The week in Canadian politics has been dominated by two issues: the Prime Minister’s contempt for Parliament’s ethics commissioner and growing awareness by the public that Canadian soldiers are in harm’s way in Afghanistan.
Late last week, Parliament’s Ethics Commissioner announced he would be investigating the circumstances around David Emerson’s leaving the Liberal Party to become a Conservative cabinet minister and whether anything the Prime Minister had done to encourage the move or anything the new minister had gained were improper. The PM’s Office immediately responded that the commissioner had no jurisdiction, was nothing more than a Liberal hack and that the PM’s Office would not co-operate. A few days later, the PM followed up with an announcement that cabinet appointments were his sole jurisdiction and no one had the right to question, examine or interfere in his appointments.
Howls of outrage have gone up from Liberal and New Democrat MPs defending the commissioner as an officer of Parliament. They are loath to see the PM interfering to block an officer of Parliament who was elected by Parliament. Although the commissioner has had a checkered record, and there has been talk of replacing him (early voluntary resignation ideally) MPs are now rallying around him while the Prime Minister’s contempt grows. Some sort of a showdown is expected when the House of Commons resumes in April, unless the PM relents.
None of this should come as a surprise. This is a Prime Minister who has insisted for years that the Supreme Court has no right or jurisdiction to over-rule Parliament – the constitution notwithstanding. It flows inevitably, that a PM who holds the Supreme Court in contempt would hardly be inclined to yield to a lowly ethics commissioner. That the same PM campaigned on a pledge to restore ethics in Parliament is moot as his daily actions demonstrate.
It’s the same PM who had told cabinet ministers to keep their mouths shut, has fired 3 communications officers in less than six months and is reported to freeze-out anyone who dare to disagree with him. L’ état c’est lui!
Since the beginning of March, the Canadian forces stationed to Afghanistan have assumed a much more dangerous mission routing Taliban terrorists and attempting to build lasting peace. Inevitably, several have died and more have been injured in just a few days and everyone knows the toll will increase. But Canadians have grown unaccustomed to soldiers coming home in coffins and the new reality is stirring anxious debate about our foreign policy and roll in defending democracy internationally.
There is a consensus that Canadians and Parliament must stand behind our soldiers and honour their sacrifices. But there is also a growing sense that the international missions undertaken should be considered by Parliament, in advance, and not decided by the PM and Cabinet alone. Foreign policy has not been a priority for Canadians since the end of World War II (not to suggest the current situation is in any way comparable to WWII) but it may become such as the death toll rises.
Finally – the PM and Peter Mackay continued to embarrass each other –and the new government – this week as they proceeded to contradict each other on the matter of foreign aid for Palestine. Mackay iterated the longstanding policy of the department of foreign affairs while the PM opted to work in tandem with US foreign policy and the dictates from The White House. It looks like Mackay will be grounded again as he was during the election campaign.
