The Harper
Government's Conception
of
Accountability
The Federal Accountability Act was the
centrepiece
of the electoral campaign of the Conservative Party in the 2006
elections. It was presented as the means of ensuring
"accountability and change" and overcoming the corruption of the
previous Liberal governing party. It was presented as both a
response to the Gomery Inquiry and a means of addressing aspects
of the problem which were said to be beyond the purview of the
Gomery Inquiry. The Act and the Action Plan were described as
"anti-corruption legislation" and as "turning a new leaf" and
"cleaning up government."[1]
 In introducing the Bill,
then Prime Minister Stephen
Harper
said: "With the Federal
Accountability Act, we are creating a new
culture of accountability that will change forever the way
business is done in Ottawa." John Baird, President of the
Treasury Board who tabled the legislation on behalf of the
government, said: "Accountability is the foundation on which
Canada's system of responsible government rests. It is key to
assuring Parliament and Canadians that the Government of Canada
is using public resources efficiently and effectively, and that
it answers for its actions."
What then is the government's conception of
accountability?
Following the 2006 election, the Marxist-Leninist Party
of
Canada (MLPC) pointed out:
"To find out what Harper means by change and
accountability
Canadians will have to study how he is intervening in the
situation. He has already said his first act in government will
be the Federal Accountability Act. From what we have seen
thus far of Harper's views of accountability, it does not include
taking up social responsibility. It is the same notion as that of
Paul Martin. Harper will likely introduce new rules and
regulations and what are called oversight procedures, but none of
this will deal with why the corruption or conflicts of interest
occur or even properly identify what constitutes corruption or
conflicts of interest."[2]
Facts have borne out this prediction.
The conception of accountability in the Federal
Accountability Act and Action Plan that goes along with it is
that accountability is ensured by oversight -- by spelling out
rules to catch wrongdoers. This conception is not fundamentally
different to that of the two previous accountability initiatives,
the first by the Liberal government under Jean Chrétien in May
2002, and the second by the Liberal government of Paul Martin.
Neither initiative stopped the corruption or the conflicts of
interest.
The May 2002 initiative included an 8 point action
program
with new guidelines, a new appointment procedure for the Ethics
Counsellor, a Lobbyist Registration
Act, a Code of Conduct for
MPs and Senators, limits on political contributions and
regulation of leadership contests.[3]
Paul Martin's government had its own
initiatives including the appointment of Justice Gomery's
Inquiry.
TML Daily pointed out: "In this regard, the
conception
of accountability by both the Liberals and Conservatives endorsed
by all the parties which held seats in the House of Commons
speaks of 'tougher laws' and strict guidelines. Its scope is
purely administrative, not political and its effect is to
criminalize individuals for 'wrongdoing.' The deliberation on the
criteria used to establish wrongdoing is rushed and uncertain and
seems to be quite arbitrarily determined. In the opinion of the
MLPC, the entire process and decisions taken as a result of this
process undermine the underlying premises of the system of
responsible government. The resultant incoherence is causing
greater and greater problems for the political parties themselves
which are controlling this process, to say nothing about the
damage to the polity. As a result, far from resolving the
problems of corruption and conflicts of interest, the interparty
and intraparty fights are increasing along with corruption and
conflicts of interest. The result is the deepening crisis of the
party system of government, and increasing loss of confidence of
Canadians in political parties, the Parliament and the democracy
and unfettered imposition of secret agendas which are
increasingly subordinating the Canadian economy to the United
States of North American Monopolies and the Canadian state to the
U.S. state and embroiling Canada in the U.S. imperialist striving
for world domination."
Notes
1. The Harper
government introduced the Federal Accountability Act to
Parliament on April 11, 2006 right after the federal election
which brought the Harper minority government to power. Even
though the Federal Accountability Act was a massive bill,
some 250 pages long, Canadians knew practically nothing about it.
It changed more than 60 pieces of legislation, and included
within it several new whole statutes, such as the Conflict of
Interest Act. It expanded the scope of the Access to
Information Act to cover seventeen new organizations, seven
agencies and four foundations. It tabled the amendments proposed
by the Information Commissioner while also tabling a discussion
paper on information access. It was announced together with an
Action Plan with measures the government could introduce
immediately without parliamentary approval. As such, the Action
Plan was implemented immediately.
2."Bill C-2, the Federal
Accountability Act: Brief of the
Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada to the Senate Standing Committee
on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, September 7, 2006," TML
Daily, September 8, 2006, No. 128.
3. "39th General Election:
Significance of the Election
Results," TML Daily, January 30, 2006, No. 4.
This article was published in
Volume 49 Number 7 - March 2, 2019
Article Link:
The Harper
Government's Conception
of
Accountability
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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