The recent healthcare announcement between the Government of Canada and the Provinces features a 10-year deal and $46B in new spending designed to help sustain a healthcare system still recovering from the pandemic.Enhanced healthcare data is a hallmark feature of this agreement.A condition for Federal funding requires Province and Territories to improve how health data is collected, shared, used, and reported to Canadians. Federal leaders reason that better data will improve how governments track healthcare performance and outcomes while informing a more agile response, and personable healthcare experience.Though, some provincial leaders and privacy advocates have raised concerns about sharing health data with the Federal government and, while the concept of data driven policy is nothing new to the Provinces, the public debate is a reminder of the link between privacy, social license, and trust.Canadians must trust that their data and privacy are protected as a precondition for the adoption of sophisticated systems that use, store, and share any data- particularly data that relates to their health.This comes at a period when very public examples of breaches and failures are occurring, undermining public confidence, and raising concerns about governments possessing the capacity to protect citizen data.In parallel, there has never been a better time to accelerate the data strategies of government. The opportunity to modernize is here.  With advancements in cloud technology, it is now easier than ever to deploy secure, data-driven healthcare systems in days and weeks as opposed to months or years.A perception that may be generating hesitancy within Canada is that sophisticated, data driven systems create greater risk for their data. However, this is a misconception. Advances in technology are not opposed to privacy, rather they are complementary. Modernized healthcare systems create a foundation for healthcare services that are both data driven and more secure.Take for instance the power of cloud computing to merge healthcare databases within a province. By leveraging cloud services, databases used by individual hospitals, labs and other health agencies can be consolidated into a single platform. This allows health organizations to share data while providing citizens the flexibility and convenience to personalize their healthcare experience.The single platform also improves security.This improvement is primary linked to skills. The demand for skilled technology workers remains a challenge for both the commercial and public sectors. Modern Cloud based data systems, alleviates some of that pressure for government as cloud security is managed centrally by the providers themselves. Through cloud, Government no longer has the responsibility for continuously tracking and patching a myriad of systems. This activity, or lack thereof, is often a vulnerability for organizations.By adopting cloud services to help manage healthcare data, government can access world-class technology platforms and professionals who can more effectively monitor these systems and help ensure data remains private and secure.Cloud technology is also evolving to become even more secure in response to privacy requirements. A hybrid cloud model allows organizations to deploy cloud services within their own data centres, behind their firewalls, allowing for greater control from the outset and providing agencies the benefits of cloud while also addressing citizen security and privacy concerns.Trust lies at the foundation of any data-driven organization, and Government is no exception. To reassure skeptical Canadians about deploying data driven systems and moving healthcare data to the cloud, leaders must clearly articulate how today's technology can ensure privacy and security while also advancing the healthcare experience.Darcy Pawliuk has held multiple leadership positions during his 25 years in the I.T. industry. Currently, Darcy is the Regional Sales Manager for Oracle Public Sector Cloud Technologies in Canada.