You heard it first in Question Period yesterday, a catchy new phrase from the Liberals to describe the actions of Stephen Harper’s Conservatives.
Grit MPs are working “culture of deceit” into question after question. And if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the Tories should be very pleased as the Liberals are ripping off what has worked very successfully for them.
Indeed, the Conservatives have many mocking phrases describing Michael Ignatieff’s Liberals, including one of their favourites: Mr. Ignatieff is “just visiting,” a reference to his 30-year absence from Canada.
For now, however, the Liberals are taking a page from TV host David Letterman and backing up the phrase with their own Top 10 list of Conservative culture of deceit-isms.
Here are the highlights:
10. “Raising taxes by $13 billion – and then falsely accusing Liberals of raising taxes.” The Grits say the Tory payroll tax will “kill 220,000 small business jobs.”
8. “Challenging the supremacy of Parliament to cover-up Afghan torture documents.” The Liberals say “[Tories] refused to comply with a motion passed by Parliament that would establish a review process for Afghan torture that respects national security.”
5. “Refusing to reveal why Helena Guergis was kicked out of cabinet and caucus.” The Grits allege: “Stephen Harper still won’t say what alleged criminal activity was happening in government.”
2. “You’ll get the documents ‘when they are good and ready.’” This is from the government’s lawyer at the Military Policy Complaints Commission’s hearings into the alleged torture of Afghan detainees who is refusing to give a date for when the “specific” documents would be provided to the MPCC.
And the No. 1 Conservative culture of deceit-ism:
“Accusing police of corruption for protecting officer safety.” This is in reference to a Tory staffer who was apparently the author of a press release from anti-long-gun registry Conservative MP Garry Breitkreuz characterizing police chiefs as belonging to a “cult” for supporting the registry. The staffer has resigned.
The Conservatives appear not to be taking this too seriously:
“Where’s the $40-million that’s still missing for the Liberal sponsorship scandal?” asks Dimitri Soudas, the Prime Minister’s director of communications.
The full list follows:
For Immediate Release
April 21, 2010
Conservative culture of deceit and contempt
The Conservative government under Stephen Harper is showing its true character. Secrecy and intimidation have taken the place of transparency and respect. The examples are too numerous not to see a pattern:
1. Accusing police of corruption for protecting officer safety. In a brazen show of contempt for our police forces, the Conservative MP who chairs the House of Commons Public Safety Committee has said that police chiefs “derive financial support from pro-registry sources” and called them “a cult” for seeking to maintain the gun registry that they access 11,000 times a day to protect officer safety.
2. You’ll get the documents “when they are good and ready.” A Justice Department lawyer refused to even give a date for when specific documents would be provided to the Military Police Complaints Commission’s hearings on the government’s role in the torture of Afghan detainees.
3. Silence regarding Rahim Jaffer’s alleged lobbying activities. The Prime Minister will not say whether Rahim Jaffer, a former Conservative MP and unregistered lobbyist, lobbied any government minister or secretary of state to obtain government grants.
4. Showing contempt for victims of crime. While the Prime Minister doesn’t hesitate to trot out high profile murders to score cheap political points, his government has paid victims lip-service by cutting 41 percent of the budget to Grants for the Victims of Crime Initiative and another 34 percent - $2.7 million – in Contributions for the Victims of Crime Initiative.
5. Refusing to reveal why Helena Guergis was kicked out of cabinet and caucus. A sitting cabinet minister was forced to resign because her conduct while in cabinet had been referred to the RCMP for investigation, yet Stephen Harper still won’t say what alleged criminal activity was happening in his government.
6. Failing grades from the Information Commissioner. While the Conservative government was elected on a platform of transparency and accountability, the Information Commissioner has found this government to be the most secretive in history when it comes to answering Access to Information requests. Canadians await the Commissioner's findings on charges of political interference.
7. Shutting down Parliament when the questions get too tough. In the ultimate act of contempt for Parliament, Stephen Harper prorogued Parliament so he wouldn’t have to face continued questioning on the Afghan detainee torture scandal.
8. Challenging the supremacy of Parliament to cover-up Afghan torture documents. The Conservatives refused to comply with a motion passed by Parliament that would establish a review process for Afghan torture documents that respects national security.
9. Withholding information on government spending. The Conservatives won’t tell the Parliamentary Budget Officer what their baseline departmental spending levels are, denying Parliament the ability exercise oversight on the government’s spending freeze and the cutbacks needed to pay for it.
10. Raising taxes by $13 billion – and then falsely accusing Liberals of raising taxes. While the Conservatives don’t have the guts to admit they’re bringing in a $13-billion payroll tax that will kill 220,000 small business jobs, they have the nerve to portray the Liberal’s plan to freeze corporate taxes as a tax increase.
