The Conservative Failure on Openness, Accountability, and Ethics

[cybercoma]

The Conservative Party has been an utter failure on their promise of openness, accountability, and ethics. It's so bad, in fact, that even Sun News/Media reporter David Akin has taken the Tories to task on Facebook, writing:

Square this, Ted: In our entire history -- there is only one Prime Minister who has had to fire his chief of staff as he became the subject of a criminal investigation. And that's your guy. Sure, Liberals were tried and convicted on the sponsorship scandal. But no one even close to Chretien got zinged. As for the NDP, there isn't even a police investigation, only accusations by a parliamentary committee dominated by its political opponents that the party mis-spent funds. Meanwhile, the Harper administration is unique in our history in that some senators (Duffy and Brazeau and maybe Wallin) appointed by a sitting prime minister seeking re-election are facing/will face criminal charges. On top of that: An MP elected as a member of the governing party -- Dean Del Mastro -- went to jail this summer, the first time in 60 years someone was jailed for crimes they committed while they were an MP. A Conservative staffer went to jail -- jail! -- for crimes committed on behalf of the Conservative Party in 2011. And, of course, the Conservative Party of Canada admitted to breaking the law in 2006 and paid a huge fine. And, to top it off, Harper himself cheated in 2008 by breaking his own fixed-date election law. So: for an independent like me, the party most likely to cheat, break the law, etc. for its own advantage is the one in power. It did so in 2006, 2008, and 2011 -- every election in which it won government. You want to defend its record? Fine. But the Conservative Party of Canada's record for cheating and breaking the law is, right now, unmatched in federal politics. Do voters much care? Probably not.

Those are the facts laid bare, not from the "liberal-mouthpiece" CBC, but rather from one of Sun's own. The evidence is damning and inexcusable.

Edit: Transcribed Akin's post per moderator's request.

Edited August 29, 2015 by cybercoma

[Topaz]

Del Mastro was the first to go to jail but the late sen. Doug Findley, was found guilty of fraud and he would have gone to jail but he paid a 50,000. fine to stay out. BTW....his lawyer is now representing Duffy.

[CITIZEN_2015]

The Conservative Party has been an utter failure on their promise of openness, accountability, and ethics. It's so bad, in fact, that even Sun News/Media reporter David Akin has taken the Tories to task on Facebook, writing:

Those are the facts laid bare, not from the "liberal-mouthpiece" CBC, but rather from one of Sun's own. The evidence is damning and inexcusable.

Edit: Transcribed Akin's post per moderator's request.

Agreed.

Edited September 23, 2015 by CITIZEN_2015

[cybercoma]

One thing Akin didn't mention about the upcoming election is that the Harper Government™ changed the electoral laws so that Elections Canada doesn't pick the poll supervisors anymore, rather the riding's incumbent does. Pretty convenient when you're sitting on a majority. And to what end?

Edited August 29, 2015 by cybercoma

[Rue]

When you discuss the ethics of the NDP and their scandal of inappropriately using tax payer money for partisan offices or when you discuss federal and provincial Liberals and their scandals I will talk of Haper's.

The difference is I speak of them all. I don't selectively only choose the Tory ones.

Power corupts. It certainly has in Harper's case. he has become exactly what he protested as a Reformist. You think Mulcair or Trudea woudl be any better.

The best you have on Harper is what. Paying back a fat bafoon's illegal spending. Had Harper done the right thing and simply admitted that is what they did its a non issue. Its an issue only because they hid doing the right thing. As for that stupid MP he is one of many who fudge their books.

Its wrong but its pointless to be selective about it. They all stink of it. Power corupts. The only way to avoid this bs from all politicians is non partisan guidelines and rules none of them want.

Now you want to wax poetic that Harper is corupt go ahead. Its pretty small pickings what you engage in melodrama about compared to Chretiens and Mulroney or even the NDP spending scandal. But hey go ahead.

Harper bad bad man. Bad bad bad man. Very bad. bad bad bad.

[Big Guy]

One thing Akin didn't mention about the upcoming election is that the Harper Government™ changed the electoral laws so that Elections Canada doesn't pick the poll supervisors anymore, rather the riding's incumbent does. Pretty convenient when you're sitting on a majority. And to what end?

