April 4, 2011
Centre Mont-Royal
2200, Mansfield Street
Montreal, QC, Canada

Event participants:

Charles Lupien

Co-speaker

Marc-Aurèle Racicot

 

Free or "open source" software is gaining recognition in Québec. But despite this, some organizations in the public and private sector still prefer the more traditional "closed code" model.

Why? This presentation will first try to demystify open source software by giving an overview of its main characteristics and licenses. Some business models in which open source software is actually beneficial to the company will also be featured.

The presentation will then look at a recent Superior Court of Québec decision dealing with a call for tenders to acquire software: Savoir-faire Linux Inc. v. Régie des rentes du Québec et al., 2010 QCCS 2375. In that matter, open source software had been cast aside for no valid reason. What does this decision teach us? This will be an ideal opportunity to review some of the relevant legislative and regulatory provisions.

Finally, we will briefly examine Bill 133, which is proposing a new framework for the governance and management of the information resources of public bodies and government enterprises.