The consultation is now closed, but we are always interested in hearing from you. Please share your feedback on Canada's Open Government activities.
Open Government Consultation
Canada's commitment to Open Government is intended to foster greater transparency and accountability, and help create a more cost-effective, efficient and responsive government. Continuous advances in technology are helping governments to develop innovative approaches to serving the public, making it easier to access government services, communicate with government officials, and make valuable government information readily available to the public.
With this in mind, we want to work in partnership with Canadians to improve the Open Government Action Plan by gathering your views, as well as those of partners and other service users. Effective consultation provides us with vital information about how we can meet the diverse needs of people living, studying, working and visiting Canada.
By getting involved in Open Government, Canadians can influence decisions. Consultation strengthens democracy by encouraging a closer relationship between decision makers and the people affected by their decisions. We believe consultation is vital to the creation of sustainable Open Government Action Plan 2.0.
We will use consultation to:
- Inform our vision of the Open Government Action Plan 2.0 and shape what we do around the needs and aspirations of Canadians in terms of Open Information, Open Dialogue and Open Data;
- Improve our planning and decision-making capabilities;
- Encourage greater participation and achieve a higher level of satisfaction regarding what activities Canada continues to engage in around Open Government initiatives.
The potential benefits of effective consultation are:
- A government that listens and responds to the views and ideas of its community;
- Improved working relationships with partners, businesses, stakeholders and Canadians;
- Better performance—providing information Canadians want and need;
- Increasing confidence and levels of satisfaction both internally and externally;
- Raising awareness and understanding of Open Government and increasing participation in government and the democratic process; and
- Meeting our Open Government obligations to consult interested groups and civil society.
The consultation plan is a combination of online and live events designed to generate input on the consultation approach, generate ideas for Open Government activities, and enable discussions around proposed activities.
These consultations have, and will continue to, inform and influence Canada's Action Plan 2.0 on Open Government, but we won't stop there. The government will remain open to ongoing comments, critiques, suggestions, and ideas about the Action Plan.
- What activities are planned?
- What other consultations are planned?
- How will I hear about the consultations?
- How do I stay connected?
What activities are planned?
Online Consultations:
1. Consultation Plan – Completed
Participants were invited to share their comments on whether the current Consultation Plan will enable Canadians to adequately provide input into Open Government Action Plan 2.0.
2. Idea Dialogue – Completed
Canadians were invited to suggest Open Government projects and activities, as well as comment and show their support for the ideas of others.
3. Activities Discussion – Completed
The Government of Canada posted its draft list of potential activities for inclusion in Action Plan 2.0, for public feedback. This list was drawn from suggestions gathered from ongoing analysis and all activities within the consultation plan, including the Ideas Dialogue. Activities listed will outline specific details like milestones, who should be involved, and how we will measure our progress. Canadians were invited to comment on the selected activities and to continue to suggest other ideas.
General questions will include:
- Have the right activities been included?
- Are there other activities that should be included?
Questions around specific draft activities will include:
- What key deliverables should be undertaken over a two year time-frame to help ensure the success of this commitment?
- Do you have any suggestions on improving the activity?
- How could Canadians be involved in delivering this activity?
Live Conversations:
Events are being planned where you can interact with other interested citizens and government representatives. Most of these will be face-to-face events, while others will be e-enabled through webcast, Twitter, or other digital technologies.
1. Stakeholder Roundtable Discussions and Workshops
Participants will be able to discuss major themes and activities related to the development of the Open Government Action Plan 2.0.
As details and events are confirmed they will be added to this table.
| Activity Name and Link | Date & Location | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Open Data Canada Summit | February 21, 2014 – Vancouver | Expert Panel |
| ARMA Program Meeting | April 30 – Ottawa | 2 hour workshop |
| Annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences | May 25 – St. Catharines | 2 hour workshop |
| Canadian Library Association 2014 National Conference and Trade Show | May 29 – Victoria | 1 hour session |
| Round Table #1 | June 27 – Ottawa | 3 hour session |
| Round Table #2 | July 16 (1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.) – Montreal (801 Brennan St.) | 3 hour session |
| Round Table #3 | July 22 (2:00 p.m.–4:30 p.m.) - Vancouver (453 West 12th Ave., Vancouver City Hall, Town Hall Meeting Room) | 2.5 hour session |
| Round Table #4 | July 24 - Toronto (1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.) - Northern District Toronto Public Library, Room 200, 40 Orchard View Boulevard (Yonge and Eglington) | 2.5 hour session |
| Round Table #5 | August 27 – Edmonton (9990 Jasper Ave., World Trade Centre Edmonton, Conference Rooms A+B) | 3 hour session |
| Round Table #6 | September 11 – Halifax (1841 Argyle St., Halifax City Hall, Halifax Hall) | 3 hour session |
2. Related Activities
The essence of Open Government is broad-based public participation. In Canada, there are other organizations conducting consultations or deliberations related to Open Government.
- Open Data Canada Leadership Forum
- Ontario Open Government
- Newfoundland and Labrador Open Government Public Engagement
What other consultations are planned?
President's Advisory Panel on Open Government
Meetings with the Treasury Board President's Advisory Panel on Open Government will be held to discuss the approach to public consultations, related feedback and results, and draft Action Plan activities.
- Notes from February 2014 meeting*
- Notes from June 2014 meeting
- October 2014 meeting
*As details and events are confirmed they will be added to this list.
Expert Panels on Open Government Themes
These meetings will focus on expert discussions on specific Open Government themes or activities. They may include the participation of the President of the Treasury Board and/or the Chief Information Officer of the Government of Canada.
The dates and locations for these activities will closely mirror those of the public stakeholder roundtables.
Public Interest Groups (Civil Society) Meetings
We will conduct a minimum of six meetings designed to bring together civil society representatives active in research, social change, and entrepreneurship. The purpose of these meetings is to facilitate discussions on Open Government topics that are relevant to their public interest, for example: Open Data standards. Discussions will generally revolve around three topics:
- Action Plan 2.0 commitments;
- How can the Government of Canada set-up an ongoing network or forum to better engage with civil society on Open Government; and,
- In depth discussion of activities of interest to participants.
Individual activities consultations
There may also be live and/or online consultations open to the public to support the development and implementation of individual activities.
How will I hear about the consultations?
Throughout the planned consultation period, we will be reaching out to Canadians with information that may include:
- Tweets from @TBS_Canada #opengovcan #OGAP2;
- National News Releases;
- Blog posts at data.gc.ca;
- Email updates to open government email list;
- Speaking engagements and special events;
How do I stay connected?
- Twitter – follow @TBS_Canada we will be using #opengovcan for general news and #OGAP2 for news specific to the Open Government Action Plan 2.0.