That's a great question.
I want to return to this. That is, when we think about the role that dialogue plays in this, and I guess that's what I keep returning to, we do have some emerging models. The example that I gave of the geomatics round table is a really good one because we are going to have to make some fundamental choices that will resonate with citizens, and this goes back to their ownership of it, with citizens and popular use. Ultimately, there are only so many resources and so much effort and opportunity to make things available. As I think you've just rightly indicated, there is already and there's going to be more and more data. So how do we decide and how do we make available the stuff that really matters?
I would turn to models like the round table and say that if we don't learn how to have these discussions we won't be able to make those choices. Those really are policy choices at the end of the day.
I could go into greater detail about how these sorts of discussions will take place. The one thing that I would want to say, and I hope I'm not missing your question, is that there's justified fear among governments, especially at the political level, that in opening up dialogue—even the word is scary—we're sort of giving away all this power to somebody else to make decisions. I don't think that's necessary at all.
If I could make one point about open dialogue, it doesn't mean that government has to give away any authority at all. I think it does mean that government has to change the way that it makes decisions. So if you're part of a collaborative table having a discussion on setting priorities for how we will use our resources together in various ways, if you were there representing the federal government my advice to you if you were the minister would be, you don't ever let anybody tell you what to do. You're not giving your authority over to somebody else to make that decision. What you're doing is sitting there to work with others differently, where we're all trying to reach a collaborative answer that essentially serves the interests around the table of everyone in the best possible way.
My view about open dialogue is that it's not about giving away authority; it's about exercising it differently. That is, openly in a way that we recognize the need that we have to work with others to make choices so we can solve the problems you're talking about. My argument would be that we will never solve those problems in a vacuum because increasingly they involve more and more players.
I hope I haven't missed your question.