The story of AADRAV. Only numbers mattered

Alessia Zabatino asked me to tell an old story, dating from 20 years ago. I had stored it in a drawer of my mind, almost as if it were part of another life. All this time, I have not looked back.

It feels weird, to go back in time, and observe the event of the past, which shaped a future, but with different eyes.

More than ever, I am convinced that a unique ideological thinking at the expense of diversification of ideas does not give good results. This is what the Quebec legislator has forced artists to do: to come together under one roof, ignoring ideologies and different types of aesthetics, and creative behaviors. Thus very innovative artists, an extremely dynamic network community-based, met individuals with the opposite of their sets of values​​. They were forced to set aside their ideologies to fit the law.

Oh, another very strange thing. I looked at my picture from 20 years ago. It is striking that I have ‘bliss happiness’ stamped in the forehead… This is me, in 1992.

Oh My, I look blissful, don't I?




In 20 years, many artists were there...

Gilles Arteau, Anita Petitclerc, Reine Boutat, Marie Fraser, Isabelle Bernier, Denis Dallaire, Francesca Penserini, Carole Brouillette, Claire Paquet, Suzanne Paquet, Guylaine Gariépy, Luce Pelletier, Bastien Gilbert, Brigitte Levasseur, Lucie Robert, Lesley Johnstone, Francine Périnet, Angela Grauerholz, Anne Ramsden, Marcel Blouin, François Lachapelle, Linda Bellemare, Bernard Bilodeau, Su Schnee, Cheryl Sim, Pierre Robitaille, Marie Perrault, Lyne Robichaud, Claire Gravel, Sylvie Fortin, Lisanne Nadeau, Marie-Josée Coulombe, François Vallée, Gilles Tibodeau, Dominique Guillaumant, Réjean Perron, Sylvie Raymond, Maria Masino, Pascale Lussier, Micheline Joemets, Céline Lapointe, Danyèle Alain, Yves Gendreau, Julie C. Paradis, Carole Painchaud, Michel Lefebvre, Eva Quintas, François Dion, Catherine Bodmer, Catherine Cahill, Jessica MacCormack, Maria Chronopoulos, Yolaine Lefebvre, Suzanne Cloutier, Lucie Beaulieu, Laurent Bélanger, Christiane Desjardins, Sophie Morin, Pierre Allard, Annie Roy, Marie-France Thérien, Jocelyn Robert, Diane Génier, Jean-Pierre Latour, Robert Cloutier, Jeane Fabb, Daniel Poulin, Marianne Coineau, Suzanne St-Denis, Aneessa Hashmi, Roxanne Arsenault, Christine Redfern, Mathieu Beauséjour, Isabelle Riendeau, Catherine Bolduc, Benoit Bourdeau, Yan Giguère, Kym Brennan, Valérie St-Pierre, Céline Allard, Guylaine Langlois, Anne Bertrand, Louis Fortier, Johanne Huot, Daniel Roy, Sylvie Cotton, Ghislaine Charest, Thomas Grondin, Marie-France Beaudoin, Benoint Pontbriand, Maurice Achard, Normand Yergeau, Élisabeth Picard, Virginie Daigle, Jean Mailloux, Marie Lavorel, Normand Rivest, François Bélanger, Marianne Thibeault, Jean-Pierre Caissie, Manon Quintal, France Choinière, Marie-Orphée Duval, Jennifer Campbell, Christine Boudreau, Stéphanie l'Heureux, Sophie Casson, Christine Martel, Arianne Gélinas, Véronique Doucet, Mathieu Dumont, Bill Vincent, Louise Sansfaçon, Geneviève Desmeules, François Wells, Alice Létourneau, Jimmy Boudreault, Jean-Marc Roy, Franck Michel, Nathalie Lafortune, Marthe Carrier, Jean-Émile Verdier, Mathilde Géromin, Chantal Poirier, Martin Champagne, Édith Martin, Chantale Brulotte, Jocelyne Fortin, Alayn Ouellet, Agnes Tremblay, Richard Martel, Nathalie Perreault, Christine Gauthier, Daniel Dion, Lili Michaud, Caroline Flibotte, Alain Fortier, Claude Bélanger, Carlos Ste-Marie, Marie-Josée Lafortune, Dagmara Stephan, Marc Dulude, Claude Forget, Claude Fortin, Jason Arsenault, Geneviève Matteau, Émile Morin, Caroline Ross, Shirley Ouellet, Viviane Paradis, Ginette Saint-Amant, Nicolas Pitre, Gilles Sénéchal. Caroline Martel, Marie-Christiane Mathieu, Stéphanie Lagueux, Martine Beaurivage, Marie-Dominique Bonmariage, Bernard Claret, Sylvie Roy, Michel Des Jardins, Marie-Josée Jean, Pierre Blache, Carl Johnson, Claudine Roger, André Gilbert, Ève Cadieux, André Barrette, Rodrigue Bélanger, Anne-Marie Ninacs, Gilles Prince, Claire Lemay, Gaëtan Gosselin, Jean-Yves Vigneau, Annie Gauthier, Hélène Pelletier, Josée Bernard, Pierre Beaudoin, Alice Létourneau, Hélène Doyon, Jean-Pierre Demers, Sylvain Miousse, Cécile Bouchard, Diane Maltais, Carole Baillargeon, Jean-Pierre Bédard, Fabienne Bilodeau, Raymonde April, André Martin, Mona Desgagné, Jocelyn Fiset, Philippe Côté, Roger Marchand, Robert Proulx, Sylvie Savard, Yves O'Reilly, Danielle Léger, Marie Côté, Claude Brault, Jean-Philippe Bolduc, Pierre-François Ouellet, Jean-Pierre Aubé. Skawenatti Tricia Fragnito, Andrew Forster, Lise Boileau, Bernard Schaller, Louise Trépanier, Luc St-Jacques, Joanne Bérubé, Nathalie Garneau, Lucie Baillargeon, Lucien Frenette, Gérald Ouellet, Madeleine Doré, Manon Guérin, Doreen Lindsay, Karen Wong, Lise Gagnon, Robert Faguy, Marie-Lucie Crépeau, Alain Bélanger, Daniel Campeau, Emmanuel Galland, Daniel Béland, Louis Jacob, Johanne Gagnon, Elaine Frigon, Manon B. Thibault, Katherine Bouchard, Anne-Marie Belley, Alain Vaugier, Annie Thibault, Cécile Bouchard, Yvan Pageau, Richard Baillargeon, Yves Doyon, Line Bellavance, Réjean Côté, Marie-Josée Dauphinais, Rosalie Graveline, Diane Charland, Sylvie Tourangeau, Hélène Bellemare, Sonia Pelletier, Lise Boileau, Jacques Charbonneau, Lucie Gagnon, Manon Guérin, Brigitte Lacasse, Joanne Balcean, Nell Tenhaff, Carole Beaulieu, Patrick Mailloux, Carl Trahan, Manon De Pauw, Tanya Mars, Jean-Pierre Harvey, André Barrette, Gilbert Langlois,, Jean Laliberté, Michel Gaboury, Lise Marcoux, Carl Bouchard, Martin Dufrasne, Jacques Marchand, Dena Davida, Lise Gagnon, Pierre Thibodeau, Suzanne Joly, Suzanne Valotaire, Jean-Pierre Kohler ... and a few others...

