"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Saturday 12 July 2014

A Faustian Bargain On Canadian Values and principles?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Ombudsman .....Integrity Commissioner":

@1029
You are referring to Liberal Senator Raymond Lavigne
convicted for fraudulent expenses
Amazing how not many know his name but sure know Tory Senators not convicted Walin and Duffy
Also not yet convicted is Liberal Senator Harb but how many know why 


Posted by Anonymous to Our Town and Its Business at 11 July 2014 22:07

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Honourable Member Christopher Ballard will toe the line. It' s called party discipline.

Mario Gentile ,an alderman in North York in the eighties  went  to jail in the nineties for accepting money from  somebody or other for something or other.  Mario spread it around liberally  at conferences and conventions.

It was as though he understood politics to be like any other business. Buy goodwill and contacts wherever opportunity presents.

He registered  and ran for council again  after his jail term and still had support. Not enough for re-election.Obviously wasn't the  only one who felt he did nothing wrong. 

Djag  Bhaduria was a  Liberal M.P. for Markham expelled from  the Liberal Party by Jean Chretien  for conduct unbecoming.
 Petitions were. collected  to have him removed from office but that never happened. 

He competed for the nomination again with support from people  of his religion in the next election.

Despite  the seriously offensive behaviour, Jean Augustine, a Jamaican -Canadian hand-picked  by Jean  Chretien for an Etobicoke Riding. and made Minister for Women's Affairs accused the government of racism when Bhaduria was tossed.

Augustine came to Canada as a domestic. Brought her children later and became a mother with dependent children and eligible for social assistance.

An education was provided at public expense and Augustine went on to become an elementary school
Principal.

Senators Duffy  and Wallin were National Media Icons  before being appointed  senators by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

A Canadian would have to be ten different kinds of fool not to know the two were chosen to campaign for Harper's party rather than  anything they might contribute to the Senate.

I have no doubt their understanding was their travel expenses would be paid  apart from any senate he responsibilities.

But they are stuck in a hole they dug  for themselves. They accepted appointments as Senators. They cannot now claim to have taken jobs as Harper cheerleaders.

Few principles  are left in Party politics.

Not much can be expected of  candidates  chosen and elected to office  solely on the basis of  skin colour ,religion or racial culture  or sexual prediliction , can hardly be blamed for failing to appreciate
there may be principles involved in public service.

Was it Prime Minister Trudeau who said ...backbencher  are nobodies

The same nobodies appointed to cabinet posts with neither intelligence or integrity so that immigrant families can see how easy it is to rise to  position of importance if only they sign up and work and vote  and donate to  this party  or that.

How insulting is that to Canadians of  a different culture?

How  much is Canadian culture degraded by the process?

If political leaders continue to sell off heritage and tradition and principles  for a mess of postage what chance of its  survival

Whose idea was it to remove Canadian history from the high school curriculum?
















6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think the removal of history from the Ontario requirements was on the Liberal's watch. But someone will correct me if I am wrong. About the introduction of the " new " math, I am sure. That was the Liberals & the results of this year's testing will be another blow there.

Anonymous said...

Um, but you're an immigrant?

Anonymous said...

Interesting how the Liberals got a way with all that they did with a minority government. What a ride it's going to be with a majority.

Broderick E said...

Jean Augustine. Now that's a name from the past
She spent a lot of time on the front pages of the newspaper at one time
Appointed to head up Toronto Housing I'm sure based on her qualifications
During her time incredible waste and fraud occurred a Peat Marwick Consulting report concluded due to leadership indifference
Shortly thereafter she entered politics as a woman of colour was successful
and the chapter as head of Metro Toronto Housing faded into obscurity

Anonymous said...

Harb is not being charged with mortgage fraud. He did well to resign from the senate to keep his pension. So he, Duffy & Pammy are all in the same situation now.

Anonymous said...




"can hardly be blamed for failing to appreciate there may be principles involved in public service."

This pretty well applies to the majority of elected politicians, not just those you list carrying superficial personal prejudices.

It is often the civil service bureaucracy that is aware of principles and it is these people who adhere to them more than the elected bozos. Remember Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. These were both hilarious as comedies but tragic as governance.

You seem to recognize that "the same nobodies appointed to cabinet posts with neither intelligence or integrity" are about as useless as an ax with a broker handle.

In a recent book, STRESS TEST by Timothy Geithner, US Treasury Secretary during Obama's first term, and before that President of the New York Fed, you cringe under his withering attack on members of Congress who are prepared to let their country collapse due to their unwillingness to approve legislation that can deal fairly and effectively with the problems in the financial system and the regulations and safeguards that can save it.

The majority of elected representatives have the brains of gnats and even then are unwilling to use them.

Nothing will change; it will get even worse. Political parties seem, for the most part, to attract the lowest denominator.