Recently, I have heard from Canadians the concerns they have about transparency and accountability with our crown corporations.
Being transparent and accountable to voters is one of the primary responsibilities of a government. By ensuring that dealings are as transparent as possible, we help instill trust in our institutions and protect against corruption and other illegal activities.
The same principles should extend to our crown corporations such as the CBC. The public has a right to be informed of the salaries and undertakings they engage in, after all these are taxpayer dollars being used to fund multi-million dollar budgets.
It shouldn’t be too much to ask from the leadership and the membership of these Crown corporations to show the public they are being responsible with the public money they receive. This is something that should apply to all Crown corporations and levels of government.
Since coming to power in 2006, our government has been focused on accountability to the taxpayer, we have introduced legislation such as the Federal Accountability Act, and the First Nations Financial Transparency Act. These checks and balances are put into place to ensure taxpayer money is not abused by a few corrupt people.
We should be holding our crown corporations such as the CBC to the same standard as we are holding our colleagues in the Senate and our departments, along with our stakeholders. Information regarding public money, whether spent on salaries or expense accounts should be readily available to those who want to know where these funds are going.
There is no doubt that we have some work left to do and our prime minister and our government is committed to making sure all public funds are spent in the most transparent way possible and that all departments and officials are accountable to you the taxpayer.
Please contact my constituency office if you have any questions or concerns on any federally related matters, postage free, at: Bay #6A, 4612 - 50th Street, Ponoka, AB T4J 1S7; tel: 403-783-5530; toll free: 1-800-665-0865 or visit my website: www.blainecalkinsmp.ca or on twitter at www.twitter.com/blainecalkinsmp