Lets play connect the dots between a few of the political figures supporting David Emerson, both behind the scenes and out in front of the cameras.
Mayor Sam Sullivan has spoken out in favour of Emerson a few times. Quoted in Friday’s Courier, Sullivan whines that his prior comments were taken out of context, but don’t feel sorry for Sam – he steps in it again:
The fact that he could change parties really speaks to the fact that he really isn’t a partisan type of person. Mayor Sam Sullivan
Sullivan goes on to use the standard spin lines which you’ll hear cast out of conservative circles from time to time, saying “its obviously legal” and “its been done by other people without the protests”.
What the Harper-Emerson affair is most obviously is undemocratic and immoral, but Sam’s not allowed to think such thoughts, or is incapable of grasping the truth. Chances are its the former, not the latter. While Sullivan used to be approachable and down to earth, it lately seems as if he’s lost the common touch, almost as if someone is pulling his strings. Who might that be?
Mayor Sam is connected to Emerson by only one degree of separation. Campaign manager for Sullivan’s succesful bid for mayor is NPA board member (not for much longer) Colin Metcalfe, who also happens to have been the BC region communications manager for the Conservative Party of Canada during the recent election (and the prior two as well).
Of course “communications” is a euphemism for “spin”, for political and government types often want you to hear what you think you want to hear, rather than the plain unadulterated truth.
Metcalfe is significantly tied to the federal Conservative Party via his roots as a communications lead in the Canadian Alliance party. The Sun had this to say about him last year:
He ran Sullivan’s nomination campaign against Christy Clark, and his successful ‘Knowards’ campaign to defeat the wards plebiscite; Politically strongly conservative; by his own admission he worked on a number of Republican campaigns while studying in California, including Ronald Reagan’s presidential election, and was once the president of the UCLA chapter of Young Americans For Freedom. Vancouver Sun, October 24, 2005
Metcalfe, after returning recently from holiday, has assumed duties as Chief of Staff in the Regional Ministerial Office – Emerson’s office.
So we have Mayor Sam… connected to Metcalfe (who is deeply connected to the NPA and Harper, and whose help Sullivan relied upon to become become mayor)... who works for Emerson… and Sam is defending David Emerson but insisting that he’s not really dabbling in federal politics. Right. We believe that one Mr. Mayor.
Emerson – Floor Crossing Vortex
Life is so full of ironical relationships. Parliamentary Secretary to Minister Emerson is Ontario MP Helena Guergis (Simcoe-Grey) who, in the last parliament – remember Emerson was a Liberal cabinet minister then – voted for a prohibition on floor crossing, bill C-251. Guergis was an active proponent of legislation to restore a little democracy to our system by requiring that floor crossers seek a mandate from their constituents via a by-election. The major thrust of bill C-251 reads:
If a vacancy occurs in the House of Commons by reason of the fact that a member has crossed the floor of that House, the Speaker of the House shall, without delay, on receipt of a notice under subsection (3), address a warrant of the Speaker to the Chief Electoral Officer for the issue of a writ for the election of a member to fill the vacancy.
Guergis also had strong views on many subjects – my favourite quote of hers is on the topic of hypocrisy:
A hypocrite is someone who says one thing and does another. Helena Guergis, MP Simco-Grey
So Guergis, who was working on floor-crossing legislation on her own, supported the NDP‘s bill C-251 which would have forced Emerson to resign, is now working for him. And that makes Helena what? You got it, a text-book definition – her text-book – of hypocrite.
But wait, this story is intertwined with yet more floor-crossing history. One of the new hires in Emerson’s office (as they punt out the Liberal-connected folks for ‘pure-bloods’ or new connections) is fellow NPA board member Marko Dekovic, who once sat on the Richmond federal Liberal association’s board and supported infamous floor-crosser and former Richmond MP Joe Peschisolido. Dekovic continued to support jumpin’ Joe even after Peschisolido crossed.
Dekovic’s new job? His voicemail haughtily announces himself as Senior Special Assistant to the Minister of International Trade, the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics (say that three times fast). Emerson’s constituency staff – down to earth folks – labelled Dekovic as “Minister Emerson’s scheduling assistant”.
Time for Indonesia, no time for Vancouver-Kingsway
Emerson could sure use some scheduling and reputation rebuilding. Despite his claims that he moves freely about the riding, Emerson hasn’t been at all responsive to community groups who are trying to reach him, and Emerson’s staff are well aware of this.
