Prime Minister's Office Attacks Ethics Commissioner
Faced with an investigation by the Office of the Ethics Commissioner into Stephen Harper’s conduct in the David Emerson affair – unprecedented in that the probe was launched less than one month after Harper was sworn in, a new and dubious Canadian record – what does the Prime Minister’s Office do?
Fully comply with the investigation, and tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth? No.
Instead, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) smears the investigator, and openly calls for his head in the midst of an investigation! Is that leadership? No.
Rather than relying on the truth to defend him, Prime Minister Harper is leaning on an aggressive communications strategy, most likely designed by new communications staffer Sandra Buckler who replaced the solid William Stairs last month.
It would appear the PMO strategy consists of discrediting the messenger (PMO: ”this Liberal appointee’s actions have strengthened the prime minister’s resolve to create a truly non-partisan ethics commissioner who is accountable to Parliament”), discrediting the issue (Globe and Mail editorial: It’s a political issue, not an ethical one), and devaluing the office (PM preparing to dump ethics commissioner: CTV).
Why all the fuss? If, as the PMO and its spin doctors insist, the David Emerson affair is an open and shut case, wouldn’t simply telling the truth be a better plan?
Is the Prime Minister’s Office or David Emerson hiding something?
Shapiro Ultimately Must Go, But Not Now
Under fire from all corners both partisan and not, the lifespan of Ethics Commissioner Bernard Shapiro’s remaining term in office appears short.
Shapiro’s office is not new to criticism.
Democracy Watch last year filed an ethics complaint against the ethics commissioner himself, and former NDP MP Ed Broadbent last year criticized Shapiro for not understanding his own mandate, a charge raised in conjunction with the the handling of the odious Grewal affair.
National Post columnist Andrew Coyne travels over some of the same territory as Democracy Watch’s Duff Conacher, but adds this salient point:
Give Bernard Shapiro credit for one thing: his inquiry into the Gurmant Grewal affair has established, as a general principle, that it is ”an extremely serious breach” of the conflict of interest rules to offer any ”reward or inducement” to a member of Parliament in exchange for crossing the floor. Otherwise the report is a travesty from start to finish. More >
Coyne hits the mark. If our electoral system is to mean something, when a member of parliament crosses the floor they must be accountable to their constituency. But if an inducement of any sort has been offered, and who can deny that a cabinet position is not an inducement, then that member and all involved have breached the trust of the people and should face serious sanctions. In many cases the appropriate remedy will involve resignation from positions of power.
In that light, its easy to see why both Harper and Emerson might develop a nervous twitch.
Shapiro is in the spotlight and deservedly so. But there is no reason to believe that Shapiro, while he remains under the bright light of scrutiny, cannot conduct an open and transparent inquiry into the Stephen Harper—David Emerson affair. Shapiro ought to be left to complete what he started, and all parliamentarians should support the process.
Its About Ethics and Democracy
Regardless of what the Office of the Ethics Commissioner does or does not do, the people do not need a report from Shapiro to know that something is dreadfully wrong with our system, and with the actions of Harper and Emerson.
Lets not let spin-doctors like Sandra Buckler and her boss change the channel on the important issue here – Stephen Harper and David Emerson have broken a code of ethics – the people’s code of ethics – and they must be held accountable.
Harper made a calculated decision that has backfired on him, big time: He believed that storm of protest over the David Emerson affair would quickly die down. He didn’t count on the electorate to do the unexpected: wake up, realize that our democracy is threatened, grab on to the issue, and demand change.
Our voices are not going to be stilled until we get that change in the form of 1) Emerson’s resignation, 2) an immediate by-election in Vancouver-Kingsway, 3) potential legislation and/or 4) precedent setting rulings from the ethics commissioner or from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer and Commissioner of Canada Elections.
The people of this riding want justice. They want their vote to mean something, and they want, and deserve, that change right now.
Update: breaking news, Ethics Commissioner said to be holding ground, won’t back down from conducting an investigation.