ST. ALBERT, Alta. — Newly Independent member of Parliament Brent Rathgeber used his autonomy Thursday to take aim at a what he described as a domineering Prime Minister’s Office and a government that has “morphed into what we once mocked.”
One day after leaving the federal Conservative caucus — and as controversy continued to surround the Conservative Party of Canada — the two-term Edmonton-area MP rejected any proposal that he should leave his seat to force a byelection.
Rathgeber said he made the difficult decision to leave the Conservative government after struggling for more than a year with issues related to transparency and control. The final straw, he said, was the government’s decision to make changes to his private member’s bill at the committee stage, essentially gutting legislation that had been aimed at disclosing the salaries of public servants who earn more than $188,000.
“I’ve reluctantly come to the inescapable conclusion that the government’s lack of support for my transparency bill is tantamount to a lack of support for transparency and open government generally,” Rathgeber said.
The resignation by Rathgeber follows weeks of scandal involving the federal Conservatives — including that of Sen. Mike Duffy and his improperly claimed expenses, which were reimbursed with $90,000 from the prime minister’s former chief of staff, Nigel Wright.
Rathgeber delivered the news via telephone to his Conservative riding association’s board of directors at its monthly board meeting Wednesday night before informing the Speaker, the Prime Minister’s Office and Chief Government Whip, then posting his decision on Twitter.
[Note] Constituency association president Darren Bieganek said Rathgeber’s decision to sit as an Independent surprised to the board. [SAXO_CR] “We all knew that this private member’s bill was important to Brent and that it was something he spent a lot of time crafting and considering,” Bieganek said. “We knew he was anticipating some kind of opposition to certain aspects of that and it was causing him concern. Even looking back we had no indication from him that he was considering this course of action.”[SAXO_CR] [/NOTE] The riding’s former MP John Williams congratulated Rathgeber for standing up and “having the courage to say enough is enough.”
“Backbench members of Parliament are not trained seals, and the Prime Minister cannot use them and abuse them … while gutting private members’ bills,” Williams said. “Private MPs have a reason for being there, and they only support the government if they believe the government is on the right track.
“Brent obviously thinks not, so he held the courage of his convictions.”
Rathgeber brushed off a suggestion by Andrew MacDougall, a spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office, who wrote on Twitter on Wednesday night that the MP should force a byelection: “The people of Edmonton-St. Albert elected a Conservative Member of Parliament. Mr. Rathgeber should resign and run in a byelection.”
Speaking in the House of Commons Thursday, Minister of Public Works Rona Ambrose echoed MacDougall’s comments: “The member for Edmonton—St. Albert did resign from caucus and the people of Edmonton—St. Albert did elect a Conservative MP. The member himself said just a month and a half ago on one of his blogs, ‘I’m elected as a Conservative member of Parliament. My constituents expect me to support the Prime Minister and the cabinet.’ We do think he should do the right thing by him and by his constituents, run in a byelection as an independent.”
Rathgeber said his future is up to his constituents.
“The Conservative Party doesn’t own this seat simply because I won it for them in the last election,” he said.
If his constituents are unhappy with his decision, Rathgeber said he will have to deal with it.
“But the preliminary emails and tweets that have come into this office would show anything but unhappiness so I suspect I’m safe with my constituents. I’ll answer to them. I won’t answer to the PMO any more.”
He said he will reassess the political landscape in 2015 to decide if he should run for re-election as an independent.
In his Thursday morning blog post titled I Stand Alone, which explains his dramatic decision to leave the Conservative caucus, Rathgeber said he now barely recognizes the party sitting in Ottawa, “and worse, I fear that we have morphed into what we once mocked.”
He explained that statement to reporters Thursday.
“The Liberal party was plagued by a reputation as being scandalous and endured a very difficult time in the sponsorship scandal and Conservatives and Reformers used to mock that,” he said. “Now, it’s a difference of degree, but perhaps not a difference of kind that now the Conservative brand is wearing some of the same allegations and we have senators who are being very liberal on their expense accounts and making ineligible expense claims.”
To some extent, he said, the party apparatus is defending the behaviour, or at least trying to deflect.
“When we start justifying and rationalizing that kind of behaviour, I fear we’re morphing into what we once mocked.”
Rathgeber’s decision left his former Tory colleagues in turmoil.
Several said they were disappointed by the news. But others downplayed concerns about divisions emerging within their caucus.
“I think the morale is very strong,” said Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, outside the House of Commons. “I think we’re on course on our legislative agenda. We’re on course on the economic agenda, which is the core of the agenda, and I think everyone is inspired by the prime minister.”
Bernard Trottier, the MP for the Toronto-area riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore, said he believed Rathgeber didn’t want to work as part of a team.
NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice said Thursday the resignation shows that Conservatives, who had come to change Ottawa, were being changed themselves. He also said some Tory MPs are privately complaining that they no longer have the freedom to speak without permission from the prime minister, and are warning opposition members to be careful they don’t suffer the same fate.
NDP leader Tom Mulcair said Rathgeber’s frustration was part of a pattern of behaviour with the Harper government that included recent events in the Senate.
“That’s the reality of Ottawa. These are people who got themselves elected on a promise of transparency and accountability. As we saw last night, even his own caucus is starting to send the message that they can’t be trusted.”
