- If you live in the Montreal area, join us on April 24th at Station-C for a 5@7 in support of our fundraising campaign for MaMairie.ca. Meet the Open North team and talk about strategies for encouraging open and transparent government in Montreal!
- Halifax, Nova Scotia is the most recent large Canadian municipality to launch an open data portal; the City had announced its open data initiative in September. As a city spokesperson noted, access to this information could previously cost citizens between $500 and $2,000 plus $55 per hour for the municipality to prepare and distribute.
- David Eaves, a member of our board, recently published an opinion piece in the Toronto Star that calls attention to the culture and leadership needed in Canada to foster open government. Eaves notes, “we could paradoxically find ourselves living in a world where technology makes it easier to share information … while our government’s culture makes it harder to talk to the people who can give that information meaning and context.”
- On that note, whether online or offline, it is important to know how to reach your MP and create meaningful dialogue with them. Samara’s blog this week compiled a list of 10 tips for engaging with MPs based on information from staffers themselves. They remind us that it’s best to reach out to your own MP, who you can find using our Represent service.