Canada Joins International Open Government Partnership

BRASILIA, BRAZIL--(Marketwire - April 18, 2012) - The Honourable Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for FedNor, yesterday announced Canada's membership in the international Open Government Partnership. The Minister presented Canada's Open Government Action Plan and endorsed the Partnership's declaration of principles as Canada's final steps toward membership in the Partnership.

"Our Open Government Action Plan demonstrates Canada's commitment to the principles laid out in the Open Government Partnership Declaration, which we fully endorse. We look forward to working with our partners to deliver on the commitments we have made here," said Minister Clement.

The 12 commitments in the Action Plan that will be implemented over the next three years include:

• issuing a government-wide directive that will make government information and data available to the public by default;
• expanding access to Open Data;
• engaging Canadians through modern Web 2.0 tools; and
• public engagement on regulatory reform.

The Government of Canada has been working toward becoming a member of this international partnership since September 2011.

The goals of the Open Government Partnership include the adoption of concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.

Delegates from 53 countries took part in the meeting in Brasilia. Attending countries announced their action plans with the goal of achieving greater openness, sharing knowledge and helping to solve practical problems.

"In this profoundly globalized world, countries have an even greater need to learn from each other. Fortunately, globalization and the technological innovations that have helped drive it, enable us to do just that. The Open Government Partnership provides a forum for countries to improve public services, more effectively manage public resources and increase public integrity," said Minister Clement.

Canada's Action Plan was developed through consultations with citizens, the private sector, civil society and other levels of government.

The Action Plan is available at www.open.gc.ca.

IF THERE IS A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN ANY PRINTED VERSION AND THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THIS NEWS RELEASE, THE ELECTRONIC VERSION WILL PREVAIL.

TTY (Telecommunications device for the hearing impaired) - 613-957-9090

This news release is available at www.tbs-sct.gc.ca.

Follow us on Twitter: @TBS_Canada