March 11-17, 2019 is Open Government Week. Open governments are commonly guided by the principles of transparency; accountability; and inclusive citizen participation. These principles are also the pillars of democracy and, in turn, allow for successful democratic processes.
As a member of the Open Government Partnership (OGP)
Canada will join countries around the world to celebrate inclusion, participation and the impact of government. The OIPC supports this initiative and efforts of our provincial government to bring itself in line with the principles of open government. In March 2014, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador launched an Open Government Initiative and Open Data website which releases government data free of charge for anyone to use and reuse for any purpose. Following the launch of the Initiative, the provincial government released an Open Government Draft Action Plan
containing a number of commitments many of which have already been achieved.
We recognize and support the commitment of government both provincially and federally to proactively release information and data as an operational practice. Public bodies should, and have been directed to, release as much data and information as possible, while adhering to applicable legislative exemptions. While there is work left to be done to ensure our government is as proactively open as legislatively possible, we have taken strides in the right direction.
For more information on what Canada’s doing for Open Government Week, please visit the Canadian Open Government Week website. To learn more about the global Open Government week, please visit OGP’s website.
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Media contact
Sean Murray
Director of Research and Quality Assurance
(709) 729-6309