XPost: can.politics, ont.politics, bc.politics   
   XPost: man.politics, sk.politics   
   From: ConsRCons@govt.cda   
      
   This is just an invitation list, for god's sake . . .  it isn't the   
   formula for a nuclear weapon.  And yet the Harper government refuses to   
   release the list under a Freedom of Information request from the media.   
      
   Obviously there's something about the names on the list that would prove   
   embarrassing to Harper and his Cons.   
   My guess is that the 'invitees' to the event were very, very carefully   
   chosen and vetted by the Harper regime.  Again.   
      
   Yep . . .  just a reminder that this is the government that ran on an   
   "Open and Accountable" platform.   
   They just forgot to tell us that it could only be opened with their   
   permission and accountability is only possible when there is no link to   
   guilt or liability.   
   ________________________________________   
   Postmedia News - January 12, 2014   
      
      
   Conservatives deny request to view full guest list for speech from the   
   throne   
      
      
   OTTAWA – The Conservative government was more than happy to showcase   
   select invitees in television coverage of its throne speech last fall,   
   but it won’t release a full guest list, claiming the information is   
   exempt from the Access to Information Act.   
      
   Virtually every Canadian news outlet covered the pomp and circumstance   
   of the event on Oct. 16.   
      
   Cameras in the Senate Chamber unabashedly cut to certain members of the   
   carefully curated guest list to illustrate the finer points of the   
   government’s post-prorogation parliamentary plan.   
      
   Former chief of defence staff Walter Natynczyk flashed across the screen   
   as Gov. Gen. David Johnston read the Conservative’s commitment to   
   military spending. An unidentified teenage boy was, apparently, offered   
   as the face of those poised to benefit by a strategy to reduce cellphone   
   fees.   
      
   But his identity, along with that of an unknown quantity of others,   
   remains a mystery.   
      
   The government denied a request from Postmedia News for a complete guest   
   list and documents regarding its no-doubt strategic selection process,   
   claiming all were a matter of what is known as Cabinet confidence.   
      
   The provision allows for certain documents to be exempted from the   
   Access to Information Act in order to “preserve the confidentiality   
   essential to the effective functioning of a Cabinet system of   
   government.”  Or at least that’s the explanation given in privacy and   
   data protection guidelines archived on the government’s website. The   
   document goes on to explain, “the Act does not give an exhaustive   
   definition of what constitutes confidences of the Queen’s Privy Council   
   for Canada” (that’s the long-winded version of “cabinet confidence”)   
   leaving the provision open for broad interpretation.   
      
   And so it was that Postmedia’s request was met with a sample of the   
   supposedly sensitive list, including Lac-Megantic Mayor Colette   
   Roy-Laroche, former NHL player and sexual assault advocate Sheldon   
   Kennedy and Khalil Shariff of the Aga Khan Foundation Canada, plus a   
   declaration the rest would not be forthcoming.   
      
   “It has been determined that the information you requested may not be   
   disclosed,” wrote Dwayne McDonald, a director of Access to Information   
   and Privacy in an email, noting Postmedia is entitled to lodge a   
   complaint with Canada’s Information Commissioner, Suzanne Legault.   
      
   Incidentally, Legault has been critical of the government’s record on   
   responding to information requests and has spoken out on the need to   
   extend information legislation to cover matters of Parliament.   
      
   In the meantime, interested parties can try piecing together the throne   
   speech guest list off video available online at cpac.ca.   
      
   The Conservative government’s reluctance to engage with news media on   
   matters both large and small has been well-documented, from Prime   
   Minister Stephen Harper’s five-question daily limit imposed on reporters   
   covering his 2011 election campaign, to his frequent refusal to appear   
   at unscripted public events.   
      
   Last week, Harper’s office launched its 24-Seven webcast, a weekly video   
   roundup of the prime minister’s activities, which some have speculated   
   may be another move to minimize contact with the press.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)