In its 2011 report, “Getting tough on environmental crime? Holding the Government of Canada to account on environmental enforcement” [1], Ecojustice includes five recommendations relating to open government and open
data (see pages 64 to 69):
- The Government of Canada, led by Environment Canada, should establish and seek funding to maintain a comprehensive online environmental enforcement and compliance database for all federal environmental laws and regulations. The database should be updated regularly (monthly) and should enable geographic and facility-based data analysis.
- Work towards releasing enforcement information across all Government of Canada departments in a consistent manner using multiple user-friendly formats.
- Fulfill the promise of open government and proactive disclosure policies by releasing the enforcement and compliance information for these particular laws that are stored in the restricted NEMISIS database.
- Ensure that sufficient resources are available for departments, particularly Environment Canada, to do the necessary reporting and associated quality control.
- Departments within the federal government, including but not limited to Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Transport Canada, should proactively and comprehensively release all non-confidential information regarding enforcement actions, including but not limited to: inspections, investigations, warnings, orders, prosecutions, convictions, penalties/fines, and number of facilities, as well as compliance information concerning regulated entities. If this is not achieved through a comprehensive online database for the whole of the federal government, then it should at a minimum be released on department websites and as part of annual reporting under specific laws.
1. http://www.ecojustice.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Getting-Tough-on-Environmental-Crime.pdf