize paid for. value. The request for proposals (RFP) and the proposals received constitute a binding contract between each Confidentiality Provisions proponent and the municipality that issued the RFP. The form of software licence agreement provided by a Because the parties to the bidding contract are not vendor does not typically recognize the municipality’s allowed to amend the contract at any time, the munici- obligations under the Municipal Freedom of Information pality should include the proposed software licence’s and Protection of Privacy Act. Terms of the software key provisions in the RFP. The software vendor will licence agreement should be compatible with the either accept or object to them within the context of its requirements of the statute. proposal, well before it finds out whether it has been What’s more, confidentiality provisions found in the successful in the competition. That way, the municipality vendor’s software licence agreement are often drafted gains a significant advantage in negotiating the terms of in a manner that protects only the vendor’s confidential the contract. information. Clearly, if the vendor will have access to the

31 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 municipality’s confidential information, the software granted the rights it requires to use the software as licence agreement should be drafted to protect the anticipated by the municipality. municipality’s confidential information. Because software is “licensed” and not “sold” (even if Limitation of Liability Clauses we speak of “purchasing” a licence), use of the software by the municipality is restricted to that expressly provid- Any software licence agreement provided by a vendor ed for in the software licence agreement. contains a limitation of liability provision, where the vendor seeks to limit its potential exposure. Such a Among the issues to be considered in this regard is clause is often drafted to the vendor’s liability to direct whether the municipality should negotiate a right to use damages up to an amount equal to the amount paid by the software for the benefit of certain legal entities within the municipality under the software licence agreement. the municipal family. For example, because most local This is a standard approach. hydro distribution companies in Ontario are owned by a There are, however, certain key responsibilities of the municipality, should the use of a software licence granted vendor that the municipality should consider excepting to the municipality permit the distributor to use the from this limitation of liability provision, so that there is software? This must be negotiated at the time of the unlimited liability in some pre-defined areas. This will procurement. also help align the interests of the vendor and those of the municipality. Paige Backman, [email protected], David Takenaka, Licence Grant [email protected], and Denis Chamberland, It is incumbent on the municipality to carefully review [email protected], are vice presidents of the grant of licence provision contained in a software ABTS Global LP,the consulting affiliate of the law firm Aird licence agreement to ensure that the municipality is & Berlis LP,an associate member of MISA Ontario. n

32 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005

Ken Nightingale of the Thompson-Nicola Regional Carol Boothroyd delivered a District, left, listens to Brian Pearson ofthe Regional keynote speech to groggy dele- District of Comox-Strathcona as he describes the gates on Wednesday morning District’s award-winning electronic agenda system. that demonstrated the value of humour in human-resource leadership.

Keynote speaker Brian Burke inspired the conference with his vision of how organizations succeed through a con- tinual and uncompromising demand for excellence. Leadership and Collaboration At the Heart of BC Conference

By Lawrence Moule profane, he spoke of how leadership begins with Co-editor, Municipal Interface a “vision of excellence” that must be demanded from the top. He presented his personal 12 The theme of the MISA BC Fall Conference in Kamloops commandments for achieving success in orga- was “Return to the Heart of IT.” What that really meant, delegates nizations (number 1: The product is key). The discovered, was pumping up the qualities of leadership and fascinated audience didn’t want to let Burke collaboration. leave the stage. The conference on September 11-14 offered an intense three Rather than try to follow that act with days of examining top-of-mind technological issues, and many another speaker, the conference organizers opportunities to collaborate with colleagues to find solutions. wisely let the delegates speak for themselves in the Municipal Breakout sessions. Delegates “The spirit of sharing is alive and well in everyone,” delegate gathered in groups of similar-sized municipalities Nga To of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District declared. to collaborate on identifying problems and Steve Botham of of the Regional District of Fort George finding solutions. This is always one of the agreed:“Whatever kind of issue you want to talk about, you can most popular events at MISA BC conferences. find someone to give you advice or tips on how they’ve been In the session for municipalities with fewer handling a similar situation.” than 25,000 residents, delegates identified their As to leadership, delegates found many sources of inspiration highest-priority IT issues as business continuity, in Kamloops, beginning with the opening keynote address by security and document management. They Brian Burke, the Harvard Law alumnus who is general manager of talked about forming newsgroups to discuss the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and former president and general and evaluate technologies. manager of the Vancouver Canucks. The conference was remarkable for facilitating Burke owned the room from the moment he began to speak. collaboration through such groups and many Even his jokes were delivered with authority. Using anecdotes others. There were meetings of the MISA from the world of sports that combined the reverential with the Prairie chapter, the Interior GIS Users Group,

MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 special-interest groups concerned with security, the Web response to her companiy’s presentation on infrastructure and wireless solutions, vendors’ user groups and several management as part of GIS Day on Monday, September 12. roundtable discussions. “The delegates were incredibly responsive,” Dresser That was all part of MISA BC’s own leadership vision, said. “Infrastructure management is a very hot topic. conference chair Frank Mayhood said. We had 24 copies of our white paper and 34 people in “About three years ago, we went through a strategic- the room, and they hopped out of their seats to get planning process for MISA BC, and one of goals we hold of those white papers!” identified was to facilitate sharing and collaboration Every delegate had a favourite session. For Barb Cato among municipalities wherever we could. of the City of Parkville, it was the session on “So we’ve been finding different ways to get people best practices for electronic document management, together. From a golf game to sitting on a bus going on presented by Trac Records Inc. Murray MacAulay of the City of Burnaby was intrigued by IBM Canada’s session a wine tour, to attending a roundtable session and talking on videoconferencing and remote meetings. Tony about what’s coming in wireless technology or what’s Roberts of the City of Vancouver came away impressed new in electronic records and document management – by the wireless roundtable featuring speakers from Bell, you get those people with a common interest together Rogers and TELUS. and synergies happen.” Freedom of Information Focus on Key Issues One of the best-received presentations was by Mary Another characteristic of this conference was its in-depth Carlson, director of the Office of the Information and exploration of several prominent IT issues. Multiple Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia. She gave a sessions were devoted to GIS, document management, spirited lecture on “The Definitive Answer on Privacy, ERP systems and networks and telephony. FOI, and What You Can Display on the Web.” The sheer amount of information kept delegates “That was a good session, probably the best,” said hopping, in some cases literally. Mike Horner of the Township of Esquimalt. “What I’ve Carla Dresser, western region territory executive with learned is that our municipality needs to re-address our Autodesk Canada, was a little overwhelmed at the FOI policies.” Conference Sponsors and Exhibitors Dell Canada Inc. Oracle Corporation Canada Inc. Sponsors Hewlett-Packard Canada Co. Rogers Wireless Agresso Kinetix Wireless SoftChoice Autodesk Canada Kronos Incorporated Sylogist Bell Canada Microserve TELUS CSDC Systems Inc. Microsoft Canada Co. Compugen ESRI Canada Ltd. NEC Unified Solutions Exhibitors Global CADD Systems Nortel Networks 4th Utility Inc. Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co. Océ-Canada Inc. Acer America Corp. (Canada) Hitachi Data Systems Inc. Omega Communications Ltd. Active Government Solutions IBM Canada Ltd. PCS Wireless Communications Ltd. Agresso ICIS Pacific Alliance Technologies BC Assessment IKON Office Solutions Panasonic Canada Inc. Barracuda Networks Information Builders Inc. Rogers Wireless Bell Mobility Kinetix Wireless Skystone International Ltd. Cisco Systems Kyocera Mita Canada Ltd. Sunguard Availability Services Com-Tech Learning Solutions Inc. Lexmark Canada Inc. The Tempest Development Group Dell Canada Inc. Litco Systems Inc. Vadim Software Diamond Municipal Solutions Mitel Networks Xerox Inc.

