Using open data to address systemic racism in Canada

The Government of Canada has been tasked to improve the collection and dissemination of disaggregated data to identify racism and address discrimination within government and in services provided to Canadians. Furthermore, the government of British Columbia has recently developed its Anti-Racism Data Act, which legislates collection of race-based data with an emphasis on opening the data.

This case study will explore the varying strategies that the federal and provincial governments in Canada are employing to address systemic gaps and lack of transparency in collection, usage, and display of race-based data with the goal of addressing systematized and institutionalized racism and discrimination while protecting the privacy of individuals and communities. Participants will learn directly from senior management at the Royal Candian Mounted Police, Canada Border Services Agency, and the Government of British Columbia’s Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

By the end of this case study session, participants will be able to learn about best practices, challenges/risks, value added, opportunities for scaling and contextualizing work on open, disaggregated, race-based data. This workshop is ideal for data scientists, policy practitioners, staff responsible for people and culture change, and those working in the security sector. In order to make the most of this session, it will be ideal for participants to have foundational knowledge of data science, open and/or disaggregated data, and/or equity and inclusion