(Download) "Crossing the Floor, Conflict of Interest and the Parliament of Canada Act (Stephen Harper and David Emerson)" by Canadian Parliamentary Review ~ eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Crossing the Floor, Conflict of Interest and the Parliament of Canada Act (Stephen Harper and David Emerson)
- Author : Canadian Parliamentary Review
- Release Date : January 22, 2006
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 258 KB
Description
On March 20, 2006 the Ethics Commissioner of the House of Commons issued a report on an allegation that Prime Minister Stephen Harper contravened the rules of conduct set out in the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons by offering an inducement to David Emerson, the newly re-elected Liberal member of Parliament for Vancouver-Kingsway, to join the Cabinet of the new Conservative government. His conclusion was that neither Mr. Harper nor Mr. Emerson contravened any of the specific sections of the Members' Code. And he accepted Mr. Emerson's claim that accepting Mr. Harper's offer seemed, at least to him, a way to better serve his city, province and country. However the Ethics Commissioner stated that "the discontent expressed by Canadians on this matter cannot be attributed merely to the machinations of partisan politics. Fairly or unfairly, this particular instance has given many citizens a sense that their vote--the cornerstone of our democratic system--was somehow devalued, if not betrayed. Relative to the Office of the Ethics Commissioner, this disquiet is reflected in the gap between the values underlying the principles of the Members' Code and the detailed conflict of interest rules within the Code itself. The gap can only be addressed through rigorous political debate and the development, through the political process, of the appropriate policies to address it." This topic will certainly be an issue of debate in the 39th Parliament. The present article outlines how our perspective on what constitutes a conflict of interest has changed over the years, particularly insofar as accepting a position in the cabinet is concerned. It offers some ideas about how to eliminate the possibility of similar situations in the future. **********
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