OTTAWA - Municipal governments are working together for the
first time in a formally constituted organization aimed at enabling
municipalities from all regions of Canada to improve service
delivery to citizens.
MISA/ASIM Canada was formally launched at a ceremony yesterday
at the Westin Hotel, site of a conference of municipal
information-technology executives and professionals. The new
organization is the first national body ever formed to promote
e-Government services for Canadian municipalities, and to work with
other levels of government to make services efficient across
jurisdictions.
Five years in the making, MISA/ASIM Canada has been welcomed by
all levels of government as a unifying force for service-delivery
standards and technologies.
"One of the finest things that we can do as public servants is
to create institutions that serve the people of Canada," guest
speaker Brian Marson, special advisor, research and analysis with
the Chief Information Officer Branch at Treasury Board Secretariat,
told delegates to the annual conference of the Municipal
Information Systems Association of Ontario.
He said the new municipal organization will make a difference to
Canada's world-leading efforts to measurably improve government
service delivery.
"What we are celebrating tonight is something that will touch
the lives of Canadians for many, many generations to come," said
Marson, who is the 2006 recipient of the Heintzman Leadership Award
from the Institute for Citizen-Centred Service for pioneering
leadership in the transformation of public-sector service
delivery.
"You will look back on this night and say, 'When we started
MISA/ASIM Canada, we really made a difference for Canadians.' "
MISA/ASIM Canada, or Municipal Information Systems
Association/Association des systC(mes d'information municipale
Canada (www.misa-asim.ca),
received letters of congratulations from political leaders of the
federal government and all provinces and territories.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in his letter, "Your
inauguration as a national association allows you to coordinate the
interest of information-technology professionals from across the
country, bringing together a wealth of expertise concerning
information and communications systems."
The mission of the national body is to be the collective voice
for its member associations on national issues affecting effective
delivery of municipal services using information and
technology.B
Its five member associations are:
"Municipal Information Systems Association, Atlantic Canada
(MISA Atlantic)
"Municipal Information Systems Association, British Columbia (MISA
BC), including the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunuvut
"Municipal Information Systems Association, Ontario (MISA
Ontario)
"Municipal Information Systems Association, Prairies (MISA
Prairie)
"RC)seau de l'informatique municipale du QuC)bec (RIMQ)
Daniel Malo, director of information technologies for the City
of Montreal, and vice-president of the 10-member board of directors
of MISA/ASIM Canada, noted that the national association will work
by consensus and operate bilingually to share municipal solutions
across all regions.
Malo, also president of RIMQ, added, "It's a good thing for
Quebec to have the opportunity to participate in the evolution of
the IT universe in which we work."
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