Clement fails to show up for conference

For the first time, Canada is hosting the biennial international gathering of information commissioners this week in Ottawa, but the federal cabinet minister slated to kick-off the conference, embattled Treasury Board President Tony Clement, failed to show up this morning—and apparently didn’t bother to alert organizers that he’d be a no-show. The Canadian Bar Association is co-sponsoring the event with the office of Suzanne Legault, Canada’s information commissioner, hosting freedom-of-information watchdogs from 22 countries. Clement was scheduled to open the proceedings with remarks today at 8 a.m. Clement, who’s responsible for the administration of the Access to Information Act, failed to show up because he was attending the weekly Conservative caucus meeting on Parliament Hill, a few blocks from the hotel where the conference is being held, according to his spokesman. He is under fire these days for G8 spending last year in his riding, and some critics also allege he has used his personal email, rather than the standard government address, to skirt access-to-information rules.

The Chronicle-Herald