Report gives Harper government a failing grade for transparency. Reuters / Blair GableCanada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper arrives at Rideau Hall to speak with Governor General David Johnston in Ottawa May 4, 2011 It’s a good thing ‘Access to Information’ isn’t a class in school. If it were, Stephen Harper’s government would flunk — and flunk hard, according to a report from a prominent media advocacy group that awarded the prime minister an F- on the subject this week. For the second year in a row, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression gave the prime minister’s government the lowest grade possible, saying it has taken longer than ever to access information on Mr.
Harper’s watch and that the information they finally get is far more incomplete. The new report, called Like Sheep to the Slaughter, says Canadians need to stay alert and protective of their right to freedom of information. More than half of the federal institutions surveyed for their performance on access to information sunk below the average. National Posts sboesveld@nationalpost.com. Harper's growing 'black list' a threat to democracy: Critics. OTTAWA — They are the people who seem to have found themselves on Prime Minister Stephen Harper's political black list: A nuclear regulator, a watchdog of the RCMP, an ombudsmen for victims of crime, a champion for military veterans.
And now — say Harper's critics — a senior Mountie who had the temerity to defend the long-gun registry. Their supposed political crime? To argue their case too forcefully, or to adopt a position frowned upon by the Harper government. Their punishment? "I think we're getting to the tipping point," Liberal MP Mark Holland said Wednesday. "The precedent is so dangerous. New Democrat MP Joe Comartin was just as furious, saying he was disgusted by the news the RCMP is replacing a senior officer, Chief Supt. Comartin and others contend Harper wanted to silence Cheliak, so orders were given to RCMP Commissioner William Elliott to push him aside.
"It's all part of a pattern," said Comartin. "This is an RCMP staffing matter. . © Copyright (c) Postmedia Network Inc. Celine Hervieux-Payette: Tories' Orwellian Stranglehold on the Press. For this year's World Press Freedom Day, I spoke in the chamber to assure the Canadian public that the fundamental principles of journalism are being respected. Allow me to refer to the code of conduct of the Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec to outline the fundamental values of journalism in Canada.
We know that journalists' work must be based on the critical thinking that pushes them to question everything, the impartiality that pushes them to do their research, and report on the various aspects of a situation, the independence that keeps them at arm's length from power and lobby groups, the honesty that makes them stick to the facts, and a number of other principles. On December 21, 2011, the Conservative government imposed a type of "pledge of allegiance" on all federal institutions through a so-called values and ethics code. Harper Government Attempting to Control Information by Richard Komorowski – February 11, 2011 – Cornwall Ontario | The Cornwall Free News. Cornwall ON - Quite recently, the CRTC, the federal government body charged with regulating the various communications industries in Canada, decided that independent Internet Service Providers (ISPs) would have to put a cap on the amount of bandwidth a customer could download each month.
In other words, a business or individual with a contract for unlimited internet access would see their contract suddenly illegal. Naturally, this proposal from the CRTC immediately caught the attention of the media and public. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), when they ordered the CRTC to make this announcement, knew it would draw the anger of virtually the entire Canadian population. Thus, when PMO Official Spokesman and Industry Minister Tony Clement made his announcement that the government would, if necessary, stop this ruling, the effect was to make the Harper Government appear concerned about the welfare of Canadians. The end result? The Real Reason for the Internet Cap Note: Mr.