Being a good guy doesn’t excuse Chuck Strahl’s lack of judgment

I don’t know Chuck Strahl, but I've always thought he seemed like a pretty good guy, all in all. He certainly has won many friends on all sides of the political fence and in the pundit class, and they were quick to shower him with praise last week when he resigned as head of the federal body that oversees Canada’s spy agency. 

They weren’t acting as real friends, though, because real friends tell each other the truth, and there was nothing remotely “ethical” or resembling “the right thing” in the way Strahl handled himself in this affair.

Strahl, a former Conservative MP and cabinet minister, was appointed as Canada’s spy watchdog in 2012 by Stephen Harper. He was seen as a safe and popular choice to replace the last Conservative appointee, Arthur Porter, who left marred in scandal and intrigue. As the National Post noted of Strahl at the time, “The good news is Mr. Strahl comes free of scandal.”

And Strahl pledged to keep his nose clean, saying at the time he was aware of the potential for conflict of interest between his duties as CSIS watchdog and his post-politics consulting business.

But he’s got a system of “double make-sure” to protect himself and the public from conflicts of interest and questions around ethics. He’ll continue to build his consultancy, helping companies create and execute business strategies, but he “won’t lobby” governments. He said he never has.

Within a year though, won’t lobby governments became will register to lobby governments. A report in the Vancouver Observer revealed Strahl had registered to lobby B.C.’s Minister of Natural Gas Development on behalf of a new consulting client, Enbridge. Strahl didn’t seem to see any conflict between lobbying on behalf of Enbridge and his CSIS watchdog role when he took on the client, or when he was asked about it by the Observer.

“I do some contract work for Enbridge,” Strahl told the Vancouver Observer. “I’ve registered just in case I arrange a meeting, but no meetings to report”.

Besides marking a complete reversal of the “won’t lobby” promise, the conflict is also fairly obvious. Reports have already indicated CSIS involvement in monitoring opposition to the Enbridge Northern Gateway project. The links between Canada’s intelligence agencies and commercial interests were further revealed last fall, when it was revealed that Communications Security Establishment Canada was targeting communications of Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy, for the benefit of Canadian energy companies.

It should seem plainly obvious that Strahl can't work for business interests on the one hand, and on the other hand impartially judge the actions of CSIS when those actions could include activities that aim to benefit some of those same business interests.

It should have been obvious to Strahl when he took the job as watchdog.

It should have been obvious to Strahl when he took on Enbridge as a client.

It should have been obvious to Strahl when he registered to lobby the BC government.

It should have been obvious to Strahl when he was questioned by the Vancouver Observer.

It should have been obvious to Strahl when this broke as a national story.

Yet it apparently wasn’t obvious to Strahl until Jan. 24, when he submitted his resignation to the Prime Minister as chair of the security intelligence review committee.

And, frankly, it may not have been obvious to him even then. The text of the letter makes clear he’s resigning because you annoying people are making an issue out of this and it’s become annoying for him and the government, not because he belatedly realizes he has done anything wrong.

… at all times I have been fully compliant with all rules and regulations…

…despite the fact that my compliance with all the relevant rules and regulations has been clearly demonstrated…

...(I) do not wish to be in the centre of the political gray…

…with regret…I have concluded it is best for all concerned that I step down…

This resignation was released late on a Friday afternoon, where governments dump bad news they want to downplay. The Friday before the return of the House of Commons, where this was sure to be an issue for the opposition. And it came nearly two months after he registered as a lobbyist, and weeks after the story first broke.

This is no case, as some have tried to spin it, as a man doing the ethical thing, of having to make a choice, and making it. The time to do the ethical thing was nearly two months ago, when he decided to take on Enbridge as a client. Ethics, after all, is how you act when no one is looking.

Perhaps partial points if he’d made a choice almost one month ago, when the story broke. Or even weeks ago, when it went national. But you don’t get ethical credit for trying to ride out the storm and, when that fails, sending out a late Friday resignation that takes no responsibility for your actions. Not even a little.

The best that can be said is that he was a good soldier, exiting the stage to save his party and his Prime Minister further political embarrassment. Why, compared to Mike Duffy, he's almost a saint.

Strahl may well be a great guy, and I wish him well in his future endevours. But his “friends” owe him better than they’ve given.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Overlooked in cabinet shuffle: Strahl to transport, and where are the women?

Now that I’ve vented about the national media, I should probably comment on what they were at Rideau Hall to cover yesterday: a minor cabinet shuffle by the Harper government. And while the media coverage seems to be focused on John Baird’s move to House leader, I’m more interested in having Chuck Strahl replace him in Transport.

