Canada's Open Data Initiative is Underway

[Michael Hardner]

http://data.gc.ca/eng

Possibly the most underwhelming initiative ever launched.

I have the 3rd comment on the 'welcome' section, which will likely go down in history, since eventually this tool will evolve into something very important and essential to our lives.

I urge MLW folks to register and keep an eye on it, even as ineffectual as it stands at the moment.

[eyeball]

Where did they put the link to the live audio/video feed from the PMO?

[Michael Hardner]

Hah.

As I have pointed out umpteen times - no need to hide things when people ignore open data in front of their faces.

And this initiative is several degrees tamer than your initiative would be.

[waldo]

Michael, I see right through your purposeful intent not to link to the Welcome section hosting your described comment... trying to find it exposed me to way too much of the website! To me, to others, your comment remains hidden... not open; I trust it simply awaits validation from one of the keepers of the open key!

[Michael Hardner]

Exactly. After my first post (the 3rd in the soon-to-be long history of Canada's official online engagement. (long-winded) ) I noticed that it didn't appear. Apparently, given the fact that they have about 10 posts total since early this summer, they have Harper himself reviewing the posts and giving official blessing to 'engagement'.

I posted about the inherent contradiction about running an 'open government' initiative this way in my 2nd post - the 4th of all time on the 'welcome' message.

God help us, or more to the point Blog help us.

[waldo]

Michael, I'll refrain from linking to and/or re-quoting from the last thread on this subject... let's just say that Canada has slipped even further in global freedom information rankings... now at 55 (down from the 51st position last noted in the prior thread). Perhaps emblematic of that further decline is the TorStar inability to get a simple response from the Harper Conservative government on the evaluation and ranking... a TorStar pursuit that had to be pushed through with a FOI request; a request that, by design, by law, must be responded to within 30 days. So, of course, Harper Conservatives gave themselves a 4 month extension to that request (to the law) and replied only after 5 months. Of course, the wait was worth it, as Harper Conservatives refused to accept that it's accountability and transparency could be questioned!

in any case, I read the consulting phase for this "now underway initiative" was minimal, at best! Why would Harper Conservatives need to actually engage the public or organizations with vested interest in open-government/open data? Who needs that kind of unnecessary encumbrance!

[waldo]

further to that (lack of) Harper Conservative engagement/consulting I alluded to in my prior post: the Center for Law & Democracy, in favourably acknowledging Canada's participation in the global Open Government Partnership (OGP), spoke to the related Harper Conservative 'OGP Action Plan':

...the process of consultation around the development and implementation of the Action Plan was weak, and the specific commitments can only be described as modest.

OGP Members pledge to consult widely with local stakeholders to develop action plans which set out the specific actions they propose to undertake. The process of consultation on Canada’s Action Plan was limited, involving an online commenting process, a Twitter town hall and one meeting of the Advisory Panel, a multi-stakeholder body set up by the government. At no point in the consultations did the government publish a draft Plan for comment.

In terms of substance, the Action Plan contains 12 specific commitments, and the government has largely moved forward to implement them in line with the timetable it set for itself. However, the commitments are modest, with a strong focus on technology and posting more information online, and relatively relaxed time lines for implementation. Importantly, the Plan fails to make a commitment to reform the Access to Information Act, despite the fact almost all informed observers agree this is a key priority.

[eyeball]

And this initiative is several degrees tamer than your initiative would be.

Or several degrees less taming, putting it more succinctly.

[dre]

Seems a bit like trying to fix a shotgun wound with a bandaid.