When John Manley pressed the Harper government to be more transparent about the mission in Afghanistan, I don't think he meant like this.
Federal lawyers are attempting to shut down an investigation by the military police complaints commission into the handling of Taliban prisoners captured by Canadian troops in Afghanistan.
Big surprise. The Conservatives, who campaigned on promises of accountability and transparency, have been the most secretive, media-averse government in recent history. It begs the question: what are they so afraid of? Such tactics only serve to alienate them from voters, feed the suspicions of those who doubt their motives, and prevent them from breaking their own glass ceiling in the opinion polls.
7 comments:
I don’t know why this doesn’t drive more “Conservative” supporters up the wall. It’s such a direct contradiction of his purported goal to be more open, transparent and accountable than the previous Liberal regimes. Dred Tory has a nice post on this subject and draws a comparison to Paul Martin in which Harper comes out looking pretty bad by contrast.
You're assuming they care whether or not they are being consistent in applying principles of transparity and accountability. They don't.
Sigh. Yes, that's quite true. They really couldn't give a shit. Whatever The Dear Leader does is perfectly alright with them. Most of them have no principles whatsoever.
RT - Thanks for the heads up re: Dred Tory. Conservative supporters seem to exist in a state of permanent bliss so long as their party is in government. They keep trotting out the same party line that they are more accountable and less corrupt than the Liberals, despite any evidence to the contrary. It's quite pathetic really.
Bowler - Agreed, I don't think they give a second thought to these type of things. Come to think of it, I don't think they give a first thought to it either.
I get the feeling they honestly think that by being so secretive and controlling of information, that they appear to be cleaner and more slick than they actually are. In fact, they only achieve the reverse effect as people wonder what exactly they might be trying to hide. It's a puzzling strategy.
By the by, I noticed you dipped into your own book of Dr. Royisms with "transparity" ;) (I'll let it slide though...you're probably sleep-deprived with the new arrival and all)!
RC
Dr. Roy? Or maybe like our old friend and roomate Dr. Den? What is it with doctors and mangling of the English language?
But I am guilty of my own malapropism as charged. You are kind to be mindful of the cause. The baby is delightful, but he is getting us up in the middle of the night, every night :)
In any event, perhaps the only thing more frustrating than the Cons hypocricy is the Liberals inability to hold them to account.
Interesting to know.
Post a Comment