minister's defection to be probed
RUEZ @ Fri Mar 03, 2006 1:06 pm
Now I'm just curious as to when they're going to start a probe into Belinda's defection. If I'm not mistaken she did the same thing. Trade minister's defection to be probed: CBC Perhaps only in Canada can one person be scrutinized for doing exactly the same thing as his coleague.
TheGup @ Fri Mar 03, 2006 1:16 pm
It was a complaint from the NDP.
This is because last time around, the NDP had everything to gain by having Ms. Stronach sit with the Liberals.
A tad bit of hypocrasy all around with this defection.
RUEZ @ Fri Mar 03, 2006 1:17 pm
TheGup TheGup:
A tad bit of hypocrasy all around with this defection.
Agreed.
I don't think I'd want my defection probed.... maybe after a few drinks.
RUEZ @ Fri Mar 03, 2006 1:36 pm
Blue_Nose Blue_Nose:
I don't think I'd want my defection probed.... maybe after a few drinks.
I was wondering how long it would take for someone to post something like that.
update
It makes sense the NDP would make the complaint because it makes sense for them politically. They are hoping the electorate has no appetite to re-elect David Emerson as a Tory and instead choose the candidate who placed second to Emerson in consecutive elections. That person being NDP candidate Ian Waddell. The NDP feels they can actually have an MP from this riding if the voters went back to the polls in a by-election. That is the only reason they made the complaint and didn't do it at the time when Belinda Stronach switched parties.
Hypocritical? You bet it is. But it also makes political sense and that's why they did it.
RUEZ RUEZ:
Blue_Nose Blue_Nose:
I don't think I'd want my defection probed.... maybe after a few drinks.
I was wondering how long it would take for someone to post something like that.

lol, at first glance i saw defecation probed...... that's even worse!
anywho, i agree that it's a hypocritical move. the Libs needed belinda to pass that bill, and that's the only reason she jumped ship. all they were trying to do was even the score (underhandedly) in order to survive.
on the other hand, harper hasn't even done anything yet but name this guy who also jumped ship.
i guess probing defecation is the right thing to do after all, cuz all this is is shit, from both parties.
They need to keep the David Emerson story alive in the rest of Canada because no one listend to the whiners from the west anyways.
Ethics commissioner Shapero is a yappy lapdog anyways.
Shapiro is nothing more than a liberal appointee.He was appointed by Martin when he was still PM.It really shows that Shapiro is biased now.Why on earth would he investigate Emerson while letting Stronach get away with nothing more than a whimper?Belinda was offered a cabinet post in exchange for her vote when she defected to the liberals in order to save the libs from falling.This happened when Parliament was in session and when Belinda made a big difference as far as the fate of the libs went.When Harper became PM, Parliament was not in session and was under no threat of falling yet what so ever.Harper appointed Emerson because he wanted the Vancouver to have representation at the cabinet table.Harper wants competent people in cabinet as well.This whole ethics investigatin is a farce and I believe Harper has every right to thumb his nose at Shapiro.I would have gave Shapiro the one finger salute if I was there.There is definately a double standard waving it's bare ass in the face of politics and ethics.Belinda does something way worse and gets off scott free while Harper gets his governing record crapped on even before Parliament starts just because he wants representation for everyone in Canada.
Banff @ Mon Mar 06, 2006 5:02 pm
Tory_canuck Tory_canuck:
Shapiro is nothing more than a liberal appointee.He was appointed by Martin when he was still PM.It really shows that Shapiro is biased now.Why on earth would he investigate Emerson while letting Stronach get away with nothing more than a whimper?Belinda was offered a cabinet post in exchange for her vote when she defected to the liberals in order to save the libs from falling.This happened when Parliament was in session and when Belinda made a big difference as far as the fate of the libs went.When Harper became PM, Parliament was not in session and was under no threat of falling yet what so ever.Harper appointed Emerson because he wanted the Vancouver to have representation at the cabinet table.Harper wants competent people in cabinet as well.This whole ethics investigatin is a farce and I believe Harper has every right to thumb his nose at Shapiro.I would have gave Shapiro the one finger salute if I was there.There is definately a double standard waving it's bare ass in the face of politics and ethics.Belinda does something way worse and gets off scott free while Harper gets his governing record crapped on even before Parliament starts just because he wants representation for everyone in Canada.