Actually, the media focus on Baird is unsurprising, and telling. Besides being a more provocative personality, focusing on Baird’s move to House leader allows the media to engage in their favourite past-time (while the rest of the country tunes-out): ponder what this means for the likelihood of an election.

Frankly, I think Baird’s appointment could go either way. He’s apparently a very collegial guy behind the scenes. He turns on the bombast for political effect at times in public; it’s just part of the game. House leader is often more of a behind-the-scenes role (how high-profile was Jay Hill?), and Baird’s bombast is just for the cameras. So, what tone will Baird take? It remains to be seen, but quite simply he’ll take whatever tone Stephen Harper wants him to take.

Then there’s John Duncan to Indian and Northern Affairs. Duncan is the MP for my riding in BC, so I’ve been familiar with John since he was first elected as a Reformer back in 1993. I’ll have more on him in a future post, as there are some interesting things that haven’t made it into the coverage yet.

What I found to be the real news out of this shuffle though was moving Strahl to Transport. This is the portfolio, of course, that has responsibility for the stimulus program. Obviously, the Conservatives are winding-down the program and are (supposedly) shifting to austerity mode. But the shoe has yet to drop on this file because soon, the Parliamentary Budget Officer and the Auditor General will be crawling all over the stimulus program with magnifying glasses and calculators. And given the sheer amount of dollars involved, it’s inevitable there is going to be some shenanigans of some sort discovered.

Certainly, this will be a portfolio that will soon be generating a lot of heat, and will be requiring its minister to be running a lot of aggressive defence, both within the House and in the media. Frankly, were I in central casting, I’d have picked Strahl, by all reports a good guy and competent minister, to run the program and then brought in pit-bull Baird to run defence. Harper is doing the opposite, and I’m not sure Strahl is the right guy for that role at all. If nothing else, it will be unfortunate to see him having to answer for the mistakes of Baird’s tenure, but that’s how the system works.

With a fall election highly unlikely (no matter what our media friends like to say), the stimulus fall-out and how Strahl handles the file is what I’ll be watching for going forward.

Finally, there's one other major angle to this minor shuffle that the press pack missed. Before the shuffle, they were all speculating on Shelly Glover's likely elevation to the cabinet. Why? Because in dumping Helena Guergis, Harper was low on female representation and it seemed clear Glover was being groomed for bigger things. Of course, Glover didn't get into cabinet yesterday, and neither did any other women. That's worth noting.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Where's your Liberal media bias now?

It's just nice to see not all Conservatives hate the CBC:

Indian Affairs and Northern Development Minister Chuck Strahl has hired a new communications aide in his ministerial political office.

Josée Bellemare, former CBC Radio reporter, started her new job as press secretary to Minister Strahl (Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon, B.C.) who also is the federal interlocutor for Métis and non-status Indians, on Friday, Jan. 25.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Another unelected Harper minister?!

The intrepid Sean Holman at Public Eye reports an intriguing rumour that Mary McNeil, the Conservative (*nomination, see update) candidate in the as yet uncalled Vancouver-Quadra by-election, may be elevated into cabinet as an unelected minister in the upcoming Harper cabinet shuffle:

Meanwhile, we're hearing suggestions Vancouver-Quadra nomination candidate and former BC Cancer Foundation president Mary McNeil should be given a seat at the big table.

This is rather interesting actually. It would address Harper’s problem of weak female bench strength, discussed in the Globe this morning. And it would give McNeil a boost (should she become the candidate) in a tough by-election battle against former B.C. cabinet minister Joyce Murray in a riding won handily last election by outgoing Liberal MP Stephen Owen. Campaigning as a minister is a plus for sure.

And it’s not entirely without precedent to have someone in cabinet before being elected to the HoC: Stephane Dion provides a handy example. And Harper broke even that convention (that the minister runs immediately in a by-election to win a seat) with the Michael Fortier Senate/Cabinet appointment, so don’t put it past him.

Of course, there are downsides. For one, Harper would fly flat in the face of past statements like this:

…you need to be elected to the Parliament of Canada to become a minister.

Not that Harper has been adverse to flip-flopping and completely reversing once deeply held principles in the past, mind you.

But such an appointment would also smack of desperation. Dion came into cabinet after a near referendum loss to fight for Canadian unity; I’m not sure low Conservative polling numbers equate to a national crisis. It would also be a smack in the face to the women in Harper’s caucus passed over for cabinet spots.

And then there’s the risk if she loses the by-election (which he’ll delay calling as long as possible) and is forced to resign in embarrassment. Even as a minister McNeil faces an uphill battle against Murray.

