- Harper: 'I'm Transparent, Honest - You'll Just have to Trust Me On That"

No Posts allowed: CTV News
Feds get a 'D' grade on handling information requests, The Canadian Press, 13 Apr.'10
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100413/info_requests_100413/20100413?hub=QPeriod

Harper and the Con’s since being elected have taken steps, systematically, to marginalize Parliament, the Senate, access to information, transparency, openness. The manifest purpose is to implement an agenda for which they simply do not want Canadians to be made aware of.

It appears that there are a number of problems.

- Understaffed being one of them.

Understaffing can be a well thought out and well executed, deliberate 'tool' applied to slow down and obstruct process.

This type of thing is happened in other areas as well, for example the Refugee Board. It is well known that Harper simply did not appoint new Board members for the first 2 - 3 years of his administration, apparently there wasn't anyone qualified for the job. Huge backlogs built up until now Harper and the Con's are running around proclaiming how Canada Refugee system is broken and professing the solution.

The real problem is that Canada's Refugee System is simply too into Human Rights and is reflective of a tolerant compassionate society, certainly not in line with what the die-hard core of right wing extremist supporters of Harper and the Con's envision their Canada.

Immigration at the Visa Posts is another example where 'understaffing' can cause delays of up to 5 years or more and reduce the flow of immigrants to a trickle in any particular area of the world in which the government wants reduced number immigrating to Canada. Anyone involved with Immigration knows what I am talking about and knows what regions of the World to which this applies.

Don't get me wrong, it may be that the Refugee Board needs improving and it may be that Canada ought to reduce the flow of Immigrants.

It is the underhanded, sneaky, secretive, manipulative, obscurist and obstructionist, ideologueic manner in which Harper and the Con's are going about it - suppressing Access to Information and otherwise refusing to release information being one of their primary tools.

The reason is that they are hiding their right wing extremist, no-tolerant, anti human and civil rights objectives from all but that 33% die-hard core of extreme right wing supporters that demand it.

If you think this is not a serious matter with the Harper government . . .

what's this ... coming up on my Google search of "Stockwell Day " +"Doris Day" ...
at:
http://www.lilithgallery.com/articles/canada/The_Prank_That_Destroyed_StockwellDay.html
"The Prank That Destroyed Stockwell Day, By Charles Moffat"

"During the 2000 election campaign Day made the following comments and voiced the following beliefs:
...

- Day espoused his belief that evolution doesn't exist and that people do really come from Adam and Eve.

- Day believed that an "Asian Invasion" was taking place at Canadian universities and that we shouldn't allow asians to study in Canada.

- He made a variety of other quotes displaying his anti-immigration beliefs, anti-native rights, anti-women's rights and anti-Quebec."

(shocking . . . I wonder if it's true, did Day really say those things? In that case, how could Harper make him one of his inner circle Ministers? Certainly Harper would know about it, wouldn't he?)

When Stockwell Day says "We want to improve our process" champions of civil rights ought not hold their breath.

Since when was Stockwell Day a champion of civil rights, transparency, openness. And if you think "We want to improve our process" means more funding, faster processing and greater degree of disclosure, you better think again. The Harper government modus operandi is secrecy, hiding, non-disclosure, obscuration, obstruction, that's "their process".

- No legislative clout for delays and interference by Harper and his Ministers is another.

Liberal and comprehensive rights to access information, available to all, unobstructed and vigilantly exercised, is a cornerstone of modern, open and free, democracy, protecting all from a closed, secretive government intent on using the powers entrusted to them for their self interest and interests contrary to the will of the people.

The open, transparent, free and unobstructed flow of information ought to be enshrined in our Charter of Rights. Its obstruction and obscuration, and in the extreme, by Harper and the Con’s shows us the dire need for this.

"How can you cast your vote intelligently if you don't know what's going on?"
(Robert Marleau, information commissioner).

Access to information affords the stuff whereby the individual may forge both sword and shield to uphold human rights, without which no amount legislation can guaranty these rights and so, should therefore stand on the same footing.

- Also, the existing Legislation has too many 'loop-holes':

Everyone can understand that some information should be withheld. However, this must be minimalized, justified and particularized on an incident-by-incident basis.

The legislation now is very broad and general about what may be withheld.

But, even worse is that no reason need be given for any particular instance, but simply a copy of the general provisions of the Act that allows withholding information attached to the cover letter for the disclosure. It can be impossible to determine if there was even something withheld and if so what the nature of it is and the grounds for being withheld (or the actual section of the Act that is being relied upon). This is not even 'redacting'.

When you have part of a page or a whole page blacked out (or trickier to detect, blanked out), it at least tells you that something has been withheld, and perhaps the context. However, if a whole page of number of pages is withheld, how do you know (sometimes they number the pages, but a lot of times they don't). This can totally undermine the Access request and in a fashion that is insidious. It can also make it virtually impossible to bring a meaningful complaint.

As the article points out "The Conservative government broke 2006 election promises to bring in wide-ranging reforms to the law."

Guy Giorno, chief of staff to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said the government expects full compliance with the Access Act.
However, full compliance with the Act does not eliminate the systemic problems as discussed above.

Further, what Canadian ought to demand from their Prime Minister and government of the day is compliance with the spirit and intention of the Act. It doesn't matter what the actual wording of the legislation, shrewd and motivated individuals can always find a way to avoid conforming to the spirit and intent while insisting they are in keeping within a sharp interpretation of the Legislation.

For example, Giorno goes on to say that ministers' offices get advance notice -- an average of four days -- when sensitive requests are about to be released. Such briefings are considered acceptable as long as they don't delay disclosure.

We have all heard how this is applied by the Harper administration - for example, then-minister of Public Works, Christian Paradis's Office has been accused of meddling and at least delaying release of the access request.

Canada's information watchdog, Interim information commissioner Suzanne Legault released her special report to parliament urging the government to take immediate steps to curb persistent foot-dragging.

She then went on to comment, in very diplomatic fashion:

"Do we have a government right now that is instilling a culture of transparency, that is taking a leadership role like the American president is taking in matters of promoting transparency, which is broader than Access to Information?" she asked. "I haven't seen evidence of that yet."

(keep in mind this is Harper and the Con's she is talking about, you know the guys who ruthlessly attack, and on a very personal level, anyone who dares to stand up and oppose them - so I invite you to read between the lines).

Lloyd MacILquham cicblog.com/comments.html

Excerpt Posted: 4/14/2010 2:13:01 PM to The Globe and Mail
John Ibbitson discusses Ottawa's trouble with disclosure, John Ibbitson, 14 Apr.'10
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/discussions/john-ibbitson-discusses-ottawas-trouble-with-disclosure/article1533093/