41st Parliament, 1st Session - Context - Member's Statement

Mr. Peter Julian (Burnaby—New Westminster, NDP): Mr. Speaker, Canadians expect their government to answer questions about public policy decisions they make and be accountable to Parliament and the public, but when we questioned the environment minister last night, he refused to answer even the most basic questions. He could not tell us how many times staff had been dispatched to environmental emergencies in the past three years and he is cutting 40% of those positions. The minister refused to say why the government is dismantling the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, who it consulted about this closure, who will replace the work and how many research requests the government gave it. He even refused to say how many times the round table's climate prosperity report had been downloaded. Last night was further proof that this arrogant Conservative government has simply abandoned any notion of openness or being accountable to Canadians. Canadians want a transparent and open government. Canadians need transparency and accountability in our democracy and that is just what they will get in 2015 when Canadians vote to get rid of this secretive, unethical and unaccountable government.