Police face little accountability, five years after the Toronto G20

In the months after the Toronto G20 Summit, public outcry over the perceived lack of police accountability in what was famously described as “the most massive compromise of civil liberties in Canadian history” rose to a deafening tenor.

Police chief Bill Blair asked for patience, explaining he could not fire officers without disciplinary hearings, and that the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which probes serious injuries involving police, had “first crack.”

Tory changes to accountability rules leave Harper blameless in Duffy affair

If Prime Minister Stephen Harper did not know about the cheque written by his former chief of staff to cover the improperly claimed expenses of Senator Mike Duffy, federal accountability guidelines written by his government suggest he does not need to shoulder responsibility.

When the Conservatives first took power in 2006, Accountable Government: A Guide for Ministers and Secretaries of State said that ministers were responsible for “the actions of all officials under their management and direction, whether or not the ministers had prior knowledge.”

Dick Cheney Won't Apologize For Iraq War, 'America vs. Iraq' Documentary Director Says

Dick Cheney is not apologetic for his actions and that of the United States surrounding the Iraq War, according to a documentarian who interviewed the former Vice President for his latest feature.

Paul Mitchell is the director of "America vs. Iraq," a new film that examines the U.S. invasion of Iraq through interviews with high-profile American and British decision-makers. Mitchell talked with HuffPost Live's Ahmed Shihab-Eldin about what it was like to interview Cheney for the movie.

Alberta Oilsands Environmental Enforcement: Study Finds Little Done In Oilsands Incidents

EDMONTON - A survey of thousands of environmental problems in Alberta's oilsands attacks the province's claims to having strict control over the industry's environmental impact.

Fewer than one per cent of likely environmental infractions have drawn any enforcement, says the survey. It also says the province's records are incomplete and riddled with errors, so there is no way to really understand industry's impact on the region.

And the authors found the same problems recurring time and time again, suggesting environmental improvement in some areas isn't happening.

MacKay Says Defence Department Not To Blame In Plane Delay

After more than a decade of waiting for a new search-and-rescue plane, the military today is barely a step closer to flying one — and, that, says Defence Minister Peter MacKay, is not his fault.

"I will express to you ... no small degree of frustration that we have not been able to move this project forward," MacKay said at a news conference Tuesday in Ottawa.

"What I can tell you is that we are pushing very hard to have this procurement proceed. We need the support of the other departments to do this."

Say goodbye to effective Parliamentary Budget Office, feds about to destroy it, says outgoing PBO Page

The Parliamentary Budget Office is about to be destroyed if Parliament, the media, and Canadians do not stand up for it, warns Canada’s outgoing PBO Kevin Page, who says it’s a mistake for the Parliamentary librarian to be in charge of the office’s operational mandate and administration.

“It was an accident that the current PBO became a true legislative budget office. If Parliament, the media and Canadians want a true legislative budget office they will have to ‘stand up.’  The current PBO is about to go down,” Mr. Page told The Hill Times. “The process is very late. I am leaving in two weeks. We will have a budget very soon. The PBO will be in Federal Court on a reference opinion very soon. The timing of the selection process and the interim appointment of the librarian do not support the interests of Parliament. If Parliament, the media, and Canadians do not see what is unfolding and react appropriately—PBO will soon be an institution of the past. The risk is we go from the spirit of accountability to the spirit of a ‘sounding board.’”

AF removes RPA airstrike number from summary

As scrutiny and debate over the use of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) by the American military increased last month, the Air Force reversed a policy of sharing the number of airstrikes launched from RPAs in Afghanistan and quietly scrubbed those statistics from previous releases kept on their website.

Page frustrated in bid to calculate tax gap

OTTAWA — Parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page wants to calculate how many billions of tax dollars are being lost due to fraud, but so far the government won’t give him the numbers.

Page’s office confirmed Wednesday it was asked by Liberal Sen. Percy Downe to calculate the tax gap — essentially how much tax revenue Canada is losing out on through fraud and offshore bank accounts.

Feds dispute Canada's poor global ranking in freedom of information

OTTAWA - The Harper government is dismissing a report that ranks it 55th in the world for upholding freedom of information, saying it has a sterling record for openness.

But a four-page document outlining the federal rebuttal took five months to release after a request under the Access to Information Act — underscoring the very delay problem that contributed to Canada's dismal ranking.

A human-rights group based in Halifax has issued three report cards since 2011 on Canada's anemic standing in the world with regard to so-called right-to-know legislation.

Peter Mackay and F-35s: Accountability starts with firing incompetents

Ministers are responsible for their departments’ initiatives. They are responsible for clear, accurate, complete disclosure of information in their remit when asked a question in the House. They are responsible for the work performance of the civil servants who serve them.

On all three measures, Minister of National Defence Peter Mackay has proven himself to be an irresponsible git.

Prime Ministers are responsible for the quality of the Cabinet. They are accountable for sacking any minister who doesn’t do their job properly. They are accountable for sacking any minister who doesn’t take their own accountabilities seriously enough to resign when they’ve botched their job.

Stephen Harper is acting as though he has no accountabilities, no worries.

G20 policing: Clayton Ruby challenges ‘backroom decisions’ not to hold disciplinary hearings

Veteran civil rights lawyer Clayton Ruby will ask Ontario’s Superior Court to overturn “backroom decisions” by three GTA police forces not to pursue complaints of officer misconduct during the G20 protests — even though the complaints have been substantiated by the province’s police oversight body.

Because the body, called the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD), took longer than six months to investigate, it directed police in Toronto, York and Peel not to launch disciplinary hearings against officers involved — even though it found that accusations of excessive use of force, unlawful detention and arrest, and illegal search had substance.

Rob Ford’s integrity attack

It’s amazing how easy it is to forget why some arrangements at city are as they are.

There was Mayor Rob Ford last week, seven years after Justice Denise Bellamy’s report on MFP’s shady deal with the city, calling for the elimination of exactly the three watchdog officers the Ontario superior court judge urged the city to establish.

Couching his plan in money-saving terms, the mayor urged the elimination of the integrity commissioner, ombudsman and lobbyist registrar and their replacement by a lawyer on retainer.

Mayor Rob Ford wants to eliminate city watchdog offices

Under fire again from the city’s integrity commissioner and ombudsman, Mayor Rob Ford responded Thursday with a proposal: eliminate their jobs, plus the job of the lobbyist registrar.

Ford’s comments drew scorn and skepticism from councillors.

“I think that the timing is curious at best,” said Josh Colle, a centrist swing voter. “It’s a coincidence, I’m sure,” said conservative Gloria Lindsay Luby, laughing.