Finance's top secret, public consultations

The government says that during its "recalibration" it has consulted extensively with groups and "ordinary" Canadians about what they would like to see in next week's budget. In addition to MPs holding town halls and meet-and-greets with their constituents, the department of finance launched a national online consultation process.

Canadians of all stripes could send email to tell the government what should and should not be in the budget. The online consultations are now closed.

I was curious how many people emailed the department. Just how many submissions did Finance Minister Jim Flaherty (or rather, his staff) have to painstakingly sift through as he crafted and drafted the budget? I dutifully called the Department of Finance to ask.

The first answer I got from an official was that she wasn't sure they had a number to give me.

(They don't know, even roughly, how many emails they got?)

The follow to that was a voice mail message, telling me they cannot tell me how many took part in the online consultation because that number is considered "advice to the minister." Huh?

It's not like I asked for the content of what people submitted. Why is the simple number of submissions a secret?

I would think the government would want to shout loud and far about how many people participated, to show how extensive the consultation was.

Unless, of course, that number isn't very big.