It's time for a more open government and an 'opendata.gc.ca'

[Tracey P. Lauriault]

Hill Times: http://www.thehilltimes.ca/page/view/rubin-01-10-2011

It's time for a more open government and an 'opendata.gc.ca' Making as much government data available to the public as possible through a searchable online free of charge site at 'opendata.gc.ca' seems to be the current hip flavour for making transparent government happen. By KEN RUBIN Published January 10, 2011

OTTAWA—Making as much government data available as possible to the public through a free and searchable online site at "opendata.gc.ca" seems to be the current hip flavour for making transparent government happen.

It's been adopted as the pre-election platform by the Liberal Party, talked up by Canada's Access to Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault and catapulted to the forefront in the ongoing pro-active disclosure study being done by the House of Commons Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics Committee.

But does this initiative warrant all the talk it is getting, or is it just a mere diversion to keep us from dealing head-on with increasingly secretive government practices?

After all, undelivered promises by governments on more routine disclosures have been around for years. The only type of information governments always seem willing to give out daily and freely are buckets-full of publicity spun semi-information.

What we are hearing as something new, is that one data-set previously trashed—lists of past access to information requests—is likely to be resurrected on a government-wide, online basis—possibly with released access material also being put up on government websites. No matter that for nearly 30 years, governments have dumped and shredded hundreds of thousands of access request replies into garbage bins. That has left the Library and Archives primarily full of official records only. Our past history is the poorer for that.

If the open data idea were to go further at the federal level, it would help us to catch up to other countries' efforts. At the municipal level in Canada, there has been some efforts made. For instance, one instant application in use in Edmonton is for an online bus schedule information. But do not then expect to get full disclosure or instant access to much operational data like bus passenger complaints or accident reports.

The federal government would have us believe that it is already well ahead in its online ventures through its information posted on government officials' travel and contract data. But, for example, the travel expense postings are only quarterly and only for some senior officials in some federal agencies and exclude hospitality expenses incurred.

An Ottawa Citizen reporter, Glen McGregor, recently noted it took him four years to get more than the skimpy "pro-active" summary travel expense data offered online. He had sought from PCO a more detailed breakdown for those staff who accompanied the PM to see a Stanley Cup hockey game in Edmonton. That's the kind of routine detailed data that should be readily available.

As well, the quarterly contract expenses that are posted are sketchy. They do not include even a brief meaningful description of the work being done or the reports delivered, especially for professional service contracts.

Yet another example authorities like to cite is the available public opinion polling data. Even with their release coming under the Federal Accountability Act, there is no guarantee that the polling data released is timely, easily accessible online or without exceptions.

And the federal government has dropped key data banks from public access, including NavCan's air navigation safety banks or the long-form census materials previously produced at Statistics Canada. Nor has the government felt it needs to have an inventory of its data banks.

Authorities cite various difficulties in putting more data on-line such as translation costs, licensing and copyright restrictions, privacy concerns or other exemptions under current pro-secrecy rules. While engaging in their own electronic manipulation of their holdings, they fear that outsiders manipulating federal data will distort it and benefit commercially.

Yet it was federal authorities who fought successfully in Canadian courts to oppose granting use of some electronically stored correctional software data to Matthew Yeager, a university professor. The court agreed with Ottawa that there are serious restrictions to what constitutes accessible machine readable electronic data.

And electronic record systems are still being set up without keeping in mind easier public retrieval. User guides for these data banks if they exist or are accessible, are far from being user friendly. Even government reading rooms where administrative manuals once were available have disappeared with no E-reading rooms emerging.

Parliament itself has posted only some of its own data online. But Parliament itself has hesitated for instance, to post the detailed expense accounts of MPs, the Commons Board of Internal Economy full proceedings or MPs' voting records.

The Commons Access Committee now appears to be heading towards recommending more digital data banks be placed on so-called "open data" government portals. This could constitute a small advance for public access and a victory for those advocating better public data bank access.

Yet it no way does this potential advance qualify as a massive switch to legislating a wide variety of proactive disclosure practices.

Other jurisdictions, like Mexico have at least gone further by law designating and registering 17 specified categories for proactive disclosure that go beyond a "hit and miss" approach to releasing some digital bank data.

The reality is that digital data banks are only one tiny bit of the federal information holdings. Nobody online except WikiLeaks has come up with the tabling of a multitude of government operational documents. And nobody is electronically reaching out with unvarnished, useful and revealing government materials.

The Commons Access Committee is in effect distancing itself from dealing comprehensively with restructuring Canada's weak access law. The opening up of a few more digital data bases can be used as a diversionary tactic to draw attention away from tackling increasing secrecy practices starting with the PMO's exclusion from access coverage.

Ottawa is building more, not less firewalls around significant public data. This puts Canada way behind and much further away from today's 24-hour interactive information environment.

Ken Rubin can be reached at kenrubin.ca

--
Tracey P. Lauriault
613-234-2805

[Drew Mcpherson]

I've tried to get in touch with these guys running the pilot project to help out with it.  I certainly ought to have something to contribute, being that I did do the entire government expenses project which is now used on a daily basis by not just the public, but government officials themselves.  They didn't even have the courtesy to respond to me.

