Well, here we go again. It appears that the taxpayer-funded Prime Minister’s Office (aka PMO) has nothing better to do but to lead a campaign to disparage a Member of Parliament (MP) from one of the opposition parties. Now, one must remember that the powerful PMO is responsible for almost everything to do with the PM, in this case Stephen Harper. In fact, the PMO calls the shots for much of what the Conservative government is doing or saying in the legislature and in public. It is the exclusive operational arm of the executive. Indeed, it appears to have so much influence that even a number of Conservative back benchers have complained about the PMO’s obsession with control.
Among the PMO’s latest activities is the apparent spearheading of partisan attacks against the Liberal leader, Justin Trudeau. Remember that recent polls have shown that Trudeau represents a real potential threat to the ruling Conservatives in the next election, his popularity being even greater than that of the PM. Due to his popularity and charismatic attributes, the younger Trudeau is often invited by various groups to speak at events, including those promoting a charitable cause. As an MP, Trudeau is in his right to be paid for such speaking engagements, as long as they are reported the federal ethics watchdog Mary Dawson. However, the Conservatives have tried to depict his acceptance of speaking fees as being unethical, particularly where charitable organizations are involved. I have no problem with such partisan political meanderings, but please do it on your own dime and not mine.
It appears that the PM and his staff are treating the PMO as an extension of the Conservative Party’s machinery. Recognizing that the PMO is staffed with party cronies, it is however paid for out of the public purse. The PMO’s chief administrative responsibility is to coordinate the ruling party’s agenda in Cabinet and in Parliament and to liaise with the federal bureaucracy. However, the PMO today has become much more as a result of exercising an inordinate amount of control over the Conservative caucus, Cabinet ministers and the party’s members of parliament. This obsession of Stephen Harper with absolute control has exasperated even members of his own party, to the point where one member recently left the caucus to sit as an independent. Under threat of excommunication, MPs are not allowed to speak their own minds or to speak out of turn either in the legislature or in public. Big brother is watching.
Using the PMO to spearhead political attacks on opposition leaders and to deflect recent negative publicity surrounding the Conservative government’s inappropriate behaviour and abuse of powers is unacceptable and dangerous. It’s about time that Canadians wake up to the bastardization of parliamentary institutions by this government. Elected on the promise of greater transparency and accountability, control-freak Harper has demonstrated even more secrecy and lack of openness in his administration. What’s worse is that the other parties may be becoming just as control conscious!!! So much for independence of thought.
FROLITICKS 