Voters Will Punish Harper for Mulroney's Sins

Political leaders often take credit for things that happen under their watch, whether or not they are directly or indirectly responsible.

But more often, we measure our politicians on our perception of their ability to manage a crisis once it happens. With its latest misstep, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government is lifting the heavy, dirty rug that previously hid bags of money and one sullied former Prime Minister – and making room for the whole Conservative Party down below.

Yesterday, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said he had no authority to block the impending (Dec. 1) extradition of Karlheinz Schreiber to Germany. The Commons ethics committee looking into Schreiber’s dealings with former PM Brian Mulroney would have to proceed without its star witness because, he claimed, because the federal government had no jurisdiction.

Parliamentary lawyers, meanwhile, argued the minister clearly has the power under the federal Extradition Act to amend the order and keep Schreiber in the country as long as his testimony is required. Schreiber’s presence is crucial to the Commons hearing, and will be even moreso to the public inquiry, the terms of which are to be released Jan. 11.

When pressed during Question Period today on the issue of jurisdiction, Nicholson declined to answer any questions because the matter was “before the courts.” Refusing to answer a procedural question such as, “Who’s in charge?” does not jeopardize any proceedings, be they before courts of law or Commons committees.

He knows this. He also knows that there is no obligation under the Canadian-German extradition treaty to extradite Canadian nationals – and Schreiber is a Canadian.

Nicholson also knows that Schreiber has promised to keep his mouth shut about the whole Airbus affair if he is forced to leave the country. And the German government, who wants him on bribery, fraud and tax evasion charges, would be unlikely to let him out of jail to testify in Canada.

This appearance of being less than co-operative and of shirking responsibility comes just weeks after Harper obstreperously dismissed initial calls for a public inquiry, warning opposition parties of the dangers of giving him any more power, even threatening to look into business dealings of former Liberal prime ministers.

When this is all said and done in a few years, and newspapers are printing timelines showing the sequence of events leading up to the inquiry, they will show that this Conservative Party never wanted this inquiry to begin with, and that they deliberately eschewed opportunities to ensure the star witness would be able to testify.

Whether or not they have something to hide, they are giving the impression that they do. This will be particularly damning if there is any hint of a connection -- however remote -- with the current government because their actions will have lost them the benefit of any doubt.

This may well be the first crisis the Conservative Party has had to manage that wasn’t of their own doing. If they’re not careful, it could wind up the one issue to define this government in parts of Canada in the same way that the Gomery Commission caused lasting damage to the Liberal brand in Quebec.

There is a lot at stake here.

Autumn Brings Out True Tory Colours

Unseasonable weather in southern Ontario has meant leaves are taking a little bit longer to fall from the trees this autumn.

Everywhere you look there are blotches of orange and yellow where there would normally be shades of brown and grey at this time of year. You would think having more of that cheerful, sunny yellow in a month where the days get visibly shorter would be a good thing. But yellow has also been shown to be associated with anger: people are more apt to lose their tempers, and babies are more likely to cry in rooms painted yellow.

Could this prolonged exposure to yellow be the reason for all the rage and arrogance to come out of Ottawa this month?

Prime Minister Stephen Harper set the tone at the beginning of November. In response to calls from the opposition for a public inquiry into the Mulroney/Schreiber affair, he said it would be extremely dangerous for him, as prime minister, to have a free hand in launching inquiries against his predecessors. He threatened rhetorically to look more closely into former prime minister Paul Martin’s relationship with his shipping company and even brought up the already dealt-with matter of Jean Chretien’s involvement in the sale of a golf course in his riding. Talk about small-town cheap, and I’m not referring to golf balls.

Last week, House Leader Peter Van Loan called Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty the “small man of Confederation” because McGuinty demanded fair treatment for Ontario in the upcoming redistribution of federal seats. The premier of the country’s most populous province and economic powerhouse had the nerve to ask for fair representation in a democracy. He wasn’t even asking for more money, just to respect the principle of representation by population, a basic tenet of democracy.

Then we have Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. In response to a report from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities warning of the “coming collapse of Canada’s municipal infrastructure,” he told cities to quit “whining” and do a better job of collecting taxes and building reserve funds. This is particularly rich coming from Flaherty, considering his role as a cabinet minister in the Ontario Conservative government that forced amalgamation on the City of Toronto in 1998 – and in the process forced the city to pillage its cash reserves just to keep the lights on, let alone pay for provincially mandated programs.

This government and its ministers have shown a lot of arrogance and anger since assuming power almost two years ago. Environment Minister John Baird’s feasts of fury are legendary. But what is sparking all this rage right now? The answer might be in the leaves.

Let’s step outside again for a closer look at those brilliant orange and yellow hues that colour the canopy over our city. These are their “true colours” that only reveal themselves in the fall when the green chlorophyll drains from the leaves.

In a similar way, our federal cabinet is showing its true colours through these latest outbursts: Harper showed that he values partisanship more than the integrity inherent in the office of prime minister; Van Loan demonstrated his party’s disdain for Ontario voters who continue to rebuke the federal Tories; and Flaherty reinforced the Conservative party’s contempt for urban voters.

One of the dangers of leaves lingering too long in the fall is the extra stress this places on tree limbs. One good snowfall or ice storm, and branches begin to snap under the weight of the leaves and the extra ice/snow they collect. Similarly, this minority government has lingered longer than anybody expected and with each contemptuous outburst, is showing signs of stress. Rather than sticking to the merits of their position on key issues, our senior ministers attack their critics and threaten their opponents. Instead of talking and listening, they shout and insult and bully their way through to the next issue.

Either these guys are getting advice from the King Juan Carlos school of public relations – the Spanish monarch told Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez to “shut up” after Chavez called a former Spanish prime minister a fascist at a recent summit in Chile – or they just don’t get it. I’m inclined to believe the latter.