Harper cleared in Emerson ethics probe

[MrPrax]

The federal Ethics Commissioner has cleared Prime Minister Stephen Harper of any wrongdoing in his appointment of former Liberal David Emerson to his cabinet.

More to come

Globe


THE HARPER - EMERSON INQUIRY
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Shapiro clears Harper

OTTAWA (CP) - The ethics commissioner says Prime Minister Stephen Harper broke no rules when he persuaded David Emerson to switch parties and join the cabinet.

Bernard Shapiro says he's satisfied that Harper didn't offer Emerson any special inducements to leave the Liberals and join the Tory cabinet. Shapiro says he accepts Emerson's explanation that he thought he could best serve his constituents from the cabinet table, rather than the opposition benches.

Three opposition MPs asked Shapiro to investigate whether Harper violated the rules when he invited Emerson, a former Liberal minister, to join his cabinet.

Shapiro says that while no rules were broken, the incident has left many people angry and feeling that votes were devalued.

He says the whole question of switching parties should be debated.

Canoe bulletin in full

Should be interesting to see the Stephen 'Beer-Gut' Harper praise the report from a guy he ONLY last week try to fire for bias...

Can't you just feel that Tory mo-mentum...LOL

Let's send a message to Emerson and Harper.
Join us on a Non-Partisan...

Walk For Democracy in Vancouver
Sunday April 2, 2006

Join us - your neighbours and friends,
for a family-friendly walk and rally - rain or shine!
http://www.walkfordemocracy.ca/

[daleo]

1. Did Shapiro just cave in?

The Globe will probably go to bat for Harper, but let's see how this develops.

On edit - From reading this account, it looks like the supposed Grewal inducement would have been fine with Shapiro too. So, why did he go to all that trouble back then? It sure looks like he laid down on this one - just a happy letter from Harper and Emerson was all it took to bring him to their way of thinking.

[IntravenousDemilo]

3. No, he pronounced correctly.

However much Emerson and Harper have misrepresented themselves, which in my books means lying, what they did was not strictly illegal, and Shapiro couldn't himself ethically decide otherwise. He also said, though, that the voters had every right to feel betrayed, which was too much even for John Ibbitson of the Globe, anyway, who said Shapiro was correct in point of fact, but the wrong person to say it. Ibbitson can be very annoying...

[Bassic]

4. That's right. Turncoats have been a part of the game

for a very long time. I do hope,however, that the NDP succeeds in getting in a motion to limit it in the future. I hate turncoats.

[tuvor]

2. The people have been angry from the moment Emerson crossed.

The results of Shapiro's investigation aren't going to assuage anyone. I have a hunch it'll have the exact opposite effect among Emerson's constituents.