Editor:
At the Dec. 5 all-candidates debate (Hundreds pack centre to hear candidates, Dec. 8), I listened to a Conservative kettle calling the Liberal pot black.
Kerry-Lynn Findlay kept hammering the Liberals with the word “ethics,” referring primarily to Bill Morneau – whom I’m not defending.
But compare Morneau’s negligence with his personal finances to this list of Conservative transgressions:
Stephen Harper’s parliamentary secretary and later ethics officer Dean Del Maestro was given a jail sentence for his own election spending violations.
The Conservative party pleaded guilty to exceeding spending limits in the 2006 election in the “in-and-out scandal.”
Tory operative Michael Sona was given jail time for his role in the robocalls scam, where the judge indicated more than one person was likely involved. In a later court judgment, we learned that the robocalls operation was widespread and not just limited to Guelph.
Bev Oda, minister for international cooperation, deliberately altered a CIDA document. Then, under oath in the House of Commons, she first denied it, then later admitted she misled the House, and yet retained her position as cabinet minister.
Industry minister Tony Clement also misled Parliament, falsely stating that Stats Canada backed his proposal to kill the long-form census. Clement also kept his job, as did MP Brad Butt, who admitted he “misspoke” about election fraud.
While there’s plenty of corruption in the Liberal ranks, it hardly justifies the new Conservative strategy of claiming the higher ground.
Without trust and integrity, there can be no true democracy.
Ken Calder, Surrey