transparency

Tuesday May 3, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Tuesday May 3, 2016 Mike Duffy makes quiet return to Parliament Hill Mike Duffy returned to Parliament Hill on Monday, a little more than a week after a court dismissed all of the 31 charges against him related to his Senate expenses. The P.E.I. senator casually strolled past waiting reporters without saying anything, and entered Centre Block through the front doors that lead to the Senate chamber. He was similarly silent when he later came upon reporters outside his third-floor office. The Senate is not sitting Monday, but Duffy could return to the Upper Chamber when business resumes on Tuesday. He has not appeared in the Senate since 2013, when he addressed the controversy around his expenses shortly before senators voted to suspend him without pay. That suspension ended with last year's election call. And with last month's verdict, Duffy was cleared to return to the job to which he was appointed in 2008. Senior Conservative senators have already said that they will fight any effort by Duffy to collect that back pay saying the suspension process was separate from the criminal trial proceedings. "There is no appetite among senators to revisit this. It brings back some very tumultuous times," Conservative Senator Leo Housakos, chair of the internal economy committee, told CBC News last week. Claude Carignan, the leader of the Conservative opposition in the Senate, added Monday that he is staunchly opposed to cutting a cheque to Duffy. "I completely disagree with [back pay for Duffy]. If he asks for that I will disapprove because that was in fact a completely different situation. He was suspended on a disciplinary sanction for negligence in the management of his office. His criminal charges were something completely different," he said. James Cowan, the leader of the Senate Liberals, added that it would be up to Duffy to make his case to fellow senators. "Any senator is entitled to bring anything

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday May 3, 2016

Mike Duffy makes quiet return to Parliament Hill

Mike Duffy returned to Parliament Hill on Monday, a little more than a week after a court dismissed all of the 31 charges against him related to his Senate expenses.

The P.E.I. senator casually strolled past waiting reporters without saying anything, and entered Centre Block through the front doors that lead to the Senate chamber. He was similarly silent when he later came upon reporters outside his third-floor office.

The Senate is not sitting Monday, but Duffy could return to the Upper Chamber when business resumes on Tuesday. He has not appeared in the Senate since 2013, when he addressed the controversy around his expenses shortly before senators voted to suspend him without pay.

That suspension ended with last year’s election call. And with last month’s verdict, Duffy was cleared to return to the job to which he was appointed in 2008.

Senior Conservative senators have already said that they will fight any effort by Duffy to collect that back pay saying the suspension process was separate from the criminal trial proceedings.

“There is no appetite among senators to revisit this. It brings back some very tumultuous times,” Conservative Senator Leo Housakos, chair of the internal economy committee, told CBC News last week.

Claude Carignan, the leader of the Conservative opposition in the Senate, added Monday that he is staunchly opposed to cutting a cheque to Duffy.

“I completely disagree with [back pay for Duffy]. If he asks for that I will disapprove because that was in fact a completely different situation. He was suspended on a disciplinary sanction for negligence in the management of his office. His criminal charges were something completely different,” he said.

James Cowan, the leader of the Senate Liberals, added that it would be up to Duffy to make his case to fellow senators.

“Any senator is entitled to bring anything before the Senate,” Cowan said outside the chamber. “I think the proper thing is to let Senator Duffy come back and make his own decision about how he should behave and deal with that situation, and then we’ll deal with it. But it’s not up to us, it’s up to him.” (Source: CBC News)

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Saturday, May 23, 2015Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday, May 23, 2015

Wynne responds to Hydro One criticism: There will be oversight, she says

Ontario’s premier has defended the partial sale of Hydro One, insisting there will be oversight of the electricity utility after the government sells off up to 60 per cent of the operation.

Kathleen Wynne was responding to criticism from several provincial oversight agencies that the public would continue to own much of the utility, but not get to exercise much scrutiny over it.

Eight officers of the provincial legislature, in a public letter last week, bemoaned that the utility would become exempt from things like government audits, disclosure-of-lobbying rules and Access to Information law.

Wynne was asked about that letter in an interview during a trip to Washington, where she will speak at a public forum today after meeting with members of Congress and the Obama administration.

Wynne said companies have their own oversight models.

She suggested that will be the case when the province proceeds with the sale of 60 per cent of Hydro One, starting with an initial public offering of 15 per cent.

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“The fact is that private companies have their own oversight mechanisms,” Wynne told The Canadian Press.

