FELDSTED: The stench of unethical actions will hang in the caucus room like the odor of a barrel of rotting fish

'They both have lost any right to be a part of this team' - Liberal MP Alexandra Mendès

Hannah Thibedeau ~~ CBC News ~~ Mar 29, 2019

A growing number of Liberal MPs say they're prepared to boot Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott from caucus next week, according to a survey of dozens of Liberal MPs by CBC News ... Liberal MPs from all regions of the country tell CBC News they feel the two former cabinet ministers can't stay

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"I've come to the conclusion that they both have lost any right to be a part of this team," Quebec MP Alexandra Mendès wrote in an email. She said serving in a party caucus requires "loyalty and team spirit."

Many caucus members who once said they thought Wilson-Raybould and Philpott could remain now say they don't understand how they can continue to identify as members of the Liberal Party given the damage done to the government by the SNC-Lavalin affair.

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The issues raised by Wilson-Raybould and Philpott should have caucus members asking, ‘how can we do better’? Their caucus is in government. Accountability, ethics and honesty matter.

The issues are adherence to constitutional and legal principles. An open and honest government is immune to charges of unethical and unlawful behaviour. If it isn’t, then why not?

Tossing Jody and Jane, instead of listening to their advice, avoids the issues. The stench of unethical actions will hang in the caucus room like the odor of a barrel of rotting fish. There is no escape.   

Wilson-Raybould has one thing right -- repairs require a bipartisan effort.

Liberal, Conservatives and the NDP all have to be aboard to change the culture of governance. The Liberals had a chance to lead the way, but declined the opportunity. Pulling up the drawbridges and manning the ramparts was an epic fail in public relations. Citizens are incensed.

The government elected this coming October will be under intense scrutiny. Canadians will not accept ongoing corporate cronyism with a different set of players. The days of PMO edicts have to end. Playing one part of the nation against others has to end. Ideology adopted at top levels has to be replaced by policies hammered out by the national caucus.

The Liberals have their cronies, as do the Conservatives, NDP and Greens. It must not matter. Every person is entitled to equitable and fair treatment by their government. Ideology, protest groups, indigenous people, religions or corporations cannot prevail over others.

Respect for others and their freedoms and rights must prevail. If we are doing something badly, fix it.

In related news, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced his government will do whatever it can to assist the workers to be laid off in the Windsor Chrysler plant next September.

What makes that workforce special? People lose jobs because corporations downsize, are bought out, go bankrupt or lose sales. Those are facts of life. We created unemployment insurance to help people weather job losses in those situations.

Over the years we have turned the plan into Employment Insurance (EI) that covers illness and injury and child care benefits. It has lost its original intent. We need to rework unemployment insurance to transition employees, caught in layoffs, to new employment. If the benefits are inadequate, fix it. If the benefit pool is inadequate, top it up.

No matter where in Canada you work, you should have that cushion to help you if job loss is outside your control. The same rules for everyone in the nation. Governments can get back to governing instead of running around like ninnies stamping out brush fires.

There is so much wrong, with so many aspects of our governance, it leaves us breathless.

The current system of allowing politicians and bureaucrats to pick winners and losers is unworkable. Our debt and deficits are unsustainable. We are protecting the wrong people for the wrong reasons.

Our challenge is to find more Wilson-Rayboulds and Philpotts and send them to Ottawa. We need people who understand that accountability, ethics and principles matter to every person they represent. 

John Feldsted

Political Consultant & Strategist

Winnipeg, Manitoba