Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Why Canada’s expense scandal resembles trench warfare

Canada’s expense scandal has settled into a form of rhetorical trench warfare, where neither the opposition nor the government nor journalists are giving an inch on their various questions and answers about a gang of now-independent senators—and, more recently, a Member of Parliament—who either allegedly, or admittedly, claimed expenses improperly.

After weeks of questions about what role, if any, the Prime Minister’s Office played in the repayment of some of Senator Mike Duffy’s expenses, very little new information is forthcoming. The authorities continue to investigate, and everyone waits. Deloitte’s audit of Senator Pamela Wallin’s expenses continues, and amid all the speculation about just how much money she might owe taxpayers, everyone waits. Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said he’d welcome Senator Mac Harb, formerly a Liberal and currently independent, back into the Liberal fold if he repaid his expenses. Harb has no intention of doing so. An investigation into his expenses continues, and everyone waits. On all fronts, every party is chirping across the aisle about some sort of malfeasance: Liberals are attacking Conservatives, Conservatives are attacking Liberals, and the NDP’s attacking everybody. Noise, everywhere.

Then, last night, the Ottawa Citizen‘s Glen McGregor reported that Conservative MP Eve Adams claimed a number of objectionable expenses during the 2011 federal election, including “hundreds of dollars for repeat visits to a hair and nail salons, skin care and grooming products, and even whitening toothpaste.” The story set off a proxy war on Twitter, where McGregor and Adams barked at each other late into the night, and into this morning, about the appropriateness of Adams’ claims.

Questionable expenses have now, fairly or unfairly, spilled into the House of Commons. How far it goes is anyone’s guess. But there were 308 winning candidates in the last election, and that’s plenty of election returns to scour. The free-for-all continues.

Original Article
Source: macleans.ca
Author: Nick Taylor-Vaisey

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