From the "Open and Honest" Government

We find still more outright dishonesty from the Harper Government coming to light this week:

First, let me introduce you how the Conservatives are implementing socially conservative policy behind closed doors. Instead of being open and honest about things, the CPoC government is simply starving programs for funding. This is unsurprising - it's a tactic straight out of Ralph Klein's book - he doesn't like being held accountable for his policies either. Using the "starvation" tactic, the minister(s) involved can claim that the problem happened in the bureaucracy.

Then, consider the veil of secrecy that has descended upon Ottawa. Not only is HarperCrit micromanaging the message from his ministers, but suddenly a great deal of information that used to be publicly available is suddenly secret. (Including crime statistics in some regions - what's with that?)

In an effort to deflect criticism, we find the Conservatives accusing the former Liberal government of similar breaches. This is a classic right-wingnut tactic, and one that thoroughly irritates me. The issue is not the previous government anymore - the issue is the current government's secrecy and evasiveness.

For a party that ran on a platform of "Open, Honest and Accountable" government, it's amazing the litany of outright lies and deception that we have been subjected to since this government was sworn in last February:

Harper's unelected cabinet members
Not working with the Ethics Commissioner because he was "a liberal appointee".
Loaded survey "questions".
Secret "flag waving" trips to Afghanistan - to convince us that being involved in a civil war is a good thing.
Muzzling his cabinet - because he can't trust them not to shoot the party in the foot.
Paranoid fantasies about the "biased" media
Musing about changing the constitution - oblique, but when you have a government as secretive as this lot, everything has to be considered.
Mandatory "minimum sentences" - a disastrous experiment from the United States that has done nothing to curb crime and increased the costs of the criminal justice system enormously.
Muzzling their own employees - even when they write a piece of science fiction.
Appointing committee chairs, because now that he's in power, he wants to stay there.
$0.60/hr for childcare - a brain dead policy that fritters money away like there's no tomorrow, and does few any real good.

Trying to conceal dead soldier's coffins from public view. (And he LIED when he claimed that it was done at family request.

A softwood lumber deal that is looking more and more like fresh cow pattie than anything else. This being the same bunch of morons that have to make the softwood deal a confidence vote in order to get it rammed through parliament. Why? So they can ensure a $450 million donation to BushCo will arrive in White House coffers in time.

A budget that spoke quite loudly to Harper's hidden agenda - one which will direct more and more resources into the military, and away from social issues which desperately need to be dealt with.
Repeating BushCo talking points about the "War on Terror".
An arbitrary extension of the Afghanistan mission - spawned without giving Parliament the time to debate the issues clearly and coherently.
Shutting out the media - because they won't guarantee softball questions and flattering commentary.
Denying that prisoners taken in Afghanistan deserve to be (at least) handled under the rules of the Geneva Conventions on Prisoners of War.
Playing the fear card in the wake of the "Toronto 17" arrests - wherein Canada arrested 17 of the most bungling would-be terrorists that could possibly exist - and then using that to lead into more legislation that will erode your rights and privacy.
Claiming that Canadians are too stupid to understand government policy.
Non tax cuts
Hiding things - and lying about the handling of the Lebanon disaster.
Hiding Defense procurement behind a veil of "national security".
Refusing to acknowledge the World AIDS Conference - because some of what is discussed is contrary to standard conservathink.
Protecting Rob Anders, when the CPoC is supposedly a "grass roots" party.


... oh yes, and where's that health care wait times guarantee got to, Mr. Harper?