Meanwhile, Federally, the Shenanigans Continue

Want to learn more about the Auditor General's investigations into the Harper Government's military cost overruns? The Harper Government's former do-nothing 'integrity' commissioner's half-million dollar severance package? The Harper Government's mismanaged renovations on Parliament Hill?

Too bad.

The Harper Government *majority* on the public accounts committee forced the committee to go in-camera, and voted to not review those reports. How convenient. As a result, opposition members can't even comment on what was discussed.

Yes, we can read those reports, but Parliament will be acting on them, as the committee won't. How convenient.

Federally, transparency and accountability is getting worse and worse. The Harper Government figures the less we know, the less we will criticize.

We know the result. As we've already seen with gravy train gazebo Clement, jet-setter MacKay, and gold-embossed Baird, the Harper Government is very capable of the worse of excesses.

The more we tolerate this secrecy, the worse it will become.

Oh, as you may have noticed, I am constantly calling this government The Harper Government, just as his Prime Ministerialness likes it.

Might as well make him wear it.

Harper to consider treatment centre only if a Tory is elected in riding?

Am I reading this right?

YELLOWKNIFE — Stephen Harper's vision of a strong and free Far North ran up against northern reality Monday.

Even as he reannounced a promise to complete an all-season highway in the Arctic, he said funding a drug treatment centre for poor and addicted northerners isn't a promise he should make.

"In terms of specific infrastructure investments that need to be made in this area, I always say during a campaign, I don't make the local commitments. That's up to individual candidates to make and to bring those priorities to Ottawa," Harper said in answer to the only question he took from a northern reporter.

But, he said, if voters in this sprawling Western Arctic constituency elect Tory candidate Sandy Lee, an ex-territorial health minister, maybe she could bring the plan for one to Ottawa.

Yes, I think I am reading this right. If a non-Conservative MP is elected, there's no chance for a centre. Well, after seeing how the Harper Government favoured Conservative ridings for stimulus spending and for G8/G20 spending (Muskoka and Tony Clement, $50 million, Toronto $0.00), I'm not surprised.

Meanwhile, WholeGovScam continues

Mary Dawson, the conflict of interest and ethics commissioner, has ruled that those big ceremonial government cheques Conservatives were handing out covered in their party logos and personal signatures were over the line. Really?

Ethics watchdog scolds Tories for 'partisan identifiers' on ceremonial cheques

Of course, aside from making the ruling, there are no consequences to this ethical breech.

I'm sure the Conservatives, being THE law 'n order party, will be jumping up and down demanding the commissioner be given powers with teeth...

Meanwhile, the Conservative Party continues to piggyback on our tax dollars

By chance, I noticed that a recent press release on the Conservative Party website is identical to one published on the Government of Canada's Office of the Prime Minister's site.

Conservative website: 2010: An international year for Canada
Government website: 2010: An international year for Canada

Both claim copyright, and neither attribute the other.

The government website requires in materials reproduced that "...The Office of the Prime Minister be identified as the source department."

The Conservative website has a boilerplate copyright notice.

So, who wrote the release? The government or the Conservative Party?

Somehow, I doubt the Conservatives are subsidizing the government. More likely it's the other way around.

Perhaps this issue can be raised in the House? Oh, right... prorogued...