A cornerstone of the IPC’s mission is our commitment to meeting the high standards of organizational excellence and accountability that the people of Ontario expect from us. This past year was marked by significant advancements in our digital capabilities and improvements to our internal governance and management.
The IPC’s digital transformation in action
Ascending to the cloud with Microsoft 365
In 2023, the IPC continued to intensify its efforts to enhance our digital services building on our successful Microsoft 365 collaboration pilot. We took a transformative step by implementing new hardware management tools and moving email online as part of our multi-year plan to migrate our IT operations to the cloud, heralding a new chapter in our operational capabilities. This transition equips our workforce with robust, flexible tools for seamless remote collaboration and secure data access, reflecting our dedication to modernization and responsiveness. The move not only enhances our productivity and data analytics potential but also strengthens our commitment to privacy and information stewardship. Embracing this digital evolution, the IPC is now better poised to address the complex challenges of today's information landscape with agility and forward-thinking resolve.
The new IPC: A website for the modern age
In the spirit of innovation and accessibility, the IPC intensified its efforts throughout 2023 to enhance our digital services by developing a new IPC website built on modern technologies, featuring greater potential for interactivity and an improved user experience.
Launched in May 2024, this initiative involved rigorous analysis and user-centred design, ensuring every page of our website reflects our commitment to provide clear information on privacy and access rights in a format accessible to all Ontarians. Our new online home is optimized for all devices, offering intuitive navigation and enhanced features that allow users to find guidance, resources, and services with ease. Moving forward, our new website reflects our dedication to transparency and public engagement, empowering every visitor with the knowledge to safeguard their privacy and access rights in an increasingly digital world.
Cultivating the best: The IPC's journey as an employer of choice
At the IPC, our pursuit of excellence is deeply reliant on the valuable contributions of our professional staff. As part of our commitment to foster an outstanding workplace and retain top talent, we pursued our formal and informal staff recognition program with great pride and enthusiasm. In addition to informally recognizing significant achievements and excellent contributions of staff every quarter, we held our second annual IPC Exemplary Awards ceremony — celebrating those who exemplify our core values and dedication to public service.
We further demonstrated our commitment to excellence through stepped-up investments in learning and professional development, particularly in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. With the introduction of a new senior talent management and training advisor, we significantly expanded our management training curriculum and continue to develop and strengthen the IPC’s integrated corporate training program and leadership competencies.
These investments will continue to nurture the IPC’s culture of continuous learning and better position us to address the complex digital and data challenges that lie ahead. These initiatives are the cornerstones of our journey towards becoming an employer of choice — a journey marked by a steadfast focus on employee engagement and empowerment, ensuring that as we grow and evolve, we do so together, with every team member feeling valued, supported, and primed to thrive.
These efforts and initiatives have not gone unnoticed. The IPC was deeply honoured to be shortlisted as one of Canada’s Top Employers for 2024.
Continuing to strengthen governance and accountability
In 2023, the IPC launched its Strategic Plan, the result of two years of work to establish strategic priorities and goals, and a concrete implementation and measurement plan for the organization. This work expanded our vision and mandate by confirming our three mission pillars and putting ten key operational goals in place.
The multi-year plan comprises detailed activities, expected outputs, desired outcomes, and specific data collection methods. As part of the IPC’s new strategic planning and evaluation program, an ongoing reporting process has been put in place to facilitate the regular review and effective monitoring of progress to achieve our goals along our planned trajectory. More than just a bureaucratic exercise, this framework is intended to measure and report on resulting benefits for Ontarians and support IPC’s vision of becoming a modern and effective regulator with real world impact.
IPC’s work in this area was recognized as leading-edge internationally in the global review of data protection authority strategies. The report, Data Protection Authority Strategies: A Global Review of Current Practices, points to our effective consultation and stakeholder engagement approach in developing our strategic priorities and describes our leadership in setting a clear vision and mission to guide our work. The IPC's approach, as featured, is a rewarding acknowledgement of our commitment to upholding privacy rights and fostering trust through accountability and innovation in privacy and information management practices.