Friday, April 16, 2010

Red Alerts and Failing Grades. What Are They Hiding?

Canada's information watchdog has given Stephen Harper's office a 'D' and issued a "Red Alert" to foreign affairs, for their failure to provide access to information.

Only a "D"?

The sneakiest, most secretive government in the history of this country, is showing no signs of changing their ways.

I just hope this is a wake up to Canadians that we must change this government.
Federal delays in answering queries from the public are getting worse and threaten to scuttle the right to know, says Canada's information watchdog. Interim information commissioner Suzanne Legault urged government agencies to take "immediate steps" to curb the persistent foot-dragging she detailed Tuesday in a special report to Parliament.
And from the Globe and Mail: Access to information risks being ‘obliterated’: report
Four years after the Harper government came to office pledging sweeping improvements to Canada’s access laws, a new report warns that the right of Canadians to obtain federal documents is at risk of being “totally obliterated.”
And CBC: Federal information requests delayed: watchdog
"There's a constant decline year over year," she [Legault] said. "Length of extensions is getting longer. The length of consultations is getting longer. Legault urged departments and agencies to take "immediate steps" to curb the problem.
And: Canadians' access to information at a crisis point

A raft of confrontations is pitting the federal government, the military and Ontario’s provincial police against opposition parties, the media, interest groups and inquiries over when politicians and bureaucrats can withhold information from the public.

Both sides realize that control over information is the only control that matters. Those with power seek to preserve that power by managing the flow of information; others wrestle to bring it into the public square.

Welcome to Harper's world. Shhhhhhhhh ...

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