According to the "Certificate of conformity", under the provisional administrators section, can be found the names of Peter Thibodeau, Bastien Gilbert, Dominique Guillaumant and Gilles Arteau, with the mission to "Promote the dissemination of knowledge and artistic production which are among the latest research and originate primarily of regional communities of Quebec". Thus was legally born RCAAQ, the Regroupement des centres d'artistes autogérés du Québec, in September 29, 1986.

RCAAQ, has a reputation based on expertise of more than 20 years in contemporary art and actual art. It has become, over the years, the meeting point of a network of centers sixty artists and cultural organizations located throughout the province of Quebec, representing a community of interest of over 2250 professional artists and cultural workers. The network annually produces more than 800 activities including exhibitions, performances, publications, symposia and has a continuing education program for both cultural workers and professional artists.

The combat between AADRAV and RAAV (Regroupement des centres d'artistes du Québec), took place under Bill 78 on the Status of the Artist, while RCAAQ was lobbying to obtain a cultural policy and the creation of CALQ (Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec).

The combat has been described as "a cloud of intolerance in a puree of politeness" by Lise Lamarche (in ETC, n° 23, 1993 (ref http://www.erudit.org/culture/etc1073425/etc1088799/36108ac.pdf)






At the time I arrived in this community, the battle for recognition of an association of artists according to the law on the status of the artist had begun several years ago. I contacted the network of artists in 1992, when one of my artworks was censored by the Women's Center of Concordia University. I was beleaguered by journalists throughout the country, who tried to understand if my artwork was "politically correct" or not. Bastien Gilbert, the general manager of RCAAQ, gave me some advice.


Bastien Gilbert

Shortly after I met Bastien Gilbert, I was asked to pay a very high business tax by the City of Montreal, for my tiny artist's studio, which I was using both as workshop and residence. All Montreal artists have been taxed at the same time as me. It is precisely for this reason that I got involved with the RCAAQ and AADRAV, and I quickly found myself elected president of the association of artists.

Gilles Arteau, a multidisciplinary artist, was president of RCAAQ from 1991 to 1994.

I was president of AADRAV from 1993 to 1995. My stay was very short, in the cannevas of the history of Quebec visual artists.

The Commission for recognition of associations artists is an organization created in December 1989 by the Loi sur le statut professionnel des artistes des arts visuels, des métiers d'art et de la littérature et sur leurs contrats avec les diffuseurs L.R.Q., chapitre S-32.01 to designate which association or group will represent the artists in each area covered by the this Law.

In the field covered, the recognized association or group has the following functions:

1 ° to ensure the maintenance of the honor of the artistic profession and freedom of its exercise;

2 ° promote the achievement of conditions conducive to the creation and dissemination of works;

3 ° to defend and promote the economic, social, moral and professional artists;

4 ° representing professional artists whenever it is of general interest to do so.

At the arrival of the new bill, in 1989, besides RCAAQ, there was five disciplinary councils: the Council of Painting of Quebec, the Council of Sculpture of Quebec, the Council of Textile arts of Quebec, the Council of Printmaking of Quebec and the Association of Illustrators of Quebec.

In 1990, to apply for accreditation to the Commission for the recognition of artists' associations, the artists involved in the network of artist-run centers RCAAQ created AADRAV.

Meanwhile, the five disciplinary councils created RAAV (Regroupement des centres d'artistes autogérés du Québec).