Not working out of the Ministerial Regional Office (300 West Georgia, Suite 808 | 604 666–4500) is Ottawa-based Bob Klager, Emerson’s new Communication’s director (613 992–7332). Klager, a former reporter for the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal, called me Friday morning after reading my comments in Friday’s David Emerson Media Watch. I added to those comments after my chat with the new Emerson spin-meister, as its very clear that Emerson is suffering from the prolonged and very public outrage – which he is most responsible for. They’ll try to blunt the legitimate criticism we have by giving at least the appearance that Emerson is being responsive, to help save the beleagured Emerson’s reputation. Its called damage control.
Note to the many gc.ca readers of this blog… Emerson isn’t the only one being damaged. The stench of the Harper-Emerson affair is going to rub off on many politicians. Just imagine how people will look at their ballots in the next federal by-election or general election, as they are reminded of the undemocratic stunt Harper and Emerson pulled, and are reminded of those that approved of it, or did nothing about it. Voters will be reminded, you can count on that.
You can’t fix a fundamental problem of ethics simply by making Emerson appear to be available, particularly when for almost two months now, Emerson has in fact been in hiding as community groups and reporters from across the country will attest to. The stench surrounding Emerson erupts from a rotton core which you have no authority to excise. We all can imagine the marching orders you have: ‘Tough it out’ says the Prime Minister’s Office. ‘Screw the people and the press, make this problem go away.’
Not going to happen. What Harper and Emerson did was wrong on day one and remains wrong today.
PS: and who said patronage is dead in this government?
At a closed to the public media availability today, David Emerson demonstrated today that he has time for people half a world away but none for his constituents. After commenting on his meeting with Indonesian Minister of Trade Mari E. Pangestu, David Emerson had this to say to reporters when questioned about his undemocratic party switch:
mumble mumble mumble blah blah mumble I made the right decision blah mumble blah
Yah. Right. And Nixon once famously said “I am not a crook”.
Rather ironically, both Indonesia and Emerson were recently linked by former Globe and Mail reporter Heather Mallick, in a piece penned for her new CBC Viewpoint column:
Modern ethics have changed so much that we need a new word for them. I decided this after hearing that the ethics commissioner concluded no rules were broken when Stephen Harper talked MP David Emerson into turning Conservative—and graciously accepting a cabinet post—two weeks after Emerson was elected as a Liberal.
There’s an appropriate new word in English but I doubt the CBC would print it. So we shall turn to Indonesia and call modern ethics “TST.” This is short for Tahu Sama Tahu, and it means “you know it, I know it.” Indonesians use it to refer to a deal between two people, one usually a government official, to cheat the state.
No doubt TST was muttered a lot after Nixon, too.
On Tuesday this week we held a public awareness protest at City Hall. Vancouver Courier reporter Mike Howell was there to catch a few comments from us, but more interesting to me are those of the Mayor Sam Sullivan, reported in today’s Courier:
I don’t think it’s really that wise for our own citizens to be undercutting [David Emerson] now.” Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan
Undercutting? What is Mayor Sam suggesting? That our factual, honest, civic-minded, non-partisan expressions of Canadian’s belief in democracy are responsible for Canadians holding the David Emerson name in low esteem? That’s simply not right. Emerson, not his constituents, did the dirty deed, and Emerson need only look in the mirror to see who is most responsible for his name being held in low esteem.
Watch out Mr. Mayor. The Emerson affliction is going to rub off on you, too.
If you’ve a bone to pick with David Emerson, join us this evening for another “Emerson in the Dog House” public awareness protest.
From approximately 6pm through 7:15pm, citizens will hold a pro-democracy protest near the entrance of Canada Place Trade and Convention Centre. International Trade Minister David Emerson is scheduled to attend the GLOBE 2006 International Trade Fair and Conference Gala Dinner.
- Location: Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre (the ‘sails’ at Canada Place)
- Time: 6pm local time, today, Friday March 31
The Fools Society will present their award to the Fool of the Year at the 26th Annual Gathering of Fools. 12:00 noon, tomorrow April 1st, Robson Square (Robson & Hornby). The nominees include David Emerson, of course.
(Don Gray, CBC News) Senate reform, anyone? Anyone?
…perhaps Harper has a bit of a blind spot about the Senate, as though he just doesn’t get it.
He was not even installed as prime minister when he picked Michael Fortier to be his minister of public works and government services â naming him to the Senate because Fortier did not have a seat in the House of Commons and had not bothered even to contest the recent election.
What was particularly egregious about that appointment was that in the aftermath of the Liberal sponsorship scandal, the public works portfolio should have been the cornerstone of government accountability, one of Harper’s particular concerns. But nobody can be accountable to the electorate in a non-elected Senate. Indeed, it should be remembered that Harper had been harshly critical of Liberals bestowing power on unelected cronies.
The result was that the Harper government began life under a cloud. And the Senate flap would have been worse if at the same time Harper had not coaxed David Emerson to cross the floor and sit as a Conservative minister just two weeks after he was elected as a Liberal. With Emerson to kick around, the news media almost forgot about Fortier.
