This is NOT open and accountable government, Steve

The G&M reports this morning that access to information from the federal government since Harper took office has turned into a cold porridge.

It's taking more than a year for some Canadians to obtain government documents because the federal Information Commissioner isn't demanding swift action from departments bogged down in increasingly lengthy reviews, critics say.

Several recent requests under the Access to Information Act have been returned to applicants with a notice that they require a 240-day extension - a delay three times the previous average, making information outdated and often useless when it is released.

Users of the system say Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government has imposed so many layers of scrutiny that even the most benign material gets caught up in reviews for months, even years.

"The intent is to frustrate efforts ... and ultimately you're going to go away," said Michel Drapeau, a retired colonel and expert in access to information legislation.

We know that DND and the CF have imposed an additional layer of information blocking on the "access to information" system, but what's going on elsewhere?

The extensions are linked in part to additional checks by the Privy Council Office, which advises the prime minister and cabinet, and that now reviews most requests filed with the government.

Ah yes. The Privy Council Office... which visits TGB several times throughout the day. (Yes. We've noticed.)

That is a sign of outward paranoia. A government which is worried that something dirty will slip out and be used against them. The petulant little micro-manager wants to know what information you do get when you get it so he can cut you off at the pass... just in case you might use it against him.

And you can bet your bottom brass dollar that Sandra Buckler's little working group gets handed your Access To Information request if there is the slightest chance that anything in that request or the information associated with it might damage Harper's chance of locking down a majority government in the next election.

It's a part of the Conservative perpetual election campaign. Far from governing, the Harperites spend a majority of their time covering their own asses and that, in both the long and short run, is costing you.