Action plan – Québec, Canada, 2021 – 2023

At-a-Glance

Duration

Mar 2023

Date Submitted

22nd September 2021

Foreword(s)

The digital transformationGovernments are working to increase access to and quality of government services, improve transparency, and create opportunities for participation by using information and communications technologies.... More occurring in Québec and elsewhere in the world is a golden opportunity to strengthen the core aspects of modern, democratic societies. The digital transformation of these societies is helping to gradually improve the relationship between government and citizens.

To fully embrace this opportunity, the Gouvernment du Québec announced its Stratégie de transformation numérique gouvernementale 2019-2023 [2019-2023 governmental digital transformation strategy] in June 2019. The strategy will offer more intuitive, user-friendly public services while also improving government efficiency and transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More.

The Plan d’action favorisant un gouvernement ouvert 2021-2023 [2021-2023 action plan for an open government] will therefore deliver on specific commitments1 to accelerate the government’s digital transformation. The action plan’s commitments are based on the 4 requirements for an open government: Transparency, Participation, Innovation, Collaboration

In October 2020, the Gouvernement du Québec officially joined the Open Government Partnership (OGP). The Secrétariat du Conseil du trésor (SCT) uses best practices from the OGP Local Handbook to guide its actions.

In March 2021, the SCT also established the Comité en gouvernement ouvert [open government committee] to ensure its action plans align with public expectations. This committee is comprised of representatives from civil societies and public bodies, and it has focused on various themes: open dataBy opening up data and making it sharable and reusable, governments can enable informed debate, better decision making, and the development of innovative new services. Technical specifications: Polici..., digital public participationGiving citizens opportunities to provide input into government decision-making leads to more effective governance, improved public service delivery, and more equitable outcomes. Technical specificatio..., open science and open source software, from which the action plan draws its 5 proposed commitments.

In keeping with OGP best practices, the SCT has also developed a vision and set challenges for itself (strategic goals) with measurable milestones, which are presented alongside each challenge.

In the interest of transparency, the public can follow the progress of actions under the action plan by visiting https://www.quebec.ca/gouvernement/gouvernement-ouvert.

Open Government Challenges, Opportunities and Strategic Vision

This subsection details the Open Government Strategic Vision in your local area that should guide the commitments for the action plan period.

What is the long-term vision for open government in your context and jurisdiction?

In response to rapid digital transformation, the government is addressing the four components of open government (transparency, innovation, participation and collaboration) so that citizens can help improve public service quality and efficiency. The open data distributed by the government acts as tool for promoting public services and economic development. 

What are the achievements in open government to date (for example, recent open government reforms)?

As early as 2010, concrete actions were proposed to ensure that Québec makes the most of Web 2.0 in order to improve the services it delivers to the public and the government’s internal operations. Such recent actions are:

• Creation of the open data portal Données Québec. The portal is a shared forum where the government, municipalities and Québec civil society organizations can publish data sets of interest to the public (April 2016).
• Publication of Énoncés d’orientations pour les données ouvertes [open data guideline statements]. These guidelines help public bodies prioritize highly reusable data and adopt an open-by-default approach (July 2018).
• Implementation of the Consultation Québec platform. This platform brings together all of the government’s current public consultations in a single location to provide the public with a more user-friendly environment. The platform can be used for conducting online consultations or organizing more traditional face-to-face consultations (September 2019).
• The online launch of the Baromètre numériQc [digital barometer]. The barometer tracks the government’s digital transformation progress against strategy targets, based on 10 indicators (December 2020).
• Creation of the service public de données ouvertes de référence [reference open data public service]. This service guarantees reliability for certain data in the ecosystem, in particular quality, integrity, availability, interoperability, metadata and documentation (March 2021).

What are the current challenges/areas for improvement in open government that the jurisdiction wishes to tackle?

The action plan’s three challenges and corresponding commitments stem from the four components of open government. These challenges are also in line with three of the strategy’s six ambitions. 

• Strengthen the free flow of information of public interest  
• Equip government employees when improving and diversifying their public involvement methods 
• Help government employees benefit from methods used in open source software communities 

What are the medium-term open government goals that the government wants to achieve?

The action plan’s three challenges and corresponding commitments stem from the four components of open government. These challenges are also in line with three of the strategy’s six ambitions: 

• Valorize and return data to citizens (ambitionAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, OGP commitments should “stretch government practice beyond its current baseline with respect to key areas of open government.” Ambition captures the po... 6) 
• Develop citizen-focused services, programs and policies (ambition 1) 
• Make employees central to the transformation (ambition 4) 

How does this action plan contribute to achieve the Open Government Strategic Vision?

The action plan’s three challenges and corresponding commitments stem from the four components of open government. These challenges are also in line with three of the six ambitions in the Stratégie de transformation numérique gouvernementale: 

• Strengthen the free flow of information of public interest  
• Equip government employees when improving and diversifying their public involvement methods 
• Help government employees benefit from methods used in open source software communities 

How does the open government strategic vision contribute to the accomplishment of the current administration’s overall policy goals?

The purpose of the Plan d’action favorisant un gouvernement ouvert 2021 – 2023 is to meet specific commitments to accelerate the government’s digital transformation. 

Engagement and Coordination in the Open Government Strategic Vision and OGP Action Plan

Please list the lead institutions responsible for the implementation of this OGP action plan.

• Secrétariat du Conseil du trésor
• Ministère du Conseil exécutif – secrétariat à la communication gouvernementale
• Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
• Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies; Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé; and Fon

What kind of institutional arrangements are in place to coordinate between government agencies and departments to implement the OGP action plan?

