Legislation 60% open

Canada

Canada is ranked #22 for this dataset
Canada's Index ranking for legislation is down from #16 in 2013

What data is expected?

This data category requires all national laws and statutes available to be available online, although it is not a requirement that information on legislative behaviour e.g. voting records is available.

What data is available

  •   Does the data exist? Yes
  •   Is data in digital form? Yes
  •   Publicly available? Yes published by Department of Justice)
  •   Is the data available for free? Yes
  •   Is the data available online? Yes (Here)
  •   Is the data machine readable? Yes (XML, HTML, PDF)
  •   Available in bulk? No
  •   Openly licensed? No (No URL given)
  •   Is the data provided on a timely and up to date basis? Yes

Details

The data from the cited website is available in a good variety of formats including machine-readable XML but is not available in bulk (you cannot download the entire code at once easily). In terms of open licensing the Terms and Conditions at http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/terms-avis/index.html indicate that non-commercial use is permitted but commercial use is not (you must apply for specific permission).

There is also the Parliamentary website at http://www.parl.gc.ca/LegisInfo/ which contains HTML and XML on legislation before Parliament. This material is not openly licensed - the Copyright's Page http://www.parl.gc.ca/ImportantNotices.aspx?Language=E states "The contents of this Web site are covered by the provisions of the Copyright Act and related regulations and international agreements. Permission to reproduce in whole or in part or otherwise use content on this Web site may be sought from the appropriate source." It also links in turn to Speaker Permission page http://www.parl.gc.ca/SpeakerPermission.aspx?Language=E which states "Reproduction of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees, in whole or in part and in any medium, is hereby permitted provided that the reproduction is accurate and is not presented as official. This permission does not extend to reproduction, distribution or use for commercial purpose of financial gain".

Contributors

Reviewers

  • Rufus Pollock
  • James McKinney
  • Tracey Lauriault

Submitters

  • Frank Hangler
  • Zile Ozols
  • Rufus Pollock
  • James McKinney