making a firm commitment to businesses looking to invest in Canada.” Historically, we don’t let foreign interests own or control Canadian hydroelectric systems, air carriers, or other critical infrastructure. Why? Because we can’t risk having a foreign power control the structures we need to function as a country, leaving Canadian citizens vulnerable. In our technology-driven world, data is part of our critical infrastructure and whoever governs the cloud where it’s stored ultimately controls the data. We need to ensure the inviolability of our data supply chain—especially when it comes to sensitive Canadian government and citizen data. We can’t let foreign interests control our data; it would leave us all too vulnerable. Canadian data requires a Canadiancontrolled sovereign cloud. A Homegrown Sovereign Strategy Sovereign clouds are purpose-built for protection. As VMware explains, “Sovereign clouds are architected and built SECURING CANADA’S DATA SUPPLY CHAIN NOW — AND FOR THE FUTURE By John Slater, Chief Security Officer, ThinkOn 26 / Canadian Government Executive // Spring 2023 PERSPECTIVE Sponsored Content to deliver security and data access that meets strict requirements of regulated industries and local jurisdiction laws on data privacy, access and control.” A recent study found that 98 percent of organizations already have sovereign cloud policies in place or plans to implement them. I take great relief in knowing that organizations worldwide are taking data sovereignty seriously. However, what is of great concern to me are hyper-scale cloud solution providers (CSPs) that offer “sovereign cloud solutions” but can’t guarantee the sanctity of the data supply chain. Too often, data centre geographic locations are seen as synonymous with data sovereignty. Let’s be clear: A data centre being in the same country as the company whose data they are storing doesn’t mean that the data supply chain is sovereign. Where the CSP is headquartered and the jurisdiction under which it falls are critical considerations—and become especially important during times of political upheaval. As the Government of Canada reports: “As long as a CSP that operates in Canada is subject to the laws of a foreign country, Canada will not have full sovereignty over its data.” As Winston Churchill said, “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” In the spring, the Government of Canada announced investments of more than $1.8 billion in biomanufacturing, vaccine, and therapeutics ecosystem projects. The investment was seen as necessary to strengthen domestic pandemic response capabilities and life science innovation, and to ensure that Canada has the talent, research, and development pipeline to care for its citizens. At the same time, in response to the global microchip shortage, the Government of Canada announced an investment of some $240 million to help the country expand its presence in photonics and the manufacturing of semiconductors. “Our government wants Canada to be a strategic global leader in the semiconductor industry,” said Francois-Phillippe Champagne, Canada’s Minster of Innovation, Science, and Industry. “That’s why we’re investing $240 million today to strengthen our semiconductor ecosystem, which will allow us to build a more innovative and resilient economy. By investing in Canada’s semiconductor industry, we are
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