Two important provisions of the much vaunted accountability act haven't been implementedOTTAWA–When the Conservatives were elected, they promised to do business differently. No more cronyism, no more backroom deals with party hacks. They were going to clean up Ottawa.
However, critics say Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government has appointed hundreds of people with Conservative ties – the kind of cronyism the Conservatives and their predecessors used to howl about.
When the federal government was patting itself on the back last month on the anniversary of the passage of the Federal Accountability Act, it failed to mention that two key components – the appointments commission and the lobbying provisions – have not been implemented.
"The lack of a public appointments commission seriously undermines any credibility that Mr. Harper is serious about cleaning up how business is done in Ottawa," said New Democrat MPP Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay).
Opposition parties insist Canadians were duped into giving the Conservatives a minority government in the January 2006 election. Government accountability was a big factor in the contest that banished the Liberals to official Opposition. ...
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