Conservatives have not forgotten about Fortier, but naturally here at democracy’s ground-zero, the attention has largely been focussed on Emerson. Both appointments were examples of egregious abuse of power.
March 31 (Stephen Maher, The Chronicle Herald) Casey denies dissident tag but wonât change lumber stance
OTTAWA â Bill Casey says heâs no Tory dissident, even though a political website for Ottawa insiders describes him as one.
The MP for ‘Cumberland Colchester Musquodoboit Valley’ appears not to be in favour with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Although Mr. Casey is one of the longest-serving Tories in the House and is consistently re-elected with commanding majorities, he did not receive a cabinet post or a job as a parliamentary secretary when the Tories took power. Not only that, but the party stripped him of his position as deputy whip.
“I do not consider myself a dissident, but from time to time I disagree with all my leaders â all eight of them,” Mr. Casey said Thursday.
Politicswatch.com pointed out that Mr. Casey, like Mr. Turner, objected to Mr. Emersonâs appointment as trade minister. Mr. Emerson had been freshly re-elected in Vancouver as a Liberal when Mr. Harper put him in cabinet.
Casey concludes by saying “Sometimes you have to speak up”. It seems Conservatives, like Casey, Garth Turner, and myself, who speak up for what is right are labelled dissidents. That’s clearly not a good term for what we do.
As a matter of interest, Bill Casey once spearheaded a drive within the Progressive Conservative party to bring animal feed from central and eastern Canada by train to then-drought stricken prairie farmers. Many party folks responded generously – I gave $400 to that effort myself. What Casey did then as now was the right thing to do, not the “dissident” thing to do.
March 31 (Shannon Kari, The Globe and Mail) Emerson loses connection with cyberspace
MPs rave about benefits of being on-line, but embattled Tory minister is absent
VANCOUVER—Since David Emerson defected from the Liberals to become a Conservative cabinet minister nearly two months ago, his critics have accused the International Trade Minister of not being accessible to his Vancouver Kingsway constituents.
Although Mr. Emerson and his staff have denied the accusation, it appears that he is somewhat elusive in cyberspace.
He is the only Conservative MP in British Columbia who does not have a website. Davidemerson.ca, his site as a Liberal MP, is not in operation. The only website directly related to the minister is emersoncampaign.ca, which was set up by the Campaign to De-Elect David Emerson.
Emerson’s staff are not being truthful. Legitimate civic groups within the riding have been trying to set up meetings with Minister Emerson – and his office has not even had the courtesy to acknowledge the meeting requests, much less schedule meetings. I’ll be writing more on this in the not-distant future.
[Jennifer Chiu, the spokeswoman for the International Trade Minister,] rejected any suggestion that Mr. Emerson is not accessible to his constituents and said the staff at his Vancouver Kingsway office is very capable dealing the concerns of constituents. “By and large, constituents know to get in touch with him,” she said.
We reject this as udder manure.
For weeks Emerson has not been available. Emerson has not scheduled a single constituency availability since the election. Who has been able to see him? Why none other than Jack Poole, 2010 Olympic Chair, who was caught on camera at Emerson’s home after he returned to BC after being sworn in as a minister of the Conservative government.
Emerson has plenty of time for the Premier, Sam Sullivan, Jack Poole, John Furlong – but zero for his constituents. We shouldn’t be surprised. The aforementioned don’t live in Vancouver-Kingsway and neither does Emerson.
For weeks – even before the election – Emerson hadn’t stepped foot in the constituency office. I’m informed by staff there that he’s now been in the office, for brief periods, exactly twice. Recently. This gives Emerson a “checkbox” filled in for appearances’ sake – he can legitimately say he’s been in his riding office, even if there is nothing legitimate about his representation of this riding.
Political observers have seen this before. Its called damage control. Reality: Emerson hasn’t been serving his constituents. Reality: He hasn’t been available. Reality: He said one thing day-in, day-out during the course of the election and then less than 24 hours after the last ballot was counted, was talking to former MP and arch-Conservative John Reynolds about jumping ship from the Liberals. In Emerson’s apology letter – which constituency staff have said was funded by “private backers” – Emerson as much as said ‘sorry, but I’d do it again!’.
Emerson has been a train wreck, thanks to his bad decision to accept Harper’s arrogant and undemocratic offer. In order to fix the “appearances” (instead of the problem) Emerson has been surrounded by communications, reputation management and media people. Well folks, whatever you are doing isn’t working so far.
No doubt we’ll see a sudden effort made by Emerson’s handlers to make him appear available, only to deflect legitimate criticism. No amount of spin will make him appear legitimate.