Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Friday, July 27, 2012

Ex-Harper aide Bruce Carson charged with influence peddling

Bruce Carson has been charged with one count of influence peddling following an investigation by the RCMP.

The 66-year-old former top adviser to Prime Minister Stephen Harper with a history of fraud convictions had been facing accusations of alleged influence-peddling and illegal lobbying after it was alleged that he told Ottawa-based water purification company H20 Pros that he could use his connections to arrange deals with First Nations communities.

In a news release issued Friday, the RCMP's A Division said Carson is "alleged to have accepted a government commission for a third party in connection with a business matter relating to the government."

The RCMP's investigation began in March last year after RCMP received a referral from the Prime Minister's Office.

In a statement to CBC News, Andrew MacDougall, director of communications for the Prime Minister's Office, said "any individual who doesn't respect our laws must face their full force as well as the consequences that come with them."

While NDP ethics critic Charlie Angus said he welcomed the RCMP's "diligent work" in investigating Carson's activities, he said the official Opposition still had questions for the Prime Minister's Office.

"The Prime Minister still hasn’t explained, or taken any responsibility, for how his inner circle included someone with previous criminal convictions for fraud – who then went on to allegedly use his political connections to take advantage of impoverished First Nations communities for a quick buck," said Angus in a written statement.

MacDougall said "immediately after being informed of these allegations last year, our government referred the matter to the RCMP Commissioner, the Ethics Commissioner and the Lobbying Commissioner.

RCMP, ethics and lobbying commissioners launch separate probes

The prime minister asked for the investigation following allegations that Carson had lobbied ministerial staff at the Department of Aboriginal and Northern Affairs on behalf of his then fiancée, a 24-year-old former escort trying to sell water filters to First Nations reserves.

Carson claimed he was not trying to influence ministerial staffers at Aboriginal Affairs, and was not being paid for his activities on behalf of his girlfriend.

Carson never registered as a lobbyist. Legislation passed by the Harper government in 2006 bans ministerial staffers from engaging in lobbying activities on behalf of private companies for five years after leaving public office.

In November 2011, Mary Dawson, the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, suspended her examination of Carson's post-employment obligations under the Conflict of Interest Act, pending the outcome of an RCMP investigation.

CBC's Greg Weston reported in December 2011 that Karen Shepherd, the federal lobbying commissioner, had completed a report of her eight-month investigation into Carson's activities.

Shepherd's report has yet to be made public.

Carson is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Sept. 10 in Ottawa.

Original Article
Source: CBC
Author: cbc

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