First off, I offer my apologies for the snafu with Saturday’s post. Ben Godby , who had agreed to post on Denis Rancourt and the disturbing goings-on at the University of Ottawa, came across new material and will now be posting this coming Saturday. The wait will be worth it. Again, as a primer you might want to visit Denis’ site.
In the news this week, an audit of the federal government’s eHealth initiative found — surprise, surprise — a disturbing lack of controls in money given to a contractor by Health Canada. Apparently there weren’t the same kinds of issues found in the eHealth Ontario scandal, but when half a billion dollars is being chucked around with sloppy controls, how long can it be before we find out about hot tub parties and moat cleanings? Add to this the problem that governments are notoriously and perennially inept at handling IT projects, starting from a basic lack of understanding of what they need all the way to getting poor products that they then feel compelled to spin as “world leading” lest anyone guess what a waste of money it’s been.
Abousfian Abdelrazik, who had his Charter rights violated by the federal government when it refused to allow him back into Canada for six years — and was tortured while stuck in Sudan — is now locked in a legal battle with the government. He’s suing, and they are of course denying any responsibility. Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon wants to be removed from the lawsuit because, it is claimed, he can’t be held personally liable. So much for ministerial accountability in Canada.
The federal access to information incident that came to light last week — the one in which a political staffer interfered with a request — has shaken the tree in Ottawa. An unnamed Conservative source told the Hill Times that such interference is routine. This has renewed criticisms that the access to information system is almost completely broken at the federal level. The problem is that without a proper system in place, our democracy is being eroded. To quote Dan Leger of the Halifax Chronicle-Herald, “when government is conducted in secret, mismanagement and corruption are sure to result.” He was talking about the MLA spending scandal playing out in Nova Scotia, but the application is universal. The NDP, meanwhile, want a full investigation into matters. They’re right, and I like a quote by MP Bill Siksay: “Access to Information is about accountability, not about sanitizing or covering up embarrassing facts.”
The scandal at Rights and Democracy is evolving toward some kind of a resolution. The federal government has fingered Gerard Latulippe, a former Quebec Liberal who switched to the Canadian Alliance, to be the new head. This was just the kind of move guaranteed to provoke a storm of protest by the opposition, and of course it did. I think it unlikely that Mr. Latulippe will be approved.
Finally, there’s a very tongue-in-cheek article about the RCMP’s apparent need to spy on Tommy Douglas, the father of Canada’s universal health care, and their need now to keep the files secret.
See you Thursday.
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Audit Finds Problems with Federal eHealth Program
Ottawa Denies Responsibility in Abdelrazik Torture Case
More Evidence of Political Interference with Access to Information Requests
More Comment on the Nova Scotia MLA Spending Abuse Scandal
Government Chooses New Head for Troubled Rights and Democracy
A Humorous Take on the RCMP File on Tommy Douglas
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Audit Finds Problems with Federal eHealth Program
Health Canada slammed in eHealth audit
Globe and Mail, February 20, 2010
Summary: Health Canada handed out millions of dollars to a national eHealth agency without properly accounting for how the money was spent, a new audit says. The finding raises doubts about Health Canada’s own record of accountability even as it conducts due diligence before deciding whether to give Canada Health Infoway Inc. another half-billion dollars.
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Ottawa Denies Responsibility in Abdelrazik Torture Case
Ottawa rejects Abdelrazik claim that CSIS knew he faced torture
Globe and Mail, February 19, 2010
Summary: Even if he was thrown in prison in Sudan at the request of Canadian agents, Abousfian Abdelrazik has no case against the federal government because Canadian law does not protect him overseas, Justice Department lawyers claim. Despite a Federal Court ruling that it violated his rights by barring his return to Canada for years, the government considers a lawsuit brought by Mr. Abdelrazik mostly frivolous — and rejects his claim that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service knew he would be abused and tortured in Sudan’s notorious prisons when it had him arrested in 2003.
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More Evidence of Political Interference with Access to Information Requests
Cabinet ministers’ offices regularly interfere in ATI requests, says Tory staffer
The Hill Times (Ottawa), February 22, 2010
Summary: Cabinet ministers’ offices had been under orders to pressure bureaucrats to pare down the amount of information released under the Access to Information Act up until The Canadian Press recently broke the story on how one political staffer killed the release of a document, forcing the Prime Minister’s Office to get involved and to do some damage control, says one Conservative staffer.
NDP wants alleged violation of Access to Information laws investigated
Canada.com, February 22, 2010
Summary: The federal New Democrats are calling for a formal investigation into allegations of systemic violations of Canada’s Access to Information laws by the governing Conservatives.
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More Comment on the Nova Scotia MLA Spending Abuse Scandal
Spending scandal: Allow secrecy, expect abuse
The Chronicle-Herald (Halifax), February 22, 2010
Summary: We are three weeks into the cauldron of the Province House expense scandal and two things have become crystal clear. One, MLAs systematically abused their expense allowances. Two, their explanations are utterly lame.
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Government Chooses New Head for Troubled Rights and Democracy
Harper government proposes new head for troubled rights group
Winnipeg Free Press, February 22, 2010
Summary: The Harper government has tabbed an international rights activist and former Quebec politician to head the troubled group Rights and Democracy. Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon says Gerard Latulippe — a former Quebec Liberal who ran for the Canadian Alliance federally in 2000 — is well qualified to take charge of the body.
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A Humorous Take on the RCMP File on Tommy Douglas
Standing on guard against Tommy Douglas
Globe and Mail, February 19, 2010
Summary: So the ugly truth has finally emerged, after all these years. Tommy Douglas – our greatest Canadian. Tommy — father of medicare. Tommy — funniest, most loveable politician this country has ever seen. Bah humbug. The Mounties, as we’ve just discovered, got their man again. And another god has failed. (Op-ed)