Both groups presented an application for recognition under S-32.01.

In 1991, RAAV became an association of individuals and adopted its current name.

The Labour Relations Commission is the competent court to decide on applications for recognition under Act. The law establishes that only one association can be designated by the Commission to represent artists of Quebec. The association with the largest number of members wins the designation.

The association or group asking for recognition must apply to the Commission by writing with:
- a resolution signed by authorized representatives of the association or group;
- a certified copy of its regulations;
- the list of its members.

Here was the heart of the problem, article 11 of the Act:
11. La Commission accorde la reconnaissance à l'association ou au regroupement qui est le plus représentatif de l'ensemble des artistes professionnels oeuvrant dans un domaine.

L'association la plus représentative est celle qui, de l'avis de la Commission, groupe le plus grand nombre d'artistes professionnels du domaine visé et dont les membres sont le mieux répartis parmi le plus grand nombre de pratiques artistiques et sur la plus grande partie du territoire du Québec.

Le regroupement le plus représentatif est celui qui de l'avis de la Commission regroupe les associations les plus représentatives du plus grand nombre de pratiques artistiques du domaine.

The 5 disciplinary councils paid for an automatic subscription of their members to RAAV, while RCAAQ was asking each artist to become a member of AADRAV of its own free will. RCAAQ was not able to gather as many artists as RAAV. Not many were missing to match the number of RAAV members, but still, AADRAV had less. But it was more dynamic, since almost all innovators --- the wild creators --- were very actively engaged in the artist-run center's network, as they were creating contemporary and actual art. But they had less members than RAAV. So, no matter their value, all that matter in the face of the law, were numbers. The legislator did not care at all about the value of cultural production when it proposed Bill 78.

In 1993, the Commission granted the status to RAAV as the recognized body.

AADRAV appealed to Superior court. The application was dismissed.

The lawyer representing AADRAV died shortly after.

Two defeats in the courts. And a deceased lawyer. There was no further option other than to change the Act on the status of the artist, who had recently been adopted. Artists capitulated and had no other choice but to accept the demands of the Minister of Culture.

“We ended up two rival factions that had two very different conceptions of community life, in a context where community life in the visual arts was very dynamic, extremely active. For instance, I think about the presence of the disciplinary councils and art centers, with different views and activities. We had very different positions, but yet, we were aware that we had the desire to find solutions to improve the socioeconomic conditions of artists. The Act on the status of the artist had put us in a position of opposition. Finally, our divergence was settled in court. The Commission ruled recognition in favor of RAAV, but still we benefited from an accommodation from the Minister of Culture of the time, who wanted an environment that was supportive of all factions. Therefore, the Minister arranged for openings in the board of administrators, in order for AADRAV leaders to be integrated at RAAV.” (Gaetan Gosselin, video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvPRsgisCLg)

Members of AADRAV gradually adhered to RAAV before dissolving their association in 1995.

A fundamental difference of attitude and expectation regarding meeting the needs of support for the structuring and supporting the profession is currently facing the Council of Sculpture at the Quebec Council of Arts and Letters. CALQ ceased to support the Council of Sculpture of Quebec, which has no more access to aid programs in operation.

In 1995, after I intensely performed lobbying for two years, the government of Quebec agreed to modify the bill on municipal taxation, which has then enabled all Quebec municipalities to create regulations to exempt artists' studios of the business taxes.

Moreover, the government also agreed to reimburse retroactively visual artists who paid business taxes between 1993 to 1995. The sum amounted to over half a million dollars.

RAAV had not made ​​any efforts to amend the law on municipal taxation and to recognize the artists' studios. I spent two full years of my life to this cause. I attended weekly night meetings of the council of the city of Montreal, I intervened in a parliamentary committee of the National Assembly, I wrote hundreds of letters, I even built a model of an artist's studio for each of the 51 councilors. I met a hundred councilors and members of parliament.

The half million dollars was awarded to RAAV, and I had no role in its management. Totally disgusted, I left the cultural milieu, and I have not done another visual artwork since 1995. I saw no future as a visual artist.

CONCLUSION

With bill 78 on the status of visual artists, the government of Quebec tried to squarely rule arts practice in Quebec and thus created a real diversion from the real problem. The concerns of the artists are not confined solely to terms of contracts, a market of cultural products or exemplary management career.

The art scene reproduced on another scale, the same phenomenon we often see across political parties or another, a clan or another, where roosters squabble while the other, the voters, or in this case the artists, continue to be indifferent to what goes on (or not).

But the government is not solely responsible for the problems faced by the visual artists. The lack of social involvement and indifference: even artists have a rightful responsibility to take part in democratic life. With the death of AADRAV, the art scene really hit the extreme, the bottom of the bottom. AADRAV died for lack of combatants. And meanwhile, nearly 20 years later, it is still difficult to obtain a deep dialogue between artists and the government about art, or its practice, or its content.

“I keep a pretty good memory of the vitality of the team (from 20 years ago). I still remember it with nostalgia, as it is now in a context where it is less easy, with the new means of communication, and the rise of ideological tendencies from the Right, or more individualistic views.

If I had a message for the next generation (not necessarily the youth), I would say that you should take action. Do not think too long before doing something, to defend the issues that are tapered around artistic creation. I believe in the constructive value of collective action because it helps break the loneliness of artists who are sometimes quite alone in their studios, in favor of a concerted effort affecting the future, which helps develop a vision of the future. Sometimes governments think that there are too many artists associations, but there aren’t. These associations have a rightful mission to carry.”, concluded Gaetan Gosselin.

