A Memorandum of Understanding between the Province of Prince Edward Island and Unisys Canada Inc. has been signed to open a Unisys Canada Inc. office in Charlottetown. The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding sets the stage for partnering on issues of information technology cooperation in the justice sector.
The new 'Justice Technology Centre' will initially have a staff complement of four persons who will develop and support justice sector products and services such as training for court personnel, consulting on justice sector processes, integration services, remote management services, and the development and support of any new justice sector products and interfaces. The centre is estimated to grow to 10 to 12 employees over the next two years. These positions will require a high level of information technology skills with associated salary levels.
The Honourable Wes MacAleer, Minister of Community Services and Attorney General, emphasized that, "Prince Edward Island is a leader in the use of technology within the justice system. The Justice Technology Centre is founded on Prince Edward Island's leadership position in court automation and our continued utilization of information technology in the justice system." The Minister stressed, "The high level of cooperation from the Judiciary and the Court staff is to be commended in these types of projects."
Unisys and its partners have been recognized for their capabilities in the development of information technology products and services for the justice sector. Unisys and the Department of Community Services and Attorney General have also worked together on the automation of Personal Property Registrations with great success.
Other provinces are interested in the types of products that will be developed and tested on PEI. The new integrated information system will offer a faster, streamlined and efficient approach to criminal and civil case management, courts, administration, imaging of historical data and electronic filing and searching of documents, registries, court calendars and schedules. "Our goal is to further position Unisys and Prince Edward Island as the Canadian leader in the application and development of Justice Information Technology," said David Wagner, President of Unisys Canada Inc.
The Province has agreed to provide access to, and support of, the development and marketing of justice sector products by providing a reference site for trials of justice related technology products. "The decision by Unisys to establish a 'centre of excellence' in justice products in Charlottetown is evidence that the Province has a lot to offer other large multi-nationals looking for a regional location to serve national markets," said the Minister of Development, the Honourable Don MacKinnon. He noted that, "The development and enhancement of a competitive portfolio of justice sector products and services for other governments in Canada will serve as an example of public and private sector cooperation for future endeavours." There is no government financial assistance involved with the project.
Unisys has more than 33,000 employees helping customers in 100 countries apply information technology to solve their business problems. Unisys solutions are based on a broad portfolio of global information services including: electronic business, systems integration including custom and "repeatable" application solutions, outsourcing, Microsoft Windows NT services, network services, and multivendor maintenance and support, coupled with enterprise-class servers and associated middleware, software and storage. Repeatable solutions are focused on key vertical markets including: financial services, transportation, telecommunications, government, publishing, and other commercial markets. For more information about Unisys, visit their home page at www.unisys.com. Investor information can be found at www.unisys.com/investor.
For more information, contact: Allan Smith, Director of New Business Development, Enterprise PEI, (902) 368-6300 (phone), (902) 368-6301 (fax), absmith@gov.pe.ca; or Ron Swan, Director of Business Development, Unisys Justice Program, (902) 421-2252 (phone), (902) 422-1357, ron.swan@unisys.com.
For a photograph of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, please contact Island Information Service at (902) 368-4412 or feproud@gov.pe.ca.