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Senate Reports Offer Insight into Future Tory Privacy, CBC Policies

Senate Reports Offer Insight into Future Tory Privacy, CBC Policies

While Duffy trial ruled the news, our upper house released several new documents.

The trial of Senator Mike Duffy featured several notable revelations last week about the inner workings of the Prime Minister’s Office. One of the most important was found in a 2013 memo written by former chief of staff Nigel Wright that focuses on the control exerted by the PMO over the Senate. While the Senate is nominally an independent body of “sober second thought,” the memo highlights how the PMO expects Senate leadership to follow directions from the prime minister and to avoid developing policy positions without advance consultations and approval.

For anyone who has followed Senate committee reviews of legislative proposals, the Wright memo is not particularly surprising. This past spring, a Senate committee review of Bill C-51, the controversial anti-terrorism legislation, heard from experts such as the Privacy Commissioner of Canada about much-needed reforms. Yet once it was time to vote, the committee left the bill unchanged, lending an air of theatre to the entire process.

Assuming that policy control over Senate committee remains a priority, a recent batch of Senate reports provides new insights into future Conservative policies. Weeks before the election call, Senate committees began releasing long-awaited reports on a wide range of issues including national security, digital commerce and the future of the CBC. In fact, more Senate committee reports were released in June and July (15 in total) than in the previous 18 months combined.

Blueprint for more anti-terror strategies?

The Senate Committee on National Security and Defence led the way with two reports on increased border measures and new anti-terror measures. The border measures report has significant privacy implications as the committee recommends a massive expansion in the collection and sharing of biometric information.

 

 

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Stephen Harper, Serial Abuser of Power: More Evidence

Stephen Harper, Serial Abuser of Power: More Evidence

Canada’s most ethically corrupt government? You be the judge. Second of two.

The previously published first half of this omnibus of Stephen Harper’s sins listed 31 instances of laws broken and ethics pummeled. Some happened during elections. Others were in relentless service of policing and polishing the Harper “brand.”

Today we focus on how Harper has willfully misgoverned — 28 ways the PM and his team have lied, flouted rules and stymied democracy to achieve political and ideological ends.

Please help us out. As you read, if any abuses we’ve forgotten come to mind, either make a note in the comments thread after this piece or send us an email at editor@thetyee.ca, subject line Harper Abuse List. We will fold what we get into a final, single version as a handy reference for the campaign. That runs Monday.

Thanks again to a few friends of The Tyee who researched and helped with this list.

PMO Tied to Senate Hush Money Scandal

An RCMP affidavit reported widespread involvement by PMO staffers in a secret payment to Senator Mike Duffy to try and make a political problem go away. The Senate expenses scandal brought on allegations of a cover-up, a breach of the public trust, and a whitewashing of a Senate report. The PMO was found to have hand in the altering of a damning Deloitte audit.

Harper Found in Contempt of Parliament

For refusing to disclose information on the costing of programs to Parliament, which Parliament was entitled to receive, the Harper government became the first in Canadian history to be foundin contempt of Parliament.

Against Court Order, Refusal to Share Budget Info

Even though it lost a court case and was ordered to comply, the Harper government nevertheless refused to share 170 times reasons and impacts for cuts with Canada’s independent budget watchdog, mocking Parliament’s right to control the public purse.

 

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Olduvai IV: Courage
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Olduvai II: Exodus
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