Open

Lost amid the rumpus (yes, I used the synonym function for that one) of #elxn41 was an announcement that happened shortly before the election call; from Policy Monitor Canada: Canada Launches Open Government Data Portal. From the Open Data site:

The Open Data Pilot is part of the Government of Canada’s commitment to open government, which is being pursued along three streams: open data, open information and open dialogue, and aims to drive innovation and economic opportunities for all Canadians.

While the content remains somewhat sparse as of yet, I applaud the thinking behind making data more widely available. I hope that the current rumpus does not diminish the commitment to making datasets available; however, given the general direction of FOIPOP legislation being used as a shield rather than a mechanism to liberate information over the past several years, I look forward to being convinced that this is simply not a token gesture. The fact that the RSS feed has not been updated since September 30, 2010 is not a good sign. Open data is too important to let wither on the vine.