Marquis de Flers Robert and Arman de Caillavet
“Democracy is the name we give the people whenever we need them.”
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Shaking up politics – Dal News – Dalhousie University
Dal News student writer Katherine Wooler discovers students aren't apathetic at all about the federal election. They're interested and informed and planning to vote if they haven't already.
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Website helps people access government info
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via Google Alerts – "freedom of information request" canada by Burnaby Now on 4/27/11
An example letter is featured, providing a template for a typical Freedom of Information request. It outlines the requirements of sending in a request, …
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Greens: FoI laws too easily abused
Greens: FoI laws too easily abused
Published on Google Alerts – "foi" -"ma foi" | shared via feedly
Scottish freedom of information legislation is riddled with weaknesses and loopholes, the Greens have said. The party has pledged to extend the law to cover bodies which are exempt, such as the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the Association …
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See all stories on this topic »
Centre for Law and Democracy: Note on draft Iraqi Journalist Protection Law
From: CLD Info <info@law-democracy.org>
Date: April 26, 2011 3:12:47 PM ADT
To: Toby Mendel <info@law-democracy.org>
Subject: Note on draft Iraqi Journalist Protection Law
26 April 2011: For immediate release
Iraq: Journalist Protection Law Needs to be Reviewed
A Journalist Protection Law, prepared by the Iraqi Syndicate of Journalists and endorsed by the government of Iraq, has been laid before the Iraqi Parliament for its consideration. A Note on the draft Law prepared by CLD highlights the important protections for journalists included in the draft Law. But the draft also defines a journalist as a member of the statutory Syndicate of Journalists, the same body which drafted the law, and grants a number of powers exclusively to the Syndicate.
“CLD supports this effort to protect the rights of journalists and to provide them with support,” said Toby Mendel, Executive Director of CLD. “But by vesting exclusive powers in the Syndicate of Journalists, it breaches international human rights, including to freedom of association and expression. Other countries provide similar protection without effectively forcing journalists to become members of certain associations.“
CLD recommends that the whole approach of the draft Law be reconsidered, in favour of a system that provides these benefits to anyone who regularly publishes information in the public interest, regardless of their organisational or institutional affiliations.
Some of the other problems with the draft Law are:
· It appears to allow the Syndicate of Journalists to dictate employment rules for the industry.
· It seeks to impose rigid strategies for dealing with crimes against journalists.
· It puts in place a limited regime for access to information with unduly broad grounds for refusing access, when what is really needed is a fully-fledged access to information law.
CLD calls on the Iraqi authorities to reconsider the approach adopted in the draft Law and to explore more democratic ways of providing similar benefits to journalists.
The full Note, along with an English translation of the draft Law, are available at: http://www.law-democracy.org/?page_id=77.
For further information, please contact:
Toby Mendel
Executive Director
___________________________________
Centre for Law and DemocracyTel: +1 902 431-3688Fax: +1 902 431-3689
Green Party candidate response on openness and accountability (Dr. Thomas Trappenberg)
From: Thomas Trappenberg
To: Darce Fardy
Sent: Friday, April 22, 2011 12:20 PM
Subject: Re: Openness and accountability
Dear Darce,
I fully agree an applaud your effort. We address accountability in our platform in section 6.2. I try to copy it below, but the full version is at http://greenparty.ca/files/attachments/vision_green_2011en_0.pdf. The current state of of governance is very worrying. Voting Green makes a clear statement for this, and we must also learn to vote for our positive vision and not just so called strategically.
Regards, Thomas
———
Dr. Thomas Trappenberg
Green Candidate Halifax West
6.2 Increasing government accountability and ethical conduct
The Conservative government has been the most centralized and secretive government in recent history. It brought in legislation to ostensibly clean up "Liberal corruption.” Remarkably, it has actually made things worse, as it abandoned numerous promises it made while in opposition regarding transparency and accountability. Its ironically named Accountability Act has twelve new blanket exemptions and exclusions preventing certain kinds of government documents from being released, and provides for the possibility that wrongdoing exposed by whistle-blowers could be sealed for up to fifteen years. The Conservative government “reform” has removed the “duty to act honestly” from the code of ethics governing the Cabinet and senior civil service.
The Green Party believes in the decentralization of decision making powers and in open, honest government.
Green Party MPs will:
Green Party MPs will:
• Amend the Accountability Act to ensure that all those who monitor government are selected at arm's length from those they monitor, to eliminate the blanket exemptions on public release of government documents and to guarantee transparency and openness for all government activities.
