Suzanne Legault, Canada's Interim Information Commissioner, gave a blockbuster speech yesterday to the standing Parliamentary Committee on Access to Information, Privacy, and Ethics. In it, she lays out 5 principles for open government - the first of which calls for leadership from the Prime Minister.

The five principles are:

  • There must be commitment at the top to lead a cultural change conducive to open government. At a minimum, this involves issuing a declaration on open government with clear objectives. The commitment also entails assigning responsibility and accountability for coordination, guidance and deliverables. It requires prescribing specific timeframes.
  • There should be ongoing and broad public consultations. Citizens should be encouraged to participate using electronic means. It is critical to determine what government information the public wants and how they want to receive it.
  • Information should be made accessible in open standard formats and rendered re-usable. Information should be derived from various sources and integrated to reduce the silos inherent in bureaucratic structures.
  • Privacy, confidentiality, security, Crown copyright and official languages issues need to be addressed and resolved.
  • Open government principles should be anchored in statutory and policy instruments.

The speech ends with a quote from 'Unlocking Government: How Data Transform Democracy', a recent Deloitte Canada report:

Government leaders have before them an opportunity to combine the resourcefulness of online citizens and entrepreneurs with the power of factual data to more effectively achieve their mission. In an information-driven age, the ability of governments to seize this opportunity may ultimately determine whether a government fails or succeeds.

It's wonderful to see a Canadian official at this level make a strong public statement in support of open government and open data. This speech may mark a turning point in the reported culture of strict information control at the federal level.

Read the Ottawa Citizen's coverage of the speech here.