The Audit: Adventures in Canadian Policy

Data stories from the land that competence forgot

With the decline of traditional journalism, there are precious few inquiring eyes watching government and the public service. How can any of us know how our tax dollars are being spent?
But there is good news. For at least the past decade, governments at all levels have been busy publishing truckloads of data representing official policies and their outcomes. For the most part, that data is available in the public domain and just sits there, waiting for us to come and get it.
This book was written with the hope and expectation that sophisticated data analytics tools can tame those intimidating datasets and reveal powerful, fact-based insights into how Canadians are governed, and how that could be improved. Such thoughtful analyses can act as an oversight mechanism, adding transparency to government and, potentially, bringing incompetence and corruption to account. Or, in other words, perform the job that was once expected of journalists.
Read this book. And then join us online for much more at www.TheAudit.ca.