Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Saturday, April 07, 2012

F-35 affair reveals lack of fiscal competence, accountability, transparency

The auditor general’s damning report over the F-35 fighter-jet program is not – as some cynical observers are suggesting – another “inside Ottawa” story. It goes to the heart of what is fundamentally wrong with the Harper government and the way it has been operating since coming to office.

There are various troubling elements coming out of this story. Let’s go over them briefly one by one.

The first is fiscal competence. The fact that this prime minister and his government think it’s a good idea to pour $25B of taxpayers’ money into war planes in the current context of austerity – even if it would be paid out over several years – shows how disconnected they are from Canadians.

What is at play here is not some obscure governmental program nobody knows about. Next to the recently announced national shipbuilding strategy, it represents the biggest procurement ever contemplated by the Government of Canada. And what will these particular planes do that others can’t?

As we look at this, we should also remind ourselves of the enormous costs this government has committed us to with their recent omnibus crime bill – which will come with a huge price tag for the provinces – with actually no evidence it will have any effect on crime reduction. So much for financial probity.

The second is accountability. When the Harper government will leave office, the words ministerial responsibility won’t mean anything anymore. I doubt the notion will even be taught in universities because it will have become completely obsolete. Who cares if it is at the core of our parliamentary system? This government has decided it’s always the bureaucrats or some staffer’s fault. If this F-35 debacle is not sufficient for the Minister of National Defence to resign, what is? What would it take under the current regime for a minister to take responsibility for something that has gone wrong?

The third is transparency. Everybody that has spent a fair amount of time in government, as I have, knows the Department of National Defence is not the most transparent department. In many ways, it is a state within the state. And not just in Canada. All American presidents have struggled in their own ways to get the right information from the Pentagon and the generals before making important military decision. There is an old saying that the military brass always gets their way. But that doesn’t leave elected officials off the hook. It’s not the Prime Minister’s job just to ask tough questions – it’s his job to assume the responsibility to tell the truth to Canadians about the cost of these planes. If he doesn’t, how can we trust him with the public purse – and as a matter of fact, anything else?

Above all, it shows again that, for Stephen Harper, the end justify the means. The F-35 debacle is just the latest illustration of this. We’ve been witnesses to countless prorogations, breaches of constitutional conventions, innuendos, accusations of not supporting the troops, personal attack ads, and so on. We have every indication to believe that if the Prime Minister wants to buy the planes, whatever the merits of his motives are, he’ll get them. He’ll just bully his way through.

There used to be lines you couldn’t cross in Canadian politics. You couldn’t go against and ignore well-established constitutional conventions. You couldn’t lie, especially in Parliament, without consequences. You couldn’t hide important facts to the Canadian people. You couldn’t escape facing Parliament. That time has gone.

Original Article
Source: ipolitics
Author: Robert Asselin

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