The B.C. government wants to merge all its many digital services into a new entity, with the goal of giving people a single place to access everything from children’s report cards to prescription data and campsite reservations.

Shannon Salter, head of the provincial public service, unveiled the changes recently, setting in place a reorganization to create Connected Services BC.

“The goal is that by 2030 for individuals and businesses, every major interaction they have with government will be through one simple front door,” Salter said in an interview.

“They will enter their information one time, and it will be applied to all the things that they need to access in government. There will be no wrong doors, just the right front door.”

The move will see government merge the 14 ministry information management and technology offices, as well as the government’s chief information officer, into a new provincial office.

The transformation comes during a financial crisis, with the province running a record $11.6-billion deficit at the same time as searching for internal savings and reducing the size of the civil service.

“There may well be duplication,........

© BIV