The liberals, on the other hand, immediately got back to me with assurances that they are committed to open data policy and implementation.  Unless a whole bunch of people who don't normally vote get out there and cast a ballot, I rue that the open data situation may be pushed deep underground and not see the light of day until the rest of the world is way ahead of us. 

Wouldn't it be nice for Canada to be not just a world leader, but THE world leader in open government policy?  It can happen, and I'm willing to pour my heart and soul into it if anyone would let me.

Cheers,
Drew

On Mon, Jan 10, 2011 at 11:40 AM, Tracey P. Lauriault <[hidden email]> wrote:

Hill Times: http://www.thehilltimes.ca/page/view/rubin-01-10-2011

It's time for a more open government and an 'opendata.gc.ca' Making as much government data available to the public as possible through a searchable online free of charge site at 'opendata.gc.ca' seems to be the current hip flavour for making transparent government happen. By KEN RUBIN Published January 10, 2011

OTTAWA—Making as much government data available as possible to the public through a free and searchable online site at "opendata.gc.ca" seems to be the current hip flavour for making transparent government happen.

It's been adopted as the pre-election platform by the Liberal Party, talked up by Canada's Access to Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault and catapulted to the forefront in the ongoing pro-active disclosure study being done by the House of Commons Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics Committee.

But does this initiative warrant all the talk it is getting, or is it just a mere diversion to keep us from dealing head-on with increasingly secretive government practices?

After all, undelivered promises by governments on more routine disclosures have been around for years. The only type of information governments always seem willing to give out daily and freely are buckets-full of publicity spun semi-information.

What we are hearing as something new, is that one data-set previously trashed—lists of past access to information requests—is likely to be resurrected on a government-wide, online basis—possibly with released access material also being put up on government websites. No matter that for nearly 30 years, governments have dumped and shredded hundreds of thousands of access request replies into garbage bins. That has left the Library and Archives primarily full of official records only. Our past history is the poorer for that.

If the open data idea were to go further at the federal level, it would help us to catch up to other countries' efforts. At the municipal level in Canada, there has been some efforts made. For instance, one instant application in use in Edmonton is for an online bus schedule information. But do not then expect to get full disclosure or instant access to much operational data like bus passenger complaints or accident reports.

The federal government would have us believe that it is already well ahead in its online ventures through its information posted on government officials' travel and contract data. But, for example, the travel expense postings are only quarterly and only for some senior officials in some federal agencies and exclude hospitality expenses incurred.

An Ottawa Citizen reporter, Glen McGregor, recently noted it took him four years to get more than the skimpy "pro-active" summary travel expense data offered online. He had sought from PCO a more detailed breakdown for those staff who accompanied the PM to see a Stanley Cup hockey game in Edmonton. That's the kind of routine detailed data that should be readily available.

As well, the quarterly contract expenses that are posted are sketchy. They do not include even a brief meaningful description of the work being done or the reports delivered, especially for professional service contracts.

Yet another example authorities like to cite is the available public opinion polling data. Even with their release coming under the Federal Accountability Act, there is no guarantee that the polling data released is timely, easily accessible online or without exceptions.

And the federal government has dropped key data banks from public access, including NavCan's air navigation safety banks or the long-form census materials previously produced at Statistics Canada. Nor has the government felt it needs to have an inventory of its data banks.

Authorities cite various difficulties in putting more data on-line such as translation costs, licensing and copyright restrictions, privacy concerns or other exemptions under current pro-secrecy rules. While engaging in their own electronic manipulation of their holdings, they fear that outsiders manipulating federal data will distort it and benefit commercially.

Yet it was federal authorities who fought successfully in Canadian courts to oppose granting use of some electronically stored correctional software data to Matthew Yeager, a university professor. The court agreed with Ottawa that there are serious restrictions to what constitutes accessible machine readable electronic data.

And electronic record systems are still being set up without keeping in mind easier public retrieval. User guides for these data banks if they exist or are accessible, are far from being user friendly. Even government reading rooms where administrative manuals once were available have disappeared with no E-reading rooms emerging.

Parliament itself has posted only some of its own data online. But Parliament itself has hesitated for instance, to post the detailed expense accounts of MPs, the Commons Board of Internal Economy full proceedings or MPs' voting records.

The Commons Access Committee now appears to be heading towards recommending more digital data banks be placed on so-called "open data" government portals. This could constitute a small advance for public access and a victory for those advocating better public data bank access.

Yet it no way does this potential advance qualify as a massive switch to legislating a wide variety of proactive disclosure practices.

Other jurisdictions, like Mexico have at least gone further by law designating and registering 17 specified categories for proactive disclosure that go beyond a "hit and miss" approach to releasing some digital bank data.

The reality is that digital data banks are only one tiny bit of the federal information holdings. Nobody online except WikiLeaks has come up with the tabling of a multitude of government operational documents. And nobody is electronically reaching out with unvarnished, useful and revealing government materials.

The Commons Access Committee is in effect distancing itself from dealing comprehensively with restructuring Canada's weak access law. The opening up of a few more digital data bases can be used as a diversionary tactic to draw attention away from tackling increasing secrecy practices starting with the PMO's exclusion from access coverage.

Ottawa is building more, not less firewalls around significant public data. This puts Canada way behind and much further away from today's 24-hour interactive information environment.

Ken Rubin can be reached at kenrubin.ca

--
Tracey P. Lauriault
613-234-2805

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