Jason Kenney Says That John Baird is Wrong Not to Allow Staffers to Talk

Boy is Jason Kenney ever mad. John Baird has refused to allow emails from staffers to be given to a Parliamentary Committee investigating the scandal at Public Works.

Government House Leader John Baird says the Public Works department will not give an opposition-dominated Commons committee the e-mails it had demanded of a former ministerial staffer who stopped the release of an access request. In a letter this week to Jacques Maziade, the clerk of the Commons committee on access to information, privacy and ethics, Mr. Baird said the government would not be acceding to the request.

“The fundamental constitutional principle of responsible government, which is integral to the supremacy of Parliament, provides that ministers are the ones accountable to Parliament, not members of their staff are responsible to Parliament,” Mr. Baird wrote in the letter, which was obtained by The Globe. The committee asked in June for all emails sent between July of 2008 and Jan. 19, 2010 by Sébastien Togneri, a former aide to then-Public Works minister Christian Paradis, to officials who worked within the access-to-information branch of the department.

Jason had an absolute melt down when political staffers weren't allowed to speak, when he was in opposition. So given his views on staffers having to be held accountable, will he stand up to John Baird? Not likely.

Same old, same old!