West Island municipalities could pay for not having open data plan

None of Montreals West Island municipalities havereleasedtheir citys data online, which could end up costing the municipalities in the long run, according to an advocate for open data.

• Montreal planning to change rules to release open data

Sbastien Gauthier, spokesman for the City of Dorval says the city is not opposed to open data, but says releasing data to the public is not on its agenda.

"Weve been monitoring the situation and maybe its something well be looking at for the future, but right now, were not quite there here in Dorval."

In fact, he says the citys number one digital priority is creating a Facebook page for the city.

"First steps first we dont even have social media here yet and that for us is a priority."

Dorval isnt alone. None of the municipalities on the West Island have released their data publicly.

Gauthier says for them, its just not a priority. He said no residents have asked for it nor has it been discussed at council.

He says other things, like infrastructure, are on the minds of people in Dorval, and that the city hasnt budgeted for costs related to crunching that data and releasingit online.

Advocate suggests teamwork

However, Jean-No Landry, an advocate for open data who founded Montral Ouvert, said that could cost the municipality in the long-term.

He said more cities are opting to post their data online, in the name of transparency and accountability.

"On the one hand theyre able to benefit on the experience of others that are moving ahead, but the catch up curve is going to be steeper."

Landry suggests the West Island municipalities band together to create a unified front on releasing their data, which could save money, and get the job done faster.