Meanwhile, political parties in Quebec get multiplied like mushrooms: the Liberal party, the Parti Quebecois, the Democratic Action of Quebec, Quebec solidarity, and the Coalition for the future of Quebec, not to mention more minor parties. Citizens should demand that all these parties rally behind a single political ideology, and the one with the most members gets to be in power... just to see what they would do. #justsaying!

My Top 3 Opengov wishes for Quebec

Someone asked me today which were my top 3 opengov wishes. What would be yours?

I would like the government of Quebec to make intelligent and appropriate responses that are expected by the people of this province to face new challenges of our time.

1) TAKE STEPS TO CHANGE THE MENTALITY in all areas and for all those involved, by LEARNING TO BECOME MORE FLEXIBLE in accepting calculated risks and incidents for what they are. Adopt a vision and new policy plan to take advantage of rapidly developing technologies and changes. Make the necessary changes so that values are changing in depth, which will lead to replace the culture of this government. Analysis of types of cases of resistance, mandatory training, methods that facilitate a way to work together, regular evaluations of employees and officials, convertion of the supervitory philosophy to an ‘horizontal supervision’, fewer regulations and more shared responsibilities, etc. Get away from the monolithic leadership model. Re-integrate elements related to the sacred: encourage different values, like listen, observe, emotional bonding with citizens and collaborators, show that you empathize, try to understand others, empower others, be of service together, share wisdom together, trust, etc.

2) BECOME AN OPEN GOVERNMENT LEADER in all areas and for all those involved, by TAKING CHARGE, taking responsibility for the development of open government in each department and institutions of the government, based on transparency, participation and collaboration. Inspire actions, at the municipal level, within the Canadian space, and at the international level. Take bold initiatives. Get out of the comfort zone by taking risks. Set stretch goals that enable to develop new skills. Become a purveyor of hope. Encourage and develop talent, create knowledge and promote excellence, exploite knowledge and add value, provide governance and define frameworks, create incentives and options.

3) DEVELOP SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE (COLLABORATION) in all areas and for all those involved, by setting DIVERSIFIED STRATEGIES of collaboration with organisations, businesses, other goverments and citizens. Become social smarts by understanding how to use social media to develop social intelligence and social networks. Build effective communities of practice based on co-creation and co-production, knowledge management, e-learning, professional networking and development. Bridge silos, increase collaboration, increase productivity, cut expenses, improve access to information, better manage programs, improve transparency, enhance and accelerate situational awareness and decision making, better serve citizens, and respond more rapidly.

MY TOP 3 OPEN DATA SETS
Open data is a sub-set of open government. I would like the government of Quebec to releases data of quality rather than a quantity of data that citizens will not know that what to do with. Data that leads to collective knowledge mobilized to process this data.

Release data, then draw on inspiration, ideas and opinions of organizations, businesses and citizens to solve problems together. Have development phases where people can contribute in a variety of different ways, ranging from applauding inspirations to contributing complex concepts. Being a part of a challenge would requires participants anywhere from a few minutes to many hours.

1) A CHALLENGE ABOUT INNOVATION: The DOSSIER SANTÉ, the digitalization of health records in Quebec raised several concerns. Release relevant sets of data, while organizations, businesses and citizen's help are asked to find solutions to improve efficiency in this area. Several problems are associated with the management of this project. They should be analyzed, while not losing sight of the overview.

2) A CHALLENGE ABOUT EFFICIENCY: Since 2000, HYDRO-QUEBEC awarded computer contracts that cost nearly $1 billion. Nearly 40% of them have exceeded the budgets, which doubled the expected spending. Certainly, data sets and information about contracts would help all to see more clearly and propose solutions to improve the efficiency of the government in this area.

3) A CHALLENGE ABOUT CREATIVITY: MUSEUMS have not established a comprehensive strategy to increase their revenues. Using data sets, ask organizations and citizens to seek diversification strategies and re-think the role and missions of museums to contribute to increase their revenues.

Read more at Edgeryders. http://edgeryders.ppa.coe.int/wiki/my-top-3-opengov-wishes-what-would-be-yours

Culture change and the voice of Quebec

These past twenty days, I did not blog. I'm quieter than usual (I even lost one Klout point these past three weeks). The rejection of the Open Government and Francophonie Project by IDÉtr, and their refusal to meet me in person, have considerably shaken me.

Several things have caught my attention during the week of August 22. I share them with you here.

I noticed a small gesture from the @GautrinWeb2 team, which I interpret (THIS IS AN HYPOTHESIS) as an incipient culture change, allowing a glimpse of hope that the government of Quebec walks towards collaboration with citizens and open government. Let's hope the government will soon find a solution that will allow to launch the Open Government and Francophonie Project.

HOPE AND OPTIMISM, OF JACK LAYTON'S LEGACY
This week, we were informed of the departure of a great politician, leaving a void in the Canadian political landscape. "Working for change can actually bring about change. The hope is better than fear. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world." Jack Layton, Leader of the Official Opposition in Canada, wrote this farewell letter two days before his death.

