“The pandemic has exposed data gaps, timeliness gaps, and raised questions about privacy and confidentiality, trust and access to personal data by private and public organizations. But it has also demonstrated the fundamental importance of data and key aspects of good data that should always be considered: pertinence, timeliness and accuracy.”
Anil Arora and Rohinton P. Medhora on the need for data stewards
Data Strategy Needed for Sound Reuse, not Misuse, of Data Sets
In a global race for sovereignty over data, countries, including Canada, must find ways to protect citizens against the misuse of their data but cannot completely block reuse of public data needed for developing useful applications and algorithms. Through a collaboration with Statistics Canada, CIGI’s Managing Director of Digital Economy Robert Fay and Senior Fellow Michel Girard, along with other experts, took a hard look at how to ensure Canada’s data needs are met in a rapidly changing world.
As Canada’s Chief Statistician Anil Arora and CIGI President Rohinton P. Medhora argue, countries need dependable data stewards to ensure reliable but also relevant and timely data to confront current challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Girard’s work on setting standards for the highly contentious development of secure 5G infrastructure is equally vital for Canada.