Ethics czar to investigate Emerson

[Cowperson]

Federal Ethics Commissioner Bernard Shapiro said Friday he will conduct a preliminary inquiry into whether Prime Minister Stephen Harper ran afoul of conflict-of-interest rules in the defection of former Liberal MP David Emerson to the Tories last month.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl.../National/home

Emerson apologizes . . . . sort of.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...SON02/TPStory/

Cowperson

[MarchHare]

It sure is a good thing the Canadian voters ousted the Fiberals and brought in a party that would restore accountability and ethical standards in Ottawa.

Oh snap.

Not even a month on the job and already Harper is the subject of an ethics investigation. Meet the new boss, sams as the old boss...

[Mike F]

I can't see how this is significantly different from the Stronach affair, but then, as MarchHare points out, that alone is enough to put mud on the Conservatives faces.

[troutman]

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss


I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
No, no!

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by Mike F

I can't see how this is significantly different from the Stronach affair, but then, as MarchHare points out, that alone is enough to put mud on the Conservatives faces.

Because Emerson switched parties almost before the election was even over... and he would not have won... or even come close, if he was running as a conservative. In fact, the conservatives can a distant 3rd in that riding behind the liberals and NDP.

[Thunderball]

This smells... and not because of any conflict of interest...

Brison jumps ship to the Liberals from a typically conservative riding (sure he won, but it was immaterial at the time), gets a cabinet position... no questions asked from the Liberal appointed Ethics Commissioner.

Stronach jumps ship to the Liberals not too long after running for party leadership, gets a cabinet position... no questions asked from the Liberal appointed Ethics Commissioner.

Emerson jumps ship to the Tories after the election, gets a cabinet position... alarms go off from the Liberal appointed Ethics Commissioner.

Was it a poor decision to bring in Emerson? yep... Was it illegal or corrupt? no. Just like Stronach and Brison were sleezy, but not corrupt.

[MarchHare]

Brison jumps ship to the Liberals from a typically conservative riding (sure he won, but it was immaterial at the time), gets a cabinet position... no questions asked from the Liberal appointed Ethics Commissioner.

Brison joined the Liberals after the PC Party merged with the Alliance (several other former-PC members did the same, and a few more chose to sit as independants). He ran in two elections as Liberal candidate and won convincingly both times.

Stronach jumps ship to the Liberals not too long after running for party leadership, gets a cabinet position... no questions asked from the Liberal appointed Ethics Commissioner.

This one is a little bit more comparable to the Emerson floor-crossing, but even then, not so much. Stronach ran for the leadership of the CPC with the intention of being a more moderate, centrist option than Harper. She won her riding which was traditionally a Liberal stronghold based more on her name recognition and personal popularity rather than her party's platform. Her stated claims (whether they're true or not) is that she was unhappy with the direction Harper had taken the party. She ran in the next election as a Liberal and won convincingly (her vote lead over the 2nd place candidate was significantly higher in 2006 than it was in 2004, despite national support for the Liberals being lower in the most recent election).

Emerson, on the other hand, ran in an election as a Liberal, won very handily in a riding that is overwhelmingly not conservative, vows in the election campaign to be "Stephen Harper's worst enemy", then two weeks later jumps ship to Harper's cabinet. Unlike Stronach, he makes no claims about being dissatisfied with the Liberal Party or anything of the sort.

[Thunderball]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

Brison joined the Liberals after the PC Party merged with the Alliance (several other former-PC members did the same, and a few more chose to sit as independants). He ran in two elections as Liberal candidate and won convincingly both times.



This one is a little bit more comparable to the Emerson floor-crossing, but even then, not so much. Stronach ran for the leadership of the CPC with the intention of being a more moderate, centrist option than Harper. She won her riding which was traditionally a Liberal stronghold based more on her name recognition and personal popularity rather than her party's platform. Her stated claims (whether they're true or not) is that she was unhappy with the direction Harper had taken the party. She ran in the next election as a Liberal and won convincingly (her vote lead over the 2nd place candidate was significantly higher in 2006 than it was in 2004, despite national support for the Liberals being lower in the most recent election).

Emerson, on the other hand, ran in an election as a Liberal, won very handily in a riding that is overwhelmingly not conservative, vows in the election campaign to be "Stephen Harper's worst enemy", then two weeks later jumps ship to Harper's cabinet. Unlike Stronach, he makes no claims about being dissatisfied with the Liberal Party or anything of the sort.

Yes, but in both those situations, after they defected... they won their election. Nothing says that Emerson can't win as a Conservative if the people of Vancouver-Kingsway are happy with a professional cabinet minister. At the time, they were identical to this. The future could vindicate Mr. Emerson (probably not, but we don't know)

I should say I didn't like Emerson and especially not Fortier, thought they were kneejerk and in bad taste. However, hardly a case for the Ethics commissioner. Bad politics doesn't always mean corruption. In this case it was a bad political decision based on a kneejerk reaction to the optics raised by their lack of seats in the Cities of Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto (ignoring that the majority of their populations come from the urban centres that comprise the metros where in all cases but Montreal have substantial Conservative representation)

[Lurch]

I think the ethics issue comes down 100% to timing. IF there was any discussion of Emerson jumping ship prior to the election in the event of a Conservative win, there is a clear-cut problem. Without discussion prior to the election, it's just a greyer version of the Stronach move. Brison is completely off-base - the party he represented disappeared, making him a free agent, IMO.

[Bobblehead]

Hypothetically speaking, if Emerson had not run in this election, and the conservatives won the seat, would Harper have offered the seat to Emerson?
Taking Emerson out of the equation, would the fictional conservative candidate who won the seat be given a Cabinet Seat?