35 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 Les Misa-Rabbles Left to right, opposite: Doug Rasmussen, information systems manager, City of Kelowna, bass Gord Oppen, BC regional manager, Lexmark Canada Inc., guitar, vocals Lawrence Moule, co-editor, Municipal Interface, drums, backing vocals, alto sax, percussion Stefano (Elvis) Walker, vice president sales & marketing, PrinterWorks Imaging Solutions Limited, vocals John Samulski, managing partner,Forte Consulting Ltd., guitar Karen Keating, government account executive, Rogers Wireless keyboard, vocals, percussion Plus Another kind of leadership emerged, as always at Dale Descoteau, general manager of information & computer services, City of Medicine Hat ,drums MISA BC conferences, from municipalities that have Greg Julian, wireless data manager, Bell Canada BC Region, created innovative solutions to share at the Municipal blues harp Showcase. Carole Powell, senior systems engineer, Hitachi Data Systems Inc., vocals, percussion Spirit of Innovation Show producer: Gord Oppen Winner of the Spirit of Innovation Award was the Sound: Lee’s Music Regional District of Comox-Strathcona. As described by Brian Pearson, manager of information systems & GIS, the District implemented an electronic agenda system used for board and committee meetings, both for the District and the regional hospital district. The system, created with in-house expertise and tools, streamlines board communication by enabling directors and staff to create, update and post meeting agendas and minutes in electronic format on the District’s Web site, www.rdcs.bc.ca. The People’s Choice Award from among the Municipal Showcase entries went to the Saanich Peninsula Joint Web Site Development Project. This award recognized the world-leading creation of a joint municipal portal by the districts of Central Saanich and North Saanich, and the Town of Sidney. Two other innovations were recognized in the Municipal Showcase: the Greater Vancouver Regional District’s sustainable program-planning initiative, presented by Melanie Ragan, supervisor of client services, and the re-engineering of the City of Burnaby’s map book, presented by Jeff Jewell, manager of engineering systems. Content from many of these presentations will be featured in coming issues of Municipal Interface. In addition to content, delegates benefited from the comfort and spaciousness of the Best Western Forsters Convention Centre, with its theatre-style main hall that

36 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005

At right, leaders of the Saanich Peninsula Joint Below, the trade show was a busy place, helped Web Site Development by the constant availability of food and coffee Project pose with their amid the exhibit booths. People’s Choice awards from the Municipal Showcase. From left: Tony Bousquet, District of Central Saanich; John Carnell, District of North Saanich; Peter Payerl,Town of Sidney.

Right, members of the Interior GIS Users Group lis- ten to moderator Trevor Fawcett of Sunshine Coast Below, Christine Garlick of Information Builders Regional District converses with Don Hemakumara of Peace River (out of picture). Regional District. Right, BC privacy commissioner Mary Carlson addresses delegates.

Below, comedian Clinton W. Gray clowns with Janet Jensen of Tempest Development Group after the annual banquet. Left, conference chair Frank Mayhood, left, chats with Kevin Peacock of Saskatoon, chair of the MISA/ASIM Above, Melanie Ragan of Canada Interim GVRD putts for a prize at Executive. Mandi Sellers’ Com-Tech Learning Solutions booth.

Members of the conference organizing committee acknowledge applause from delegates at the sports-themed annual banquet.

37 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 added to the enjoyment of attending keynote speeches, notorious Room 206 of the hotel. The party ended only dinners and entertainment. after two visits from the local constabulary. Delegates praised the dedicated efforts of the confer- Fortunately for some groggy partiers, the next morning ence organizing team and many volunteers. They added brought a friendly wake-up presentation from motiva- special touches to the conference, such as the selection tional consultant and speaker Carol Boothroyd on the of a “sports night” theme for the annual banquet, attractive subject of humour, wellness and stress. floral designs on dinner tables and gifts for delegates of unique coasters with glass-enclosed photographs of In all, Kamloops was a classic MISA BC event, leaving BC’s picturesque Interior. delegates with plenty to look forward to at the next Fall Conference, September 17-20, 2006, in Kelowa. The Kamloops conference also proved once again that the people of MISA BC love to party. That was Summary comment on the 2005 event came from especially evident on the Tuesday night, when delegates Rob Corazzola, national director, Canadian municipalities attended the annual banquet dressed in regalia of their for SAP Canada, who experienced it as a delegate, favourite sports team. vendor and speaker. They applauded many winners of door prizes, “The conference was well organized and very infor- laughed at the off-the-wall antics of comedian Clinton mative,” he said. “I was on the ERP panel and learned a W. Gray, and then danced the night away in a roaring lot from just listening to my colleagues. rockfest presented by Les Misa-Rabbles, performing their third annual “one-stop world tour.” The show “I went to five or six technical sessions and they were included an appearance by a remarkably robust Elvis excellent. And the attendance was great. It gave me a Presley that elicited shrieks from start to finish. chance to meet with a lot of customers who I wouldn’t So energized were the delegates that quite a few of normally have a chance to meet. them carried on their party well into the night in a certain “I’m coming back next year for sure.” n

