Open Government at Justice Canada: A Year in Review – June 2021

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It has been a very fruitful year for open government at Justice Canada. We have completed a great number of projects and initiatives linked to our three key priorities: open justice, open data, and training and awareness. This year has been a test in agility and adaptability but it has shown us that despite working at a distance and with the use of technology, we can still make great strides to help our department be more open, transparent and collaborative.

In addition to completing milestone projects this year, open government at Justice underwent an organizational change that solidified its role at Justice Canada within the Department’s Information Solutions Branch under the leadership of the Chief Information Officer.  The new Open Government, Information Strategy and Policy team aligns well with the Policy on Service and Digital and creates new opportunities for the open and strategic management of information in the Department.

Open Justice. On June 1, 2021, we submitted our draft Open Justice commitment to Treasury Board Secretariat for final consultation with the public. The Open Justice commitment will be included in Canada’s 5^th National Action Plan on Open Government.

• In December 2020, Treasury Board Secretariat completed the second phase in their public consultations for the 5^th National Action Plan on Open Government. Justice Canada employees served as subject experts in three webinars on Access to Justice and Open Government.
• Based on overwhelming interest during the public consultations, Open Justice was chosen as a key theme to be included in the 5^th National Action Plan on Open Government.
• During the spring, Justice Canada met with Treasury Board Secretariat, the Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Open Government, as well as multiple federal departments and civil society organizations to review the comments from the public consultations and draft an Open Justice commitment that aligned with their needs.
• Over the summer, the public will have an opportunity to provide their final comments on the draft commitment with the final version expected to be published in the fall.

Open Data. We completed two actions to support objectives identified in Justice Canada’s Data Strategy: the Justice Canada Core Data Inventory and modifications to the Request to Release Application.

• The Open Government team in partnership with Research and Statistics Division and the Business Analytics Centre completed the development of the Justice Core Data Inventory. Data owners across the department reviewed reporting indicators to identify and describe 38 core reporting datasets, with more operational data to be included in future updates. 
• To support the increased release of open data to the public, the Request to Release application has been modified to include a new data stream. The modifications include a Data Quality and Confidentiality Assessment tool developed by Research and Statistics Division. The updated application is currently being tested and will be available for employee use on the Open Government Community Site.

Training and Awareness. Throughout the year,we were able to come together virtually to collaborate with colleagues nationally and internationally on open government initiatives as well as support open dialogue with the public on key changes to federal family laws.

• ​On September 24, 2020, the power and opportunities of open government were discussed at the Open Government Partnership’s (OGP) Virtual Leaders Summit, which built on the OGP’s Open Response + Open Recovery campaign. Senior officials from around the world, as well as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, shared reflections and best practices to ensure a full, fair, and inclusive response and recovery to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The Global Week for Justice was held on October 19 th-24^th 2020. Justice Canada partnered with the OGP, OECD and Pathfinders to host several events including a Global Leaders Summit where justice Ministers from around the world, including Justice Minister’s David Lametti and Nathalie Drouin who spoke about justice in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The week’s events also included the official launch of the OGP’s Coalition on Justice, of which Justice Canada was a founding member at the 2019 OGP Global Summit in Ottawa. The group’s second meeting was held on May 27, 2021 and featured a panel on community-based models of justice around the world.
• On May 18, 2021, during Open Government Week we held Open Doors at Justice - Family Law virtual event that highlighted changes to Canada’s federal family laws namely, the Divorce Act. The event featured opening remarks from Arif Virani, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Laurie Wright, Assistant Deputy Minister Policy Sector, as well as presentations by experts from Justice Canada’s Family and Children’s Law section.

The Department’s Open Government Advisory Group (OpenGov) celebrated the success of our Open Government Champion and the retirement of the role. Over the past four years, the Open Government Champion has illustrated strong leadership and helped to successfully advance this important initiative. Open Government principles are now ongoing considerations in key operational areas across the Department.

We look forward to new opportunities, partnerships and priorities next year with a renewed enthusiasm for the importance of open government and its ability to enhance the way we solve problems as public servants.