"The time for accountability has arrived."

These were the first words written by Stephen Harper in the Conservatives' 2006 election platform, "Stand Up for Canada." Indeed, if there is an animating theme in what would become the Conservatives' winning election message in 2006, it was the Tories' insistence that they would inaugurate an era of transparent and accountable government that would "replace old-style politics with a new vision."

Among the proposals designed to restore accountability and transparency to government, the Tories promised to:

1. "Clean up the procurement of government contracts."

2. "Ensure truth in budgeting."

OTTAWA - As representatives of 60 countries gather in Brasilia, Brazil to present their two-year action plans at the first international Open Government Partnership (OGP) meeting, the nation-wide Open Government Coalition, Government Ethics Coalition and Money in Politics Coalition, made up of more than 70 citizen groups in total with three million members (all co-ordinated by Democracy Watch), called on the OGP Steering Committee to reject the federal Conservatives' Action Plan for failing to fulfill its own commitment to increase government integrity.

The federal Conservatives' so-called Action Plan that they will submit to the Open Government Partnership meeting in Brasilia, Brazil on April 17-18 fails to increase public integrity and transparency in the federal government.

The plan says that the Conservatives believe they can "introduce measures that will further strengthen access to information, public ethics, and public participation" but no one should believe them because their plan fails to commit to any measures that will close the dozens of loopholes and correct the many flaws in the federal Access to Information Act, Conflict of Interest Act and MP and Senate ethics rules, Lobbying Act, Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, Financial Administration Act and Canada Elections Act.

More than one story emanating from Ottawa yesterday revealed the casual relationship between the Harper Conservatives and the truth, not to mention the special role Sun News Network plays in helping the party manufacture "facts" for public consumption.

It's tempting to dismiss both as unintentionally hilarious -- as indeed, in their way, they are -- but the issues underlying, as it were, are serious.