Still starved

Bad news from the Ombudsman's office today: they're still overloaded and starved of funds, and so effectively unable to process OIA complaints in a timely fashion. This was supposed to have been sorted out last year, when the Government Administration Committee acknowledged systematic underfunding and promised to do something about it. But the measly $300,000 increase recommended by the Offices of Parliament Committee simply wasn't enough (and was supposed to be spent on higher salaries rather than extra people to boot).

The OIA is only as effective as its enforcement mechanism. Systematically underfunding the Ombudsman's Office means less transparency, and less accountability. While politicians and bureaucrats might be happy with that, we shouldn't be.