What Canada Treasury Board Secretariat - Directive on Automated Decision-Making (in force April 1 2019, updated 2023, 2025) requires
The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) Directive on Automated Decision-Making (ADM Directive) is binding instrument-level policy for the Government of Canada governing the use of automated decision systems by federal departments and agencies. It took effect on April 1, 2019, was substantially updated effective April 1, 2023, and updated again in 2025. The Directive applies to any system used to recommend or make an administrative decision about a client by a federal institution. Core requirements include: (1) Complete an Algorithmic Impact Assessment (AIA) before producing or acquiring an automated decision system, using the TBS AIA tool, with the assessment publicly released on the Open Government portal; (2) Apply requirements proportionate to the AIA-determined impact level (Level I through Level IV); (3) Provide a notice of the use of the system to affected clients before and during the decision; (4) Provide explanations to clients of decisions made by the system, with detail proportionate to the impact level; (5) Conduct gender-based analysis plus, peer review of the system, and testing for unintended data biases; (6) Maintain quality assurance throughout the lifecycle including testing before production, monitoring outcomes, and ongoing data quality controls; (7) Apply licensing terms allowing the Government of Canada to access the source code, training data, and decision logic for review and audit; (8) Reporting and governance through the Chief Information Officer of Canada and the Designated Senior Official for the institution. The companion Algorithmic Impact Assessment Tool is the operational instrument; non-compliance triggers TBS escalation and potential withdrawal of authority.
Pillar: AI Governance & Law · Authority: Canada Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat - Directive on Automated Decision-Making, in force April 1 2019 with substantive updates 2023 and 2025 · Version: 1.0.0 · Last updated:
Primary source: https://www.tbs-sct.canada.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=32592
SHA-256 integrity: 84e83d56f53e819b03d6dbb30e5e4ba14cee76076aa9f82356fad2b76489c285
Primary Citations — 8 traced to source
- Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Directive on Automated Decision-Making, in force April 1, 2019, substantively updated April 1, 2023 and again in 2025
- Directive on Automated Decision-Making, Section 1 (Effective date and application) - the Directive applies to all federal Government of Canada departments and agencies producing or using automated decision systems for administrative decisions about clients
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