February 21, 2014 – Ottawa – Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
International Open Data Day, on February 22, 2014, is a worldwide initiative to encourage the release and use of Open Data, as well as support the establishment of Open Data policies and standards. Open Data events are organized across the globe encouraging the Open Data community to gather and create new products, such as apps, visualizations, and analysis. Today, in recognition of this, Canada is publishing a national action plan under the G8 Open Data Charter.
In support of its Open Data objectives, Canada joined other G8 countries in formally adopting a common G8 Open Data Charter in June 2013 at the Lough Erne Summit in Northern Ireland. The Open Data Charter commits G8 member countries to making data more open and accessible.
In Economic Action Plan 2014, the Government reiterated its focus on stimulating the digital economy with the free flow of useful and usable data. Supporting commitments include:
- Ensuring the continued release of high-value datasets;
- Stimulating the "app" economy by supporting Open Data appathons, such as the upcoming Canadian Open Data Experience (CODE); and
- Encouraging the use of Open Data to raise productivity and create new products and services to benefit Canadians.
"...we estimate that open data have the potential to enable more than $3 trillion in additional value annually across these domains of the global economy: education, transportation, consumer products, electricity, oil and gas, health care, and consumer finance. Consumers stand to gain by saving money through greater price transparency and using more information to make decisions."
– McKinsey Global Institute, October 2013
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