In February 2008, Toews and Minister of Public Works Michael Fortier announced that the Harper government would spend $10 million less on public opinion research in its next budget. This decision followed criticism that the government was spending far more on polls than the previous Liberal administrations. Toews' department also shut down the Co-ordination of Access to Information Requests System (CAIRS) in April 2008. Critics argued that the system provided a vital resource for citizens attempting to investigate previously released documents. Toews argued that it was expensive, and slowed access to government information.