Canada commits to open government in “Speech from the Throne”

Contributed by: John F Moore on June 5, 2011.

Governor General David Johnston opened the 41st Parliament of Canada with the traditional Speech from the Throne. This speech, meant to outline the agenda for the government, made a clear commitment to delivering on aspects of open government when the Governor General stated:

“Our Government will also ensure that citizens, the private sector and other partners have improved access to the workings of government through open data, open information and open dialogue.”

The ability to deliver on this promise remains to be seen. The 40th Parliament was thrown down after repeated allegations of corruption and has often sought to operate in less than open manner. The 41st Parliament will need to demonstrate the ability and willingness to think strategically in regards to open government if it is turn this promise into real value for the government, and the citizens, of Canada.

John F Moore
Founder and CEO
Government in The Lab

About the Author

John F Moore - John is the Founder and CEO of Government in The Lab. He is also an open government advocate, strategist, writer, speaker, and analyst. Government in The Lab was borne from a desire to help create a positive transformation in government and politics, throughout the world, via shared knowledge and community. Government in The Lab is focused on delivering the best information possible about politics and government through a world-wide collaboration. Our writers come from around the world, write articles in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Russian, Japanese, and Arabic, and are seeking to bridge the divide between citizens, politicians, and municipal employees. What is Open Government? Open government is a citizen-centric philosophy and strategy that believes the best results are usually driven by partnerships between citizens and government, at all levels. It is focused entirely on achieving goals through increased efficiency, better management, information transparency, and citizen engagement and most often leverages newer technologies to achieve the desired outcomes. This is bringing business approaches, business technologies, to government. – John F Moore