[open-government] Canadian Election Platforms - Open Data and Open Government

Mon Apr 11 00:53:17 UTC 2011

I just got a call from the *Greens* and well, in their Comprehensive Vision
they have an excellent open government platform.  It was however not in
their brief.  I hope they can make access to this doc more obvious and maybe
sneak a line into their brief.

I will update the post on datalibre.ca momentarily

In the interim - See *VISION GREEN* *Open government data, page 123 of the
2011 Vision Green document.*
http://greenparty.ca/files/attachments/vision_green_april_2011.pdf

On Sun, Apr 10, 2011 at 8:33 PM, Tracey P. Lauriault <tlauriau at gmail.com>wrote:

> *Election Platforms – Open Data – Open Government*
>
> http://datalibre.ca/2011/04/10/election-platforms-open-data-open-government/
>
> Below you will find excerpts from the platforms of: 1) Liberals<http://cdn.liberal.ca/files/2011/04/liberal_platform.pdf>,
> 2) Bloc <http://www.blocquebecois.org/accueil.aspx>, 3) NDP<http://www.ndp.ca/platform>and 4)
> Greens <http://greenparty.ca/platform2011>.  They are in order from best
> to non-existent.  The *Liberal* platform is the most developed, the *Bloc*includes Access to information and copyright, the
> *NDP* only talks about copyright, and the *Greens*, well nada.  I did not
> include the Conservatives, since they said they would do all these things,
> with transparency being one of their most important platforms in past
> elections, and, well we all know what happened, opaqueness, cancellation of
> the census, decimation of science institutions, attacks on the CRTC,
> copyright nefariousness, and etc.
>
> Only the Liberals mention *open data*.  As for *open government,* the
> Liberals are the only party to include this in their platform and they hit
> all the right items: formats, no costs, access, census online, transparency,
> accountability and actions.  In French, the concept is called *Gouvernement
> transparent*, the Bloc discusses transparency quite a bit but not framed
> as open government.  Both the Liberals and the Bloc address *Access to
> Information,* the Bloc is explicit about legal reform and the Liberalsoffer actions.  The
> Liberals, Bloc and NDP address *Copyright* reform.  If you want more
> detailed analysis on that file I recommend Digital Copyright Canada<http://www.digital-copyright.ca/election2011/blog>as a resource.
> *Licences* are discussed primarily in the context of broadband and
> communications.  I would like to find some good analysis about the various
> platforms on broadband, open Internet, billing, wireless, digital divide,
> access and so on.  Not surprisingly, *open source* is not mentioned,
> although within R & D and technological innovation we see the mention of
> software.  I will look at that later.   *Archiving* is also not included
> nor is there mention of *cost recovery* although the Liberals discuss
> access to free data online.  I already created two earlier posts on the
> Census (Eng<http://datalibre.ca/2011/04/10/2011/04/10/election-platform-platforme-electorale-lf-census-recensement-fl/>.
> and Fr.<http://datalibre.ca/2011/04/10/2011/04/10/plate-formes-electorales-le-recensement-formulaire-long/>).
> There is much talk about science in all the platforms, and I want to go back
> and take a look at those areas as often data issues can be found there.  I
> must say, the Greens are not only not talking data, they are also pretty
> slim and trim on science, which, in both cases is very disappointing. It is
> also a hugely missed opportunity by the NDP, I expected more here.
>
> *1. The Liberal Platform<http://cdn.liberal.ca/files/2011/04/liberal_platform.pdf>
> *:
>
> *Open Government**. *
>
> Canada’s federal government must embrace information technology and *open
> data* in order to improve services to Canadians and make government more
> transparent and accountable for public spending. Putting Statistics Canada
> and other government data online wherever possible, after meeting all
> privacy and other legal requirements, will strengthen Canadian democracy,
> help create and disseminate knowledge and spur innovation.
>
> A key element of the Liberal plan for democratic renewal is *Open
> Government*. Liberals will adopt a new approach to information, issuing
> government-wide direction that the default position for all departments and
> agencies will be to release information to the public, both proactively and
> responsively, after privacy and other legal requirements are met. This
> initiative will see as many government datasets as possible available to the
> public online, *free of charge* in an *open and searchable format*.
>
> Furthermore, all* Access to Information* requests and responses will be
> posted online. This new presumption of openness will also drive a new level
> of accountability for public finances. We will establish a searchable,
> online database for grants, contributions and contracts.
> All levels of government, civil society, researchers, business and the
> public must have access to independent and reliable statistics and
> demographic information to make informed decisions and develop sound public
> policy to benefit all Canadians. Therefore, a Liberal government will
> restore the mandatory long form census.
>
> * **Fair balance Between Creators and Consumers.* Digital technology
> offers many new opportunities, but enjoying content without compensating its
> creators shouldn’t be among them. At the same time, consumers should have
> freedom for personal use of digital content they rightfully possess.
> Liberals have worked to pass effective *copyright legislation*, including
> a private copying compensation fund instead of any new tax on consumers.
>
> *2. Bloc Québécois<http://www.blocquebecois.org/document.aspx?doc=788E6B46-7F22-4474-B71D-B7C807EF7137>
> *
>
> *2.3.2 Le Bloc Québécois s’assurera que la nouvelle Loi sur le **droit
> d’auteur** *soit équitable et ne désavantage ni les créateurs ni les
> consommateurs, notamment en modernisant le système de copie privée en
> appliquant aux lecteurs MP3 et autres baladeurs numériques des redevances
> raisonnables en redistribution aux artistes, en abolissant l’exemption du
> monde de l’éducation quant aux paiements des droits d’auteur, et en
> reconnaissant le droit de suite pour les artistes en arts visuels.
>
> *Loi sur l’accès à l’information* La commissaire à l’information est
> formelle. Le gouvernement Harper ne démontre pas une culture de transparence
> et cette attitude est dictée par le premier ministre. En effet, son
> ministère, le Bureau du Conseil privé, passe en revue les demandes d’accès à
> l’information sensibles adressées au gouvernement, puis les retient et les
> retarde.
>
> Un employé du ministère des Travaux publics a même ordonné à des
> fonctionnaires de retarder indûment la publication de documents
> compromettants pour le gouvernement. La situation est telle que la
> commissaire à l’information a entrepris une enquête formelle sur trois
> ministres, dont Christian Paradis, de laquelle pourraient découler des
> peines de prison.
>
> *1.4.2 Le Bloc Québécois présentera au Parlement un projet de loi pour
> réformer complètement la Loi sur l’accès à l’information.*Ce projet de
> loi, rendu public en juin 2008, est inspiré du projet de loi préparé par
> l’ancien commissaire à l’information, John Reid, et favorise un meilleur
> accès à l’information.
>
> *3. The NDP<http://xfer.ndp.ca/2011/2011-Platform/NDP-2011-Platform-En.pdf>
> *
>
> We will introduce a bill on *copyright reform* to ensure that Canada
> complies with its international treaty obligations, while balancing
> consumers’ and creators’ rights.
>
> 4. *The Greens<http://greenparty.ca/files/attachments/green-book-2011-en.pdf>
> *
>
> Absent
>
> --
> Tracey P. Lauriault
> 613-234-2805
> http://traceyplauriault.ca/
>
>
>
>

-- 
Tracey P. Lauriault
613-234-2805
http://traceyplauriault.ca/
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