Mr. Speaker, recently the Prime Minister stated in the House:
Any citizen can request information from government departments. It is in keeping with our government's policy of openness to provide as much information as possible.
Why then is the government denying access to information requests regarding the severance package for Claude Bennett, the former chair of CMHC. Mr. Bennett agreed to step down last August after a back room cabinet deal sweetened his severance package.
It is time the government came clean with its backroom deals. Either we have a policy of openness as the Prime Minister states or we do not, or perhaps the policy is opaque as recently stated by the parliamentary secretary.
Mr. Bennett's severance package was paid for with taxpayer's dollars, yet now the government is blocking requests to divulge the details of the deal. So much for open government.