Mr. Speaker, yesterday the information commissioner, John Reid, appeared before the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development and revealed some pretty stunning information about the lengths to which the government has gone to cover up its own mishandling of taxpayers' money.
Since it became clear just how bad the problem at HRDC is, even completed audits have been withheld from us. All it takes for the government to comply with such requests is to place those audits on the photocopy machine, but the government has been stalling and has not been answering requests for information within the legally required 30 day time period.
What is the reason for the delay? According to the information commissioner, Treasury Board and the Privy Council Office have taken on a greater role in the release of documents over the past month, mainly to prevent further public relations damage. Mr. Reid said, “Treasury Board and the Privy Council Office want to know what audits have been requested, whether they contain bad news, and what the official media line will be”.
Who are we to believe? The minister who says that the government is transparent, or the information commissioner who says we are witnessing a “government wide—”