Original Article
Source: ottawacitizen.com
Author: Sarah O'Donnell, Mike de Souza
One day after leaving the federal Conservative caucus — and as controversy continued to surround the Conservative Party of Canada — the two-term Edmonton-area MP rejected any proposal that he should leave his seat to force a byelection.
Rathgeber said he made the difficult decision to leave the Conservative government after struggling for more than a year with issues related to transparency and control. The final straw, he said, was the government’s decision to make changes to his private member’s bill at the committee stage, essentially gutting legislation that had been aimed at disclosing the salaries of public servants who earn more than $188,000.
“I’ve reluctantly come to the inescapable conclusion that the government’s lack of support for my transparency bill is tantamount to a lack of support for transparency and open government generally,” Rathgeber said.
The resignation by Rathgeber follows weeks of scandal involving the federal Conservatives — including that of Sen. Mike Duffy and his improperly claimed expenses, which were reimbursed with $90,000 from the prime minister’s former chief of staff, Nigel Wright.
Rathgeber delivered the news via telephone to his Conservative riding association’s board of directors at its monthly board meeting Wednesday night before informing the Speaker, the Prime Minister’s Office and Chief Government Whip, then posting his decision on Twitter.
[Note] Constituency association president Darren Bieganek said Rathgeber’s decision to sit as an Independent surprised to the board. [SAXO_CR] “We all knew that this private member’s bill was important to Brent and that it was something he spent a lot of time crafting and considering,” Bieganek said. “We knew he was anticipating some kind of opposition to certain aspects of that and it was causing him concern. Even looking back we had no indication from him that he was considering this course of action.”[SAXO_CR] [/NOTE] The riding’s former MP John Williams congratulated Rathgeber for standing up and “having the courage to say enough is enough.”
“Backbench members of Parliament are not trained seals, and the Prime Minister cannot use them and abuse them … while gutting private members’ bills,” Williams said. “Private MPs have a reason for being there, and they only support the government if they believe the government is on the right track.
“Brent obviously thinks not, so he held the courage of his convictions.”
Rathgeber brushed off a suggestion by Andrew MacDougall, a spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office, who wrote on Twitter on Wednesday night that the MP should force a byelection: “The people of Edmonton-St. Albert elected a Conservative Member of Parliament. Mr. Rathgeber should resign and run in a byelection.”
Speaking in the House of Commons Thursday, Minister of Public Works Rona Ambrose echoed MacDougall’s comments: “The member for Edmonton—St. Albert did resign from caucus and the people of Edmonton—St. Albert did elect a Conservative MP. The member himself said just a month and a half ago on one of his blogs, ‘I’m elected as a Conservative member of Parliament. My constituents expect me to support the Prime Minister and the cabinet.’ We do think he should do the right thing by him and by his constituents, run in a byelection as an independent.”
Rathgeber said his future is up to his constituents.
“The Conservative Party doesn’t own this seat simply because I won it for them in the last election,” he said.
If his constituents are unhappy with his decision, Rathgeber said he will have to deal with it.
“But the preliminary emails and tweets that have come into this office would show anything but unhappiness so I suspect I’m safe with my constituents. I’ll answer to them. I won’t answer to the PMO any more.”
He said he will reassess the political landscape in 2015 to decide if he should run for re-election as an independent.
In his Thursday morning blog post titled I Stand Alone, which explains his dramatic decision to leave the Conservative caucus, Rathgeber said he now barely recognizes the party sitting in Ottawa, “and worse, I fear that we have morphed into what we once mocked.”
He explained that statement to reporters Thursday.
“The Liberal party was plagued by a reputation as being scandalous and endured a very difficult time in the sponsorship scandal and Conservatives and Reformers used to mock that,” he said. “Now, it’s a difference of degree, but perhaps not a difference of kind that now the Conservative brand is wearing some of the same allegations and we have senators who are being very liberal on their expense accounts and making ineligible expense claims.”
To some extent, he said, the party apparatus is defending the behaviour, or at least trying to deflect.
“When we start justifying and rationalizing that kind of behaviour, I fear we’re morphing into what we once mocked.”
Rathgeber’s decision left his former Tory colleagues in turmoil.
Several said they were disappointed by the news. But others downplayed concerns about divisions emerging within their caucus.
“I think the morale is very strong,” said Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, outside the House of Commons. “I think we’re on course on our legislative agenda. We’re on course on the economic agenda, which is the core of the agenda, and I think everyone is inspired by the prime minister.”
Bernard Trottier, the MP for the Toronto-area riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore, said he believed Rathgeber didn’t want to work as part of a team.
NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice said Thursday the resignation shows that Conservatives, who had come to change Ottawa, were being changed themselves. He also said some Tory MPs are privately complaining that they no longer have the freedom to speak without permission from the prime minister, and are warning opposition members to be careful they don’t suffer the same fate.
NDP leader Tom Mulcair said Rathgeber’s frustration was part of a pattern of behaviour with the Harper government that included recent events in the Senate.
“That’s the reality of Ottawa. These are people who got themselves elected on a promise of transparency and accountability. As we saw last night, even his own caucus is starting to send the message that they can’t be trusted.”
Original Article
Source: ottawacitizen.com
Author: Sarah O'Donnell, Mike de Souza
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