Glossary of key terms
Critical Infrastructure Owners and Operators
Critical Infrastructure Sector
Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)
Position Navigation and Timing (PNT)
The process of identifying, analyzing and evaluating risks using an all-hazards approach. An all-hazards approach takes into account all types of hazards, whether accidental, intentional or natural.
An asset is property or a resource such as a building, equipment, a facility, intellectual property, documents or data of value to the owner. A bridge, hospital patient data, facility operating manuals, a hydro dam, a municipal vehicle and a pipeline are examples of critical infrastructure assets.
Climate change is a long-term shift in the average weather conditions of a region, such as its typical temperature, rainfall, and windiness. Climate change means that the range of conditions expected in many regions will change over the coming decades. There will also be changes in extreme conditions.
Community infrastructure comprises the structures, places and organizations that support the lives and well-being of residents in a community. Local parks, libraries and homeless shelters are examples of community infrastructure.
Critical is the condition of being extremely important. Criticality exists on a spectrum, whereby something can be more or less critical than something else.
Critical infrastructure refers to processes, systems, facilities, technologies, networks, assets and services essential to the health, safety, security or economic well-being of Canadians and the effective functioning of government. Critical infrastructure can be stand-alone or interconnected and interdependent within and across provinces, territories and national borders. Disruptions of critical infrastructure could result in catastrophic loss of life, adverse economic effects, and significant harm to public confidence. Critical infrastructure includes both physical and digital infrastructure. Physical infrastructure refers to the built environment, including buildings, vehicles, computer hardware and other assets. Digital infrastructure refers to electronic systems and assets, like data and software.
Critical Infrastructure Owners and Operators
The public and private entities that own, operate, maintain and/or provide CI assets, systems, and services.
Critical Infrastructure Sector
As per the National Strategy for Critical Infrastructure, there are ten critical infrastructure sectors: food, water, health, energy and utilities, electricity, finance, internet and communications technology, transportation, government and manufacturing. A critical infrastructure sectors refers to all of the critical infrastructure owners and operators, businesses, assets, services, systems and other entities within the sector.
Cross-sector refers to all ten critical infrastructure sectors. For instance, the National Cross Sector Forum is a cross-sector forum with representation from across all ten critical infrastructure sectors.
Cyber security refers to the protection of digital information, as well as the integrity of the infrastructure housing and transmitting digital information. More specifically, cyber security includes the body of technologies, processes, practices, responses and mitigation measures designed to protect networks, computers, programs and data from attack, damage or unauthorized access so as to ensure confidentiality, integrity and availability (National Cyber Security Strategy 2018).
Democratic institutions are the rules, organizations, processes and systems that underpin an accountable government of elected representatives.
Digitalization is the transition from human and mechanically-based processes, systems, data storage and communication to computer and technology-based. Digitalized systems may also be connected to the internet.
Economic prosperity is the condition in which a society has at least enough wealth and resources to provide, and is organized to support, the well-being and flourishing of its people.
An emergency is a present or imminent event that requires prompt coordination of actions concerning persons or property to protect the health, safety or welfare of people, or to limit damage to property or the environment.
Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)
Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) refers to a constellation of satellites providing signals from space that transmit positioning and timing data to GNSS receivers. The receivers then use this data to determine location. The United States Global Positioning System (GPS) is an example of a GNSS.
Governance refers to a system through which decisions are made pertaining to the operation of an organization. A system of governance determines how objectives are set and achieved, how risk is monitored and addressed, and how performance is optimized.
A hazard refers to a potentially damaging physical event, phenomenon or human activity that may cause the loss of life or injury, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation. A hazard can be natural, intentional or accidental.
Interdependency refers to two or more things, assets, systems or people relying on one another. There are interdependencies within and across critical infrastructure sectors, meaning that sectors rely on each other to deliver the goods and services essential to Canadians. The interdependent nature of critical infrastructure sectors means that a failure in one sector has the ability to impact other sectors.