This letter has moved thousands of people, including myself. It will remain engraved in Canadians' hearts. I found out about Jack Layton's death on Monday morning, when surfing on my iPhone, returning from a meeting with MP of Maskinongé. Jack Layton's funerals were celebrated on Saturday afternoon (August 27) at Roy Thomson Hall, a concert hall in Toronto (Ontario).

MP OF MASKINONGÉ'S INTERVENTION
I still try to receive support from government of Quebec's high authorities regarding the Open Government and Francophonie Project, despite an adverse decision from Innovation and Business Development of the City of Trois-Rivières (IDÉtr). I requested a review of their decision, and IDÉtr's CEO wanted to receive advice from MP of Trois-Rivieres. Danielle St-Amand transferred my file on August 16 to MP Jean-Paul Diamond, deputy of Maskinongé. Since IDÉtr and MP of Trois-Rivières did not agree to meet me in person (IDÉtr took a decision without even questioning me and allowing me to discuss the project), I was really glad that Jean-Paul Diamond agreed to me speak to me in person on August 22.

My goal, when meeting with MP of Maskinongé, was to find solutions to allow the launch an international project that will deploy open government throughout the Francophonie.

Mr. Diamond said he is willing to deal with these issues.

I hope that Mr. Diamond will soon form a kind of tandem with the Deputy House Leader of the Government of Quebec, Henri-François Gautrin, since he's responsible for the current mandate analysis on the potential of Web 2.0. The final report of this analysis is due on December 15, 2011.

The Open Government and Francophonie Project was presented seven months ago to the government of Quebec, in February 2011. There are four months remaining before Henri-François Gautrin's final report to be revealed. How to accommodate the launch of the international social business initiative before the end of the year, without an official open government declaration from the government?

For now, no solution has yet been proposed, but I'd like to acknowledge the efforts of Diamond / Gautrin: they are trying to find a way.

BRITISH COLUMBIA EXPERIMENTS WITH A NEW TYPE OF LEADERSHIP
As months go by and I await a commitment from the government of Quebec (since the beginning of this year), Christie Clark had time to be elected as head the government of British Columbia, declared her intention to become the most connected Prime Minister in Canada, declared the implementation of an open government, (among others) launched the first provincial open data platform starting with an impressive number of data sets (in July 2011), and produce this remarkable video about her open government vision (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3pq6V40uQYY#).

This week, the experienced @fusedlogic interviewed Stephanie Cadieux, Minister of Labour, Citizens' Services and Open Government at the show Gov2TV. The host of this show is Walter Schwabe. He travels around the world to find out how the government is using online technology and the Internet to become more transparent, efficient and responsive.

The open government editor of O'Reilly Media, Alex Howard alias @digiphile tweeted this statement from the Minister Cadieux: "To tackle problems, we need to engage the hearts, the souls, the minds of the smartest people" - View @digiphile's post: http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/07/british-columbia-open-government-data.html.

With this statement, I think that British Colombia (HYPOTHESIS) is experimenting with a style of soul of leadership, appropriate in an open government context. BC begins to decode the alchemy of the heart and great leadership.

Real leadership begins at the spiritual level. It is not about popularity, power or accumulation of profits, but rather about succeeding in getting the ego out of the away so that people that make up an organization can serve the greater good. Does a woman minister, and in addition a person in a wheelchair, have more awareness and opportunity to exercise such leadership?

A car accident at the age of 18 years changed the course of her life. "I have all the same dreams, all the same heartaches… I just use a different mode of transportation," she said. Her different mode of transportation may have helped Stephanie Cadieux to develop her brain to think otherwise, which could explain how she is able to consider leading in a different way.

"In our increasingly interconnected world, we learned that neither the government nor the private sector alone can find solutions to problems. We must work in partnership and we must "deal with the soul" to achieve our common goals," explains Deepak Chopra in his recent book.

This statement by the Minister Cadieux contrasts with the answer I received from IDÉtr. I was told that I am "too good". This would be one reason for the rejection of my project.

STATEMENT FROM THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
On August 23, I attended in Three Rivers (Trois-Rivières) the first citizen meeting organized by the Parti Québécois. Ms. Pauline Marois, Opposition Leader, said she wants to "restore integrity in government, make a cleaning in government institutions which should give confidence back to citizens, and eliminate bureaucracy and duplication of structures." All this could be achieved through an open government. I asked Ms. Marois to go a notch further in her vision, by adopting the open government philosophy. She said that "these issues should not be neglected, but it will take a revolution." Parti Quebecois could be on its way to develop an open government approach and hopefully this will lead to interventions by MP members of the opposition at the National Assembly this Fall, in line with the mandate analysis about the potential of Web 2.0.

TOWARDS A CHANGE OF CULTURE, AND THE 'VOICE' OF QUEBEC
Visit, comment, suggest ideas and vote for ideas on this platform: http://www.consultationgautrinweb2.gouv.qc.ca.

Is the wind changing? There is reason to believe it is.

Firstly, I was granted a meeting. The MP of Maskinongé agreed to meet me on August 22, and said he agrees to tackle with these issues. A window of collaboration may be opening.

Secondly, Gautrin's team begins to recognize citizens' initiatives. In the late afternoon on Friday August 26, @GautrinWeb2 team tweeted this to @CapitaleOuverte: "Congratulations for your initiative and your commitment!"
(http://twitter.com/#!/GautrinWeb2/status/10714 6160023670784)

I read these congratulations as a mark of recognition of "grass-roots movement" efforts by citizens in order for the City of Quebec to release its public data. This could be also read as a step towards the "complete change of thinking", which is necessary for the implementation of an open government, stressed Henri-François Gautrin, in an August 9 CBC report about his mandate analysis.

