Letter to the Editor:
Throughout
the recent General Election, Stephen Harper continually talked about
accountability. It was the rallying cry of the Conservative Party of
Canada.
In the preamble to the
Conservative Party of Canada platform "Stand Up For Canada", Mr.
Harper writes, "We need a change of government to replace old style
politics with a new vision." He also writes "We will clean
up
government..." The
platform, itself, states a Conservative government will
"Prevent party leaders from appointing candidates without the
democratic consent of local electoral district associations." and
"Begin a reform of the
Senate by creating a national process of choosing elected Senators from
each province and
territory."
In one of his first acts as
Prime Minister, Stephen Harper threw these
principles on the trash heap. In a crass political move,
David Emerson, former
Minister of Industry, was named Minister of International Trade and
Minister for the Pacific
Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics by Stephen Harper. Two
weeks ago, the voters of Vancouver-Kingsway voted
overwhelmingly against the Conservative candidate. Thanks to
Mr. Emerson and Mr. Harper,
they are now represented by a Conservative Member of
Parliament, but, then again,
he is in the Cabinet.
Minutes later, Mr. Harper
appointed his top Quebec political operative,
Michael Fortier, to the delicate post of Minister of Public Works
and
Government Services.
Mr. Fortier will soon be appointed to the Senate of
Canada. It will not be
possible for Member of Parliament to hold Mr.
Fortier accountable for his actions during Question Period.
Is this
patronage?
With the appointment of these
two individuals, Mr. Harper managed to weasel
his way into two of the three
metropolitan centers where he had no representation. He obviously
does not feel that Toronto - the economic engine of the country - is
important enough to expend any political capital.
To add insult to injury Mr.
Harper during the campaign kept touting that his was the only National
Party representing the True Diversity of Canada. His Cabinet only has
three ministers that represent the Multicultural Diversity
of Canada. What happen
to the rest of his party?
The Conservative Policy
Document released in February 2004 stated, "
institutionalized multiculturalism as a taxpayer funded program has
run its course."
The lack of a multi-cultural
balance was truly demonstrated in this cabinet
with the appointment of only
two ethnic visible minority ministers.
Now this is what I call
"accountability".
Hon. Jim Karygiannis M.P.
Scarborough-Agincourt
Constituency Office
3850 Finch Ave East Suite 206
Scarborough Ontario
M1T 3T6
Tel: (416) 321 5454
fax: (416) 321 5456
jim@karygiannismp.com
www.karygiannismp.com
