Ontario invites developers to stand up digital ID as visiting government workers

A plan to introduce government digital ID in the Canadian province of Ontario apparently relies on a spirit of volunteerism.

Ontario is launching a ‘Digital and Data Innovation Fellowship Program,’ which will onboard between six and ten fellows to four government ministries to work on the Ontario Digital Service’s digital identity program or one of three other digital transformation projects.

The digital identity program is seeking a senior backend developer and a devops engineer.

The fellows will take a leave of absence from their workplaces to join a government team for about six months, beginning in February 2022, working remotely and possibly coming into the office on occasion. Those selected will remain employees of their current organizations, but with the government covering a portion of their salary while they work with the program.

“The Digital and Data Innovation Fellowship Program is an example of how we’re making digital transformation a priority,” comments Ontario Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy. “We’re building a digital economy for the social and economic benefit of the people of Ontario.”

The Ontario government previously identified key principles for its nascent digital ID system, which it says will be based on self-sovereign identity (SSI). At the time the government said the system would launch in the fall of 2021, though the six-month term of the fellowship beginning in February suggests a new launch date will more likely be late-summer 2022 or later, a delay which the government blamed on the pandemic.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  Canada  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  government services  |  interoperability  |  Ontario  |  research and development  |  self-sovereign identity