Information & Ethics committee  You asked first about translation. I'm not an expert on the Official Languages Act who would know just how far or how broadly those implications would go. To highlight one of the examples I raised in terms of things like committee proceedings and the like, which are made availab

Information & Ethics committee  To unpack those few questions, I don't have an answer for why the decision was made to cancel the CAIRS database. I recall there was a fairly robust discussion at the time. I still think that, as was said at the time, it was a mistake, largely because the information is, of cours

Information & Ethics committee  Yes, I think at times there are. Depending on the type of data, there can be differences between the federal, provincial, and local levels. I'm thinking, for example, that it's a good opportunity to reference what exists right now with legal information. I would hope most peopl

Information & Ethics committee  I think they are largely interchangeable. I actually think “open government” has been the more popular term from other governments, and I think part of it just comes down to marketing, quite frankly. Some governments have seen the marketing value in being portrayed as open and ha

Information & Ethics committee  Thanks very much. Good afternoon. My name is Michael Geist. I'm a law professor at the University of Ottawa, where I hold the Canada Research Chair in Internet and e-commerce law. By way of background, I serve on the Privacy Commissioner of Canada's expert advisory committee and