Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Justin Trudeau and the Liberals have avoided accountability at all cost. My colleagues and I have demanded Parliament start up again. It is unfortunate however that these calls have been mostly resisted.
While Trudeau carries on with his tightly choreographed press conferences outside of his cottage, I have been searching for answers for my constituents. I have heard from many of you regarding the poor rollout of the COVID-19 supports and concerning lack of accountability. Further, the government has moved forward on policy initiatives, like their gun ban, without democratic scrutiny.
The antics of the government prompted me to look for answers through other measures. This is why I started filing access to information requests.
These requests can help any member of the public access information from within a department that would otherwise be obscure or hard to find. This is an important tool that allows Canadians to see what is happening within government departments and agencies.
Recently, I attempted to file a request on the decision to ban more than 1,500 types of firearms and to find out who was involved in the consultations. Yet, the system is not working. Less than five per cent of all federal departments are accepting an access to information requests.
This excludes the Department of Justice and the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness — two departments that have a lot to answer for with rural crime sweeping small towns and the undemocratic gun ban.
Shortly after I attempted to file these, I had a chance to question Liberal MP and Treasury Board president Jean-Yves Duclos about the faulty system.
He stated that they are “essential” and “absolutely key,” especially now with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the minister’s words are hollow when considering the utter lack of transparency that his government has displayed. Rather than taking responsibility for the problem, the government simply gave another non-answer.
In the future, I will begin to post on social media the requests that I have filed to keep my constituency informed and to let you know that I am working for you. Democracy cannot take a back seat because there is a pandemic. Further, I will continue to use my role as a member of the ethics committee to demand accountability and transparency.
The Prime Minister has proven time and time again that he will not work for Canadians when it is not in his personal or political best interest. The Official Opposition will continue stand up to the government and their lack of transparency.