Monday, March 01, 2010

Honesty, transparency, accountability

The Harper Cons will abide none of them. And the number of staffers saying so is growing:
(A)ccording to Tory staffers, recent orders from the PMO to stop interfering in access to information requests are disingenuous, and the PMO's pressure to block the release of information continues.

Early last week, a Tory staffer who asked not to be identified, encouraged The Hill Times to "keep going on this story about ATIPs."

The staffer said despite PMO statements that all staffers have been directed to abide and uphold the Access to Information Act, the PMO interference continues.

"This still continues and staff are told publicly to 'respect the process' but are expected to find ways to thwart the process," the staffer wrote. "Trust me—despite the public musings—political staff were told 'not to interfere,' nudge nudge, wink wink."

Staffers, another Tory staffer said, are very aware they are being "reminded of rules which they know they haven't been asked to apply."
...
During 7 a.m. teleconferences, the (first) staffer said, the PMO's issues management wing would routinely give "verbal directions on slowing down, delaying, stopping ATIPs altogether or 'transferring' ATIPs to the centre."

Staffers who questioned or resisted orders to interfere with the ATI system, the staffer said, faced verbal abuse and thinly veiled threats against themselves and their ministers, the source recounted.

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