"accountability Act 'a Bureaucrat's Dream,'...."

[Matt]

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/20...unt-060428.html

 

 

Accountability act 'a bureaucrat's dream,' information commissioner says

Last Updated Fri, 28 Apr 2006 22:02:23 EDT

CBC News

 

Canada's information commissioner launched a scathing attack against Stephen Harper on Friday, charging that the prime minister has done a complete about-face on a promise to make government more accountable.

 

In a special report to Parliament, John Reid said he had "grave concerns" about the Conservative's proposed accountability act, which is now under debate. He charged that it will actually reduce openness in government and make it easier to cover up potentially embarrassing scandals.

 

Employing unusually strong language, Reid said the legislation "will not strengthen the accountability of government through transparency, it will weaken it.

 

"No previous government has put forward a more retrograde and dangerous set of proposals to change the Access to Information Act," he wrote. "The new government has done exactly the things for which its predecessor had been ridiculed."

 

Reid referred to the Chr

[Russell]

I saw this a few minutes ago when checking the news. This shouldn't surprise anybody. Conservatives have always talked shit and then failed to provide what they promised - much like their Liberal counterparts. It's just more fun being screwed.

[Matt]

Well I think the signs were there well before the election. Remember Preston Manning said he'd never live in Stornaway? What happened to that. Remember the Reformers said they'd never collect a pension, yet some have. Stephen Harper has simply moved faster in breaking some of his key promises he said he wouldn't break, like appointing a senator, inducing someone to cross the floor. Don't get me wrong, I don't really have anything against either, I just think it's silly to promise something than break it.

[Ravenous itchy]

None of us are lawyers so it is kind of hard to say "Yea, that is a bad law," even after reading it, but perhaps you could try first...

http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/dept/pub/atia/prop/prop.html

[Matt]

Those are proposals by the Information Commissionar who is currently compalaining about the accountability act...

[Ravenous itchy]

nah that is what he is complaining about or part of it rather

[Matt]

His propsals to fix the problems do not seem all that un-reasonable either.

Edited April 29, 2006 by Matt