Mississauga, ON Develops 5-Phase Smart City Policy Lifecycle

The City of Mississauga, ON is developing a policy that will guide and control how the city introduces and uses new technologies city-wide. The goal of the Smart City Policy is to protect public privacy, freedom, and democracy by addressing the demand for data privacy and security.

The city developed an ‘Engagement and Policy Development Life Cycle’ consisting of five phases:

  • Phase 1: Pre-consultation and Literacy – this phase ran from August 2021 to September 2021, when the City hosted workshops with specific stakeholder groups;
  • Phase 2: Literacy and listening to stakeholders –  currently running through November 2021. As part of its Smart City Master Plan, Mississauga is taking a citizen-centred approach to creating its Smart City Policy. It has invited all Mississauga residents, business owners, members of Council, post-secondary students and faculty, technology and community partners, and the City’s Information Technology staff to provide feedback. Everyone can participate by taking an online survey, attending one of two virtual community meetings, or by providing input online. The virtual community meetings will feature presentations by Dr. Ann Cavoukian – former Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario –  and Dr. Brenda McPhail – Director, Privacy, Technology & Surveillance Program at Canadian Civil Liberties Association;
  • Phase 3: High-level direction – scheduled to run from November 2021 to December 2021. In Phase 3, the City will review the input received from the engagement and work with senior leaders and their Smart City Policy adviser on the development of a draft Policy. The City will also work with stakeholder groups for more comments;
  • Phase 4: Report back scheduled for January 2022 to February 2022. The City will report back to the community about the progress made on the Policy and provide further . opportunities for the community to engage with the City about the Policy; and, 
  • Phase 5: City Council – slated for Q1/Q2 2022, when the City will bring the Policy forward to City Council.