Ethical issues haunt Conservatives after campaigning on accountability

Appointment of "government representative" in NDP-held riding and Pat Binns ambassadorship fuel criticism.

BC, September 4, 2007: On August 21, Conservative Dick Harris, MP for Cariboo- Prince George, issued a news release naming Houston (BC) Mayor and Conservative candidate Sharon Smith as "the person residents of neighbouring riding Skeena-Bulkley Valley should contact with concerns or issues with the federal government." What makes this news is that the federal seat of Skeena-Bulkley Valley is held by New Democrat Nathan Cullen. Smith attracted national and international attention four years ago after a photo of her, sitting naked in the Mayor's chair and wearing the chain of office, was circulated on the Internet.

"Having an MP from the fourth party in the House just doesn't cut it when it comes to actually getting things done," Harris said in his release and in subsequent media appearances. "Sharon Smith, with her direct government contact, will ensure that things DO get done."

Harris' release ignited so much controversy that the federal Conservative Party had to back down rapidly from it, saying Harris was acting on his own. Sources say the Conservatives did not approve of the decision by Harris, but neither has the party condemned his statements.

As the normally conservative Vancouver Sun points out in an editorial, "It is also hard to imagine that given the tight, central control Harper has imposed on the party, Harris would have initiated the scheme without having it vetted first by the party brass."

Local MP Cullen was furious. "Unelected representation is a fundamental cornerstone of governments in China, North Korea and Cuba, but not Canada and the response from people across the Northwest has been strong and clear. This was a political appointment pure and simple and has little to do with the aspirations of our region," Cullen said in a letter to Houston Today.

The Sun editorial also condemns the apparent patronage appointment of former Conservative MP and Prince Edward Island premier, Pat Binns, as the ambassador to Ireland. "Now Canada's 'new government', as the Conservatives like to call themselves, is showing signs that it is fundamentally not much different from the old government when it comes to resisting the temptations of power."

Left-wing commentators like Dawg's Blog have raised tough questions about the ethics and legality of the Sharon Smith case in Skeena-Bulkley Valley: "Does Smith get paid and who pays her? Does Smith have special access to Caucus? Does Smith have access to Cabinet ministers ahead of the duly elected Member of Parliament? Does Smith perform her role for all constituents, or only Conservatives? Does this appointment interfere with the sitting MP's performance of his duties?"

The Sun worries that behaviour of this sort could topple the government. "While it has been a while since you could get away with paying cash for votes in Canada, the notion that ridings that have an MP or MLA on the government side of the house will be rewarded with more than their share of government spending is still very close to the surface," observes the paper. "In opposition, Harper's Conservatives claimed the high moral ground by repudiating patronage. As we have already seen, that ground is harder to hold in government."

If there is no federal election before 2009, as appears likely so long as the Bloc Québécois continues to prop up the minority government, the Conservatives will have enormous patronage opportunities for making appointments to agencies, boards and commissions. In 2007 alone, it made 800 appointments, many to people "with close ties to the Conservative Party," according to Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch. In a June telephone interview with HarperIndex.ca, he predicted the government, if it lasted four years, could appoint as many as 2,000 loyalists, with terms as long as 10 years.

Related individuals, organizations and significant events
Public appointments and patronage
Ethics, Political

Harper Conservative vs. Public Values Frame
  New government / Old-style patronage politics, bullying
  Accountability / Patronage

Links and sources
  News release: Sharon Smith named as "go to person", Dick Harris, MP, August 21, 2007
  Democracy Watch
  No sign of independent appointments body, Toronto Star, July 27, 2007
  Tories: Forget your MP, talk to our candidate, Canadian Press, August 29, 2007

Posted: September 04, 2007

Harper Index (HarperIndex.ca) is a project of the Golden Lake Institute and the online publication StraightGoods.ca