Minister Day's Statement to the Media on the Open Data Announcement

Speaking Points for the President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the
Asia–Pacific Gateway for the Open Data Announcement

March 17, 2011
Vancouver, British Columbia

Check Against Delivery

Thank you for coming. Today, I am pleased to announce the launch of the Government of Canada's Open Data Portal pilot project.

I am pleased Mr. David Eaves is here with us today for this important announcement. He has played an instrumental role in the city of Vancouver's open data project, and I know he will have much more to say about the many benefits and potential uses this initiative will provide.

The Open Portal is a one-stop shop for government data.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the concept of "open data," it refers to data that can be downloaded, free of charge, in more useful and accessible formats.  As you can imagine, the Government has a lot of data available that enterprising Canadians can make use of for commercial and research purposes.

This pilot project, which will run for 12 months, will provide access to vast amounts of this data through a single window on the Web.  In fact, the Portal will make over 260,000 datasets, from 10 participating departments, available to all Canadians.

Those departments are:

• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada;
• Citizenship and Immigration Canada;
• Environment Canada;
• the Department of Finance;
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada;
• Library and Archives Canada;
• Natural Resources Canada;
• Statistics Canada;
• Transport Canada; and
• the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

From these participating departments, a significant amount of useful datasets will be made available in downloadable formats.

This will allow people to use the data in creative ways and develop innovative applications for Canadians. It will also allow them to use the datasets and mash them with datasets from other sources.

The information available in the datasets ranges from data on Canadian tide and water levels to dairy production levels to financial data regarding Government assets.  In addition, all departments and agencies will work diligently to make even more government datasets available throughout the duration of the pilot project.

While the Portal is a new tool, designed to help Canadians succeed in the digital world, government data is, in fact, already being used in various applications Canadians access every day.

For example, at The Weather Network, current weather observations and sophisticated modellingdata supplied by Environment Canada are used to give a continuous feed of weather data from coast to coast.  Environmentalists also use Environment Canada datasets to track emissions and pollution.

For its part, Natural Resources Canada provides digital maps to DMTI Spatial of Markham.  DMTI Spatial then develops software that helps companies like Rogers Communications and Canadian Tire make better business decisions.

Geospatial data from Natural Resources Canada is also used by ESRI Canada, a Toronto company that develops software to help its clients manage and share geographic information.

Google and Mapquest are also dependant on government geospatial data. They use datasets such as atlases to develop their commonly used tools.

There are many other examples of government data feeding new applications that are being created and brought to market by inventive Canadians.

I believe they are just the tip of the iceberg. They offer a glimpse of the commercial and research potential of making government data readily available to our citizens.

Another advantage of the Portal is that it makes datasets available in one convenient location and in more usable and accessible formats.  As a result, more government data can be repurposed for any number of uses.

The Portal will benefit citizens in a variety of ways.  And it will foster innovation, job creation and community services for Canadians.

The Portal is the result of a commitment we made following consultations on the digital economy.  We are committed to ensuring that creators, inventors and entrepreneurs have the tools they need to succeed.

Today, we are following through on that promise.

The Portal is part of our efforts to drive innovation and economic opportunities for all Canadians. And it helps make Canada one of the best places in the world to do business.

With this announcement, we are helping to position Canada for prosperity in the digital economy.

Thank you.