Equipping the military involves big money, and the public has every right to know what their government is spending it on
When campaigning in 2015, future prime minister Justin Trudeau pledged to lead an open and accountable government. “It is time to shine more light on government and ensure that it remains focused on the people it is meant to serve,” the Liberal campaign platform read. “Government and its information should be open by default. Data paid for by Canadians belongs to Canadians. We will restore trust in our democracy, and that begins with trusting Canadians.
It seems our open and transparent government feels otherwise. Government officials offered no comment in reply to Postmedia’s inquiries into the matter — whether or not they see the irony in that is another question they probably wouldn’t answer. But Postmedia was told by other would-be defence providers, and was able to confirm through our own efforts, that such gag orders are not unusual.
The Liberal government seems to view keeping journalists in the dark as being equally important as providing for our men and women in uniform This isn’t a new problem. A 2017 report by News Media Canada found that the federal government had actually become less transparent since the Liberals took office. The Liberals replied by saying the system they had inherited from the Conservative government was very bad and that they would fix it through legislation. Their legislation, however, was roundly panned by the government’s own information commissioner.
Legault was surprised. Any journalist doing business with the federal government wouldn’t be. Openness and transparency made a good talking point for the Liberals in 2015. But it was clearly never more than that.
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