“There are rules around oversight for publicly traded or private companies. And on top of that we’re going to put a Hydro ombudsman in place. We’re building in some oversight. So I actually think the oversight will be there.”

She said the government wants to create “a great Canadian company” that will provide quality service, with price controls still in place on electricity rates, but sell part of the utility to raise revenue for new infrastructure. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Wednesday August 13, 2014

Wednesday August 13, 2014By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday August 13, 2014

Justin Trudeau Vows To Scrap First Nations Financial Transparency Act

Justin Trudeau has promised to scrap a controversial law forcing First Nations leaders to disclose salaries and band financial statements online and replace it with something more “respectful” if he becomes prime minister in 2015.

Trudeau told The Vancouver Sun the First Nations Financial Transparency Act, passed in 2013 amid complaints from many aboriginal leaders, has been used as a “weapon” against critics of the Stephen Harper government.

Saturday July 20, 2013“I wouldn’t keep the legislation in place,” Trudeau told the newspaper. “I would work with First Nations to make sure that a proper accountability act that would have disclosed any excesses we see, but is done in a way that is respectful of the First Nation communities.”

Thursday, January 10, 2013The law requires First Nations bands post audited financial statements — including remunerations of chiefs and councillors — on their websites within 120 days of the end of the financial year. Smaller bands without websites can post them to the sites of larger First Nations groups or a site hosted by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs.

Monday, January 21, 2013The department is publishing the documents online as they are received from more than 600 First Nations bands. As of Monday afternoon, documents from less than 250 bands were posted, despite a deadline to submit the information by July 29.

After the rules came into effect two weeks ago, it was revealed Kwikwetlem First Nation Chief Ron Giesbrecht received nearly $1 million in remuneration last year for serving as leader and economic development officer of his B.C. band. (Source: Huffington Post)

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From the Hamilton Spectator:
From: http://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/4756600-august-13-editorial-cartoon/

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Kathleen Wynne to launch ‘open government’ push to boost transparency

Premier Kathleen Wynne wants to fling open the doors of government.

Dogged by the lingering controversy over the Liberals’ shadowy cancellation of two gas plants at a cost of up $1.1 billion, Wynne is pushing for greater transparency at Queen’s Park.

“Together, let’s do government differently,” the premier writes in an unusual open letter to Ontarians to be released Monday.

“We need to make information easier to find, understand and use, so that we can design services that deliver better results to the people of Ontario. We must also unlock public data so that you can help us solve problems and find new ways of doing things.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Can't Wynne on spelling CHRIS YOUNG / THE CANADIAN PRESS

Ontario Premier Kathleen Can’t Wynne on spelling
CHRIS YOUNG / THE CANADIAN PRESS

“I believe that government data belongs to the people of Ontario and so we will make government data open by default, limiting access only to safeguard privacy, security and confidentiality.”

To that end, the premier will turn to a top academic, a respected former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister, business leaders, and a bevy of experts on “open government” to improve public access to the inner workings of the province.

Wynne wants her administration to “open up more data and information” so Ontarians can “engage in the decision-making process and the development of policy.”

She hopes that along with making government more accountable, the availability of more data will “boost innovation and economic productivity.”

“By putting data online for fresh analysis, we can spark innovative discoveries that could help grow our economy and improve peoples’ lives,” she writes in her letter. (Source: Toronto Star)

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Thursday April 12, 2012

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Thursday April 12, 2012

Mac should set the standard on openness

Universities play an important role in the fabric of democratic societies.

They are guardians of academic freedom, and carry the responsibility of instilling into their students important ideas and enduring values of our society.

A couple of those ideas are the openness and accountability of public institutions in a democracy and the right of the public to know how its money is being spent.

In that context, McMaster University’s determined struggle to keep secret the details of the financial affairs of former president Peter George is particularly disappointing. The approach to accountability, transparency and disclosure displayed over a course of years leaves the university with a black eye of its own making.

This isn’t just about McMaster. In an era of increasing public demand for open data, the lack of openness displayed is far too common among leading public institutions spending public money and acting on our behalf. We have seen it with the province’s Ornge scandal, with the city’s debate about open police budgets, with executive salaries at Ontario Hydro, and more.

As detailed in Wednesday’s Spectator, this newspaper engaged in a six-year struggle with the university over the release of documents. Every step of the way, the university has fought the release, sought to prevent the former president’s contract and his expenses from being disclosed.

Universities were made subject to freedom of information laws in June of 2006. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)