I, for one, have not forgotten the Harper Conservatives’ not-so-subtle insinuations and bold accusations in years past that time had come to clean up the stench and stains of the Jean Chrétien-Paul Martin years in Ottawa that had introduced government entitlement, patronage and incompetence to previously unheard of levels.
Yep. The evils of egregious scandals such as the Adscam controversy necessitated a coat of fresh paint in the halls of Parliament.
Who better to usher in this new era of sanctity than Stephen Harper and his roster of Conservative colleagues?
The only problem, of course, is that some of us actually have memories and can sniff out vacuous political rhetoric upon delivery, regardless of its source. We recall, for instance, that it was would-be Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney who, following his famous confrontation in a 1984 federal election debate with then prime minister John Turner regarding the Liberals’ affinity for patronage appointments, himself proceeded to establish a less-than-stellar record in that very regard.
“Oh, but that was the old Progressive Conservatives,” some bleated,
“Mr. Harper represents the new Conservative Party of Canada, so things will be different, especially if he can just get a majority mandate.”
Whatever.
“And besides,” we were told, “many of the new Conservatives come from the old Reform Party and many of them we know are evangelical Christians, so the dawning of a New Age of Righteousness in Ottawa is just around the corner. Hallelujah! Why, grant these principled folk a majority government and, just watch, within weeks, the Francophone shall lie down with the Anglophone and peace, prosperity and purity will characterize Parliament Hill.” Whatever.
As if the repeated bungling demonstrated by Harper cabinet ministers like Vic Toews, Peter Mackay and Bev Oda aren’t odorous enough to most Canadians, word now comes from Postmedia News – itself a bastion of conservatism – that a quarter of the defeated Tory candidates in the 2011 federal election subsequently landed taxpayer-funded jobs.
To be specific, 35 of the 141 Conservative candidates who lost at the polls received jobs in places such as the Prime Minister’s Office, Health Canada, ministers’ offices, or on boards and agencies such as the Quebec Port Authority. In fact, Quebec candidates made up three-quarters of those who received jobs. Indeed, 40 per cent of defeated Conservative candidates in Quebec received appointments or political jobs.
Whatever.
Enter Conservative spokesman Carl Vallee to clarify: “Partisan affiliation should not qualify someone for consideration, nor should it exclude someone from consideration. It shouldn’t be a surprise that people with the determination and guts to run to be an elected Member of Parliament would want to serve the public in some capacity.”
Whatever.
I’m so old I can remember the day when such nonsense was referred to as situational ethics. There was nothing remotely Christian about such then and there is nothing remotely Christian about such now, regardless of your political stripe.
Tim Callaway is pastor of Faith Community Baptist Church in Airdrie. He can be reached at [email protected]
