OTTAWA—The Conservative government is keeping secret documents prepared for Democratic Reform Minister Pierre Poilievre as he drafted the controversial electoral reform bill.
In an unusual move, the Privy Council Office has refused to release all but three pages of a 199-page transition binder prepared for Poilievre when he assumed his cabinet post in July 2013.
Citing cabinet confidence, the department also heavily censored the three pages they released, including a table of contents with most of the contents blacked out.
The Privy Council Office has now promised to release the briefing book — but not for another two decades, after the cabinet confidences exclusion expires.
“The information in question is not subject to the Access to Information Act because it is a confidence of the Queen’s Privy Council,” PCO spokesman Raymond Rivet wrote in an email to the Star.
“That determination is made by PCO’s cabinet counsel division. After a period of 20 years, this information will become subject to the act.”
Read more: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/03/21/conservatives_keep_electoral_reform_documents_secret.html
Read more: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/03/21/conservatives_keep_electoral_reform_documents_secret.html
No comments:
Post a Comment