Some people believe that , "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely ..." - Lord Acton expressed this opinion in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887:

Others believe that "Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power." - George Bernard Shaw.

I agree with George.

[cybercoma]

When you discuss the ethics of the NDP and their scandal of inappropriately using tax payer money for partisan offices or when you discuss federal and provincial Liberals and their scandals I will talk of Haper's.

That's funny because Akin brought up both the NDP funding issue and the Sponsorship Scandal, but I guess you're just going to ignore that.

The best you have on Harper is what. Paying back a fat bafoon's illegal spending.

I mean really, Rue. Did you even read Akin's post? That's the best thing out of all that? Come on. Edited August 29, 2015 by cybercoma

[Smallc]

One thing Akin didn't mention about the upcoming election is that the Harper Government™ changed the electoral laws so that Elections Canada doesn't pick the poll supervisors anymore, rather the riding's incumbent does.

That's an idiotic change that could only have one intended consequence.

[ReeferMadness]

One thing Akin didn't mention about the upcoming election is that the Harper Government™ changed the electoral laws so that Elections Canada doesn't pick the poll supervisors anymore, rather the riding's incumbent does. Pretty convenient when you're sitting on a majority. And to what end?

A practice that belongs in a banana republic. Or maybe a petro state.

[SpankyMcFarland]

I wasn't so shocked by Del Mastro's offence - many a politician must be tempted to spend a little more than they should, His cardinal sin was playing hardball with the judge and rejecting a reasonable deal. The Sona case is more troubling. I do not believe a junior operative did all that on his own.

[cybercoma]

I wasn't so shocked by Del Mastro's offence - many a politician must be tempted to spend a little more than they should, His cardinal sin was playing hardball with the judge and rejecting a reasonable deal. The Sona case is more troubling. I do not believe a junior operative did all that on his own.

The thing is when's the last time you heard of a sitting MP hauled away to jail? When's the last time someone appointed by a sitting prime minister faced criminal charges of any kind? You can tell a lot about Harper by the people he surrounds himself with.

[Topaz]

Harper has really done a disservice to Canadians who were already distrusting politicians and he comes along and says ALL the right stuff to get into the PMO for his own agenda. He really should apologize to the Canadian people for leading them on, especially his supporters but he never does that because he has "I'M right, u r wrong" attitude. IF this election shows that ALL Canadians are tired of the corruption, then WE, take back our country and bring back respect to government.

[PIK]

You are so full of it topaz. This government with all its warts is one of the cleanest I have seen in my 55 yrs. Chretien men got away with a lot.

[cybercoma]

You are so full of it topaz. This government with all its warts is one of the cleanest I have seen in my 55 yrs. Chretien men got away with a lot.

The difference is that the scandals never extending into Jean Chrétien's own office with his chiefs of staff and legal counsel. Chrétien appointees were never under investigation or charged with crimes while Chrétien was sitting as a Prime Minister. And nobody, not a one, of Chrétien's parliamentary secretaries was hauled off in handcuffs. The Liberal Party was also never charged or convicted of electoral fraud. Edited August 31, 2015 by cybercoma

[cybercoma]

Stephen Harper could murder someone in cold blood, admit it, and I'm convinced some of you would claim it was self defence.

[Smallc]

Stephen Harper could murder someone in cold blood, admit it, and I'm convinced some of you would claim it was self defence.

On the opposite side of the coin, it could be proven to be self defence, and many would insist it was murder.

[On Guard for Thee]

Stephen Harper could murder someone in cold blood, admit it, and I'm convinced some of you would claim it was self defence.

Except Harper could be caught red handed and would still never admit it.

[ToadBrother]

You are so full of it topaz. This government with all its warts is one of the cleanest I have seen in my 55 yrs. Chretien men got away with a lot.

Let's ignore for a moment any notion of the particular dollar value of either government's scandals.