In an info monitoring mode, to listen means strive to go beyond expectations to create an environment conducive to development. Simply gather ideas on the platform for consultation, it is not enough. Citizens stress it since the beginning of Gautrin's online public consultation in their comments and tweets.

A demonstration of recognition is an excellent starting point.

Those who follow with interest the work of the Gautrin's team hope that a strategy, action plan, or elements of vision, will be disclosed before December 15. Something - some hope - to hold on, allowing a glimpse into what feeds Henri-François Gautrin's vision.

The "voice" of an organization is indicative of its culture. Organizational culture, in the field of organizational studies and management, is described as the psychology, attitudes, experiences, beliefs and values (personal and cultural values) of an organization. Organizational culture is defined also as "the specific collection of values and norms shared by people and groups in an organization which control how they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization."

Please note that this definition focuses on how people interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization. The interaction between people is largely facilitated by communications. Communications result in attitudes, actions and tone of conversations. Today, attitudes, gestures and tone of the conversations have become "open source", empowered by the power of social media.

People (government employees, citizens) are the power of any organization. Unless invested with individual empowerment, these people feel... powerless.

United around a cause, a mission or a common goal, people can and will do things out of the ordinary. Uncommon things - such as overcoming the impossible, explore the unexpected, walk out of a frame which is not planned - innovation occurs alongside these rare situations.

I believe that more communication would be the greatest good to everyone, in terms of the GautrinWeb2 project. I suggested three simple areas to develop to M. Gautrin this week.

Premier Jean Charest has initiated a process in October 2010, by offering an analytical term to Henri-François Gautrin. The Prime Minister is directly responsible for youth issues. Frequent communication by the end of the year would be desirable.

If government leaders cannot initially change their own culture (or in the words of Henri-François Gautrin, establish a "complete change of thinking"), they will fail to tap into the "open source" culture of social media. Attempt to do so, without first changing their own culture, is a path to failure.

Therefore, tangible demonstrations of cultural change are desirable now.

In addition, the "voice" of Quebec must assert itself in the coming months, including:
- The mobilization of citizens to participate in the analysis on the potential of Web 2.0 and collaborate with the government;
- The mobilization of its own governmental institutions and the mobilization of Quebec municipalities to engage in a process leading to the release of public data and adoption of open governance throughout Quebec;
- To collaborate and partner with other governments already engaged in this direction in the Canadian space;
- Mobilization of countries sharing the French language by offering to adopt open government principles as a preferred mode of governance (through the Open Government Project and Francophonie);
- To create partnerships with other governments around the world, including developing a Francophone complementary component to the Open Government Partnership.

**************

September 8, 2011

FINAL ANSWER BY THE GOVERNMENT OF QUEBEC
On September 1st, 2011, the Deputy of Maskinongé, Jean-Paul Diamond, said: 'There are no solutions. There is nothing at the Government of Quebec that allows for the startup of this project'.

11 questions from Henri-François Gautrin about the potential of Web 2.0

FIRST SERIES OF QUESTIONS:
What is being done in government

1. Is there currently, to your knowledge, in government organizations that you know, activities that have adopted the Web 2.0 philosophy? If that is so, can you describe them?

2. Referring to the nomenclature regarding the different facets of Web 2.0, which one is being used?

3. Are you able to assess the benefits obtained for both customer service and for the effective functioning of the organization?

SECOND SERIES OF QUESTIONS:
Government use of Web 2.0

4. In the case of the Government of Quebec or in the case of health or education networks, how do you think every facet of Web 2.0 can be used to improve relations with the government's citizens, businesses, even its own employees?

5. Should this use of Web 2.0 lead to changes in the way government works?

6. In each case, can you describe the benefits that could be expected from each of these uses?

THIRD SERIES OF QUESTIONS:
Pilot projects

7. Are you able to suggest some applications that could lead to pilot projects oriented towards citizens in the organizations you know well?

FOURTH SERIES OF QUESTIONS:
Security

8. Do you think the widespread use of Web2.0 applications question the privacy and protection of personal information issues, and how do we ensure that this does not violate the privacy of the citizen?

9. It is clear that Web 2.0 techniques, particularly in the interaction component with citizens, may lead to an invasion of sites by hostile advocate groups hostile. What identification measure du you suggest to ensure that each participant is a citizen and he does not abuse a multiple participation?

FIFTH QUESTION:
The use of Web 2.0 by employees of the State

10. What do you think the policy of access to social networks in the workplace by public servants should be?

SIXTH QUESTION:
The social divide

11. Despite the widespread use of Web 2.0, some people do not want to use the Internet, others cannot or do not know how to access them. They are entitled to the same quality of services. How then can we ensure they receive the same benefits?

If you have comments or answers to suggest, please contact Lyne Robichaud at robichaud.lyne@hotmail.com or on Twitter @Lyne_Robichaud

Bill 204 dispute: government of Quebec above the law?

This Telegram Editorial, published on June 8, 2011, explains how the Government of Quebec has lost critical thinking and capacity analysis, and acts, with Bill 204, as if above the law.

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BENDIND TIME

There probably aren’t many people in this province who care about an internecine dispute in the Parti Québécois — a dispute over a private member’s bill, no less.

