Senior Defence Department officials kept the multimillion-dollar price tag for renovating the Nortel campus under wraps, worried the public, media and parliamentarians might raise concerns about the bill if they found out about the cost.Last week, the Citizen reported DND will spend more than $600 million on preparing the Nortel site to be its main location in Ottawa. That is on top of the $208 million the government spent to purchase the Carling Avenue campus.
In an email statement, DND officials claimed they did not know the cost of refitting the Nortel location.
But documents obtained by the Citizen show DND not only knew about the cost a year ago, but senior officials ordered references to it removed from public statements and documents.
Some officers say such tactics are just the tip of the iceberg of DND efforts to keep information from the public. They point to recent examples, including the decision not to inform Parliament about plans to spend $477 million on a U.S. military satellite.
While it is common for ministers to keep close tabs on information being released to the public, media and Parliament, officers say efforts by the Conservative government and Defence Minister Peter MacKay’s office have reached new levels of control. The main effort is to reduce the “risk” to the minister of questions being raised in the Commons or embarrassing articles in the media, they say.
On the Nortel file, the documents show DND officials were worried last year about how the renovation costs would be perceived. “Media, parliamentarians and Canadians will be focused on the cost to taxpayers for the acquisition of the Campus and the subsequent retro-fit costs,” noted a DND strategy document.
Such concerns were solved when Deputy Minister Robert Fonberg stepped in. Fonberg’s assistant wrote that the deputy minister was concerned about telling the public about the cost. According to an email, Fonberg asked, “Why are we using the $623m(illion) fit up cost? It is without context and will be a lightning rod!”
The cost was removed from public documents about the Nortel purchase.
Minimizing risk to the Conservative government about issues that might raise questions has become a hallmark of federal communications strategies, say critics. The Toronto Star reported recently on a plan by the government to place more controls on what RCMP officers can say in public, sparking concerns about undue political influence on the national police force.
Last year at DND, Josée Touchette, assistant deputy minister for public affairs, listed one of her branch’s achievements as providing “on-going communications risk identification” to MacKay’s office. That focus was on what Touchette called issues of national significance and those involved everything from the purchase of F-35 jets to the awarding of medals to Afghan veterans. She didn’t outline why awarding medals could be considered risky for MacKay.
In some cases the tight control is upset when the media finds out about a potentially controversial issue. Such was the case when Postmedia broke the story about plans to quietly spend $477 million on a U.S. military satellite. MPs only found out about the expenditure only when they read about in newspapers.
But MacKay’s office says the minister embraces openness and transparency. “The Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces have a robust communications policy that is centered on the provision of open and accurate information,” spokesman Jay Paxton wrote in an email.
Paxton noted information on the military satellite was posted on a Privy Council website and MacKay would answer questions from MPs if they asked them. He stated MacKay has appeared at over 20 parliamentary committee hearings.
But the email did not explain why Parliament wasn’t originally told about the spending of almost half a billion dollars on the satellite. It also didn’t answer allegations by opposition MPs that MacKay never mentioned the project or its cost when he appeared in front of committees.
Fonberg did not respond to an interview request. However, in an email, DND noted in the case of Nortel, the department and Public Works “must request project and expenditure approval from Government through the requisite submission process and, until such time, cannot speak to cost estimates.”
The email did not explain why costs for the Nortel overhaul were originally to be made public but removed after Fonberg raised the issue. The email added that DND “always strives for openness with regard to requests for information.”
Those claims of openness, however, can be limited. On Friday, DND informed the Citizen that if it wanted to find out how much taxpayers spent for the military personnel and other services provided to the Halifax International Security Forum for 2009 and 2010, it would have to obtain those through the Access to Information law. That process can take between six months and two years.
The forum, which brings together defence leaders and others, is seen by those inside DND as a key project for MacKay and one designed to bring prestige and funding to his home province. So far, it has cost taxpayers $7.5 million and MacKay has committed funding to continue through the 2013 conference.
Outside consultants brought in by DND have also concluded there is excessive secrecy when it comes to spending the public’s money. “Canadian industry, the media, and the public see the current defence procurement system as lacking transparency,” noted a consultant’s report from last year. “The Review Team, concurs with that position.”
While it is common for governments to want to control some information, Liberal Sen. Colin Kenny says the situation at DND under the Conservatives has spiralled out of control. He says DND and Canadian Forces officials have lost sight of the fact they are spending the public’s money. “Why shouldn’t the public know how much is being spent on the Nortel campus?,” said Kenny, the former chairman of the senate committee.
Other, seemingly innocuous pieces of information have also been withheld. In May, the Citizen requested a copy of the presentation Touchette made to NATO about Canada’s public affairs approach. The presentation had already been provided to another news outlet, but DND continues to refuse requests for the same unclassified document.
Paxton noted information on the military satellite was posted on a Privy Council website and MacKay would answer questions from MPs if they asked them. He stated MacKay has appeared at over 20 parliamentary committee hearings.
But the email did not explain why Parliament wasn’t originally told about the spending of almost half a billion dollars on the satellite. It also didn’t answer allegations by opposition MPs that MacKay never mentioned the project or its cost when he appeared in front of committees.
Fonberg did not respond to an interview request. However, in an email, DND noted in the case of Nortel, the department and Public Works “must request project and expenditure approval from Government through the requisite submission process and, until such time, cannot speak to cost estimates.”
