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Speak Up

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's obsession with tight message control and muzzling have caused unprecedented delays in responding to Access to Information requests.

The average process times have gone from 30- to 60-day periods under the former Liberal government to 150- to 250-day periods to respond to these requests for information.

Clearly, Canadians are not happy about this — the office of the Information Commissioner reported last month that complaints filed under the Access to Information Act have doubled in the past year.

The government's penchant for secrecy was most recently underscored by its decision to quietly kill the Coordination of Access to Information Requests System (CAIRS), which is used daily by journalists, MPs, lawyers and ordinary Canadians to monitor the actions of this government.

The Prime Minister wraps himself in the cloak of openness and transparency, but the proof is in the pudding. Far from living up to his campaign promises of a more accountable government, what we've got is the most secretive, unaccountable, non-transparent government we've ever seen.

Of the 200 Access to Information requests made by the Liberal Party in the past two years, only 57 were processed within the 30- to 60-day time period, which was the average process time under the former Liberal government. A full 65 took six months or longer to fulfill, with 12 of those 65 taking at least a year to process. One, come August, will have been sitting on someone's desk, unfulfilled, for two years. That is not just unreasonable — it is outrageous.

Also outrageous are the unacceptable extensions that Access to Information coordinators are imposing on the deadlines, he said. Liberal staffers have received letters informing them two requests made to the Department of Foreign Affairs for information on Afghan detainee transfers are being delayed by 290 days.

As well, a request to the Department of National Defence for information on the acquisition of Chinook helicopters is being delayed by 330 days.

These are just a few examples of many. We assume Liberals are not the only ones experiencing these kinds of delays. And the Conservatives wonder why there was such an outcry over their decision to scrap CAIRS.

Clearly, it's time for Prime Minister Harper to stop the hypocrisy; stop the muzzling; stop the diversionary tactics; stop keeping information from Canadians that they have every right to know. Mr. Harper, live up to your campaign commitments of openness and transparency.

This space is available for items from any political party interested in sending in submissions. The above was submitted by the Federal Liberal Party on behalf of Liberal MPs Mark Holland and Pablo Rodriguez.