• Restore Parliamentary Committees as a vehicle for non-partisan, constructive improvement of legislation and require that the improved version of such legislation be the version put to parliament for vote.
• Enact effective whistle-blower protection for public and private sector employees.
• Restore Parliamentary Committees as a vehicle for non-partisan, constructive improvement of legislation and require that the improved version of such legislation be the version put to parliament for vote.
• Enact effective whistle-blower protection for public and private sector employees.
• Institute a code of conduct and an independent complaints process to ensure that tax dollars are not used for pre-election partisan purposes.
• Institute mandatory training in ethics for MPs and their staffs, requiring all MPs and staff to take in-house training on the basics of good management and ethics in parliament.
• Reform the appointments system to discourage patronage by establishing an independent agency for ensuring that appointments to government tribunals, boards and senior positions are done through a qualification-based process and are not politically motivated patronage appointments
• Strengthen the mandates of Independent Officers of Parliament, including the Auditor General and the Information Commissioner. Implement stand-alone legislation to create an independent Commissioner on the Environment and Sustainable Development, removing the office from that of subservience to the Auditor General.
• Reform the appointments system to discourage patronage by establishing an independent agency for ensuring that appointments to government tribunals, boards and senior positions are done through a qualification-based process and are not politically motivated patronage appointments
• Strengthen the mandates of Independent Officers of Parliament, including the Auditor General and the Information Commissioner. Implement stand-alone legislation to create an independent Commissioner on the Environment and Sustainable Development, removing the office from that of subservience to the Auditor General.
Replace the current Ethics Commissioner, who reports privately to the Prime Minister, with an independent Ethics Commission reporting to Parliament and appointed through a merit-based process with strong powers to investigate government officials and lobbyists.
Provide Parliamentarians with independent regulatory audits through the Auditor General’s office on the effectiveness of government regulations in meeting their stated public purposes. Make service improvements a higher priority for all agencies and departments, with systematic citizen feedback and a schedule for periodic program review.
Require the independence of public sector employees who oversee industry, such as those responsible for such areas as fisheries, science and drug licensing, from those industries. Require long-term public departmental service plans to report on government program purposes, costs, reforms and performance.
Strengthen the rules of conduct for lobbying. All lobbyists’ contacts with politicians and government bureaucrats both formal and informal must be reported and made public.
==============
On Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 9:57 AM, Darce Fardy <darce@eastlink.ca> wrote:
The Nova Scotia Right to Know Coalition is appealing to all Nova Scotia Candidates to address government's responsibility to be open and accountable.
We members of the coalition are convinced that at least one of the major causes of low voter turnouts is because citizens don't feel engaged in the process.
Your reaction to this would be appreciated.
Green Party Candidate response on openness and accountability (Ross Johnson)
I agree with you that the government has not been very accountable on many, many matters, This most recent Government seems to be very un-accountable. Low voter turnout has multiple reasons but general dissasifation with politics in general I have found alot of Same old, same old comments. Our elected representatives seem to have forgotten they represent the people not the party, our government derives its power from the cosent of the people who they are suppose to represent, not big bussines, not the banks, the people. It seems once the election is over the people are forgotten about.
Ross Johnson
Green Party of Canada - West Nova Riding.
========
Subject: Openness and accountability
Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2011 10:02:41 -0300
Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2011 10:02:41 -0300
The Nova Scotia Right to Know Coalition is appealing to all Nova Scotia Candidates to address government's responsibility to be open and accountable.
We members of the coalition are convinced that at least one of the major causes of low voter turnouts is because citizens don't feel engaged in the process.
Your reaction to this would be appreciated.
Darce Fardy
President
NS Right to Know Coalition
Green Party candidate response on openness and accountability (Michael Dewar)
From: Michael Dewar
I agree. Citizens must feel engaged. In fact, it was realizing my own disconnect from the governance of our country that led me to want to enter politics in the first place. My belief is that citizens must get more involved, and demand that their leaders interact with them, in a way which is open and accountable!
Thanks for broaching this subject with me.
-Mike
–
Michael William Dewar,
Male Co-Chair, YGC 2010/11
BSc Geology, BA Philosophy, LLB Candidate 2012.
====
On Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 9:56 AM, Darce Fardy <darce@eastlink.ca> wrote:
The Nova Scotia Right to Know Coalition is appealing to all Nova Scotia Candidates to address government's responsibility to be open and accountable.
We members of the coalition are convinced that at least one of the major causes of low voter turnouts is because citizens don't feel engaged in the process.
Your reaction to this would be appreciated.
Darce Fardy
President
NS Right to Know Coalition
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