Conservatives Muzzle Canadian Government Officials

 OTTAWA – The Conservative government must respect Parliament and allow government officials to testify before the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, Liberal Treasury Board Critic Navdeep Bains and MP Omar Alghabra said today.

 “First the government muzzles its Cabinet, then it muzzles its caucus,” said Mr. Bains. “And now this minority Conservative government has pushed its agenda of secrecy and unaccountability to a new low by censoring non-partisan government officials from testifying before a parliamentary committee.”

 Mr. Bains was responding to the Harper government’s decision to thwart the committee’s request to hear from officials from Treasury Board Secretariat, Public Works and Government Services, and Human Resources and Social Development on the $1-billion budget cuts that were announced on September 25, 2006. The officials’ appearance would have followed Treasury Board President John Baird’s testimony before the committee last Tuesday, and would have marked the first time officials could have publicly testified on the controversial cuts.

 "I am astounded by the government's decision to muzzle departmental officials from answering committee questions,” said Mr. Alghabra. “We tried to get answers from the President of the Treasury Board, instead the committee members were patronized."

 "Mr. Harper’s government has once again proven they would rather obstruct parliamentary democracy than respond to legitimate questions many Canadians have about the recent budget cuts."