But the issue at the core of the dispute is something that seems to be growing in this country: a willingness by legislatures to retroactively change the rules to dig themselves out of trouble.

The issue in Quebec has to do with Bill 204, a piece of proposed legislation that the PQ is bringing forward to solve a particular problem. The law would go back in time and make legal a 25-year management deal Quebec City has struck with Quebecor Media Inc. The agreement would see Quebecor manage a $400-million amphitheatre and arena, and in return, the head of Quebecor has committed to getting Quebec City an NHL franchise.

Problem is, the deal didn’t go to public tender, and therefore violates Quebec’s Cities and Towns Act, leaving the deal open to court action from others who would have liked to have bid on the venture.

The PQ’s solution? Retroactively make the deal legal. The head of the PQ, Pauline Marois, ordered her caucus to vote for the bill, and Monday, three senior members of her caucus quit, saying that the PQ leadership had become too authoritative. More were threatening action on Tuesday.

Why should we be concerned? Why should we even pay attention?

Because retroactive laws are bad laws.

And we’ve already seen attempts in this province to use the primacy of the legislature to give government status before the courts that can only be classed as an unfair advantage.

Take the province’s expropriation of AbitibiBowater assets. While the end might have been laudable, the means used were a legal sledgehammer. Not only did the legislation strip AbitibiBowater of its rights to take the province to court over the seizure of its property, it also stripped the legal rights of anyone affected by the seizure of property. The actual clause reads: “An action or proceeding does not lie or shall not be instituted or continued against the Crown or a minister, employee or agent of the Crown based on a cause of action arising from, resulting from or incidental to the operation of this act.”

But that’s not the most egregious use of legislation — that still has to rest with laws meant to turn back the clock.

The honour for the ugliest attempt would have to rest with the province’s move in 2008 to pass legislation protecting itself from court action over a liquor levy of a type that was overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada. Facing legal action from bar owners, the government passed a bill in 2008 that purported to take effect in 2001, moving backwards in time to extinguish all legal liability for collecting the improper levy.

That effort was overturned by the Supreme Court in this province.

The message to both the government of this province and to the PQ should be clear.

Bending time to fix your own mistakes may be possible, but it will always be an abuse of power. What kind of message do you send if your solution is “if the rules work against you, change them retroactively to your own benefit”?

It’s simple: you view yourself to be above the law.

Government of Quebec: The door opens to "conventional wisdom"?

In recent months, Government in the Lab’s team has been in communication with the office of Henri-François Gautrin, Deputy House Leader of the Government of Quebec, and his closest advisers. They have been working since October 2010 on an analysis mandate of the potential of the Web 2.0.

On May 2, they allowed their mandate to be announced via GovintheLab’s Newsletter (Open Government and Francophonie No. 3).

On May 31, they answered a few interview questions and provided details about their currents thoughts, and what they are preparing in upcoming months.

Please note that this is an upstream in process publication of information about the progress of the mandate. The French Republic announced the creation of Etalab, before budgets were defined and elements were all in place. The Government of Canada launched an open data / open government pilot project on March 17 and 18, 2011 (and included few new data sets). The new President of the Treasury Board, Tony Clement, said recently that he supports Stockwell Day’s initiative, and that he wants to try to pursue some of his initiatives in this area. Hopefully, the experience of providing upstream information will be positive for the Government of Quebec, and it will become a habit for departments and agencies to enable citizens to have time to interact in a creative process leading to new programs and policy improvements.

Responses provided yesterday by Gautrin’s team are brief, but they offer some hints, and announce steps to be undertaken before the delivery of the final report, expected in late 2011. There are still a few months from there to allow for communications and interactions with the Government of Quebec, to propose ideas and suggestions.

I see a progression in their thinking. I sometimes observe complicated skating figures in discussions, which will hopefully lead to recommendations on open data and open government. M. Gautrin’s team has been open until now.

The words "transparency, collaboration and participation" - mantra of the open government movement - were not really part of the vocabulary of Gautrin’s team, a few months ago. For example, I searched in vain for the word "transparency"(the pillar of open data and open government), in their documents, last February. How the Government of Quebec intends to become more transparent is not yet articulated. It would be helpful if this important element were to be shortly defined. If there is a concern at the Government of Quebec for greater transparency, this could be demonstrated by launching an open data and open government initiative.

The concept of communication was well established (last February). The interaction dimension with citizens requires, in my opinion, more analytical work. Gautrin’s team speaks of "conventional wisdom" (sagesse populaire), or wisdom of crowds, which is very good sign.

"Interactions with citizens: This is primarily to get feedback from citizens on policies and programs put forward by the government. It also allows managers to benefit from the conventional wisdom to put forward new programs or new ideas."

The door opens gradually, leaving more space for a co-production co-analysis, co-creation type of relationship between the government and citizens. Since the concept of interaction is present in the analysis, it provides a glimpse that work could be undertaken to define how this interaction can take place. For now, the analysis documents refer to social media such as Facebook. Hopefully, Gautrin’s team will recommend to use open data and open government platforms to develop a positive and creative co-production relationship with citizens.

