LAO releases Open Government discussion paper

Published: April 14, 2016

LAO is releasing the discussion paper, Open Government at Legal Aid Ontario: promoting transparency and accountability in Ontario’s justice system.

“The justice system is generally perceived as lagging behind other public services in the dissemination, gathering, sharing and analysis of information and data,” says David Field, president and CEO of Legal Aid Ontario. “For LAO and the justice system, open government offers the potential to improve, and benchmark, our transparency and public participation in order to improve openness and accountability among Ontario’s justice institutions.”

The government of Ontario has identified “open government” as a key, government-wide, initiative. The three key principles of this initiative include:

• Open data: All data needs to be available in a free, accessible, machine readable format
• Open information: All information about the operation of government needs to be available to improve transparency and accountability
• Open dialogue: Using new methods to engage the public in planning and decision-making

As part of this effort, LAO is co-hosting with the Law Commission of Ontario and the Canadian Forum for Civil Justice an event on “Open Data in the justice system” on Friday April 15. This will provide an opportunity for people within all parts of the justice system in Ontario to discuss the implications, opportunities, and challenges of open government and open data.

This paper builds upon LAO’s existing open government and transparency initiatives, including LAO’s disclosure website.

The discussion paper is the first part in a consultation process that will begin later in 2016. In anticipation of this process, LAO invites organizations and individuals to provide written submissions at any time to opengovernment@lao.on.ca.

Discussion paper

Learn more

• Open by Default, the Government of Ontario’s report on open government