Tony Clement’s Orwellian ‘open government’ plan

Seeking to combat his government’s reputation for secrecy, suppression of information and closed-door decision-making, Treasury Board President Tony Clement unveiled an ambitious “action plan on open government” last week. It was so totally disconnected from reality that the initial reaction in the nation’s capital was incredulity. Bitter criticism followed.

He pledged to “maximize access to federally funded scientific research,” with no explanation of how this will happen when all 20,000 scientists on the federal payroll aremuzzled by his government.

He promised to “publish expanded information on federal spending to help Canadians understand and hold government for the use of public monies.” Meanwhile, his government refuses to provide parliamentarians, the Parliamentary Budget Officer and members of the public with basic budgetary information.

He said the government would “strengthen the openness and transparency of its procurement process.” Ottawa’s procurement process prevents the disclosure of any commercially sensitive details about its contractors.

And he undertook to “improve public services” even as he slashes departmental spending and eliminates thousands more jobs in the public service.

What was missing from his blueprint was as important as its contents.

Nowhere in Clement’s 28-page list of commitments – bring Canada into the digital era, create new information platforms, devise innovative applications – was there a word about updating Ottawa’s 29-year-old Access to Information Act, a pre-Internet relic so slow and cumbersome that it frustrates anyone who tries to obtain government records, spending figures or the evidence backing up policy decisions.

Nor did the treasury board president board mention restoring the mandatory, detailed census – the most comprehensive source of reliable information about this country – that he axed in 2010; renouncing the use of mandatory, detailed census bills that jam together dozens of pieces of legislation preventing proper scrutiny; producing comprehensible versions of basic documents such as the national accounts and the inventory of corporate hand-outs; or allowing federal agencies to release factual information without the approval of the Prime Minister’s Office.

These gaping holes – combined with the overt contradiction between the government’s words and actions – gave Clement’s enthusiastic avowals of openness and transparency an almost Orwellian air. “The sky is truly the limit – and we are proud to play an important role in leading our citizens into the next stage of the global information age,” the minister proclaimed. No one cheered.

Original Article
Source: thestar.com/
Author: Editorial