The Prime Minister’s sideshow at yesterday's caucus was one for the books. Watching Mr. Harper play for the gallery and try to feign outrage was comic. This is rich from a man, who has nobody but himself to blame for this mess. Stephen Harper cannot escape the fact that he is the grand architect of his government, and its rapidly multiplying shortcomings. It’s worth reciting the list.
After promising not to appoint a single Senator, Harper appointed a record 57. This Prime Minister appointed Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau in the first place and used them as star fundraisers for his party with taxpayers’ money.
This Prime Minister hired Nigel Wright and, as an elected official, the PM should be accountable for his departing chief of staff's lack of judgement. A prime minister’s chief of staff is not just some 'guy in the PMO'. He is the second-in-command and the PM’s main advisor.
It is this prime minister who created a culture of juvenile and extreme partisanship where lies, bullying, stonewalling and attack ads have become the accepted norm in Ottawa.
Who else would have the nerve to spend millions of taxpayers’ money to advertize government programs that don't exist? And how many versions of the Duffy scandal story have we heard from the government’s spokespeople?
It is this PM who decided since taking office to not answer questions from the media (and only take questions from certain journalists once a month).
It is this prime minister who refuses to be accountable and hides behind photo-ops and written statements. Because make no mistake about it: in Harper's Ottawa, no one is accountable.
It is this PM who has no time for serious policy and substantive deliberation, who only does things when it’s politically convenient, and then sends his ministers touring the country with speaking points.
Really, the PMO scandal shouldn't surprise anyone. It is a living incarnation of this government’s modus operandi. But this time, they got caught. And they are trying to spin the most ridiculous lines to get out of it without showing any sign of contrition and accountability.
As it stands, we still haven’t seen a copy of the $90,000 cheque given to Mr. Duffy. We don’t know who knew, and when the PM was informed.
At the end of the day, it comes down to the fact that there is one man who must be accountable for all this. We all know who it is. Stephen Harper's character is the real story here. It always has been. And it always will be.
Robert Asselin is the Associate Director of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa. He has served as advisor and speechwriter to the Prime Minister of Canada and to the Leader of the Official Opposition and was a senior policy advisor on the Justin Trudeau leadership campaign. He lectures in Canadian politics, democratic governance and public policy. M. Asselin was born in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Québec.
Original Article
Source: nationalnewswatch.com
Author: Robert Asselin
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