In the wake of the sponsorship scandal in 2006, a Calgary MP by the name of Stephen Harper rode into the Prime Minister’s Office, pledging to restore the people’s trust in government through sweeping changes in accountability, outlined in a new federal accountability act. Oh, how happy we Canadians were to know that we had a Prime Minister who believed that the government should be open and accountable.

How wrong we were.

It has become apparent in the past four years of Emperor Harper’s rule that Mr. Harper doesn’t really believe in that whole accountability thing. He avoids the press like the plague, all questions asked of him in “town-hall” style debates have to be checked by his staff, and his government has been extremely lacking in releasing documents, such as documents pertaining to the Afghan detainee issue, to Parliament as required.

A few days ago, the government barred any staff from appearing before Parliamentary committees, which consist of MPs from all parties and look into various issues, including how the government is run. Well, according to Harper’s communications director, Dimitri Soudas, government staff are not accountable to Parliament.

Um, excuse me?

The employees of the government of Canada - employees of the people - are not accountable to the representatives of the people? These people are working for the people of this country. We have every right, through Parliament, to question their activities. The reasoning behind this move is that the evil Opposition is just too hard on the poor staff. How dare the opposition question the actions of government staff? That’s just not right! In all seriousness, government staff should not be exempt from public questioning because its too hard for them. These people have a responsibility to the people of Canada, as much as Harper denies that they do, and they must be accountable to Parliamentary committees. That is just how a healthy democracy should work.