Credential infrastructure is only valuable if the trust behind it is real. This page lays out how Oliu™ is structured today, how governance will evolve as the network opens to third-party issuers, and how the operator is held continuously accountable to the network's public-trust purpose.
Credentials issued today have to remain verifiable for years — sometimes decades. A safety ticket earned at age 24 might need to be confirmed at age 54. A professional licence issued in one province might need to be verified in another, long after the issuing body has evolved, restructured, or been renamed.
Any network that carries those credentials has to be around long enough, structured well enough, and accountable enough to deserve that trust. Credentialing authorities can't take that on faith. The organizations that issue credentials, the people who hold them, and the verifiers who rely on them all have legitimate questions about what keeps the network honest — today and over time.
That's why the governance of a credential network isn't a back-office concern. It is the product.
Oliu™ Inc. is a Canadian federally incorporated company, jointly owned by We Know Training and Credivera. Oliu™ operates the Oliu™ credential network — building, maintaining, and running the wallet, the registry, and the verification infrastructure.
During this founding phase, Oliu™ accredits issuers through a documented review process. It operates the network commercially. It establishes the patterns that the independent governance entity will inherit when the network opens to third-party issuers.
This is the first stage, not the final state. The structure ahead is designed to move stewardship out of Oliu™'s commercial hands and into an independent body accountable to the public interest.
As Oliu™ opens the network to third-party issuers — credentialing authorities beyond Oliu™'s own ownership group — an independent not-for-profit entity will be established to own the network's public-trust functions. Opening the network and forming the governance entity are the same inflection point.
The not-for-profit — working name the Canadian Credential Trust Authority — will own the standards, the accreditation criteria, the network-level policies, and the trust registry itself. Its founding board will be drawn from the early-adopter cohort of credentialing authorities who join the network during this transition. The cohort that helps open the network is the cohort that forms the board that governs it.
Oliu™ will continue to operate the network under a long-term operating agreement with the Authority. The agreement is designed for continuity — credential infrastructure has to last — but it is continuously accountable to the Authority. The Authority, not Oliu™, decides whether the operator continues in its role.
The Authority's governance is designed around three components, each with a specific role.
Credentialing authorities who carry credentials on the network vote on standards, accreditation criteria, and network-level policy. The founding board is drawn from the founding cohort of between five and eight members. As the network grows, additional issuer seats open to accredited members.
A separate body with structured input into the voting board — bringing perspectives that aren't represented on an issuer-only board, including employer and verifier voices, public interest, academic and standards-body input. The board is obligated to consult the advisory council on defined categories of decision.
Held by Oliu™ in its capacity as the contracted operator — or any future successor operator. The operator attends, speaks, and does not vote. This keeps operator and governor separate by design, while ensuring the people running the network are in the room when it's being governed.
The operating agreement between the Authority and Oliu™ is designed for continuity, but it is not a permanent appointment. The operator earns the role continuously, through three mechanisms.
The operating agreement requires Oliu™ to meet documented performance standards covering W3C Verifiable Credentials compliance, privacy and data-handling practices, security, auditability, and service availability. These standards are published and reported against publicly.
The Authority's board conducts formal, scheduled reviews of Oliu™'s performance and of the operating agreement itself. The cadence and scope of review are set in the agreement. The operator does not coast between reviews; accountability is continuous.
The Authority can terminate the operating agreement for cause — breach, material underperformance, or failure to meet standards — and can also terminate without cause upon reasonable notice. The Authority selects a successor operator. Credentials already on the network remain valid through any transition, because the trust registry itself is owned by the Authority, not by the operator.
These are being developed in consultation with early-adopter issuers and will be published as they take form.
These are public commitments, worded to be meaningful and keepable. Participants, regulators, and evaluators can hold Oliu™ to what it says here.
Oliu™ commits to establishing the independent Canadian Credential Trust Authority as the network opens to third-party issuers.
Oliu™ commits to operating the network under a long-term agreement with the Authority — continuously accountable through performance standards, scheduled reviews, and clear termination rights held by the Authority.
Oliu™ commits to maintaining W3C Verifiable Credentials alignment as the standard evolves.
Oliu™ commits to publishing issuer accreditation criteria, the Authority's charter as it is developed, and any material changes to the network.
Oliu™ commits to operating with no centralized personal data and no vendor lock-in.
Credentials issued through Oliu™ are W3C-standard and live on the holder's device. That means they remain verifiable independent of Oliu™'s operational status — a credential in a Canadian's wallet doesn't disappear because the operator changes.
The trust registry itself is owned by the Canadian Credential Trust Authority — the independent not-for-profit — not by Oliu™ Inc. A change in operator does not compromise the network's continuity. The Authority can terminate the operating agreement if the public interest requires it, and select a successor operator.
The network survives the operator, by design.
As Oliu™ opens the network to third-party issuers, we are inviting between five and eight founding members whose organizations will help form the Canadian Credential Trust Authority. If your organization is considering digital credentialing and would like to learn about participation, we would welcome a conversation.
Learn about becoming an issuer