38 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005

MUNICIPAL NEWS ROUNDUP

Above, Louis Shallal, director of information technology services for York Region, holds the Diamond Award from Showcase Ontario. Right, City of Brampton and Brampton Transit staff pose with their Award of Merit and judging co-chair Roy Wiseman, right. Showcase Ontario Lauds Municipalities

York Region has won a SPIDER project, implementing a new Diamond Award of Excellence at scheduling and planning software Showcase Ontario for an exceptional for Brampton Transit. project that has reduced the cost of In the Working Together category, providing computing and communi- the Corporate Security Branch of the cations devices to the Region’s staff. Office of the Corporate Chief Informa- The Region won its high-prestige tion Officer of Ontario won a Merit award in the Business Value category Award for its Municipal/ Provincial of the Showcase Ontario Awards for its “Anywhere eDesktop” project, Partnership to Enhance Information and Information Technology Security, using server-based computing. MISA representative Claire McKay of Peel The City of Brampton won a Merit with which MISA Ontario is involved. Region, left, poses with her fellow winners Award in the same category for its The awards were presented Sept. 20. from the Corporate Security Branch. Quebec Municipal Organizations Form Alliances By Gaston Huot its 2005 Convention on September “The alliance we have established Ville de Longueuil 25-27 in Bécancour, where delegates today with the UMQ and COMAQ Vice-chair, RIMQ voted to approve RIMQ’s participa- directly contributes to RIMQ’s objec- tion in forming MISA/ASIM Canada tive, which is to promote the strategic in partnership with the four chapters role of information technologies in l IT associ- the efficient delivery of services to Quebec’s municipa of MISA (see page 5). ation has established relationships the residents of our municipalities,” RIMQ Chair Daniel Malo of with three other organizations, said Malo, who succeeded Daniel Montreal signed a memorandum of including MISA-ASIM Canada, to McCraw of Longueuil as RIMQ chair. understanding with the Union des promote the development of More than 120 municipal repre- municipalités du Québec (UMQ) sentatives and partners from all electronic service delivery. and the Corporation des officiers over Quebec attended the annual The Réseau de l’informatique municipaux agréés du Québec forum of RIMQ, which has 48 municipale du Québec (RIMQ) held (COMAQ). member municipalities.

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MUNICIPAL NEWS ROUNDUP Chatham-Kent Recognized for Portal The Canadian Information Productivity Awards (CIPA), Canada’s largest IT awards program, has awarded an Award of Excellence to the Municipality of Chatham- Kent and the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT) for Chatham-Kent’s Web portal. The award was presented in the Organizational Transformation category of the 2005 competition at the CIPA Gala Banquet in Toronto on November 1. Chatham-Kent’s portal, built with $1.5 million granted in 2001 by the Connect Ontario Partnering for Smart Communities Program administered by MEDT, pioneered the use of content-management applications and Web services to advance electronic service delivery. The team from the Municipality of Chatham-Kent, the Chatham- Innovations have continued in 2005 with the intro- Kent Health Alliance and the Ontario Ministry of Economic duction of the Patient Appointment Request Service, Development and Trade pose with their CIPA Award of Excellence which offers online access to local hospital services. at the Westin Harbour Castle Convention Centre on November 1. Open-Source Group Proposes Joint Project To Fill Information Gap

