PMO says ministers keeping mum part of co-ordinated plan

[stignasty]

PMO says ministers keeping mum part of co-ordinated plan

Last Updated Fri, 17 Mar 2006 21:12:14 EST

CBC News

It appears the new Conservative government has pulled the funding on the Canadian Unity Council, amounting to about $13 million per year.

The council was created in 1964 and is a private, non-profit organization that supports unity initiatives. The Liberals say the move by the Conservatives is another attempt to appease sovereigntists in Quebec.

Early attempts to get a comment from the Prime Minister's Office were refused. But late on Friday Transportation Minister Lawrence Cannon said the hesitancy to comment was part of a move by the government to "get in touch with what's happening in our departments, to understand our files correctly."

But others are questioning whether this is further evidence that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is muzzling his cabinet.link

Is that what they meant when in the Conservative platform they said "Ensure that all exemptions from the disclosure of government information are justified only on the basis of the harm or injury that would result from disclosure, not blanket exemption rules."

[geoffrey]

It's good to see that the CPC is carving all the fat out of the Unity pig. If Quebec continues to extort money and favours from us to stay in Canada, I think I'm quickly getting to the point where I say we let them go.

It's a failed relationship and they are getting far too greedy. There should be no national unity programs whatsoever.

[seabee]

Any country that needs a "national unity" agency of any kind is definitely not a nation (except in the very bureaucratic sense of the word), just a country. Maybe Lucien Bouchard was right; Canada is not a nation!

[wellandboy]

$13,000,000 gone for another useless Federal handout and a billion to go.

[gerryhatrick]

Another thread about Harper muzzling his Cabinet.

[geoffrey]

Another thread about Harper muzzling his Cabinet.

Or a government trying to give people some confidence in a transition that we haven't seen for 13 years? Still on the hidden agenda gerry? You know, the one Belinda and Brison told us all about after she/he switched?

[scribblet]

Not a bad move for Harper really, and sensible for a beginning minority situation, for a gov't which needs to manage the message, as long as its temporary.

He needs to get the gov. off on the right foot before the Throne Speech. If it becomes permanent then there would be cause for concern.

[gerryhatrick]

Another thread about Harper muzzling his Cabinet.

Or a government trying to give people some confidence in a transition that we haven't seen for 13 years?

Yes, or protect his poor defenseless Cabinet ministers from the media!

It's control freak behaviour, nothing less. He's taking another hit for this, as he should.

We can see here that even sensible Conservatives are not happy about it.