I'm not quite finnished taking a dump on Belinda . I think she can't be left to get away with it and we really need to change the rules regarding PARTY OF THE DAY swapping . Canadians voted for resposible gov . why stop now ?
2Cdo @ Mon Mar 06, 2006 5:07 pm
Apparently if you GO TO the liberals there is nothing wrong, but if you LEAVE the liberal party it must be investigated!
As a sidenote the liberals now want to debate the mission in Afghanistan, didn't they send us there in the first place?
Between them and the NDP I honestly can't figure out who the bigger hypocrites are? ![Confused [?]](./images/smilies/confused.gif)
Thorns @ Mon Mar 06, 2006 7:30 pm
if the tories did nothing wrong then stephen harper shouldn't have anything to be concerned about.
or should he?
i don't see anything wrong with it, if making an example out of emmerson and harper's backroom deal puts an end to the floor crossing without holding a byelection, then all of canada will benefit from it.
Thorns Thorns:
if the tories did nothing wrong then stephen harper shouldn't have anything to be concerned about.
or should he?
i don't see anything wrong with it, if making an example out of emmerson and harper's backroom deal puts an end to the floor crossing without holding a byelection, then all of canada will benefit from it.
Uh yeahh, okay. Wanna put down the dube for a second and think about what you just said?
When the Lib's spend two weeks wining, dining and bribing Belinda (which by itself is a gross violation of ethics), it's okay. Never mind that they desperately needed her vote to pass the budget and that she claimed her defection was a matter of values (and let's be clear here: the only thing the bitch values are money and power, and she wasn't getting enough of either with the Tory's). Mr. Shapiro states it wasn't in his mandate to investigate because no-one complained. So as the Ethics Commissioner, his own sense of ethics (or lack thereof) was not to be called upon to determine if something with the taint of unethicality might warrant his attention? And I guess that Belinda's appointment as Minister for Human Resources and Development (the department that is
supposed to mind the government's ethics) and the fact she became Shapiro's boss, had no bearing on his decision not investigate her (and the Liberal government's) breach of ethics.
But when, the Tory's convince a Liberal to join their team because he is the most qualified person for the post, it might be unethical for them to seek-out the best person for the job if he happens to be on the other team. And if a person from a third party raises a complaint, not necessarily because she views events as unethical (didn't hear no Dippers complaining when Brison or Stronach defected), but because she hopes it will increase her party's power, then by gum, the matter needs investigating and we'll make an example of the Tory's.
This one reeks as high as the (Un)Ethics Commissioners report on the Grewal-Dosanjj farce. You remember that one don't you. That's the one where TWO Liberals and one Conservative tried to trick the other side into doing something unethical. In the end, nothing was offered and nothing was accepted, but our faithful protector of ethics; Mr. Shapiro, investigated and decided that the Conservative had committed several ethical breaches but the Liberals were exonnerated of all blame (a favourite phrase of guilty Liberals and their appointed lapdogs/pardoners).
Well, it's well known that Shapiro will be shown the door when the next government sits, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if his past conduct is being investigated (as we speak), as a way to reduce or eliminate his severance package. 'Course that means we'll be subjected to another round of:
"I'm entitled to my entitlements" whining. Hopefully, Mr. Harper will arrange it so his entitlements are delivered with a RIGHTeous application of shoe leather to his unethical Liberal ass.
Thorns @ Mon Mar 06, 2006 9:06 pm
so the tories plan on governing with the motto, two wrongs are ok as long as we make them? how about putting aside the political partisanship past and doing something which will bring about real and positive change to canadian election democracy.
if the tories remove shapiro they will come out looking like politically biased bittermen. but if they do, i can hardly wait to see who the tories appoint as the next ethics commissioner, i'm guessing based on what moves they have made so far that it will be another mulroney crony.
from what you've said it is obvious that the only one smoking anything here is you, smoking the tory pipe.