Anyone from Burnaby-Douglas who can give the rest of Canada a hand?
Update: Looks like the NDP had enough of people pointing out the double-standard.
Are any of you constituents in Burnaby-Douglas? Is your member of parliament Bill Siksay?
Then go read this. When you are done, write to Mr Siksay, and tell him this:
Dear Mr Siksay,
As one of your 100,000 constituents, I appreciate the effort you make to represent me. One of those efforts should be to maintain and even improve the quality of government. Mr Dave Platten has written to you asking you to explain how David Emerson's move to the Conservatives is worthy of an ethics investigation while Belinda Stronach's was not. Your response was that if he wasn't a constituent, he was not owed an answer.
He is a Canadian, sir, and I believe any Canadian is owed an answer to such a question. But consider this to be a request from one of your constituents for an answer to exactly the question he posed. Here is his original email to you:
I have written to several NDP members and the NDP web site but have yet to get a response to the following question, the NDP are asking the Ethics Commissioner to look into the floor crossing of David Emerson, are the NDP asking the same for Belinda Stronach? If not, why not?
It would be nice if someone in the NDP Party could stand up for their actions and give me an answer, or is there not one to be found? Was there nothing for the NDP to gain by acting in the Stronach crossing?
The email was dated March 5.
It would be nice if you responded to Mr Platten directly, but if you consider typing his email address to be too much time spent away from focusing on the needs of your constituents, send the response to me, and be assured I will forward a copy to Mr Platten.
Mr Platten asked a very relevant question, and your response suggested that you would rather not answer it, perhaps because you don't have an answer. I hope this is not true, and I look forward to your explanation of the subtleties of what the NDP caucus considers to be ethical behaviour.
Please be sure to include an explanation of the NDP response to both the Emerson and Stronach situation and how they are somehow different, and so requiring a different response. Also let me know if your response is merely your opinion, or the working principles of the NDP for situations such as this one.
Make sure you include a full address so that Siksay knows you are one of his constituents and thus a worthy recipient of his vast wisdom.
The rest of us, apparently, are not counted worthy, so we're depending on you. Don't let us down. Let me know how it goes, and post comments to this entry with any responses you get.
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Comments
Well, it looks like Mr. Platten has succeeded. I just heard on CFRB that the NPD has decided to include B.S. in their request to Burnie.
Nicely done.
Steve
Posted by: A Steve at March 10, 2006 02:36 PM
I have a granddaughter in the B-D riding and I can ask her. However, I notice that the problem is solved. How about Scott Brison?
Good work Steve! (And A Steve)
Posted by: Herman at March 10, 2006 02:44 PM
Posted on wrong thread;
The NDP is asking ethics commissioner Bernard Shapiro to expand his investigation into parliamentary floor crossing to include Liberal Belinda Stronach.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2006/03/10/1481937-cp.html
Posted by: I'm not making this up! at March 10, 2006 02:39 PM
Posted by: I'm not making this up! at March 10, 2006 02:48 PM
And while your at it email the 40 Conservatives who voted Yes for the NDP Bill that would force MPs to run in a by-election if they cross the floor, ask these MPs why they are silent about Emerson? Why don't they speak out?
Posted by: Mike at March 10, 2006 02:57 PM
Also I would like to ask Mr. Siksay why the provincial NDP did not see anything wrong with Mr. Wilson crossing the floor to the NDP. Is this not the same at a different level of government?
Layton and Pat Martin were sanctimoniously giving their speeches on CPAC today--funny, they don't mention that they are the sole reason that the Libs didn't fall earlier. They had no such 'ethics' when they suported the corrupt Liberals then, the same government that sent our soldiers to Afghanistan. Also, they continuously whine about the antics in the House when Parliament is sitting, and yet here they are playing their immature games instead of working for Canada. There is nothing as virtuous as a reformed prostitute used to be the statement, but now I think we can include the NDP in this statement!
Posted by: George at March 10, 2006 03:05 PM
Herman: There seems to have been action, but I would say the problem is not solved. That is because NEITHER the Emerson nor Stronach crossings should be investigated. This just spreads the mud to both the NDPs rivals. Why wouldn't they want that? Again, nothing to do with principle or rules, everything to do with politics.
Mike: If you have been concious for the last few months you would know that there has been anything but silence from conservatives on this issue. The Blogging Tories could write of nothing else it seemed.
Posted by: Jeff at March 10, 2006 03:09 PM
Jeff, my point exactly. What I was trying to get across to the NDP was that Mr. Emerson broke no laws in the same way that Ms. Stronach broke no laws. You may not like the outcome of a floor crossing, but until the rules are changed,like anything else, we learn to live with it. This point has been truly missed by the NDP members which, in all honesty, does not surprise me.
Dave(Platty)Platten
Posted by: Platty at March 10, 2006 03:52 PM
Just had a thought. (I know its dangerous on a Friday)
But isnt this the left falling in love with the American investigation fetish? How many investigations did Clinton have? Reagan? Remember his great quote "This is congress, criminalizing politics" Re: Iran-contra hearings.
Does the left view these investigations as weapon to damage the main political parties?
Posted by: Curtis at March 10, 2006 04:02 PM
The difference between Ms. Stronach's actions and Mr. Emmersons exists in their respective motivations. Ms. Stronach switched parties after protracted and well documented contrarieties. Mr. Emmerson possessed no such impetus; in fact, he had just vigorously excoriated those same policies he would now as a member of caucus support. There could be nothing that occurred in the intervening period between election and the cabinet announcement that motivated his stunning conversion, unless he was induced. Then the question becomes, by what?
Posted by: joebaloni at March 11, 2006 11:00 AM
Being in the party that's in power would be a big enough inducment for anybody. If you had a choice between staying in your old job in a company that is going down the tubes, or moving to a new thriving company, what would you do?
Posted by: TJ at March 11, 2006 10:14 PM
Belinda Stronach wasn't an MP when she crossed the floor after disagreeing with Harper over ideological and practical matters related to government.
MP Emerson flubbed his "victory" speech, took a call from a MP Harper flunky and decided perhaps he wasn't a Liberal after all.
The Ethics Commission is set up as a watchdog on MP behaviour and ethics.
Let's get it all out there. The people of Vancouver-Kingsway really want to know what changed MP Emerson's mind.
We're pretty sure Belinda Stronach will use the investigation to tell the people once again what it was that made her cross the floor: she didn't agree with Opposition Leader MP Harper.
All we know for sure is that MP Emerson is Vancouver-Kingsway's "worst nightmare," but we don't know why or how that happened.
Inquiring minds want to know.
Posted by: E Ingram at March 13, 2006 04:34 AM
The investigations are completely irrelevant. If the NDP did not immediately ask Shapiro to investigate Belinda Stronach's crossing, then they should not be allowed to ask for an investigation into David Emerson's crossing.
By purposely waiting until the timing is better for their interests they've shown that they have no interest in the ethics involved, but just the political advantage they can squeeze from the ruling parties.
Posted by: Grook at March 13, 2006 09:43 AM
 
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