Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

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
.
"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.

CLICK HERE to read the full story:


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
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FORSETH -- Given the noted infractions of this agreement with OneBC leader Dallas Brodie, I request the Party immediate suspend the leadership campaign of Yuri Fulmer

I have personally emailed the following to the Board and Administration of the Conservative Party of BC:   TODAY (03/30) Yuri Fulmer, a candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party of BC, made a pact with ONEBC leader Dallas Broldie, that if he is elected will commit the Conservative Party to the following. Specifically, the pact states : This Memorandum of Understanding outlines the definitive electoral and governing alliance that will be executed upon Yuri Fulmer’s election as Leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia OneBC Party commits to not nominating or authorizing candidates in 88 of British Columbia’s 93 electoral districts. In exchange, the Conservative Party of BC, under the leadership of Yuri Fulmer, commits to not nominating or authorizing candidates in five (5) specific electoral districts . OneBC will be the sole standard-bearer for the right in those five districts. The specific ridings will be determined through mutual negotiation and fin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Delays to the replacement of the Red Bridge? Kamloops North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer says they are, “Totally Unacceptable.”

I think it’s totally unacceptable that on one hand the Ministry of Transportation and Transit (MoTT) is saying they’re going to be responsible for putting together multiple replacement options with public engagement, and then in the same breath they're saying, ‘Oh, and by the way, we're going to start our geotechnical environmental and archaeological site assessments on both sides of the river, possibly beginning this summer.’ According to Stamer, that should already have been done. “Obviously, we're pretty sure it will be in the same location because there's really no other place to put it. So, if you're going to put in a bridge, you think that at least you'd be doing the archaeological assessments first off”, stated Stamer.   “If it's determined it has to be a free-span bridge, and it can't have anything or very minimal impact in the riverbed, they should already be determining that. It would help in the design, wouldn't it?” Stamer indicated...
Post a Comment
Read more

Your government has a gambling problem (Troy Media)

Provinces call it “revenue,” but it looks a lot like exploitation of the marginalized The odds of winning Lotto Max are about 1 in 33 million. You’re statistically more likely to be struck by lightning than to win it. But your government is betting that statistics won’t hold you back; they’re counting on it. Across Canada, provincial governments not only regulate gambling, they also maintain a monopoly on lottery and gaming by owning and operating the entire legal market. That means every scratch card is government-issued, gambling odds are government-set, casino ads are government-funded and lottery billboards are government-paid. And these are not incidental government activities. They generate significant revenues that governments have powerful incentives to expand, not constrain. It would be one thing for our governments to encourage us to engage in healthy activities. We can quibble about whether the government should be trying to convince us to be more active or eat more vegetabl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more