Oh #CANADUH
Most of us are aware of the corruption in government, from the top down, but how many are aware of the corruption from the bottom up? We, the tax-paying citizens, are being squeezed – or is it screwed – in the middle.
First, I am sharing my experience with local government in Caledon, Ontario. A little bit country, a little bit city. Then I will move on to federal politics.
I had a problem regarding construction on my street. I turned to my elected representative and the Mayor. After 6 months of bafflegab and obfuscation, I realized that the only group who could help me was the Town Council! Great. So, I contacted the Mayor and asked to speak to Town Council. She said “no.” My elected representative also said “no.” Hmmmm.
So I contacted David Boghosian, the Integrity Commissioner, and much to my surprise, he told me that there is nothing in the Town Council Code of Conduct that makes the elected officials accountable to the electorate – the taxpayers!
According to, Mr. Boghosian, the Integrity Commissioner, there is no provision for the manner in which Council members are to deal with the public based on the Code of Conduct. In his words:
“the Code does not empower me to investigate individual dealings between Members of Council and members of the public that do not otherwise constitute a violation of some other provision of the Code.”
Now that was a shock, as silly me; I assumed the people one elects are accountable to the people who elect them!
Yet, there are rules about how the Mayor interacts with employees at the Town, and the by-law officers. Last year there was a complaint lodged against Mayor Groves regarding her interactions with members of Town Council. The Integrity Commissioner at the time wrote: “The Mayor asserted to me quite strongly in her testimony on these matters her belief that there is a need for a different culture in the Town of Caledon, one that places higher value on problem solving and working with constituents to find better solutions to problems. I take no issue, philosophically, with her stance on that. I do take strong exception, however, with her premise that she has the authority to substitute her judgement, unilaterally, or as she describes it her “discretion” on enforcement of provincial legislation and municipal bylaws.”
I was given the opportunity to speak to Town Council April 9, 2024(a meeting that was recorded), to request of them that they add accountability to the Code. They didn’t. They didn’t even discuss the request. I was dismissed.
Why would any elected official voluntarily take away their own power? I don’t know if people entering politics are already corrupt or become corrupt once in power; but this cannot stand.
I wonder how many other municipalities have councils not accountable to the people.
And then we wonder about the corruption at the Federal level?
Where has all the money gone, long time passing?
Although our PM Trudeau informed the veterans there was not enough money for them, it seems he found money to purchase a $9 million luxury ‘condo in the heart of New York City for the Consul General in New York: his friend and former journalist, Tom Clark.
Canada’s Ambassador for Climate Change, Catherine Stewart, spent $254,000 on travel since she was appointed to the position two years ago. She opted for business class tickets for flights and, while abroad, stayed at luxury hotels — some that came with a price tag of up to $623 a night. On a trip to Paris, Stewart stayed at a hotel near the Eiffel Tower that went for $428 a night. She was in France to “to ‘inform’ the French about Canada’s carbon tax.”
RCMP Federal Policing’s Sensitive and International Investigations Unit (SII) has charged a federal government consultant for fraudulently overbilling the Government of Canada.
According to Catherine Poulin, Assistant Deputy Minister, Department of Oversight Branch, Public Services and Procurement Canada:
“The Government of Canada is committed to taking action against improper, unethical and illegal business practices. We hold individuals and companies accountable for their misconduct while protecting federal expenditures. Public Services and Procurement Canada has safeguards in place to detect wrongdoing and protect the integrity of the federal procurement system. We thank the RCMP for their thorough investigation.”
Really?
What about this?
There are allegations of MPs and Senators actively working with foreign governments, taking favours from them, receiving favours from them like help in nomination meetings and providing them with insider information..
Senior cabinet ministers wouldn’t say if the government is prepared to release the names of parliamentarians who are alleged to have conspired with foreign governments and to have consciously shared sensitive information with their agents — conduct that one expert says could amount to treason.
The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP), a cross-party group of MPs and senators with top security clearances, released a report that paints a troubling picture of what some unnamed parliamentarians are said to have done to undermine Canadian democracy and benefit the interests of a foreign state.
The report was compiled after committee members reviewed information and intelligence gathered by ten federal bodies, including the RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), the Department of Justice and Elections Canada. It claims some unnamed parliamentarians — MPs and/or senators — failed in their duty to conduct themselves in the best interests of the country.
The committee said an unknown number of parliamentarians inappropriately communicated with foreign missions ahead of a political campaign and accepted money from foreign governments or their proxies.
Unnamed parliamentarians also provided foreign diplomatic officials with “privileged information on the work or opinions of fellow parliamentarians,” knowing that the information could be used to manipulate some other MPs and senators, the report said.
And then we have Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly’s department which will not tell MPs which consultant it hired to run security at Canadian embassies abroad. It followed protests by the Commons government operations committee after managers hired a state-controlled Chinese contractor: “The name of the supplier ultimately selected cannot be provided.”
Hmmm.
Makes one wonder if our Federal politicians have a Code of Conduct that allows them to spit in the faces of their constituents.
On another note.
Should Canada leave the British Commonwealth as it appears that Britain is becoming part of the Caliphate?
From the Ethics of the Fathers: “Rabbi Tarfon used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it.”
Diane Weber Bederman
