Tories plan massive clean-government campaign, may roll out reforms separately

Canadian Press ^ | May 5, 2005 | Dan Dugas

[fanfan]

OTTAWA (CP) - The Conservatives plan a package of proposals to clean up government that is so large it may have to be rolled out separate from their main election platform, says a senior caucus member.

Edmonton MP Jason Kenney said Thursday he would understand if voters complain they've heard it all before. But his party's proposed program is an ambitious one that people will respect, he insists. "It's true that Canadians have just cause to be cynical about politics in this country," he acknowledged.

"We have to demonstrate that we have a plan of action, that we're going to try to change the system.

"It's not good enough for us to say 'Throw the bums out, we'll be better'.

"The only way that we could turn around committed cynics is through actions, not words . . . but I think if people give us a chance with this package they'll see we're serious," Kenney said.

The gambit of boldly going where so many opposition parties have gone before in decrying waste is risky, says political scientist Henry Jacek.

"Generally, the public expects that when it comes to dirty hands, that essentially at the end of the day you're not going to get a different standard, particularly with advertising contracts, with the Conservatives than you get with the Liberals - it's endemic in the system," said the McMaster University professor.

Liberals give contracts to Liberals and Tories give contracts to Tories and it was ever thus, he said, and the public expects both will continue behaving that way.

The solution, says Jacek, is to take politicians out of the process of awarding ad contracts entirely and to leave it with the bureaucracy.

That's one of the proposals Kenney listed that's being considered. They include:

-A body of some kind to award federal advertising contracts that keeps politicians out of the process.

-Giving the auditor general more money and power to investigate federal foundations whose multibillion-dollar books are closed to public scrutiny.

-A fixed election date so the government can't manipulate public opinion by increasing spending before it decides on an election date.

-Beefed-up powers for the Treasury board to audit government spending as it occurs.

-Only appointing senators who have been chosen by voters in the provinces they represent.

Kenney said the program is "gutsy" because if it's implemented, "some of it will come back to us insofar as any irresponsible spending would be pretty quickly scrutinized and exposed."

"It's a big package and a lot of the stuff sounds technical to people, but altogether we have to put it together as one big clean-government package," he said.

[fanfan]

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[MD_Willington_1976]

Sounds like a bunch of crap...We all know the Canadian government is a limp wristed, self propagating bureaucracy that is taking the guise or repairing what has been done with the band-aid of adding more unionized essential services, more politicians, and more political positions, a tactic they use to toot their "we created more jobs" horn

Those involved should be kicked out of Parliament and banished from practicing politics in Canada along with being criminally charged with grand theft...it'll never happen though...

[fanfan]

No, No.

These are the Conservatives...the good guys....OUR party, and we need to tell the voters how we would get rid of corruption in our federal institutions.

[SweetPilotofCanuckistan]

Ummm...the conservatives are the good guys...

[Carry_Okie]

"It's not good enough for us to say 'Throw the bums out, we'll be better'.

Until stiff prison sentences for corruption are automatic, why would anyone take such reforms "seriously"?

[Tungenchek]

Hate to say it but... I think most Canadians are more averse to social conservatives taking power than corrupt Liberals.

JMO

[MD_Willington_1976]

"Until stiff prison sentences for corruption are automatic, why would anyone take such reforms "seriously"?"

This is exactly why I will not take anything they say seriously...Chretien got out when the getting out was good...Now Martin and his ship of fools will take the heat...

They're all crooks...

[littlelilac]

I like the initiative of the Conservatives but there is one problem

hello Chuck Guitte was a member of that so called objective bureaucracy, the whole federal bureaucracy is infected with the Fiberal disease

the Conservatives have to promise to weed out the bureaucracy first or all they all have to pass a polygraph to start......

[littlelilac]

fixed election date is a great idea!!!

I'm tired of Fiberal spending sprees

[headsonpikes]

I propose my eponymous solution to Liberal corruption:

Heads On Pikes!

[Para-Ord.45]

Absolute worse strategy I`ve ever heard.

The Conservatives(read:liberal) Party will have to continually and relentlessly keep pounding away at the Liberal(read:socialist) Party corruption,embezzlement,kick-backs,skimming ala the Sopranos,turning Canada into a banana republic.Pound away at Martin who was the CFO signing all the cheques at the time and refuses to register his fleet of ships in Canada,thereby escaping massive confiscatory tax rates.And to top it off refuses to hire canadian sailors.

[GMMAC]

Although I'll reserve judgment until I've actually read the entire proposal, it sounds like red-Tory bandaids when full blown invasive major surgery is really the only possible remedy for what now ails the nation.

The mandarin class within the public service are already running government - not only federally, but at all levels - and most certainly doesn't need more, largely unaccountable, power !!!

Canadians need to abandon the fairy tale that these fat cats in corner offices are apolitical or unselfish or well-meaning when the reality is the exact opposite. They are arrogant, social-engineering, tax dollar squandering elitists who don't give a rat's hind quarters what the peoples' representatives current say because they firmly believe they have jobs for life and will still be in their positions long after any government is gone.

Real reform would start with politicians, rather than just posing for photo-ops, actually rolling up their sleeves and taking on the much tougher job - but the one they're elected to do - of hands-on running of government.
It would continue with adopting the U.S. system where bureaucrats above a certain level are appointed by the government of the day and serve only at its pleasure and only for as long as it holds office.

Beyond this, governments shouldn't be advertising - period.
NEWSFLASH TO CPC BRAIN TRUST: it's not as if they have competition !!!

[Stevieboy]

The only way to deal with corruption is to reduce the size of the bureaucracy - and massively. There's less opportunity for sleaze when there's barely enough time to deal with the stuff that actually matters.

[GMMAC]

Think we're pretty much on the same page of the ol' Hymnal.

[-=[_Super_Secret_Agent_]=-]

they aint liberal.

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

Thanks fanfan -- keep up those good postsposts! :-)

[fanfan]

Why, Thank you, Sir. ;-)