MISA/ASIM Canada Launched in Ottawa

OTTAWA – MISA/ASIM Canada, formed to give Canadian municipalities greater ability to work together to improve the delivery of services to citizens using modern technologies, has been officially launched.

Members of the MISA/ASIM Canada Board of Directors and leaders of its member organizations unveil posters at the official launch displaying letters of congratulations from political leaders, as well as signed pages of the national organization’s bylaws.

The new organization is the first national body ever formed to promote e-Government services for municipalities, and to work with other levels of government to make services efficient across jurisdictions.

MISA/ASIM Canada, or Municipal Information Systems Association/Association des systèmes d'information municipale Canada, was officially launched June 6 at a ceremony at the Westin Hotel in Ottawa during the annual conference of MISA Ontario.

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 MISA Ontario conference, who came from across the country.

Brian Marson, the 2006 recipient of the Heintzman Leadership Award, addresses delegates to the MISA Ontario annual conference at the official launch of MISA/ASIM Canada.

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 has 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.”

MISA/ASIM Canada is a federally registered not-for-profit association composed of provincial, inter-provincial or territorial associations of municipal government representatives and others, engaged in, or interested in, the development and operation of municipal information systems.

The founding members include the following associations:

* 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)
* Réseau de l’informatique municipale du Québec (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.”

All of the member associations have their own municipal or corporate members and each is independently governed. 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.

The association is governed by a 10-member Board of Directors, consisting of two appointees by each of the five members.