Create the GoC Knowledge Resource

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    Open Government, Government of Canada. (2014, June 24). Create the GoC Knowledge Resource . Retrieved from http://open.canada.ca/en/create_the_goc_knowledge_resource
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    “Create the GoC Knowledge Resource .” Open Government, Government of Canada, 24 June 2014, http://open.canada.ca/en/create_the_goc_knowledge_resource
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Submitted By
Doug Brymner
Votes: 60

Over the decades, the Government of Canada has published authoritative information on a wide variety of topics. These publications provide a substantial base for any study of public policy and give the context and background to current issues. As such they would be helpful to new public servants, students and to the broad public seeking information about Canada.  Most of these official publications are well preserved on shelves but now need to be made easily accessible. This would be a capital project supporting the knowledge economy.

I suggest the creation of an online GoC library. This might include:

1. every publication issued by the GoC, Parliament and agencies for the past 30 years (for Canada 150, it

would be a special gift to ourselves to make available everything since 1867)

2. the full gc.ca web site from the 1990s onward, plus agency web sites to be kept live online with periodic updates but identified as the historic web site

3. all 'near print' publications and research reports in departmental libraries.

4. all consultant studies and reports commissioned by the GoC which would be open if requested under access to information law. Establish a protocol for routinely posting all reports received within a few months.

5. summaries or full contents of all documents released in response to access

to Information requests.

This would require a powerful user friendly search engine to assist search. There would be no security or copyright issues and many publications are available in both languages.

And let's encourage the provinces to do the same.

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Comments

Submitted by Naomi Bloch on June 30, 2014 - 7:21 PM

I strongly encourage and support this idea. I have read some amazingly informative reports produced by various government agencies. I would also ask that briefs submitted by stakeholders & others to Standing Committees in HoC and Senate, *as well as* research conducted by Library of Parliament analysts to support this committee work (i.e., not research conducted for individual MPs) be included in this online library. In the case of LoP research, currently these studies are considered to be private "research for clients," basically. Publicly paid Library employees conducting research and writing reports for publicly supported representative committees about national public policy should not be considered confidential or private. (Per the Library of Parliament: "analysts and librarians of the Library of Parliament work exclusively for Parliament, conductng research and providing analysis and policy advice to parliamentarians and to parliamentary committees on a non‐partisan and confidential basis. All requests that are submitted to the Library of Parliament from parliamentarians are confidential therefore not available to the public." Research that informs Standing Committee work should not be lumped in with serving parliamentarians in other capacities. All Canadians should have access to the same stakeholder and research evidence that federal representatives are using when engaged in policy decisions -- this is how we can decide whether their political behaviours and decisions are justifiable, based on legitimate input and evidence. Thanks.