Thursday, March 09, 2006
Sandbox Spat
Is Bernard Shapiro wrong for wanting to investigate "The Emerson Affair?" Yes. Should Bernard Shapiro still have a job? No. Should Shapiro had the job in the first place? No - in fact he sounded almost hestitant to take it in the first place.Is Stephan Harper wrong for offering the job to Ed Broadbent before firing Shapiro? Yes. Is the Prime Minister bound to comply by a rulings of an Agent of Parliament? Yes. This is a democracy not a dictatorship.
This is one of the classic examples of how not to handle human resources. Harper has shown an ability to mess up human resources in a big way in a short period of time. The rotating door in his Communications shop. The lack of staffed up offices in Ottawa. The Fortier appointment to cabinet.
It also is part of the larger ethics equation about ensuring qualified people with no partisan connections fill these roles in the future.
# posted by Shaky @ 9:23 a.m. 
Comments:
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Joe Harper.
Lots of comparisons between Joe Clark and Stephen Harper:
• both won narrow minority governments.
• both faced a former governing party in a temporary state of transition.
• both thought they were the first of a long-term wave of Conservatism to sweep over Canada and become the "natural governing party".
• both underestimated the real support for their party.
• both came into power due to voters wishing to spank the governing party and send them to the penalty box for a while.
• both acted as if they had a majority government.
But there are two major differences between Joe Clerk and Stephen Harper:
1. Joe Clark did not behave in ethically questionable ways from the get go.
2. Joe's arrogance was political, not personal.
Of course, what happened to Joe will now happen to Stephen: a footnote in Canada's decorous but tempestuous political history.
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Lots of comparisons between Joe Clark and Stephen Harper:
• both won narrow minority governments.
• both faced a former governing party in a temporary state of transition.
• both thought they were the first of a long-term wave of Conservatism to sweep over Canada and become the "natural governing party".
• both underestimated the real support for their party.
• both came into power due to voters wishing to spank the governing party and send them to the penalty box for a while.
• both acted as if they had a majority government.
But there are two major differences between Joe Clerk and Stephen Harper:
1. Joe Clark did not behave in ethically questionable ways from the get go.
2. Joe's arrogance was political, not personal.
Of course, what happened to Joe will now happen to Stephen: a footnote in Canada's decorous but tempestuous political history.
# posted by 
: 7:32 p.m.
: 7:32 p.m. << Home
