The remarks made by CTF federal director John Williamson at a joint news conference organized by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and the Canadian Newspapers Association held on Parliament Hill to comment on deficiencies in the new Federal Accountability Act.

Many Canadians want Ottawa to lower taxes. Others would like more spent on social program, roads or the military. All are adamant that public officials – be they elected or career civil servants – waste fewer tax dollars and be publicly accountable for their decisions. But this has not happened for many years in our nation's capital because Canada's Access to Information Act – the primary tool for citizens to review how money is spent – is broken.

The Conservative government's Accountability Act is strong and sound except for one key area.

That is the removal of Access to Information reforms promised by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and every other Conservative member elected to the House of Commons.

The new bill contains many recommendations Canadians will agree with and applaud. But it will not adequately open the federal government to outside scrutiny. It will not expose government operations to the inconvenient sunshine necessary to expose malfeasants. That is to say the type of oversight needed to prevent the wasting of tax dollars and future scandals – like the HRDC boondoggle, the gun registry or the Technology Partnerships Canada corporate welfare program.

Effective "sunshine" or "freedom of information" laws mandate that government records, administrative decisions and minutes be available to the public.

They balance the public's right to be informed of government decisions with respect for privacy rights.

Canada's Access to Information law came into effect in 1983, with the promise of greater government transparency. For a $5 fee, Canadians may request government documents and officials have a 30-day limit to provide a response.

Yet anyone who has used it – average citizens, advocacy groups such as the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and members of the media – know the dream of greater transparency does not fit with reality. The law is littered with loopholes and administrative barriers to keep prying eyes out.

With a single exception, the access law has not been updated since its inception. In 1999 it became a criminal offence to alter, destroy or conceal a record to frustrate an access request. It says a lot about the application of this law that such a reform was necessary. But it was, and it is why further reforms are necessary today.

Although files are no longer being destroyed, Canada's Information Commissioner has found instead they are just not being created in the first place.

The law is so deficient that Information Commissioner John Reid has publicly berated Ottawa for its "pro-secrecy" culture.

It is absurd a culture of secrecy exists when all Canadians ask is to know is how their tax dollars are being spent.

Prime Minister Harper is wrong if he believes this is all politics as usual. Advocates seeking meaningful reform are not looking to pocket half a loaf here.

These are promises Mr. Harper made in opposition that the Canadian Taxpayers Federation – and millions of other Canadians – expect him to fulfil. We are not asking the Conservative government to go any further than what was proposed by them in opposition.

This means amending the Accountability Act to include the provisions outlined in the party's election manifesto. For example:

• Implement – not study, but implement – the Information Commissioner's recommendations for reform of the Access to Information Act;
• Give the Information Commissioner the power to order the release of information;
• Subject the inclusion of Cabinet confidences to review by the Information Commissioner;
• Oblige pubic officials to create the records necessary to document their actions and decisions; and
• Provide a public interest override for all exemptions, so that the public interest is put before the secrecy of government.

These were common sense reforms before January 23rd and they remain so today. Why they are absent in the prime minister's most important piece of legislation is a mystery.

Are taxpayers to conclude Liberal/Tory, it's the same old story?

We are calling on the government to enact the full sweep of access reforms promised in the election. That commitment should be firmed up with a pledge to work with the opposition to ensure speedy passage.

Our message to the Opposition is to work with the government. And in the absence of a firm legislative timetable from the government, the Opposition should – collectively – withhold support of the accountability act.

In Opposition, the Conservatives often flexed their muscles to amend legislation or stall it. They could do this because it was a minority Parliament.

Until the Prime Minster's Office agrees to insert the Conservative's own campaign pledges into Bill C-2, the Opposition should unite to ensure the reforms are included.

If Opposition members stand shoulder to shoulder they can prevail on this important issue. This is not a hill the Conservatives can die on. And they know it.

The government cannot go back to the polls if the public believes it has somehow violated its key campaign commitment on accountability.

Canadians will know whom to blame if this Parliament does not work. The last prime minister told the Commons it's his way or the highway. We all know how that ended.

Hopefully it will be different in this Parliament.

By: John Williamson
Posted: April 11, 2006
Topic: Federal

Contact the regional director Gregory Thomas for further information.

Type: Related

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