The opaqueness of Canada's Conservative government

Following the whole David Emerson debacle, current Parliamentary ethics commissioner Bernard Shapiro will be looking into whether the ex-Grit Member of Parliament breached the ethics code. He intends to launch a preliminary investigation into the matter.

According to the Canadian Press: "Shapiro, who did not speak to reporters Friday, appears to be basing his investigation on elements of the parliamentary conflict-of-interest code that prohibit inducing an MP to change his or her vote for personal benefit."

This, coming after the outcry on the issue of Emerson's floor-crossing right into a Tory ministerial post, is not entirely unfair, especially when Prime Minister Stephen Harper had promised to bring in greater governmental transparency and ethics. However, instead of co-operating with the examination, the PMO (Prime Minister's Office) is resisting it entirely, so far as to say, in a recent, and strongly worded, press release, that Harper was "loath" to participate.

Further to the release, the PMO stated: "This Liberal appointee's actions have strengthened the Prime Minister's resolve to create a truly non-partisan ethics commissioner, who is accountable to Parliament."

It sounds like a very flimsy excuse. If Harper creates a new ethics commissioner, one would expect this person to be as non-partisan as the Liberal appointee. Unfortunately, Shapiro has encountered some harsh criticism for his work from all sides (including Ed Broadbent of the NDP); he has been accused of taking a partisan stance for not investigating a Liberal MP during the election, but he was not allowed to take action in between Parliament sittings. However, the new Conservative government will not sit in the House of Commons until April 3.

The credibility of Shapiro may be questioned, but it's really that of the Tories which is on the line. After coming into power on a commitment to clean up corruption, it appears more and more that Harper is more than reluctant to investigate any decay of ethics within his own party, and more than willing to engage in what he railed against during the campaign. At the very least, former Prime Minister Paul Martin immediately launched the Gomery inquiry upon taking office, so he could clear his name and government of scandal.

This turn of events is disappointing, to say the least, and may not bode well for the electorate during the course of Harper's leadership. Will we be able to trust him with future decisions for the country? Hard to say. At this time, we will have to wait until the House sits, to see how competent (or incompetent) he genuinely is. But in terms of transparency, ethics as promised by the Tories? It appears that it will all be as clear as mud from here on in.