The Liberals are overhauling the way the federal bureaucracy works, but the Opposition is finding the timing of the announcement curious, coming just 10 days before Justice Gomery's report on the sponsorship scandal.

Treasury Board President Reg Alcock announced Friday that the federal government will hire 300 new auditors and spend $40 million annually to tighten monitoring of the civil service.

At a news conference Friday, Alcock, along with Public Works Minister Scott Brison also announced that the government is planning to increase transparency in its dealings with the private sector.

"As part of this new approach, integrity provisions will be embedded in all contracts to provide a clear statement of the obligations currently set out in the Criminal Code, including prohibitions against paying, offering, demanding or accepting bribes or colluding with others to obtain a contract," said a governement release.

Brison told CTV's Mike Duffy Friday that his department buys about $13 billion worth of goods and services for the Canadian government each year and that the new policy will make sure that "...everybody knows the rules. They'll be there in black and white in the contracts. If they're not adhered to we can cancel contracts."

Opposition MPs, however, were less than impressed.

"It's totally designed to pre-empt Gomery," said the NDP's Ed Broadbent.

"The problem with the government has not been the lack of auditing. We've had good auditor general's reports in the past, including on matters relating to the Gomery inquiry . . . . The problem is to clean up the mess the auditors ultimately reveal.''

Conservative MP Gary Lunn thought the Liberals were seemingly shifting blame for past scandals to the bureaucracy.

"I think the saddest part of all of this is there is not one mention of any type of accountability from their political masters," Lunn was quoted by the Canadian Press. "They are in this mode of blaming it on the civil servants."

Gomery's report -- the first of two dealing with the inquiry -- is due to come out Nov. 1.

Prime Minister Paul Martin has promised to call an election within 30 days of the second report Gomery will deliver on the federal sponsorship scandal, on Feb. 1.