Let's focus on what I consider to be the chief problem with this government, one which a number of Tory MPs have either openly alluded to, or through their actions clearly view as problematic. That is the centralization of power in the PMO. Yes, it has been a process that has been ongoing for over forty years, but in the Harper government we have literally seen even cabinet sidelined as the Prime Minister and his staff essentially take on direct governmental authorities. No one even bothers denying that PMO staffers wield enormous power over Cabinet, caucus and the party. Even Ministers receive talking points from the PMO's communications team, and there are no denying that both Ministers and backbenchers are frequently fed talking points for Question Period.

The whole Duffygate affair evolved directly out of the management style used in the PMO. Obsessive hyperpartisans whose only role appears to be to make sure the PM maintains an iron grip and that his public relations are never dented badly overreacted to Duffy, but most critical of all, they had the power to do so. The idea that the Chief of Staff and senior staffers and other arts of the PM's inner circle were able to wield such extraordinary influence over even Senate Tories raises serious questions about how the PMO, overall, is in fact undermining our cabinet form of government.

PMO staffers are not like civil servants. They hold no specific loyalty to the Crown. They do not act in the interests of the Crown or Canadians, nor do they even appear to do so. They are the Prime Minister's loyal inner circle who seem willing to do almost anything to preserve their boss. Their highest calling isn't governing Canadians, but rather maintaining the Prime Minister's control over his cabinet, his caucus and his party, and eliminating any threat with the PM's power and in the PM's name.

This is not the kind of government we should have. There is no accountability where the Prime Minister creates some quasi-executive structure which has no loyalty to any other principle than his continued rule. That is the very opposite of accountability, and is literally a step back into a form of government that hasn't been seen in Canada since before Confederation.

I would like someone to defend this kind of government. I want someone to explain to my why the PMO needs to be that large, to have that many people whose only job appears to be little more than super-whips.

[cybercoma]

Add to that this government was found in contempt of parliament. It's pretty clear that its entire operation is antithetical to responsible government.

[ToadBrother]

Add to that this government was found in contempt of parliament. It's pretty clear that its entire operation is antithetical to responsible government.

I'm not quite sure what this means, because yes, while the government was found in contempt, the voters' solution appears to have been to reward the Tories with a majority of seats.

[cybercoma]

I'm not quite sure what this means, because yes, while the government was found in contempt, the voters' solution appears to have been to reward the Tories with a majority of seats.

I mean, you talk about responsible government and how they're supposed to be accountable to parliament, yet this government doesn't answer questions from the public's representatives in the House (instead they read talking points from unelected, unaccountable, invisible party dogs in the PMO) and the government goes so far as to keep budgetary information from Parliament (which is what landed them in contempt). This government is run by unelected and unaccountable Tory partisans in the PMO. It's not accountable to Parliament and those in the PMO sure as hell aren't accountable to the electorate.

[ToadBrother]

I mean, you talk about responsible government and how they're supposed to be accountable to parliament, yet this government doesn't answer questions from the public's representatives in the House (instead they read talking points from unelected, unaccountable, invisible party dogs in the PMO) and the government goes so far as to keep budgetary information from Parliament (which is what landed them in contempt). This government is run by unelected and unaccountable Tory partisans in the PMO. It's not accountable to Parliament and those in the PMO sure as hell aren't accountable to the electorate.

I'm not defending the Tories over the Afghan prisoner scandal. At the time I was stating very clearly that Parliament has an absolute and unlimited power to compel the Government of the day to produce any and all information Parliament so desires.

That being said, the finding of Contempt didn't produce what the Opposition clearly hoped it would. The Tories were able to spin it as a mere pretense for defeating the government, and rode that all the way to a majority. It was a bad miscalculation.

[Big Guy]

Senator Patrick Brazeau is going to plead guilty at his recent trial.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/brazeau-guilty-assault-cocaine-1.3224151

This will give more ammunition to the opposition and is not good news for the Harper Conservatives.

[G Huxley]

Another conservative in the dock.

Let's see Duffy, Brazeau, Bob and Doug Ford, Del Maestro. Does criminality run in this party or what?

Edited September 12, 2015 by G Huxley

[cybercoma]

Up next is Bruce Carson for influence peddling. Not sure how Conservative supporters can see all of these Conservatives in court and in handcuffs and still support the party.