John Roberts is an Associate Deputy Minister with Ontario’s Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement, and the province’s Chief Data and Privacy Officer, He has over 30 years of experience ranging from operational, policy, and senior leadership roles to government information management and digital government initiatives. As Associate Deputy he leads the all-of-government work across the data, access to information, privacy and record keeping functions. His extensive knowledge of information management has contributed to his numerous achievements in policy, strategy and legislative modernisation to support data and information practice in government. Prior to joining the Ontario Public Service in 2015 he worked in the New Zealand government, and since 2015 he has overseen the development of the OPS Record keeping, Access, and Privacy Transformation Strategy, led consultations on privacy modernisation, and been part of multi-ministry leadership on enterprise data integration and data governance work. Most recently, John oversaw the development of the Strengthening Cyber Security and Building Trust in the Public Sector Act which received Royal Assent on November 25, 2024 and enacted a new statute titled the Enhancing Digital Security and Trust Act (EDSTA). Once proclaimed into force, the EDSTA would build a foundation to provide additional data and privacy protections for children in select public sector entities. John also served as acting Chief Information Security Officer from 2020-22.
