No more 'entitlements' (PM: Bill aims to 'change way business done in Ottawa')

No more 'entitlements'
PM: Bill aims to 'change way business done in Ottawa'

Allan Woods
CanWest News Service
Wednesday, April 12, 2006

OTTAWA - Stephen Harper introduced his government's first piece of legislation -- the Federal Accountability Act -- yesterday in an attempt to position his party as an agent of change and close the ethical loopholes that sank the previous Liberal government.

The bill, which the Tories outlined during the election campaign, bans corporate and union donations to federal parties, cracks down on lobbyists, protects whistle-blowers and gives more power to officers of Parliament, such as the ethics commissioner and auditor-general.

The Prime Minister predicted the extensive reforms to existing legislation and the creation of new rules affecting politicians and civil servants will "change the way business is done in Ottawa forever."

CREDIT: CP PHOTO/Tom Hanson
Prime Minister Stephen Harper responds to questions
concerning his government's newly-released Government
Accountability Act during Question Period in the
House of Commons, in Ottawa Tuesday April 11, 2006.

"They will replace the culture of entitlement that took root under the previous government with a culture of accountability," he said.

The proposed changes are wide-ranging. The bill takes up more than 200 pages and contains 317 sections. Treasury Board President John Baird said the new government condensed six months of work into six weeks. Even government officials explaining the legislation to reporters yesterday admitted it was a "difficult" bill and "not easy to read."

"Our commitment during the recent election campaign was to work to clean up government and to restore the trust of hardworking Canadians," Mr. Baird said, calling it "a trust that was shattered over the past 12 years through endless scandals and abuse of power."

However, the Liberals accused the government of painting a "totally unrealistic" picture of the way business is done in the capital. "We just heard a press conference by the Prime Minister suggesting this is some kind of a klepto-state to be clubbed into submission," said Stephen Owen, the critic for democratic reform. "They've raised the temperature way beyond the situation and then suggested that they're riding to the rescue with this lengthy report and statute."

The bill creates nine new or reconstituted authorities to keep watch on elected officials and bureaucrats. They include:

- an ethics commissioner with a judicial or quasi-judicial background, and enhanced punitive powers to watch over both senators and MPs;

- a commissioner to enforce new restrictions on lobbyists that include a five-year ban for former public office holders, a ban on "success" fees, and rules that lobbyists and government officials make public their encounters, although e-mail exchanges are exempt;

- a parliamentary budget officer to give neutral financial advice in budget deliberations and estimate the costs of government initiatives;

- a procurement auditor to oversee the awarding of lucrative government contracts;

- a public sector integrity commissioner to keep civil servants in check and protect whistle-blowers;

- a director of public prosecutions to make non-partisan decisions about prosecuting federal criminal offences.

The government is also proposing to expand the Access to Information Act to include Crown corporations, such as Canada Post and Via Rail, officers of Parliament, such as the chief electoral officer and the auditor-general, and three government foundations.

"Given the sheer magnitude of this thing, the first observation is that it might be set up to fail," said NDP ethics critic Pat Martin. "There could be poison pills in here that guarantee it will never make it through the Senate, and this might be of more use to them as an election document when they seek their majority status rather than as something they really plan to implement."

NDP leader Jack Layton focused on what the legislation did not include, such as measures dealing with democratic reform and floor-crossing. "You can't always look at a product and judge it on its label," he said of the bill.

The Liberals noted the act does not restrict the activities of former lobbyists when they join government, such as Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor, a retired general who worked as a defence lobbyist.

The bill's provisions banning corporate and union donations and limiting individual gifts will severely restrict the ability of political parties to raise money, although officials say they do not yet know how great the financial hit will be.

The Liberals, under Jean Chretien, cut corporate donations to $1,000 and individual gifts to $5,000. Ironically, the Liberals suffered most under that regime, and most of the money raised for the last campaign continued to come from large companies. The Tories had the most successful fundraising engine, gathering smaller amounts of money from more people.

"If they really are sincere about getting it passed, they're trying to create an environment that Liberals can't live in," Mr. Martin said of the fundraising restrictions.

Government officials said they could not put a price tag on all the changes and initiatives in the legislation.

"Funding will be announced in the budget," said a Treasury Board official. The budget is expected the week of May 1.

The Conservatives have suggested that they plan to push the legislation through the Commons before it breaks for summer, but some MPs already suggest that could be an overly ambitious undertaking for a minority government.

The Liberals had 13 years to clean up house. Now their excuse in the Opposition is cleaning up house is too big a job for the Government Of Canada!

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

"Canadian McCain Feingold?
My God, please don't repeat our mistakes!!!

While I don't agree with, as is now the case, tax dollars going to political parties, restricting special interests from buying future favors is, as the article states, working out very well:

"The Liberals, under Jean Chretien, cut corporate donations to $1,000 and individual gifts to $5,000. Ironically, the Liberals suffered most under that regime, and most of the money raised for the last campaign continued to come from large companies. The Tories had the most successful fundraising engine, gathering smaller amounts of money from more people."

I'd be quite happy to see no cap whatsoever on contributions from individuals and an outright ban on all political donations from any other source including non-citizens.

Couple this with a total end to all public funding of anti-majority special interests and ordinary people would then have complete control of the political process!

The Bill will pass with only the Liberal/NDP voting nea.

But the kicker is that the un-elected Senate stocked with Liberal hacks will not give final assent.

While the Liberals in the House may try - likely largely unsuccessfully - to quietly gut it with amendments, I doubt any party has the guts and/or death wish to seriously openly oppose this Bill in its entirety.

As for the Liberals in the Senate, pray they're stupidly arrogant enough to try:

Absolutely nothing would more guarantee both a final end to the Upper House & the largest Conservative majority government in the nation's history, than an election fought principally on a Liberal refusal to clean up political corruption !!!

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