[Talk-ca] Nouvelle licence de données ouvertes au Québec

[Richard Weait]

It is a continuing source of frustration to me that Canadian
municipalities believe that they may attach any conditions to the data
of the citizens.

They may not.  They must not.  Municipalities, provinces / territories
and the federal government serve at the pleasure of the citizens.  The
citizens permit the various governments to collect certain data
required to effectively do the jobs that the citizens demand of the
governments. The citizens do not permit the governments to restrict
the use of this data in any way.

The governments MUST publish that part of the collected data that is
suitable for publication*.  For any level of government to NOT YET be
publishing the data of their citizens is for that government to
demonstrate itself as incompetent.

The government IS NOT mandated by the citizens to include ANY
restrictions on the data of the citizens. (that data which is suitable
for publication)  The data of the citizens MUST be published as public
domain data.  Since Canadian data law makes no allowance for
publication as public domain data, such data must be published under
ODC-PDDL.

For a municipality to insist on any restriction to the use of the
citizens published data is a demonstration of incompetence and
ignorance.  For a municipality to insist on attribution is a
demonstration of monstrous ego.

ODC-PDDL is the correct license for Open Data published by Canadian
governments.  Attribution licenses, regardless of license publisher /
maintainer are not.

* Data suitable for publication excludes the data that citizens insist
that the government hold securely.  Medical and other sensitive data
is not suitable for publication as Open Data.