Municipalities in Canada have been slow to adopt open-source technologies, in part because they often lack a clear rationale for doing so and don’t know how to develop one. Now a group of Ontario municipal IT professionals wants to produce a document that would fill that gap. The Municipal Open Source Group, an informal organization of professionals from about a dozen municipalities, has proposed conducting a joint project to develop an open-source strategic and transition plan. It would guide municipalities in deciding whether a business case existed for the implementation of open-source technologies. The proposal was made at a meeting in Hamilton on October 17. The group is asking interested municipalities to participate in the study and help fund the cost, estimated at $5,000 to $15,000, depending in part on the selected vendor. Anyone interested is invited to contact Vito Palmeri of York Region at [email protected].

41 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005

SECURITY ISSUES Adding Value to Our Conference By Roy Wiseman Chief Information Officer/Director, Information Technology Services Regional Municipality of Peel, Ontario

As this column is being written, preparations for PowerPoint presentation, which starts by describing the the third annual MISA IT Security Conference are in CIA approach to information security (confidentiality, the home stretch. The organizing committee from the integrity, availability) and the current threat environment, Region of Peel, City of Brampton, City of Mississauga and before introducing and highlighting the key points the Town of Caledon have done a great job. illustrated by each of the videos. The conference features a solid lineup of speakers The Province of Manitoba has also provided a 97-slide with keynotes from: security awareness presentation, with topics such as: password selection and sharing; viruses; personal use • Lloyd Ellam, director of crisis management for the of Internet and email; offensive material; chat rooms, conference platinum sponsor, Bell Canada, speaking instant messaging and peer-to-peer messaging; copyright about “Crisis Management: Are You Ready?” and licensing; information classification and protecting • Peter Firstbrook, research analyst with Gartner, on sensitive information. In combination, the PowerPoint “Time of Reckoning for Information Security” presentations and videos provide “security awareness • John Weigelt, chief security adviser for Microsoft training in a box”– an invaluable starting point that each Canada, who will talk about “Assuring Trusted municipality can customize or enhance for its own use. Municipal Service Delivery.” Lunchtime speakers include the director of the Security Awareness Brochures Corporate Security Branch, Province of Ontario, and a The CDs also include two high-quality security aware- “security evangelist” from McAfee Inc. ness brochures from the Province of Manitoba and Province of Alberta. Both brochures start by outlining The conference team has also assembled a set of the importance of information security, then go on to handout materials that should provide lasting value to illustrate the various practices that employees should attendees. These materials will be provided in CD or adopt in order to meet their responsibility for protecting DVD format and will also be available to all regular sensitive information. (municipal) MISA members. A third set of contents focuses on standards for clas- We are grateful to our provincial and federal govern- sifying government information from a security and pri- ment colleagues on the National CIO Subcommittee on vacy perspective. A previous column discussed the Information Protection (NCSIP) for contributing these NCSIP four-level information security classification: high, materials. MISA continues to benefit from participation medium, low or “unclassified” for publicly available infor- on this subcommittee of the Public Sector CIO Council. mation for which no protection measures are required. Current MISA representatives are Claire McKay from the Region of Peel and Dave Tyson from the City of Vancouver. Each jurisdiction will adapt the NCSIP standard framework for its own needs, incorporating language Security Awareness Videos and Presentation and examples relevant to its employees. The CD The conference CDs include a set of 14 security awareness includes sample policies from the Province of Alberta, video clips, prepared originally in French by the Province Province of Ontario and Region of Peel. of Quebec. With permission, NCSIP arranged to have These products, provided to attendees at this year’s these videos reproduced in English for the use of NCSIP MISA IT Security Conference, can kickstart each organi- members. Each three-to-five-minute professional quality zation’s security awareness training and policy develop- video includes short illustrations of what may occur ment programs. For regular (municipal) MISA members when common security policies or guidelines are unable to attend the conference, these materials will be ignored. Municipalities may wish to incorporate these available at MISA Web sites, www.misa-asim.ca or clips in their own security awareness training. www.misa.on.ca, at no cost for their internal use. Accompanying the video clips is a 72-slide NCSIP [email protected] n 42 MUNICIPAL Interface NOVEMBER 2005 Chapter Executives

