The Bloc Québécois has expelled one of its few MPs – and it’s only woman, visible minority, and Montreal representative in caucus – over her criticisms of the Quebec “Charter of Values.” Maria Mourani ran for the leadership of the party and lost to Daniel Paillé, who doesn’t have a seat, and her expulsion leaves them with a caucus of four white male MPs. And it’s too bad, because Mourani was one of their best MPs. I doubt, however, that she will join up with the NDP as some have speculated, because she remains a sovereigntist. Meanwhile, an Ontario hospital is releasing ads targeting doctors in Quebec who are from religious minorities, trying to attract them to move to Ontario instead. Justin Trudeau writes that he knows that Quebeckers are better than the divisive politics that Pauline Marois proposes with the “Charter.” Paul Wells traces more of the roots of this particular “Charter” and the anxieties that lay behind it, while Andrew Coyne says that Quebeckers can no longer content themselves that this legislation isn’t offensive – but that the rest of Canada can’t pat themselves on the back either, given that in Ontario, Dalton McGuinty won an election on very nearly the same grounds. Michael Den Tandt looks at how this latest move could backfire on Pauline Marois.
Tag Archives: Ethics
Roundup: We have a date
Word has been given – Parliament shall resume on October 16th. That means that about three-and-a-half weeks of sitting days will have been missed, as the week of the 14th was supposed to have been a constituency week owing to Thanksgiving. Also factor in that there is an APEC Summit in Indonesia the week before, so that also affected the timing of an October return. Mind you Harper could have simply prorogued and still returned on September 16th as planned, but what can you do? (Well, withdraw confidence in the government, if you really want to be technical about it).
Roundup: The PBO and parliamentary fixes
In this week’s Maclean’s, Aaron Wherry talks to Kevin Page about his new job at the University of Ottawa. In a separate but related piece, he talks to parliamentary scholar Donald Savoie about the PBO, and Savoie says some very cogent things about the office – that it is unnecessary because it allows MPs to fob off their homework onto someone else who can be seen as more “pure,” but it simply creates a new unaccountable personality that caters to the media rather than forcing parties to do the serious work of scrutiny and policy that they should be doing. Savoie’s solution is that parliament work to fix its own mess around the estimates process than work to fix the Parliamentary Budget Office, and it’s a position that I think is eminently more sensible if we want responsible government or the Westminster system to mean anything.
Roundup: Ever so slightly younger and more female
“New faces, experienced hands.” That’s the slogan that Stephen Harper slapped on his reshuffled cabinet, whereby there is now one more woman in the ranks – though none in any major economic portfolio – and the average age has moved from 55 to 52. And by keeping the likes of Peter Van Loan as the Government House Leader, it’s not signalling any change in tone or strategy (let alone trying to find someone competent when it comes to House management, because we know that Van Loan has proven not to be). The cabinet shuffle announcements also formed part of a new social media strategy by the PMO, where they were sent out over Twitter and other social media (and yes, Twitter Canada did track this). Here is the full list of the reshuffled cabinet, as well as the cabinet committees where the real work of this government happens. Laura Stone profiles some of the new faces, as well as some of the departing ones. Global notices five things about the ceremony itself. John Geddes comments on the sweeping changes, the spine of continuity, and the rabidly partisan undertone that make up this cabinet. Tim Harper notes how little actually changed in the shuffle. Paul Wells gives his own take on the shuffle on video here. Andrew Coyne notes that the bloating of cabinet has been in inverse proportion to the effectiveness of the ministers within it.
Roundup: So long, Vic Toews
As had been expected, Vic Toews has now resigned not only his post in cabinet, but also his seat as an MP. That makes six cabinet vacancies and three by-elections now on the way. Stephen Harper has been meeting with his minsters up at Harrington Lake to get them to give self-evaluations of their performance, in advance of the shuffle.
The Queen sent condolences to Lac-Mégantic regarding the tragedy there. Blame is already being thrown around for the cause of the derailment. Paul Wells notes the absurdity on the scene of the press being kept away, while a dozen politicians have been given tours so far. Andrew Leach looks at how it will affect the entire oil industry, just as the Deepwater Horizon explosion had an effect on the offshore oil industry.
Senate QP: Official residences and the rules around them
Normally the Senate doesn’t sit on Fridays, and on days they do sit, things in the Chamber get underway in the afternoon. Today, however, things were different and not only was the Senate sitting, but early in the morning — though one has to say that the sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows added a particularly lovely glow to the Chamber and the proceedings. Senator Terry Mercer was up first, and wanted to carry on the discussion about John Baird’s stay at Macdonald House in London. Given the conflicting values of the House in media reports, Mercer asked for clarification as to its true value — $500 million, or $800 million. Senator Marjory LeBreton, the government leader and answerer of questions, took the question as notice so that she could get back to him. Mercer asked about the sale of our official residences in the capitals around the world, and if that would be diminishing our presence around the world. LeBreton thought the notion preposterous, and used the sale of the Dublin residence as an example, saying the property was too far removed from the centre of activity there. Mercer wondered what other residences or embassies were up for sale next — Washington DC, Paris? LeBreton laughed off those suggestions.