Anyway, a fun rumour for a slow summer day. Other B.C.-flavoured cabinet speculation from Holman:

Well, some party members are wondering whether Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Chuck Strahl will be shuffled out of his portfolio or lose his post as the province's political minister in favour of Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn. Not surprisingly, perennial rumours of a promotion for Port Moody-Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam parliamentarian James Moore are also blossoming. And some say Abbotsford parliamentarian Ed Fast could also be named to cabinet.

Since when did Lunn become a star, did I miss a memo? I've always felt it was rather the opposite. And the wheatboard shenanigans aside I’ve always liked Strahl, he’s just carrying the bag for Harper there anyway. Ed who? And I agree with Kady, let’s not get Moore’s hopes up. Every time I read this quote from James, back when Harper was about to announce his first cabinet, it breaks the heart a little. Poor kid:

A few words seared into my brain that I've been saying for about 2 weeks now: "Mr. Harper will announce his cabinet on Monday. I have nothing more to say." Where is Superman when you need him to spin the globe a little faster so Monday arrives sooner?

UPDATE: I'm reminded that McNeill hasn't even won the Conservative nomination for Quadra yet, but is running against business professor Deborah Meredith. One presumes Harper would give her an appointment or force/encourage Meredith to drop out before the cabinet appointment. Would be weird to put her into cabinet and still have a nomination race, wouldn't it?

But what adds another layer to this story is the dynamics of the nomination race, which is shaping-up as a battle of Harper insiders (i.e. John Reynolds) behind McNeill versus old Tories (Senators Pat Carney and Gerry St. Germain) behind Meredith.

Reynolds et. al. would certainly have the juice to pull off an appointment/cabinet slot for McNeil, but at what price to party unity?

While anything is possible, and I've learned to put nothing past Harper, one wonders if these McNeil cabinet rumours have a lot more to do with nomination race spin and positioning then anything else.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Gordon says hells no, he won’t go

Which means of course that Gordon O’Connor’s days as Deceivin’ Steven’s minister of defence are numbered (a shuffle is rumoured to be imminent). And while as a Liberal I’m tempted to say keep him in there, as a Canadian I’d rather see someone competent in the rather important portfolio.

So, rather than re-cap the incompetent boobery of O’Connor in the defence portfolio, except to say I told you so, let’s turn instead to the matter of who replaces O’Connor at DND as Rick Hiller’s 2iC boss.

The Globe today has the official speculation:

Two senior cabinet members, Industry Minister Maxime Bernier and Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day, have been touted as the most likely successors to Mr. O'Connor at Defence.

Mr. Bernier's name has been cited by Conservatives who believe a Quebec minister would make the best spokesman for the mission when the Quebec-based Royal 22nd Regiment deploys to Kandahar.

Mr. Day, meanwhile, is seen by many Tories as a surprise success because he has avoided major public pitfalls in a portfolio plagued with tricky issues and bad news, including a spate of RCMP controversies.

My eyes bulged a bit at seeing Stock’s name on the list. I’d just assume keep Day away from anything to do with guns myself. Granted, he hasn’t made a total ass of himself in his current portfolio. But then again, given the job performance of some of his cabinet colleagues, as long as he didn’t start flinging around his own droppings he’d look good by comparison. He hasn’t exactly excelled either though.

Then there’s Maxime Bernier. What is there you can say about Bernier? Well, he’s not Michael Fortier, so that’s a positive. He’s been low profile, hasn’t garnered much attention that I can recall. He did fight Fortier on the pork-barreling regional plums related to the Boeing contract; I give him points for that.

Why would Bernier want the job though? With the Vandoos on their way to Afghanistan a mission already unpopular in Quebec is going to become even more unpopular there. Why would you want to tar an as yet unblemished Quebec minister with this one? He would become the focal point for all the anger with the mission in the province, and he needs to not only get re-elected there, but have some coattails too.

So, who would I give the job to? Since I’m guessing I have to pick from the CPC caucus that’s though. Unless I can dangle the job to a floor crosser? Nah. Hmm, that’s tough then.

I’ve always felt young James Moore was deserving of a cabinet seat, but he should start smaller. While he hasn’t wowed in agriculture, Chuck Strahl is a decent, competent guy and is at least somewhat familiar with defence issues (the closed CFB Chilliwack was in his riding). Jim Prentice is another good performer but you probably want to keep him where he is right now, in Indian Affairs. Maybe it’s time to give Monte Solberg a bigger platform to sink or swim on; he’s been invisible in human resources.

I think Strahl would be an interesting choice though.

P.S. Might be a good time to name a new Liberal defence critic too. Just sayin'.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers