News this afternoon that MP James Moore (CON-Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam-Not Near Enough to Vancouver), who on Monday saw his cabinet post go to Liberal turncoat David Emerson, has been ‘consoled’ by his Dear Leader with the post of Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services.
You know, Michael Fortier, the (appointed but only temporarily, we promise) Senator from Montreal. The guy who can’t answer questions in question period because he’s not a member of the House of Commons, but will no doubt face rigorous questioning in the QP in “the other place.”
Since Fortier isn’t an MP, that means Moore will get to take all the questions in the HoC directed at the Public Works ministry, which, as the ministry responsible for billions of dollars in government procurement, usually gets a few. (Wassup, Scotty Brison?) And with a Public Works Minister who was/is his Prime Minister’s Quebec organizer, there may be a few more questions, because that worked out great last time, didn’t it?
So here’s the bottomline for James Moore, and why it’s exactly like kissing his sister:
YES to the daily savaging for 45 minutes a day during question period, coast to coast on live tv that comes with being a Minister
NO to the higher salary, title, bigger office, limousine and driver, staff, and all other perks that come with being a Minister.
So basically, all the bad and none of the good. Dude, what did you do or say to Stephen Harper to piss him off so much?
May you should reconsider not running for the Liberal leadership James. Remember, there’s always a welcome mat with lots of warm, comfy fur waiting for you on the Liberal side…
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
James Moore gets to kiss his sister….again and again!
Reynolds to feed at the lobbyist trough
Lobbying reform was a big issue for the Conservatives in this campaign. I wouldn't go as far as they've proposed (five years is too long), but I do think reforms are needed. Candidate Stephen Harper was all about lobbying reform. PM Stephen Harper? Not so much.
To refresh your memory, here what the CPC's was campaigning on just over TWO weeks ago:
Toughen the lobbyists registration act
Under the Liberals, lobbying government – often by friends and associates of Paul Martin and other Liberal ministers – has become a multi-million dollar industry. Senior Liberals move freely back and forth between elected and non-elected government posts and the world of lobbying.
Liberal lobbyists have accepted success or contingency fee arrangements where they don’t get paid unless they deliver the policy change their clients want.
The plan:
A Conservative government will:
• Extend to five years the period during which former ministers, ministerial staffers, and senior public servants cannot lobby government.
• Ban success or contingency fee arrangements.
• Require ministers and senior government officials to record their contacts with lobbyists.
• Make the Registrar of Lobbyists an independent Officer of Parliament.
• Give the Registrar of Lobbyists the mandate and resources to investigate violations.
• Extend to ten years the period during which violations can be investigated and prosecuted.
Two recent occurrences illustrate to a tee the fact that all the CPC's bluster about lobbying reform and new ethical standards was just that: bluster.
Yesterday, Public Eye Online reported that John Reynolds, the veteran Conservative/Reform/Alliance/ and then Conservative again MP that did not seek re-election, chaired the recent Conservative election campaign and offered the warm mat of comfy fur to turncoat David Emerson, will be joining Vancouver law firm Clark Willson LLP as a lobbyist!
Earlier, one of our astute readers reported federal Conservative godfather John Reynolds (who is not a lawyer) would be "joining Lyall Knott" - a well-known provincial Liberal fundraiser - at Clark Wilson LLP. A senior Tory operative couldn't immediately verify that report. But he did say Mr. Reynolds has received job offers from a number of Vancouver law firms. In a brief interview with Public Eye, Mr. Knott declined to comment on whether he would be working with Mr. Reynolds, saying "Why don't you talk to John?" The company's more notable clients include Concert Properties Ltd., HMY Airlines Inc., HSBC Bank plc, Methanex Corp. and Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment Corp.
Wow, the five years flew by just like that. It seems like only a few weeks since the last election. Oh wait, it was just a few weeks ago! Yes, the law isn't in place yet, but I guess expecting Conservatives to abide by the spirit of their proposed reforms and practice what they preach is too much to ask, eh John?
I think John explained it well though today on CPAC (via Calgary Grit):
Campaigns are campaigns."
And that Culture of Entitlement moment brings me to exhibit two. Lost in the din yesterday around Harper's breaking a couple of other principles by bribing a floor crosser with a cabinet post and appointing a crony to the Senate and cabinet was the appointment of Gordon O'Connor as his Minister of National Defence.
A retired brigadier general certainly seems like a fine choice for the position, and as a former air force brat let me say I like the idea of having someone with military experience in the post. There is a big problem though. For seven years as a senior associate with lobbying and public relations giant Hill and Knowlton he lobbied the federal government on behalf of the defence industry. He was a defence industry lobbyist! This history is well known, although he does pussyfoot around it on in the biography on his Web site:
He then went on to become a Senior Associate at Hill & Knowlton Canada, one of the largest public affairs firms in the world. Acting in a consultative capacity, Gordon helped private sector firms pursue business opportunities with the federal government
Or, in other words, he lobbied the Minister of National Defence and senior generals to buy the plane, tank, jeep, or gun his client was selling. And now he IS the Minister of National Defence. Hello conflict of interest, how are you? Very good, thanks. This is exactly the kind of thing the CPC's lobbying reform package is supposedly about changing: "move(ing) freely back and forth between elected and non-elected government posts and the world of lobbying."
I have great respect for Mr. O'Connor's military service, and great respect for our military, as regular readers of my little blog know. That's why, while I'm not surprised Harper would make the appointment, I'm astounded that O'Connor would accept it.
The military teaches its officers about leadership and integrity, about doing the right thing even when it's difficult, and about leading by example. He knows this is wrong. He has to. O'Connor should have said, "I'm honoured that you would ask me to serve, Mr. Prime Minister, and I want to be of service to you in any way I can. But I really feel that in the interests of transparency and integrity I could better serve you, my party and my country in another portfolio."
Even if Harper didn't know better, Mr. O'Connor, you should have.
Elmhirst on Emerson
FYI, letter to LPC(BC) members from president Jamie Elmhirst on David Emerson's defection:
Dear Fellow Liberals:
Yesterday was a difficult and disappointing day for Liberals in BC. David Emerson’s decision to cross the floor and join the Harper government is a loss to our party and a shock and disappointment to all of us on a personal level. David served British Columbia well as the Minister of Industry and co-Senior Minister for BC with Jack Austin. I am sure he will continue to do so in his new capacity.
That won’t come as any real solace to the hundreds of people who gave money and – much more importantly – their time to help re-elect him as a Liberal in Vancouver-Kingsway. It won’t come as much of a solace to the 82% of his constituents who voted for a party other than the Conservatives just last month. It’s those folks that I feel the worst for. I know staff who worked for David and who feel very hurt by his decision. My heart goes out to them.
But the Liberal Party of Canada is bigger and more enduring than any one member. We will continue to attract superb people to run for us, just as we did in this last election. As a big tent party of centre, we must continue to reach out to talented British Columbians to join with us and work with us. Our future success lies in having the confidence to reach out and attract the very best people we can to join the party, volunteer in the party and run for the party.
By accepting David Emerson into his Cabinet and by appointing Michael Fortier to both the Senate and Cabinet, Stephen Harper proved himself a hypocrite yesterday. Stephen Harper condemned those who were uncomfortable with his extreme right-wing views and crossed the floor. He promised that Senators would be elected, not appointed. He proved yesterday that he isn’t a man of his word. He should insist that a by-election be held to give voice to the voters of Vancouver-Kingsway. However, that won’t happen unless the public demands it. I hope they do.
Stephen Harper’s honeymoon came to a crashing halt yesterday and I believe that David Emerson – a man who I admired – will come to regret his decision in the weeks and months ahead.
If you wish to contact David Emerson and express your views about his decision, his constituency office number is 604-775-6263 and his email address is emersd@parl.gc.ca.
Sincerely,
Jamie Elmhirst, President
Liberal Party of Canada (BC)
Toronto Senator Mike Harris?
If David Emerson was bribed across the floor to represent Vancouver and Michael Fortier elevated from the Conservative war room to the Senate to represent Montreal because having representation from Canada's second and third largest cities was so important to Stephen Harper, then what about Canada's largest city: Toronto?
It's laughable this is even being used as an excuse for the violation of two Conservative principles. After all, just last week we were hearing how thus urban/rural divide thing was a myth, and hey, there are Cons in Surrey, New Westminster, Port Moody and so on, and that's practically Vancouver, right?? So they said then.
But if you're going to use it as a justification now, what about Toronto? I guess none of the Toronto Liberal MPs could be bribed with a cabinet post to cross. To lapse into fantasyland for a second, how delicious would it have been if Olivia Chow had spurned Jack Layton and crossed the floor to the Harper cabinet? It would have been 10x better than Peter McKay and Belinda Stronach. Principles be dammed, that would have been sweet!
But back to reality, what about Toronto indeed? The Globe's John Ibbitson has an interesting piece this morning where he asks the question: why not Senator Mike Harris?
The other city that abjured the Conservatives was Toronto. So why is Senator Mike Harris not in the cabinet? There's a vacancy, and Mr. Harris might enjoy the show. If Toronto really mattered, Mr. Harper would have found a way to get the city represented. The flak wouldn't have been any worse than that over Mr. Fortier and Mr. Emerson.
After all, if ever there was a man suited to the country club atmosphere of the Senate its Duffer Mike, and it would be old home week for him around the cabinet table.
Monday, February 06, 2006
At least dogs are loyal
What else can I add about the David Emerson affair that hasn't been said? Still, I'll add my two cents before moving on to other things.
I have no problem with people crossing the floor per se. It is an established part of our Parliamentary system. While candidates run for parties and people may vote more for the party than the person, the fact remains under our system the person is elected, not the party. That's something that could change if we ever go to one of the proportional ballot/single transferable vote models being discussed. Hell, that option may begin to gain more favour now.
What’s different with Emerson is he crossed less than two weeks after bring elected. If he supposedly had issues with the Liberals (he didn’t, that’s nonsense) he shouldn’t have ran for re-election under their banner. I do understand that he did think his Martin PMO imposed ministerial staffers were useless dicks though (you know who you are boys). For what it's worth, so do I. I'm still a Liberal though.
I do have a problem with him going straight into cabinet. He should have sat on the backbenches for a period of time. That is that Scott Brison did, and Keith Martin sat as an independent and ran for re-election before being appointed a parliamentary secretary. What about Belinda Stronach, you say? It pissed me off that she went straight into cabinet too. Crossing the floor, fine, but she should not have come straight into cabinet. I wasn’t blogging then so you’ll have to take my word for it, but I said it was wrong then and I say it’s wrong now.
While I think going straight into cabinet is wrong, it does happen and it is permitted under our Parliamentary system. And crossing the floor less than two weeks after being elected is dishonest and low, but again there is ample precedent. I would get over it, as would most Canadians…
…were it not for the hypocrisy of the Conservative Party here. They ran against this very thing just two weeks ago. Harper said he wouldn’t let floor crossers into his cabinet. The CPC went ape-shit when Stronach crossed over. He ran on a platform of accountability, integrity and doing things differently and he proved it to be a bald faced lie his first minutes on the job. Why is this different from Stronach? You told Canadians you would never do this sort of thing, that's why!
That accountability package, doing things differently, ethical government, that was a major part of his election victory. That was his key differentiator with the voters. He told them “I’m not scary anymore. I’ll give you the same policies as the Liberals, but without the unethical behaviour. So throw the bums out and vote for honest government.”
How many seats would the Conservatives have won if Canadians knew the following about Stephen Harper:
1) He dodged questioning by the ethics commissioner.
2) He would lure a Liberal across the floor with a cabinet post.
3) He would appoint his campaign co-chair to the Senate and give him an important cabinet post.
4) He would ignore the spirit of his lobbying reform package by appointing a former defence industry lobbyist as his Minister of National Defence.
The CPC perpetrated a fraud upon the people of Canada. I suspect if all this was known before e-day we may have seen the swearing-in of another minority Liberal cabinet today under Paul Martin. You know, when I think of it that way thanks for being so dishonest Stephen, we needed a time-out. And with the way you’re going so far, it won’t last too long.
While many Conservatives are trying to spin the unspinnable, a great many of the Blogging Tories are rightily outraged too and are taking Harper to task, much to their credit. I’m glad Cons like Political Staples and Wonder Woman, both of whom I met at the recent Toronto Blogstravaganza and found to be intelligent and reasonable, along with quite a few others, have the principles and the courage of their convictions to recognize improper behaviour, even when it happens within their own party. Truth to power is the cornerstone of democracy, and it’s something all parties have been lacking to some degree in recent times.
Many are now calling for Emerson to resign and seek re-election. Decision time Stephen. You should take the mulligan, because this isn’t the kind of thing people forget. Trust me, we won’t let them.
As an aside, I think apointing his crony to the Senate and O'Connor as defence minister is even worse than the Emerson affair, and I've heard of another development on the lobbying front that puts further lie to Harper's promise to do things differently.
But more on that tomorrow. There's a Canucks game on. Priorities, you know.
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