OTTAWA – Members of Parliament have exempted the cash and benefits they receive from political parties and riding associations from restrictions and public disclosure under the House of Commons conflict-of-interest code.
The move was unanimously approved without a vote in the Commons after committee hearings conducted entirely in secret.
The closed-door decision counters a trend toward more accountability in government and should have come under public scrutiny, a democracy advocate says.
It could also erode the independence of backbench MPs, making them more beholden to party bosses instead of voters, adds Democracy Watch chief Duff Conacher.
All four parties approved the change Thursday after a House rules committee and a subcommittee held eight meetings on the topic that were closed to the public.
Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson, responsible for helping MPs avoid conflicts of interest, gave evidence and advice at four of the meetings. But her comments will remain a secret, along with all statements and comments MPs made during the in-camera hearings.
Conacher – who says he gave an invited opinion at one of the meetings on condition that this portion remain open to the public, and then answered questions in camera – criticized Dawson for taking part in the secret deliberations.
“She’s a watchdog,” he said. “A watchdog does not meet behind closed doors with the people they watch.”
[More]
Politicians in Canada are totally out of control – they have managed to take care of themselves, their families, their friends, while in office – and in their golden years….Before, it was beware of the well seasoned Canadian politician – it seems like the younger generation of Canadian politicians are as guilty. Greedy government employees and their greedy unions, to the highest office in Canada, this problem is completely out of control….it is too bad we do not have honest people who actually care about the very people who employ them – if you want to see where CANADA is heading, just look at California and the mess they are in…..sure it is the USA - but California has the same population as Canada….their situation is so bad, honest hard working people will perish because of bad decisions from years and years of what is happening today in CANADA……California school bus drivers making more than 100K US, California teachers, for whatever reasons….impossible to terminate – jobs for life!
Michael
Its no wonder Canadians are no longer voting like they use to, cause ‘their all the same’ when it comes to their own selfish needs. Shame on them all!
I’m far from certain this is a big deal. As the article indicates Elections Canada has the final say.
As we’re fond of saying over in the bunker…. the only difference between them is the colour of their ties.
So much for the transparent government promises we heard during the last two election cycles.
If you watch carefully, you’ll see Duff Conacher pops up every three or four months and makes some obscure condemnation like this one. It’s all about fund raising for Democracy Watch. If Duff doesn’t attract attention, he doesn’t make money. Like most of Duff’s pronouncements, it’s more fluff and bluff than stuff.