‘Bad, bad, bad’: Public service culture could lead to another Phoenix, say experts
A culture in the public service that encourages meeting budgets by any means necessary is being blamed as the true root cause of the Phoenix pay system failure, and experts say those cultural elements that have cost the government $1.2-billion and counting are still there. Former bureaucrat turned Queen’s University professor Andrew Graham, who has […]
MP travel rules relaxed, but family costs make them a target for ‘media scrutiny,’ says Tory whip
Changes made last week to the MP travel policy are aimed at making the Hill more “family friendly,” according to the House of Commons administration, but some MPs on the Board of Internal Economy say the way the rules are now written and the way travel spending is disclosed are still problems. On May 24, […]
PMO, PCO should stay out of appointing parliamentary watchdogs: think-tank report
Staff in the Prime Minister’s Office and its non-partisan support branch shouldn’t control the appointment of parliamentary watchdogs. The decision ought to rest with Parliament, according to a think-tank report released last month with input from former watchdogs, top bureaucrats, and politicians. Over a series of interviews and roundtable discussions, those who participated in the […]
A transparency failure conference, Facebook hijinks and dished-out government ‘info’
OTTAWA—There is no doubt that public mistrust has been heightened by a growing list of government-managed exclusions of ministerial and other records. So it was intriguing to find out that one brainstorming policy idea, found in belatedly received Treasury Board records, was to hold a ‘Failure Conference’ as a way of getting Ottawa to open […]
Conservative ‘political shenanigans’ delay access bill review in Upper Chamber, says Senate sponsor
A sweeping 30-year review of the Access to Information Act is stalled in the Senate, raising some concern it won’t be passed before Parliament adjourns next month. Since December, New Brunswick Independent Senator Pierrette Ringuette, the bill’s sponsor and a former Jean Chrétien-era Liberal MP, said there was an agreement to send Bill C-58 to […]
Lobbying czar calls for ‘transparency by default,’ cutting 20 per cent rule
When MPs sit down to review the Lobbying Act this fall, they should look at getting rid of the 20 per cent threshold required before someone has to register with the commissioner’s office, according to the new lobbying watchdog, a suggestion welcomed by Parliamentarians, an ethics advocate, and members of the government-relations community. It’s “too […]
Senators want more control in clerk selection, PMO to butt out
Senators are looking to send a message to the prime minister that if he truly believes in an independent Senate, he ought to give them a real say in who takes the top procedural job in the Red Chamber. On May 3, the Senate began debating a motion from Conservative Senator Leo Housakos (Wellington, Que.) that, […]
With eight sitting days before Kinder Morgan’s deadline, no word on pipeline legislation
With only eight sitting days in the House of Commons until Kinder Morgan’s May 31 deadline to gain more certainty on the future of its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, there’s still no word on when or if the federal government is planning to table legislative measures it’s been considering to support the pipeline. In a statement […]
Central vote shifts accountability, means MPs must approve $7-billion before program plans in place, critics say
Critics warn the $7-billion central vote in the main estimates on more than 220 budget measures that haven’t made it through the Treasury Board’s vetting process means MPs will no longer get the same level of information on programs before they vote, weakening scrutiny and creating a situation where Parliament can only examine money after […]
Brison’s $7-billion budget vote weakens parliamentary scrutiny of spending: current, ex-PBO
The Liberal government’s effort to align the budget with the main estimates has weakened an already broken system by creating a “massive central vote” that hands $7-billion to the Treasury Board with no scrutiny and nothing to compel promised spending, say Canada’s current and former parliamentary budget officers. Critics have said the “budget implementation vote” […]
