Contempt in the guise of accountability - Hill QueeriesThe Conservative contempt for Parliament continued unabated yesterday
with a showdown at the Government Operations committee that nearly erupted in a fistfight. Four
Conservative cabinet ministers showed up at committee, uninvited, rather
than their staffers, and proceeded to run roughshod over the
proceedings – and at the centre of it was John Baird, who just a few
hours later would be named “Parliamentarian of the Year.”
Liberal MP Siobhan Coady was having none of it, and she called out Baird
for being a bully and warned him against trying to intimidate her. But
Baird’s behaviour
For the Conservatives to send ministers to committee when their staff
have been called – and curiously not have those very same ministers show
up when they’ve been summoned – and yet call it ministerial
accountability is an insult to the basic tenets of Parliamentary
democracy. They are not responsible in the traditional manner, and their
only purpose is to obfuscate and claim they appeared, therefore they
have been responsible. It’s nothing short of doublespeak and the
undermining of our system of government, and Canadians shouldn’t stand
for it. was completely shameful, as he tried to
bully the chair and run roughshod over the established rules of the
committee to suit his purposes. (I later heard Baird say that he sent
Coady a note that said, “Damn, you’re good.” Not that it excuses his
behaviour in the slightest).
Read the link for more.
Posts
