OTTAWA – New Democrats announced today that they will take the study of the sweeping Conservative budget implementation bill to the public, holding a series of hearings in Ottawa and across the country.

“The Conservatives are trying to pull the wool over the eyes of Canadians,” said House Leader, Nathan Cullen (Skeena—Bulkley Valley).. “New Democrats believe that MPs have a duty to study legislation and that the public has a right to know the results of those studies.”

Starting on Wednesday, May 16 in Ottawa the NDP will have hearings on specific sections of the 400+ omnibus bill. There will be testimony from expert witnesses such as Nathan Cullen (Skeena—Bulkley Valley), Finance Critic, Peggy Nash (Parkdale—Highpark),   Finance Deputy Critic and Guy Caron (Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques),  and the sessions will also be open to the public at large. 

The first meeting will take place on Parliament Hill at 12 pm on May 16.  The Ottawa hearings will be followed by sessions in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Regina and Vancouver.

The Montréal Public hearing will be held on May 23rd at St-Pierre Community Centre at 6:30pm. For more information please visit the Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/events/336391126429344/

“The government seems scared of oversight and of public scrutiny,” said Cullen. “If the government won’t let us do our job in parliament then we have to take it outside. One way or another we are going to ensure that Canadians know what this government is trying to keep behind closed doors.

In addition to the public hearings the NDP is launching a new website and social media campaign designed to raise awareness of the content of the Trojan horse bill.

I encourage you to visit our website at: http://budget2012.ndp.ca/