Ontario Ontario Regional Directors CENTRAL Jack Lawrence, City of Mississauga PRESIDENT Harry Turnbull, City of Windsor 905-896-5226 (fax 615-3273) [email protected] 519-256-6100 x 6333 (fax 256-3100) [email protected] EASTERN Adam Brown, City of Ottawa VICE PRESIDENT Ralph Blauel, Region of Halton 613-580-2424 [email protected] 905-825-6000, x 7997 (fax 825-6057) [email protected] NORTHERN Scott Bradford, City of North Bay PAST PRESIDENT Kathryn Bulko, City of Toronto 705-474-0626, x 225 (fax 474-0783) [email protected] 416-397-9921 (fax 696-3634) [email protected] WESTERN Garry Bezruki, City of Waterloo TREASURER David Laneville, City of Timmins 519-747-8726 (fax 747-8727) [email protected] 705-360-1375 (fax 360-1390) [email protected] AT LARGE SECRETARY Karl Drysdale, City of London Jim de Hoop, City of Kingston 519-661-2500 x 4945 (fax 661-5985) [email protected] 613-546-4291 (fax 546-4051) [email protected] ASSOCIATE MEMBERS REPRESENTATIVES Jury Konga,Town of Richmond Hill Mark Lehmann, Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co. 905-771-2549 (fax 771-2494) [email protected] 905-206-3419 (fax 206-3328) [email protected] Bruno Mangiardi, City of Greater Sudbury Fawn Annan, IT World Canada 705-671-2489 x 2526 (fax 673-4535) 416-290-0240 [email protected] [email protected] REGIONAL NETWORKS FOR ONTARIO REPRESENTATIVE Roy Wiseman, Region of Peel Garry McGonigal 905-791-7800 (fax 791-4195) [email protected] 519-979-8162 (fax 735-1245) [email protected] EX OFFICIO Rose Langhout, Ontario Management Board Secretariat 416-327-3061 [email protected] British Columbia 2006 MISA CONFERENCE PRESIDENT Gerry Matte, Municipality of Saanich David Johnston, City of Ottawa 250-475-5403 [email protected] 613-580-2424 (fax 560-1201) [email protected] VICE PRESIDENT David Hennigan,The Capital Regional District 250-360-3141 [email protected] Atlantic PAST PRESIDENT Per Kristensen, City of Nanaimo 250-755-4418 [email protected] PRESIDENT David Muise, Halifax Regional Municipality 902-490-4000 [email protected] TREASURER Doug Rasmussen, City of Kelowna 250-862-3339 x 315 [email protected] TREASURER Daya Pillay, Halifax Regional Municipality 902-490-6550 (fax 490-4525) [email protected] SECRETARY Linda Kreutz, Greater Vancouver Regional District 604-436-6974 [email protected] SECRETARY Bill Todd, City of Saint John 506-658-2853 [email protected] Committee Chairs LIAISON WITH SISTER ORGANIZATIONS Prairie Per Kristensen, City of Nanaimo 250-755-4418 [email protected] PRESIDENT Georganne Dupont, City of Airdrie 403-948-8800 x 733 [email protected] MEMBERSHIP Barbara Davey, City of Survey 604-591-4803 [email protected] TREASURER Darren Young, City of Lethbridge 403-320-3880 [email protected] COMMUNICATIONS Robert Surtees, Resort Municipality of Whistler 604-935-8240 [email protected] MEMBERSHIP Natalia Madden, County of Grande Prairie 780-532-9722 [email protected] VENDOR REP Andy Cheng, Bell Canada 604-787-9797 [email protected] WEB SITE Mark Humphries, Parkland County 780-968-8414 [email protected] WEB SITE Rick Adams, City of Coquitlam 604-927-3601 [email protected] CONFERENCE COMMITTEE Frank Mayhood, City of Kamloops 250-828-3441 (fax 828-3578) [email protected]

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