November 24, 2014
Ottawa
Check against delivery
Thank you and welcome!
Today, it is my pleasure to announce that the Government of Canada is teaming up with XMG Studio of Toronto to hold the second national Canadian Open Data Experience appathon.
Earlier this year, our first-ever CODE competition brought together people from government, industry, academia and the general public to mash up, reuse and remix federal government data.
I’d like to thank everyone who participated in that event —and once again challenge students, technology innovators, developers, researchers, and frankly anyone with an interest in coding, to turn government data into useful, effective apps that can be commercialized.
CODE 2015 will build on the success of the first CODE event. It will shine the spotlight on the business value of government open data, and the creativity of Canadian entrepreneurs.
And again, those who come out on top will win cash prizes for doing so.
I’m very pleased that we’re moving ahead with CODE 2015.
Now, I just said CODE uses federal government data, but in fact, I should have said your data. This data belongs to Canadians.
It’s a public resource.
That’s why we’re making this data freely available to everyone to use and republish as they wish, without restrictions.
And that’s why CODE 2015 is so exciting!
It puts that into action.
CODE is where ideas are turned into projects, and projects can be turned into products, businesses, and growth.
In fact, the CODE model draws a direct line between open data and unlocking its economic value.
It has already helped make an open data prototype into a sustainable commercial app.
The winning team from the first CODE event —“Electric Sheep” — used data from various federal departments and datasets to create an app that helps new Canadians find the most suitable place to live based on their talents and circumstances.
Winning the competition launched the two Electric Sheep founders straight into the heart of the Canadian entrepreneurial community, where they learned about all the different accelerators, incubators and mentorship programs that are available, and how to find an investor.
That’s very cool stuff and it all started with CODE!
Other datasets too — everything from weather, population, energy, housing, commerce or transportation — have the potential to improve peoples’ lives and drive change.
To encourage this, the Government of Canada has already published a vast quantity of data.
In fact, our open data portal now contains almost 210,000 data sets from over 40 federal departments.
And that’s just the beginning.
Last month, we issued a new Directive on Open Government.
This directive provides guidance to federal departments and agencies on how to release data and information of business value.
It is also a milestone in Canada’s move to open government, because it makes federal data open “by default” — other than valid exceptions for privacy, national security, and confidentiality.
The new Directive on Open Government is also a key element in our Action Plan on Open Government 2.0 that I launched earlier this month.
As you know, at its heart, open government is about providing citizens with more open data and information, and increasing opportunities to learn about and participate in government decision-making.
In addition, the Government of Canada is funding a support system for open data entrepreneurs.
We have provided $3 million to create an Open Data Exchange, which will support the development and commercialization of new data-driven apps.
And now, with CODE 2015, we’re looking to challenge all open data enthusiasts and developers to make the most of the data available at Open.Canada.ca.
We are also encouraging them not to limit themselves to using only federal open data, but to also consider what apps could be developed if these were combined with provincial, territorial and municipal open data.
And we’re putting the challenge out there to produce and deliver apps in the three categories:
- quality of life
- youth
- and commerce
There’ll be more detailed information as we get closer to the date of the competition, so stay tuned.
I'm excited about CODE 2015, and based on what we saw from the last event, I’m confident we'll see some innovative results coming out of this event.
Many of you here today are likely familiar with the Government’s Digital Canada 150 — or DC150 — strategy launched earlier this year by my colleague Industry Minister James Moore.
This is a bold plan to take full advantage of the digital economy as Canada celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2017.
It puts in place a number of initiatives to support the growth of Canada’s digital economy and to ensure Canadians benefit from the opportunities that provides.
And of course, open data is an important part of DC150.
Our efforts to get data into the hands of creative Canadians will help ensure our country is at the forefront of the global open data movement.
In a world where innovation determines who will shape the future, CODE 2015 will help fuel the minds of the creative and ingenious Canadians who will show the way.
On that note, it is now my pleasure to welcome Ray Sharma, of XMG Studio, to say a few words.
Thank you.