The email did not explain why costs for the Nortel overhaul were originally to be made public but removed after Fonberg raised the issue. The email added that DND “always strives for openness with regard to requests for information.”
Those claims of openness, however, can be limited. On Friday, DND informed the Citizen that if it wanted to find out how much taxpayers spent for the military personnel and other services provided to the Halifax International Security Forum for 2009 and 2010, it would have to obtain those through the Access to Information law. That process can take between six months and two years.
The forum, which brings together defence leaders and others, is seen by those inside DND as a key project for MacKay and one designed to bring prestige and funding to his home province. So far, it has cost taxpayers $7.5 million and MacKay has committed funding to continue through the 2013 conference.
Outside consultants brought in by DND have also concluded there is excessive secrecy when it comes to spending the public’s money. “Canadian industry, the media, and the public see the current defence procurement system as lacking transparency,” noted a consultant’s report from last year. “The Review Team, concurs with that position.”
While it is common for governments to want to control some information, Liberal Sen. Colin Kenny says the situation at DND under the Conservatives has spiralled out of control. He says DND and Canadian Forces officials have lost sight of the fact they are spending the public’s money. “Why shouldn’t the public know how much is being spent on the Nortel campus?,” said Kenny, the former chairman of the senate committee.
Other, seemingly innocuous pieces of information have also been withheld. In May, the Citizen requested a copy of the presentation Touchette made to NATO about Canada’s public affairs approach. The presentation had already been provided to another news outlet, but DND continues to refuse requests for the same unclassified document.
There is, however, one area when DND and Canadian Forces senior officials will react quickly. That is when MacKay finds himself under fire, as was recently the case when media outlets reported about his use of Challenger jets. The reports noted nearly $3 million was spent to fly MacKay around the country for a variety of reasons, including political announcements and a flight to his home riding so he could attend a lobster dinner. It was also reported MacKay used a search-and-rescue helicopter to pick him up at a private fishing lodge.
MacKay has denied any wrongdoing, with his office claiming many of the flights were to attend repatriation ceremonies for fallen soldiers.
Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Walter Natynczyk came to MacKay’s defence and in a message to all Canadian Forces members, he praised the minister and suggested the media’s use of the $11,000 an hour cost for the Challenger jet was misguided. “When we fly the Minister in CF aircraft, it is not only because his duties require it, but also because we are proud to support him in his work, and confident in his personal leadership,” the general wrote in the statement, also released to the media.
But Natynczyk’s message was in stark contrast to the silence from the military when the issue of Challenger jet abuse surfaced in 2005. The Conservatives, then in opposition, launched a spirited attack against Liberal ministers for spending $11,000 an hour flying in the Challenger to visit ridings for political announcements. Leading the charge was Peter MacKay.
Stephen Staples, a vocal critic of what he argues is excessive military spending, says DND’s bureaucracy views its job as protecting MacKay, not looking out for taxpayers. “I don’t know what’s worse — the minister using a government jet to fly to a lobster dinner or the Chief of the Defence Staff trying to justify it,” said Staples, president of the Rideau Institute. “Don’t these people know thousands of Canadians have lost their jobs and are in no mood for this type of extravagance?’
Staples said Canadians should be concerned with the growing secrecy since DND spends $20 billion annually.
Even some inside defence headquarters believe DND is being less than forthright with the media and public. On Nov. 16, 2009, a DND official made this observation in an email about the information being released publicly on the troubled Cyclone helicopter project: “There’s always the media line and then the truth.”
In turn, DND prepared a response in case journalists asked questions about the offending email. “It is DND policy and part of the culture of the Canadian Forces to always provide the most complete and accurate information to Canadians, as possible,” it stated.
MacKay has denied any wrongdoing, with his office claiming many of the flights were to attend repatriation ceremonies for fallen soldiers.
Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Walter Natynczyk came to MacKay’s defence and in a message to all Canadian Forces members, he praised the minister and suggested the media’s use of the $11,000 an hour cost for the Challenger jet was misguided. “When we fly the Minister in CF aircraft, it is not only because his duties require it, but also because we are proud to support him in his work, and confident in his personal leadership,” the general wrote in the statement, also released to the media.
But Natynczyk’s message was in stark contrast to the silence from the military when the issue of Challenger jet abuse surfaced in 2005. The Conservatives, then in opposition, launched a spirited attack against Liberal ministers for spending $11,000 an hour flying in the Challenger to visit ridings for political announcements. Leading the charge was Peter MacKay.
Stephen Staples, a vocal critic of what he argues is excessive military spending, says DND’s bureaucracy views its job as protecting MacKay, not looking out for taxpayers. “I don’t know what’s worse — the minister using a government jet to fly to a lobster dinner or the Chief of the Defence Staff trying to justify it,” said Staples, president of the Rideau Institute. “Don’t these people know thousands of Canadians have lost their jobs and are in no mood for this type of extravagance?’
Staples said Canadians should be concerned with the growing secrecy since DND spends $20 billion annually.
Even some inside defence headquarters believe DND is being less than forthright with the media and public. On Nov. 16, 2009, a DND official made this observation in an email about the information being released publicly on the troubled Cyclone helicopter project: “There’s always the media line and then the truth.”
In turn, DND prepared a response in case journalists asked questions about the offending email. “It is DND policy and part of the culture of the Canadian Forces to always provide the most complete and accurate information to Canadians, as possible,” it stated.
Origin
Source: Ottawa Citizen
No comments:
Post a Comment