New Code of Ethics in Parliament - Foreign to Canadians
By Catherine Whelan Costen,
Canadian Action Party President &
Communications Director
April 2, 2006
Our outrage, frustration, and
disgust has resulted in exactly what we
have come to expect -
Democracy is failing! We the people are wrong
again! There is nothing to be
angry about people….move along. Can’t let
it go? Fine then. We shall
change the rules. So, last month another
decision was made which will
require new rules! This time it is an
‘ethical’ decision.
What does the word,
‘ethics’ mean? Encarta Dictionary says, a ‘code of
morality’ is, ‘ a system
of moral principles governing the appropriate
conduct for an individual or
group’. This is where the issue gets murky.
A moral code for a group of
individuals can vary. What is the code among
thieves for instance? What
about a code for living on the street as
opposed to in a mansion on
the hill?
It seems the people have a
different, in my opinion superior code. In
his report, Federal ethics
commissioner(appointed by the PM to enforce
his ethics), Bernard Shapiro
wrote in his report regarding the
Emerson/Harper affair;
"In the final analysis, the most appropriate
place to settle issues of
this kind is not in the office of the ethics
commissioner but in
Parliament itself." If a matter of ethics, is not
handled by the ethics
commissioner, what is the purpose of the office?
Instead, he recommends that
these lawmakers, make a new law to appease
the public, since the people
do not condone the current actions. There
is a saying, “ it may be
morally or ethically wrong, but if it is not
illegal that makes it
right…” Laws are simply rules made by the ruling
class, not determinants of
right or wrong. Ethical and legal are not
identical.
>
During the election campaign,
I had the opportunity to be in a room with
the electorate, which is
different than a room of ‘political party’
supporters. A question was
posed to all candidates; “What does honesty
and integrity mean to you?”
If every candidate running in the last
election was posed that
question, and all answers were publicized, the
outcome of the election might
be quite different. My response received a
round of applause. I said
(quoting from memory), “there was a time in
this country, when a person
gave their word and kept it. Deals were
made on a handshake and it
was as solid as any on paper. Anyone who
broke their word or went back
on a handshake was run out of town! That
is how powerful I believe
that my word must be and that is what the
Canadian people deserve.”
That is the people’s code.
Sadly, some of the candidates
in that room tried to spin the people, or
weren’t sure what the
question meant. I do not repeat this to upstage
anyone, however it is
important to recognize that the people of Canada
are not looking for spin.
They don’t want to hear a prepared ‘acceptable
answer’. They want the
truth! They don’t believe we need a commissioner,
or parliament to make another
law. The people of Canada are subjected to
the rules, laws and policies
made in Parliament (made by people who
require another set of rules
to work by). These glaring facts do not sit
well with the people of
Canada. Clearly, laws are made to control the
population, perhaps the
people’s code of ethics would be more
appropriate. The only reason
laws ought to be on the books is to
facilitate ease of living in
community, not to stifle the community.
Sadly many of our laws are
made by those who seem to see themselves as
above the laws of ‘common
decency’. ‘You cannot legislate morality’, so
goes another saying. Evidence
is mounting to support that saying.
The people have judged the
Emerson/Harper deal a breach of trust, faith
and another blow to their
democratic rights. The code of the people has
been severed. A word was
given and broken. A handshake was retracted!
There is plenty of political
rhetoric on the new government website
about reforms and
accountability. There was a significant amount of the
same talk prior to the
election. Post-election actions reflect a new
‘moral code’. That code
is foreign to most Canadians!