The Act respecting the governance and management of the information resources of public bodies and government enterprises (hereinafter “the Act”), amended in June 2021, provides for the creation of a government chief digital transformation officer position, whose responsibilities include proposing strategies to the Chair of the Conseil du trésor to foster an open government approach and seeing that they are implemented. 

Furthermore, an open government sponsor is designated in each department and body subject to the Act. These sponsors are responsible for implementing the commitments in the Plan d’action favorisant un gouvernement ouvert, coordinating open data work and facilitating public consultations within their respective public bodies. 

What kind of spaces have you used or created to enable the collaboration between government and civil society in the co-creation and implementation of this action plan? Mention both offline and online spaces.

In April 2021, the Secrétariat du Conseil du trésor established the Comité en gouvernement ouvert comprised of representatives from civil societies and public bodies. 

The committee’s mandate is to: 

• Advise the Secrétariat du Conseil du trésor on developing new open government action plans and comment on proposed commitments 
• Identify and suggest new areas of interest for an open government 
• Contribute to public consultations and participation related to open government in Québec 
• Discuss the implementation and assessment of action plans and propose potential solutions, if necessary 

The following members, who make up the committee, are serving for two-year terms.  

What measures did you take to ensure diversity of representation (including vulnerable or marginalized populations) in these spaces?

Organizations were selected based on their experience and knowledge of open government principles, including the benefits and challenges associated with making data publicly available. The Secrétariat du Conseil du trésor is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible environment for all applicants. 

Who participated in these spaces?

For civil society organizations, the members are representatives of: 

• Bureau de la valorisation et des partenariats [development and partnerships office], Université de Sherbrooke 
• Leadership Chair in the Teaching of Digital Social Science, Université Laval 
• Chaire de recherche en exploitation des ressources informationnelles [research chair in information resource development], École nationale d’administration publique 
• Cyberjustice Laboratory, Université de Montréal; 
• Observatoire québécois des inégalités [Québec observatory of inequality] 
• Québec numérique [digital Québec]  
• Data Ethics Expertise Network 
• Votepour.ca 

For public bodies, the members are representatives of: 

• Secrétariat du Conseil du trésor   
• Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec   
• Ministère du Conseil exécutif
  

How many groups participated in these spaces?

12

How many public-facing meetings were held in the co-creation processCollaboration between government, civil society and other stakeholders (e.g., citizens, academics, private sector) is at the heart of the OGP process. Participating governments must ensure that a dive...?

5

How will government and non-governmental stakeholders continue to collaborate through the implementation of the action plan?

The committee’s mandate is also to discuss the implementation and evaluation of action plans and to propose potential solutions, if necessary. 

Please describe the independent Monitoring Body you have identified for this plan.

As part of its continuous learning approach, the Secrétariat du Conseil du trésor is supported by the Research Chair on Public Administration in the Digital Age of Université Laval in implementing the action plan’s three phases. 

Provide the contact details for the independent monitoring body.

• Steve Jacob, Full Professor Research Chair on Public Administration in the Digital Age Université Laval, steve.jacob@pol.ulaval.ca
• Samuel Defacqz, Assistant Professor Researcher, Research Chair on Public Administration in the Digital Age, samuel.defacqz@pol.ulaval.ca

What types of activities will you have in place to discuss progress on commitments with stakeholders?

The Committee’s mandate includes discussing the implementation and assessment of action plans and proposing potential solutions, if necessary. 

How will you regularly check in on progress with implementing agencies?

The Act respecting the governance and management of the information resources of public bodies and government enterprises (hereinafter “the Act”), amended in June 2021, provides for the creation of a government chief digital transformation officer position, whose responsibilities include proposing strategies to the Chair of the Conseil du trésor to foster an open government approach and seeing that they are implemented. 

 Furthermore, an open government sponsor is designated in each department and body2 subject to the Act. These sponsors are responsible for implementing the commitments in the Plan d’action favorisant un gouvernement ouvert, coordinating open data work and facilitating public consultations within their respective public bodies. 

 How will you share the results of your monitoring efforts with the public?

Throughout its implementation, the action plan will share commitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action... outcomes on the following website:

https://www.quebec.ca/gouvernement/gouvernement-ouvert

Endorsement from Non-Governmental Stakeholders

• Schallum Pierre, Président, Réseau d’expertise en éthique de données (REED)
• Marie-Claude Battista, Directrice, Bureau de la Valorisation et des Partenariats, Faculté de Médecine et des sciences de la santé, Un
• Marc Jeannotte, Cofondateur et directeur général, Votepour.ca
• Yannick Dufresne, Professeur adjoint et membre, Chaire de leadership en enseignement des sciences sociales numériques (CLESSN), Ulaval
• François Fournier, Chercheur, Observatoire québécois des inégalités
• Nicolas Vermeys, Directeur adjoint, Laboratoire de cyberjustice
• Daniel J Caron, Titulaire de la Chaire de recherche en exploitation des ressources informationnelles, École nationale d’administration publique (ÉNAP)
• Christian Boudreau, Professeur, Chaire de recherche en exploitation des ressources informationnelles, École nationale d’administration publique (ÉNAP)
• Dominic Goulet, Directeur général, Québec numérique
• Jean-François Gauvin, Directeur de la stratégie numérique, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
• Martin Boucher, Directeur général de communications numériques gouvernementales, Ministère du Conseil exécutif (MCE)

Introduction-letter-de-Ms.-Lebel-M.-Caire4.pdf
Commitment 1: Democratize Open Data” was developed based on consultation of the Données Québec : participez à son amélioration! [Données Québec: help improve it!]