In 2011, Bill 133 was passed in Quebec that requires government agencies to consider open source solutions when making IT decisions. Since then, companies like Red Hat, and Savoir-fair Linux, a consultancy firm that helps organizations switch to open source, have begun to become more deeply involved in the IT decisions of the Quebec government. Changes in government IT take a long time and require multiple outdated systems across many sectors of government to be pulled together under a single solution. With the passing of bill 133 and a new generation of IT professionals stepping up as baby boomers retire, it seems the time might be right for Quebec to give serious consideration to open source.