A lead federal department is the department or agency that is responsible for fostering information sharing and collaboration within a CI sector. Other federal departments and agencies may also have roles to play in CI collaboration. CI Sector Lead Federal Department Energy and Utilities Natural Resources Canada Information and Communication Technology Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada Finance Finance Canada Health Public Health Agency of Canada Food Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Water Environment and Climate Change Canada Transportation Transport Canada Safety Public Safety Canada Government Public Safety Canada Manufacturing Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Department of National Defence.
The Multi-Sector Network (MSN) brings together working-level representatives from each of the ten CI sectors to discuss topics related to CI resilience. These annual meetings provide a platform to examine Canada’s CI priorities from a cross-sector and multi-jurisdictional perspective; facilitate the timely exchange of relevant information on CI risks and emerging issues; and, foster cross-sector partnerships among CI owners and operators.
The National Cross Sector Forum (NCSF) on Critical Infrastructure brings together senior leaders from each of the ten CI sectors, federal, provincial and territorial governments to set priorities, discuss cross-sector and interdependencies issues and foster information sharing and best practices across sectors. The NCSF focuses on issues that promote an all-hazards approach to critical infrastructure risk management.
Natural or green infrastructure refers to the use of preserved, restored or enhanced ecosystem features and materials (e.g., water, native vegetation, sand and stone) to deliver infrastructure outcomes and targeted community services, while also providing co-benefits for the environment, the economy, community health, and well-being. Wetlands or ponds are examples of natural infrastructure that can mitigate flooding impacts.
Position Navigation and Timing (PNT)
Resilience is the capacity of a system, community or society to adapt to change or to a disturbance while maintaining an acceptable level of function. Improving CI resilience means enhancing the ability of CI to continue to provide Canadians with the goods, services and infrastructure they need in the face of hazards.
Risk is the combination of the likelihood and the consequence of a specified hazard being realized. Risk refers to the vulnerability, proximity or exposure to hazards, which affects the likelihood of adverse impact structure.
Sector networks exist for most of the ten CI sectors to enable discussion and information sharing among sector-specific industry stakeholders and governments on sector network priorities and emerging issues. Each sector network is led by a federal government department or agency, which is responsible for determining the membership of the sector network. For example, the Department of Finance leads a Finance Sector Network with representatives of Canada’s major financial institutions.
Security is the degree to which a person, organization or thing, such as infrastructure, is free from intentional harm or disruption and the ability to continue to reliably function in safety. Security can also refer to the integrity and privacy of information. For instance, cyber security measures are required to keep research data secure against unauthorized access and manipulation.
A stakeholder is a party or organization with an interest, role or responsibility related to the objectives of another organization or institution. Stakeholders involved in the renewal of the National Strategy for Critical Infrastructure broadly include the federal, provincial, territorial, Indigenous and municipal governments, private sector critical infrastructure owners and operators, as well as academia and think tanks with subject matter expertise in critical infrastructure security and resilience.
A system refers to multiple things or people that interact to perform a function or produce an output. A system can be relatively simple, like an organization’s information management software system, to complicated, like an industrial control system that monitors water quality at a water treatment facility. A process refers to the actions or steps taken to achieve an outcome. For example, the changing of coloured lights follow a process to allow traffic flow. Systems are often based on processes and may include manual actions by people or automated actions by sensors, software, machinery and other equipment. Critical infrastructure owners and operators use many systems and processes to provide goods and services to Canadians.
A threat is the presence of a hazard and an exposure pathway; threats may be natural or human-induced, either accidental or intentional.
Vulnerability refers to the conditions determined by physical, social, economic and environmental factors or processes, which increase susceptibility of something to the impact of hazards. It is a measure of how well prepared and equipped infrastructure is to minimize the impact of or cope with hazards.
An Emergency Management Framework for Canada - Third Edition
Hazards Risk Assessment Methodology Guidelines 2012-2013
National Cross Sector Forum 2021-2023 Action Plan for Critical Infrastructure
National Strategy for Critical Infrastructure
The Canadian Positioning, Navigation and Timing Board
What is GNSS? | EU Agency for the Space Programme (europa.eu)
