With a government that has been so patently dishonest and lacking in transparency from the beginning it was only a matter of time before it came to this. Though when was the last time a party's headquarters’ were raided by the RCMP?
But really this is just another in a long list of lies, stonewalling and troubling secrecy on the part of a Government so unwilling to accept any criticism or have any semblance of accountability.....
- The gutting of their own Accountability Act and breaking their promises on Access to Information.
- Continued misleading of Canadians with regard to the Afghan detainee torture scandal and repeated attempts to block any investigation of this file that carry on to this day.
- Shameful and repeated censoring of Access to Information Requests.
- Censoring Government scientists to ensure only the “party line” gets heard.
- Firing independent regulators (like Linda Keen) for doing their jobs.
- Creating a manual manual on how to disrupt committees which they have used to block any investigation of the Cadman affair (where Conservatives stand accused of bribing Chuck Cadman to vote with them) and the “In and Out” Scandal that has been the source of today’s RCMP raid.
- And a long list of other troubling actions.
This from a government that pledged in the last election to be open, transparent and accountable?
So for those who thought the “In and Out” Scandal involving accusations that the Tories broke the law in allowing local candidates to claim $1.2 million in expenses for ads produced by the national campaign (thus going over the legal spending limit) was no big deal think again. You don’t see the RCMP raiding party HQ over a minor issue. But this should not be seen in isolation and with such a long pattern of shameful behavior on the part of this government if they ever tried to run a campaign claiming they were an honest and accountable government Canadians will either just laugh or turn away in disgust.
Canadians will instead be looking in the next election for a leader that embodies honesty and integrity and there is no federal party leader who has exhibited that more in his career than Stephane Dion.
Even Jack Layton has said that Dion is a “committed Canadian and a man of principle and conviction” as have so many others that have worked with Dion over the years. Canadians will see this clearly come election time as well. In contrast to the scandal prone Conservatives who mislead and stonewall at every turn, Dion will provide an honest government that is open and transparent.
Instead of a one-man show Government with the weakest front bench in Canadian history, a Dion led Government will have the strongest front bench in Canadian history.
Instead of demonizing and silencing our scientists and independent regulators, Dion will listen to them.
Instead of a government that governs at home and abroad based on ideology, Canadians will see in a Dion led Government one that governs based on reason and sound policy.
Instead of a government that is now seen as a pariah on human rights and the environment, under Dion, Canada will be a leader on both fronts.
Instead of a government that stands up for Canadians only when it’s convenient, a Dion government will stand up for all Canadians at home and abroad.
Instead of dividing people, Dion will show his capacity to unite them (like he did here).
Instead of always eyeing which policies will win the most voters or only paying attention to those voters that might vote for his party, a Dion government will provide Canadians with the policies needed to move Canada to the head of pack in the 21st century.
Dion will give Canadians the Government we can trust and the Government we need at this time in our history.
I for one look forward to a Prime Minister Dion so we can put this shameful era in Canadian history behind us and have a government we can proud of again not just at home but across the world itself. Today we move one step closer to that.
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6 comments:
I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with you.
I think Mr. Dion becoming Prime Minsiter is a frightening thought... and it seems many a Liberal agree with me on that one, to the point where they will be working to ensure he DOESN'T win.
Mr. Harper has done a great job with what he's been given, considering all the "gotcha" politics that the Opposition parties keep on playing. I'm sorry, but I've seen more smear and lies coming from the Opposition benches than I've ever seen before... many of the things you refer to as being "shameful" are issues where there are honest differences in opinion.
But, like a typical Liberal, I see there's no chance of reasoning with you. It's too bad, because I think if we were to honestly try looking for common ground, we could accomplish great things for this nation.
Too bad we have to go it alone... but that's your choice, not ours.
Nice Comment
We just have the challenge of getting our message clearly out there over all the CONservative spin
Paul, you are free to disagree, but care to explain how each of the Conservative actions I listed could be considered a “good job”, especially when they ran on openness and accountability?
It is a bit surprising to hear you say you’ve seen more smears and lies from the opposition when the Conservatives haven’t run a single positive ad and have run several negative ones and even made up a manual on how to disrupt committees.
And while I don’t expect very partisan Conservatives to be supporting the Liberals, what makes you so frightened of Dion as PM? I gave many reasons why I look forward to him as PM, do you have any specific reasons why you fear him other than the Conservative slogans “he’s not a leader” or “not worth the risk” that don’t really mean any thing? You talk about people being reasoned with, but you just don’t seem to have any reasons behind your arguments.
I still think you missed the main thrust of the post though which is that the Conservatives now have zero credibility on integrity and honesty and the Liberals happen to have a leader who has exhibited integrity and honesty throughout his career (which is even admitted by all the party leaders).
danielle,
I think political parties trying to corner the market on "integrity and honesty," is a a little bit like the Toronto Maple Leafs selling a winning tradition. Nobody is going to buy it and ALL PARTIES should probably stop selling it.
And as far as Dion's integrity goes ... I think a lot of it went out the window after his numerous threats to bring down the government if certain conditions weren't met (throne speech, budget, etc.) proved to be empty.
Dion is a man who says one thing and then does another. That does not equal integrity.
Sir John A,
I know Conservatives like to say Dion threatened to bring down the Government if certain conditions weren't met, but when did he ever actually specifically say "if condition X isn't satisfied we will have to bring down the Government?" I certainly don't know of any examples. One can criticize the governent without forcing an election. It doesn't mean they are saying they'll do something and then not following through.
Conservatives may want integrity off the table now that they've been shown to have none, but so many people who have known and worked with Dion has complimented him on integrity whether Conservatives like it or not. You don't have Jack Layton complimenting Stephane Dion on this front for no reason, we know very well Jack Layton hates complimenting Liberals.
When the election comes Conservatives can focus on a few months of abstaining all they want, but Stephane Dion's entire career speaks for itself when it comes to integrity.
Though again it seems a Conservative commenter wants to focus on one aspect of my post and not another. It no Conservative willing to defend their party on all the shameful actions I listed? I guess not. I trust any other Conservative commenters will continue to dodge and weave on this issue.
The ethics card is gone for the Cons, and their short form name is very fitting here - because they certainly conned Canadians into believing they were going to be the party of said ethics.
Very telling that not a single Con commentator will defend anything you listed here - instead they have to go after Dion and the Liberals.
Sorry guys, your lot has been in power for 2 years now -- you cant blame the previous government or the current crop for stuff you're responsible for.
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