Global Integrity Report lowers Canadian federal government's score from 80 to 75 -- Weak enforcement of Accountability Act's loophole-filled rules the main reason for drop in democracy rating.

Canada drops from 11th to 19th out of 100 countries assessed since 2007 -- A "Real Accountability Act" needed to end secret donations, gifts and lobbying; excessive secrecy overall; patronage appointments; conflicts of interest; arbitrary election calls; lack of PM, judicial and Senate accountability and; to strengthen whistleblower protection and good government enforcement agencies.

TO SEE this full news release with details and links to the full Report, go to: http://www.dwatch.ca/camp/RelsMay0411.html

OTTAWA - Today, Global Integrity released its 2010 Global Integrity Report which dropped Canada from 11th to 19th out of the almost 100 countries evaluated since 2007.  The Report is the world's most comprehensive, detailed assessment (using more than 300 indicators) of national government accountability, integrity and democratic process, and measures the strength of key laws and enforcement records up to the end of 2010.

"As the Global Integrity Report makes clear, Canada's federal government has significant loopholes in its democratic process and
government accountability systems when compared to other countries, and weak enforcement in many areas, and so has a lot of work to do to become the world's leading democracy," said Duff Conacher, Lead Researcher for the Canada report, and Coordinator of Democracy Watch and Assistant Coordinator of the Democracy Education Network.

"Government integrity continues to be undermined by loopholes that allow for dishonesty, secret donations to some candidates and to political party trust funds, conflicts of interest by policy-makers, excessive government secrecy, secret, unethical lobbying, and is
also undermined by Cabinet patronage appointments, arbitrary election calls and a flawed voting system, and lack of Prime
Minister, judicial and Senate accountability and weak whistleblower protection and government accountability lapdog agencies."

"Democracy Watch and the good government coalitions it coordinates call on all federal parties in the new Parliament to pass a Real
Accountability Act to close the dozens of undemocratic and accountability loopholes in the federal government," said Conacher.

None of the national governments that have been assessed since 2007 have received a "Very Strong" above 90 rating.  In Canada,
increasing problems with government secrecy and weak enforcement of key ethics and government accountability laws, as well as the 2008 arbitrary election call and the 2008 and 2009 shutdowns of Parliament, have lowered Canada's federal government from the high-"Moderate" score of 80 in 2008 to the mid-Moderate rating of 75 in 2010. ...

 

Overall, the main problem with Canada's federal government is that while it has enacted almost all the laws needed for an effective
government integrity system (and so receives a Strong overall score of 90 for its Legal Framework), loopholes and flaws in the laws, and weak enforcement, undermine the system (so that Canada received Weak overall score of 61 for its implementation of the laws).
. . .

 

TO SEE this full news release with details and links to the full Report, go to: http://www.dwatch.ca/camp/RelsMay0411.html

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday. May 4, 2011

NEWS RELEASE

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION about the Canada report:
Duff Conacher, Coordinator of Democracy Watch
Tel: 613-241-5179 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            613-241-5179      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Email: dwatch@web.net

FOR MORE INFORMATION about the overall 2010 report on 36 countries:
Carol Miller, Global Integrity
Tel: 202-306-0130 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            202-306-0130      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Email: carol.miller@globalintegrity.org

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Democracy Watch
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P.O. Box 821, Stn. B
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Tel: 613-241-5179 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            613-241-5179      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Fax: 613-241-4758
Email: dwatch@web.net
Internet: http://www.dwatch.ca