Discover the impactful journey of Keith Jansa, a distinguished corporate leader and essential executive at the Digital Governance Council.

1. Keith Jansa: A Prominent Corporate
Leader and Key Executive of the Digital
Governance Council
When we talk about a business leader with breakthrough solutions and
who inspires others with his unwavering commitment to his field, one
name that comes to mind is Keith Jansa, Chief Executive Officer of the
Digital Governance Council (DGC).
Keith Jansa is a creative, active, and enthusiastic professional with over
15 years of experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. He is
a specialist in the creation and strategic application of standards. He
works with senior leaders from across Canada and as CEO, works to
jointly address and action digital governance opportunities and
challenges to safeguard Canadians participating in the digital economy,
and strengthen Canada's position in an increasingly digital world. His
unparalleled acumen in devising strategies for responsible data and
digital governance has earned DGC the distinction as preeminent
technology leadership council globally.
Keith’s Professional and Personal Life: At a Glance
Keith is a charismatic and dynamic leader with razor-sharp focus on
meeting strategic objectives. He is a provincially appointed member of
the Ontario Health Data Council and Chair of its strategic working group
on Data Governance and Data Stewardship. Keith also serves as a
member of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario’s
Strategic Advisory Council and Ontario’s Trustworthy AI Framework
Working Group. He frequently is called to testify as an expert before
parliamentary and senate committees, contributing to government
reports and legislative proposals to enhance trust and confidence in the
digital economy. Keith graduated with honors from the University of
Ottawa with a degree in health sciences. Keith is happily married to

2. Kayla, his college sweetheart, and is the loving father of three small
children.
Revolutionary Changes by the Digital Governance Council
Accreditation
Keith led the development of national standards to enhance Canada's
digital economy by providing executive leadership in the design and
successful accreditation of the organization's standards-setting process.
Significance: Lawmaking and regulation lag in the development of new
technologies. Standards define acceptable practices, and technical
specifications, and occasionally modernize cumbersome regulations.
Without standards, there would be no way to measure success, no way to
ensure product safety, no way to integrate worldwide markets with a
single technology, and most definitely no way to allow for healthy
competition.
Specifics: Through their agile, open-by-default, consensus-based
approach, DGC has accelerated the standards-setting process in Canada
to match the speed of innovation and advancement in ICT, developing
new standards in months, not years, and making them readily available
at no cost to organizations and individuals. Comprised of hundreds of
thought leaders and experts cutting across various economic sectors
from coast to coast, the hard work of their technical committees led to
the publication and development of critical standards for data
governance, AI ethics, digital identity, cybersecurity, and more.
Exporting Canadian expertise
As a trailblazing champion, Keith paved the way for the DGC Digital
Governance Standards Institute (DGSI) to attain esteemed recognition
from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), enabling the
submission of its standards and specifications for review and

3. acknowledgement as global standards. Leading digital nations, including
Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, Singapore,
the United Kingdom, the United States, and Ukraine, helped them attain
this important goal.
Significance: DGC-DGSI is now empowered to set the agenda and lean
in on having international standards serve Canada's interests, Canadian
innovation, best practices, and knowledge as a result of this international
recognition. This is a game-changer for Canada in terms of accelerating
the adoption of innovations and know-how produced in this country
around the world. Only a small number of organizations have achieved
this high status worldwide, including DGC-DGSI.
Specifics: This process guarantees that we hold the pen and are fully
engaged in the international approval process for how emerging digital
technologies are governed globally. The process also results in the DGSI
standards carrying both the ISO and IEC logos.
Protecting Children’s Rights
Bill S-210, An Act to Restrict Young Persons' Online Access to
Sexually Explicit Material, has swiftly passed its third reading in the
Senate in April 2023, a year after Keith Jansa was humbled to testify
before the Senate of Canada Standing Committee on Legal and
Constitutional Affairs. Senator Miville-Dechene proposed an
amendment to the Bill based on his testimony during a clause-by-clause
review in committee before the third reading in the Senate.
Significance: By establishing adequate protections for the use of age
verification technologies with children, the Bill now protects children's
rights. In doing so, it also supports Canada's commitment to upholding
the rights of children under the United Nations (UN) Convention on the
Rights of the Child and the OECD Recommendations on Children in the
Digital Environment.

4. Specifics: Before the Governor-in-Council orders organizations that
distribute sexually explicit content online to use an age verification
method, the method must be dependable, respect user privacy and
protect their personal information, collect and use that information only
for age verification purposes, destroy any personal information collected
for that purpose after the verification is finished, and adhere to best
practices in the fields of age verification and privacy protection.
Addressing the Major Industry Hurdles
With increasing reliance on digital systems and data in nearly every
aspect of modern life, the need for strong digital governance has never
been greater. These problems cannot be solved by one organization
alone. It will take coordinated efforts from all sectors of the economy to
win the public's faith in digital technologies. The work of DGC is
essential for this reason. DGC maintains its reputation as a dependable
forum for mobilizing people around shared digital agendas. This is
reflected in membership growth. And the members' contributions
continue to be a key factor in why their work together is so effective at
defending the interests of all Canadians.
Delivering Digital Governance in Canada’s Digital Economy
DGC works to provide Canadians with confidence in the responsible
design, architecture, and management of digital technologies. It
convenes senior leaders from diverse sectors to engage in strategic
discussions and the exchange of best practices, collaborates on proving
out new digital technologies, designs global technology governance
standards through the DGSI, and certifies organizations in the
responsible use of digital technologies.
The work of the DGC DGSI continues to advance standards that lessen
risk for Canadians and Canadian organizations adopting and utilizing
breakthrough digital technologies in today's digital economy in
collaboration with specialists, national and international partners, and
the general public. DGSI is an independent division of DGC.

5. DGSI is Canada’s only accredited standards development organization
solely focused on digital technology governance.
The Digital Governance Council’s Sustainable IT Pledge
Leading Canadian organizations have made a commitment to assist in
reducing the negative environmental effects of growing internet and
technology use, which already produces more greenhouse gases than the
aviation sector and is on track to account for 8% of emissions by 2025.
With the Sustainable IT Pledge, public and private sector organizations
in Canada have for the first time agreed to reduce emissions associated
with their IT operations. The signatories have pledged to:
 Take steps to address emissions from their IT operations by, for
instance, optimizing their systems to reduce data processing
volumes, using cloud-based services where possible, and
extending the service life of devices by refurbishing existing assets
instead of buying replacements.
 Set realistic emissions goals for their IT operations and publicly
report your success.
 Establish strict sustainability criteria for vendors while assisting
Canada's cleantech sector.
 Facilitate the adoption of sustainable IT practices and take into
account any areas where national sustainable IT standards could
be useful.
Words of Wisdom
Never undervalue standards. Underestimating standards can reduce
market access, stifle innovation, raise risks, create unnecessary harms,
and undermine public confidence. By strategically developing and
applying standards, we can shape the blueprint for our digital future,
embedding our core values, safeguarding the well-being of citizens, and
fostering the growth of our domestic innovators.