It is not clear how the Government of Quebec will make the transition from the current relationship to a relationship based on participation and interaction with citizens. For the magic of conventional wisdom (or wisdom of crowds) to taking place, there must be a harmonious ambiance in collaborative teams, so that all parties feel comfortable and creative work takes place in respect of the Other. Flexibility is also necessary, to allow ideas and unexpected contributions to be listened to, and integrated into the process. To make this possible, government managers must be able to contemplate reality without branching off into denial. Interaction with citizens leads to more liability and responsibility. Interaction is a bidirectional relationship (preferably as equals, if creativity is to flourish). Therefore, elected officials and government managers also need to demonstrate liability and responsibility. See my series of posts on leadership: Observe and listen (Lesson No.1); Establish emotional links (Lesson No.2), Being conscious (Lesson No.3); Enlightened action (Lesson No.4).

Analytical work in progress could go further by evaluating mechanisms that create - through the wisdom of crowds - the idea of a government (that is to say at all levels of government, in all spheres, projects, programs and policies). What is the wisdom of crowds? (I call it collective consciousness or collective intelligence.) How does this works? How can it be handled in a conscious and effective manner? Henri-François Gautrin has been a physicist before his mandates as an elected official: he should be able to understand these issues.

The old scientific paradigm that defined matter as the essential reality has been replaced by a new model of quantum physics. Government leaders who want to effectively manage "conventional wisdom" or collective consciousness should be able to juxtapose the foundations of quantum physics to their vision: it would help them understand why interaction with citizens is so important, and how to develop it. "We are not in the physical world. The physical world is within us. We create the physical world and experience it in our imagination. Thus, we design, build, and finally, our ideas become reality”, explains Deepak Chopra in ”What Is The Connection Between Quantum Mechanics and Healing”. Thus citizens, using appropriate platforms and Web 2.0 tools, can be guided to solve problems. This is what OpenIdeo succeeds in doing.

Government of Quebec’s analysis should include, in priority, recommendations that focus on transformational leadership. The potential of Web 2.0 is not just a matter of technology. Non-technical issues are (in my opinion) much more considerable. There should also be analysis about appropriate behavior, which encourages interaction and allows for development of relationships. For interactions to take place, politicians, government managers and employees attitude need to be transformed. Training plans to use Web 2.0 should be provided. But there should also be training plans based on empowerment, to explain to elected officials and government employees what is conventional wisdom - what is its nature - , and how the government can foster individual, community and organizational empowerment, gain from its advantages and develop the relationship with citizens. See my series of posts: Components promoting individual, community and organizational empowerment, and what promotes valuing the Other.

For conventional wisdom to be actually put to good, it takes more than Facebook and Twitter accounts. Hopefully Gautrin’s team will succeed in explaining this and convince the rest of the government to follow them in a transformation project. A transformation in open government would offer the highest possible form of relationship between the Government of Quebec and citizens.

Months fly by rapidly. Will Gautrin’s team display enough agility and flexibility to take into account in its analysis the entire field of possibilities regarding the "potential of the Web 2.0"?

Interview: Government of Quebec, about the potential of Web 2.0

Last month Government in the Lab announced (in Newsletter no.3) that the Government of Quebec is undertaking an analysis mandate of the potential of Web 2.0. The Deputy House leader, Henri-François Gautrin, kindly answered our questions.

1 - WHAT IS THE ANALYSIS MANDATE ABOUT THE POTENTIAL OF WEB 2.0?

Web 2.0 is based on three principles:

Decentralization: There is no formal structure in terms of both content and technology.

Participation: Web 2.0 exists because of the Internet.

Simplicity of use and technological breakthrough.

The Premier (Jean Charest) gave me the mandate to analyze the implications for Quebec society, especially for the Government, of using the increasingly popular Web 2.0 and social networks, and to propose strategic actions so that Quebec can draw on every possible advantage.

2 - WHAT WORK HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED TO DATE BY YOUR TEAM, AND WHAT IS PLANNED FOR UPCOMING MONTHS?

I proceed in four steps for the project:

* Consultation with people associated with government action.

* Discussions with Quebec citizens via the Internet (public community).

* A closed consultation on the Internet (private community).

* A conference.

We are currently setting up a website, which should be operational in early June 2011.

The conference is scheduled for early September.

The final report is to be submitted to the Prime Minister and the Government by the end of 2011.

3 - WHAT IS, ACCORDING TO YOU, A GOOD RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT AND CITIZENS?

A good relationship between government and citizens based on the use of Web 2.0 should improve:

* communications with citizens

* interactions with citizens

* services to citizens

Communications with citizens: increase citizen accessibility to government information. The use of blogs or microblogging, like Twitter, even Mashups, fall into this category. The goal is to bring government information closer to communication tools used by citizens, rather than requiring them to visit many Web pages.

Interactions with citizens: This is primarily to get feedback from citizens on policies and programs put forward by the government. It also allows managers to benefit from the wisdom of crowds to put forward new programs or new ideas.

It also allows officials to make their suggestions to improve the efficiency of their departments or agencies in how they fulfill their mission. I am thinking here, in particular, of using social media like Facebook.

4 - TRANSPARENCY, PARTICIPATION AND COLLABORATION WITH CITIZENS, THROUGH OPEN DATA AND OPEN GOVERNMENT, ARE THEY BEING CONSIDERED IN THIS CURRENT MANDATE?

Besides transparency, participation and collaboration with citizens, the use of Web 2.0 tools should:

* improve citizen participation, particularly in regards of policy making

* improve relevance and quality of services to citizens.

* enable access and more efficient use of government information

* improve internal operations and collaboration between different departments and agencies.