Getting ready for ALI's Social Media for Government conference next week, I re-read President Obama's January memo on Transparency and Open Government.  It's strong stuff -- Canadian politicians should take notice:

Government should be transparent.  Transparency promotes accountability and provides information for citizens about what their Government is doing.  Information maintained by the Federal Government is a national asset. My Administration will take appropriate action, consistent with law and policy, to disclose information rapidly in forms that the public can readily find and use. Executive departments and agencies should harness new technologies to put information about their operations and decisions online and readily available to the public. Executive departments and agencies should also solicit public feedback to identify information of greatest use to the public. 

Many ideas stated in the memo can be traced back to Moving Towards a 21st Century Right to Know Agenda, a set of reccomendations to the new president compiled by a coalition of US groups.  Many of the policies mentioned in the report can be adapted to Canada directly.

Read the full text of the memo here.