PMO

Tuesday August 25, 2015

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Tuesday August 25, 2015 The Growing Power of the PMO In 2006, Stephen Harper rode into Ottawa with a mandate to clean up the ethical wreckage of the Liberal sponsorship scandal. The Conservative Party leader moved quickly as the prime minister of a minority government. He banned corporate and union donations, and lowered the individual donation limit to $1,000. He toughened federal lobbying rules, created the Parliamentary Budget Office and gave additional powers to the Ethics Commissioner. His goal, he said over and over, was to return accountability to Ottawa. And he did that, to a degree. His reforms have helped bring the federal government up to date on important issues of political financing and budget oversight. Not surprisingly, though, Mr. Harper failed to target the real source of OttawaÕs accountability crisis. As the trial of Mike Duffy has reminded us, the greatest threat to responsible government in Canada is none other than the Prime MinisterÕs Office. Over the past 40 years, the PMO has morphed into a parasite on the body of Parliament that prospers by sucking the democracy out of its host. The court-documented efforts by Nigel Wright, the former chief of staff to Mr. Harper, to control the Senate from inside the PMO are outrageous only because they have been exposed by Mr. DuffyÕs lawyer. The real scandal lies below the surface, where the PMO uses its toxic tentacles to neutralize every part of government that might compete with it for power, so that today we are ruled by an imperial prime minister, unaccountable to anyone or anything. Do not blame Mr. Harper alone for this. The expansion of the PMO began under Pierre Trudeau, and every prime minister since then has been responsible for increasing its malignant grip on Parliament. Brian Mulroney was the first to name a Òchief of staffÓ and elevate that person above the principal secretary who was, up till then, the highest unelect

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday August 25, 2015

The Growing Power of the PMO

In 2006, Stephen Harper rode into Ottawa with a mandate to clean up the ethical wreckage of the Liberal sponsorship scandal. The Conservative Party leader moved quickly as the prime minister of a minority government. He banned corporate and union donations, and lowered the individual donation limit to $1,000. He toughened federal lobbying rules, created the Parliamentary Budget Office and gave additional powers to the Ethics Commissioner.

His goal, he said over and over, was to return accountability to Ottawa. And he did that, to a degree. His reforms have helped bring the federal government up to date on important issues of political financing and budget oversight.

Not surprisingly, though, Mr. Harper failed to target the real source of Ottawa’s accountability crisis. As the trial of Mike Duffy has reminded us, the greatest threat to responsible government in Canada is none other than the Prime Minister’s Office.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013Over the past 40 years, the PMO has morphed into a parasite on the body of Parliament that prospers by sucking the democracy out of its host. The court-documented efforts by Nigel Wright, the former chief of staff to Mr. Harper, to control the Senate from inside the PMO are outrageous only because they have been exposed by Mr. Duffy’s lawyer. The real scandal lies below the surface, where the PMO uses its toxic tentacles to neutralize every part of government that might compete with it for power, so that today we are ruled by an imperial prime minister, unaccountable to anyone or anything.

Do not blame Mr. Harper alone for this. The expansion of the PMO began under Pierre Trudeau, and every prime minister since then has been responsible for increasing its malignant grip on Parliament. Brian Mulroney was the first to name a “chief of staff” and elevate that person above the principal secretary who was, up till then, the highest unelected authority in the PMO. Jean Chrétien relied on the protective coating of the PMO to shield himself from direct responsibility for the sponsorship scandal, just as Mr. Harper is now doing in the Duffy affair. (Continued: Globe & Mail)

Friday, November 22, 2013

Friday, November 22, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday, November 22, 2013

Mike Duffy Senate scandal moves closer to Stephen Harper: Walkom

For Stephen Harper, the Senate spending scandal is like a bad smell. No matter how much the government tries to fumigate, it never goes away.

That Nigel Wright, Harper’s former chief of staff, is now officially under RCMP investigation for bribery and breach of trust brings the controversy even closer to the prime minister.

On the face of it, the latest information released by the RCMP — a summary of interviews and emails provided to a judge in order to obtain warrants — should give Harper solace.

Corporal Greg Horton, the Mountie charged with drawing up the summary, says he has found no evidence that the prime minister was involved in “the minutiae” of what the RCMP alleges was an illegal attempt to solve the nagging political problem of Senator Mike Duffy’s dubious expense claims.

 

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Horton also says that, contrary to what Duffy has claimed, there is no evidence that Harper pressed to have his Conservative Party pay Duffy’s legal bills.

So far, the Mounties have alleged that two people involved the Duffy affair broke the law: Wright by offering a bribe and Duffy by accepting it.

But the emails and interview summaries contained in the 81-page document and its six appendices also paint a picture of a prime minister very much concerned with the broad strokes of the Duffy imbroglio.

In one email, dated Feb. 22 of this year, Wright notes that he just received permission from Harper to go ahead with a deal that would see Duffy repay thousands of dollars in housing and living expenses he had charged to the public purse — in exchange for assurances that a Senate audit committee would go easy on him. (Source: Toronto Star)

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Thursday, October 10, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday, October 10, 2013

Mike Duffy friend paid $65K for ‘no apparent work,’ RCMP allege

A friend of Mike Duffy was paid $65,000 by his Senate office for “little or no apparent work,” an RCMP investigator alleges in court documents filed today in Ottawa.

The RCMP are seeking banking information for Gerald Donohue, Duffy’s friend, and Senator Patrick Brazeau. Both Duffy and Brazeau were named to the Senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the end of 2008.

Duffy and Brazeau are under investigation for fraud and breach of trust over their Senate expense claims, the RCMP say in the affidavits.
In the affidavit pertaining to Duffy, Cpl. Greg Horton says he believes Duffy “hired a friend as a consultant over an approximate four-year period, and paid him a total of approximately $65,000 during that time, for little or no apparent work.”

The money came out of Duffy’s Senate office budget.

Horton said in the affidavit that Donohue, was interviewed by investigators “and acknowledged that he produced no tangible work product for Duffy.”

Donohue, a former technician who worked for CTV and CBC, told investigators that he did internet research and provided verbal advice to Duffy, Horton wrote. Donohue, who ended his career as a vice-president at Baton Broadcasting (which was acquired by CTV the year he retired), had never been a consultant before then.

Duffy said Tuesday that “it would be inappropriate for me to comment while these matters are being examined by the RCMP.” (Source: CBC News)

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Tuesday July 16, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday July 16, 2013

Harper adds 8 new faces in major cabinet shakeup

A mix of young talent, veteran experience and more women at the cabinet table signals a “generational change” as the government prepares for a major policy reset with a fall speech from the throne, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said after unveiling his new inner circle.

The major cabinet makeover elevates eight MPs to the front bench — including four women — and creates new portfolios for multiculturalism and social development.
“I think this is a good mixture of some young and promising talent we have in our caucus and some experienced hands,” Harper said after the swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall on Monday morning.

Harper said the government will continue to focus on key priority areas — the economy and job creation, public safety, celebrating Canada’s history and promoting the country’s interests on the world stage. He touted the government’s economic record during a prolonged period of global uncertainty, and said new policy directions are on the way.

“This fall, the government will move ahead with a renewed policy agenda set forward in a speech from the throne,” he said. “And our new agenda will have new faces to bring it forward — the team Canadians elected in 2011 is deep and it is talented.”

Details of the sweeping overhaul were revealed through Harper’s Twitter account before the re-tooled inner circle was officially unveiled with traditional pomp and ceremony. (Source: CBC News)