Roundup: Project Amble under way
The RCMP’s investigation into Senators Mike Duffy and Mac Harb has been dubbed Project Amble, apparently, and they’ve seized documents related to twelve election campaigns that Duffy was involved in, and according to court documents, they appear to be pursuing charges related to breach of trust – which is an indictable offence. And if you’re wondering about “Project Amble,” here’s a look into how the Toronto Police Service comes up with their operation names (not that it’s too illuminating).
On top of that, Liberal Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette has asked that the Senate Ethics Officer look into the conduct of Conservative Senator Pierre-Hughes Boisvenu, after he’s been trying to arrange for additional benefits for his former girlfriend/assistant after she got a new job in a Senate administration office. Hervieux-Payette asserts that the former assistant shouldn’t even be working in the Senate because of the relationship, and that he’s trying to get her additional benefits is a breach of ethics, and because nobody would speak up, she wants the investigation launched to protect the integrity of the institution.
QP: What about Saulie Zajdel?
The final Monday of the spring sitting, and while there were a lot of empty spaces along the government front bench, the opposition benches were restless. Thomas Mulcair started off by bringing up last week’s Pamela Wallin interview, where she said that she briefed the Prime Minister’s office about her audit, contrary to Harper saying that he wasn’t briefed — never mind the fact that Wright and Harper are not the same person. James Moore, the designated back-up PM du jour, reminded him that there was an independent process underway. Mulcair then brought up the arrest of former Conservative candidate and “regional advisor” Saulie Zajdel, and he wondered what he was doing for Moore when he worked there. Moore said that the charges were of a municipal nature, and if he or the mayor were found guilty, they should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. When Megan Leslie brought up the very same topic, wondering why Zadjel left Moore’s employ, Moore hit back saying back by the justice system works best when people who know of wrongdoing come forward, as Mulcair should have done when he was offered a bribe seventeen years ago. For her final question, Leslie brought up Senator Wallin’s audit, to which Moore decided to go after Trudeau’s speaking engagements. Trudeau was up next, and brought up the cheque from Nigel Wright. Moore insisted that they didn’t have access to any personal cheques, but Trudeau got a cheque from the Canadian Mental Health Commission for a speaking engagement. Trudeau retorted that his party is raising the bar on transparency, before asking if any member of the government had met with Wright post-resignation. Moore kept swiping about Trudeau’s speaking engagements. When Trudeau pressed, Moore responded that no, he hadn’t met with Wright.
Roundup: The RCMP officially get involved
The big news yesterday was that the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, Mary Dawson, has suspended her probe into the Wright-Duffy affair as the RCMP have begun a formal investigation into the matter. And then the RCMP confirmed this fact. So it’s all getting very real, ladies and gentlemen. It’s now in the big leagues, though it further gives the Conservatives an out from commenting on matters (“as this is an ongoing police investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment” will be the new line in QP). On a not-unrelated note, Liberal Senator Joseph Day is starting a campaign to close that loophole in the Conflict of Interest Act that allows public office holders to accept “gifts” including cash from friends without reporting it. Day also noted that they tried to close this loophole back in 2006 when the Accountability Act was first being debated, but the Conservatives and NDP struck it down.
QP: Reese Witherspoon and PM Trudeau
After Thomas Mulcair’s Reese Witherspoon moment this morning, a few Conservative MPs had “Stop Mulcair” signs at their desks, no doubt intending to make a big joke of it despite the prohibition against props in the Chamber. And joke they did, all through Members’ Statements and QP. Mulcair did not turn up for QP, and left it up to David Christopherson to shout his script about the $90,000 cheque Nigel Wright wrote. James Moore ignored the question, and went on a diatribe about the NDP believing that they’re above the law, with running stop signs and his MPs not paying their taxes. As Christopherson carried on shouting through his script, Moore carried on going about how Mulcair didn’t have the temperament to lead the country. Megan Leslie was up next and asked the same questions in French, James Moore kept up with his same swipes against Mulcair. Justin Trudeau was up next, and kept up with the questions on the cheque from Wright. Moore started by saying that it was a personal cheque so they didn’t have access go it, before going on to give a swipe about Senator Mac Harb. When Trudeau asked which sections of the Criminal Code the RCMP were investigating Wright. Moore said that the RCMP conduct their own affairs, and returned to swipes against Harb.