Tories moving towards accountability
Editorial appeared in Fort McMurray Today March 28, 2006
The new Conservative government is still in its honeymoon period -- with the boxing ring, that is. With Parliament yet to ring the bell, there's been little to judge Stephen Harper's leadership so far.
It will be an interesting time, with the Tories holding a slimmer minority position than the Liberals before them. While the Grits, obviously, don't want to go back to the polls yet, the NDP and Bloc Quebecois have no similar limits on their actions.
During last year's election campaign, many issues were debated and stands taken. From the military to abortion, child care to unity, a wide range of topics was hashed and rehashed.
One Conservative platform that didn't receive a lot of talk was their proposed federal accountability act.
After years of Liberal sleaze, it stands as a set of proposals that could put the faith of Canadians back in their elected officials, if it's adopted.
So that's what must happen.
Here's some of the items contained in that campaign promise, a measure Harper has promised will be one of his first legislative priorities.
(The entire document is online at www.conservative.ca/media/20051104-Policy-Accountability3.pdf.)
* End the influence of money in politics
* Toughen legislation that governs lobbyists
* Ban secret political donations
* Clean up government polling and advertising
* Clean up government procurement
* Protect whistleblowers
* Ensure truth in budgeting
* Strengthen the auditor general
* Strengthen the ethics commissioner
* Strengthen access to information
From the vantage point of the average citizen, more is needed.
To start, how about a law that would ban politicians crossing the floor from one political party to another from sitting in cabinet until they were confirmed by voters under the new banner? If that means an immediate byelection, so be it.
But the Tory proposal is a great start.
Harper's commitment to passing it probably garnered him and his candidates a lot of votes from people unhappy with the current state of affairs.
All of the proposals make sense, so there's no reason this bill can't be supported by all MPs, including the Liberals, who are looking to put the Chretien/Martin era behind them.
Political corruption is endemic around the world. Many countries, including the United States, regularly see the outcomes of elections contested because the will of the people in the ballot box is altered.
We don't see that here, thankfully.
Once they've elected their representatives to office, however, many Canadians simply don't trust those who, with poor election turnout, so few voted into power.
Without that trust, disregard for the laws they pass is a natural consequence.
We cannot go farther down that road.
© Copyright 2006, Fort McMurray Today.
The new Conservative government is still in its honeymoon period -- with the boxing ring, that is. With Parliament yet to ring the bell, there's been little to judge Stephen Harper's leadership so far.
It will be an interesting time, with the Tories holding a slimmer minority position than the Liberals before them. While the Grits, obviously, don't want to go back to the polls yet, the NDP and Bloc Quebecois have no similar limits on their actions.
During last year's election campaign, many issues were debated and stands taken. From the military to abortion, child care to unity, a wide range of topics was hashed and rehashed.
One Conservative platform that didn't receive a lot of talk was their proposed federal accountability act.
After years of Liberal sleaze, it stands as a set of proposals that could put the faith of Canadians back in their elected officials, if it's adopted.
So that's what must happen.
Here's some of the items contained in that campaign promise, a measure Harper has promised will be one of his first legislative priorities.
(The entire document is online at www.conservative.ca/media/20051104-Policy-Accountability3.pdf.)
* End the influence of money in politics
* Toughen legislation that governs lobbyists
* Ban secret political donations
* Clean up government polling and advertising
* Clean up government procurement
* Protect whistleblowers
* Ensure truth in budgeting
* Strengthen the auditor general
* Strengthen the ethics commissioner
* Strengthen access to information
From the vantage point of the average citizen, more is needed.
To start, how about a law that would ban politicians crossing the floor from one political party to another from sitting in cabinet until they were confirmed by voters under the new banner? If that means an immediate byelection, so be it.
But the Tory proposal is a great start.
Harper's commitment to passing it probably garnered him and his candidates a lot of votes from people unhappy with the current state of affairs.
All of the proposals make sense, so there's no reason this bill can't be supported by all MPs, including the Liberals, who are looking to put the Chretien/Martin era behind them.
Political corruption is endemic around the world. Many countries, including the United States, regularly see the outcomes of elections contested because the will of the people in the ballot box is altered.
We don't see that here, thankfully.
Once they've elected their representatives to office, however, many Canadians simply don't trust those who, with poor election turnout, so few voted into power.
Without that trust, disregard for the laws they pass is a natural consequence.
We cannot go farther down that road.
© Copyright 2006, Fort McMurray Today.
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