Canada begins its year of leading the international Open Government Partnership

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Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

Oct 01, 2018, 10:39 ET

OTTAWA, Oct. 1, 2018 /CNW/ - Open government is responsible government. In an increasingly digital world, open government is a critical resource to make democracies more accountable and transparent to their citizens.

The Honourable Scott Brison, President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Digital Government, announced today the start of Canada's one-year co‑chairship of the Open Government Partnership. The Government of Canada will be sharing the leadership of the organization's Steering Committee with civil society partner, Nathaniel Heller, Executive Vice President of Results for Development.

The Open Government Partnership brings together government reformers and civil society leaders from around the world to create action plans that give citizens more inclusive, responsive, and accountable governments.

Alongside Nathaniel Heller, Canada is sharing a vision of real progress for citizens on a global scale. The co-chairship will focus on initiatives built on Canada's ambitious leadership priorities for open government: Inclusion; Participation; and Impact. These themes are aimed at empowering underrepresented citizens of every gender, race and sexual orientation to actively engage with their governments.

Canada looks forward to the contribution of other Open Government Partnership members, who are anticipated to launch their own initiatives based on these priorities.

Today's announcement is the result of sustained efforts across Canada to make government more open and transparent. 

Quote

"Open government is better government. Canada's goal, as we begin this year of leadership, is to empower citizens around the world to better understand, engage with and influence their governments. We thank the thousands of Canadians, and the international community, whose ideas and actions on open government have made this opportunity possible."

- The Honourable Scott Brison, President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Digital Government

"This co-chairship period represents an exciting opportunity to push ourselves, as an open government community, to ensure that open government truly delivers for citizens, including improved services in key areas such as health, education, and nutrition. It also marks an important shift towards proactively creating space for all citizens, including those from traditionally marginalized and disempowered communities, to participate in open government reforms. I look forward to working with the Government of Canada in the year to come, particularly at a moment when the partnership has recommitted to protecting and expanding civic space and civil liberties, which are increasingly under attack in a number of countries around the world."

- Nathaniel Heller, co-chair of the Open Government Partnership and Executive Vice President of Results for Development

"We look forward to Canada and Nathaniel Heller's leadership in advancing vital priorities of gender, inclusion, and participation through open government approaches. With authoritarianism rising and attacks on civic space increasing, we need high-level political leadership to forge a countervailing force for openness and democracy. On behalf of the organization, we thank the Government of Georgia and Mukelani Dimba for their leadership and helping advance OGP's strategic priorities this past year."

- Sanjay Pradhan, CEO, Open Government Partnership 

Quick Facts

  • The Open Government Partnership was launched in 2011 to provide an international platform for nations and civil societies committed to making their governments more open, accountable and responsive to citizen needs.
  • The partnership is a collaborative organization of almost 80 national governments, 20 sub-national governments and hundreds of civil society organizations who take action to support open government progress worldwide.
  • Canada's lead government chair role in the Open Government Partnership runs from October 2018 to September 2019 and was announced in fall 2017 along with its 3 leadership priorities: Inclusion, Participation and Impact.
  • Canada will host the 2019 Open Government Partnership Global Summit in Ottawa, Ontario, from May 29 to 31, 2019. Funding has been made available through Budget 2018.
  • Canada is ranked number one in the world alongside the United-Kingdom in the 2018 Open Data Barometer, a global measure of how governments publish and use open data.

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SOURCE Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

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