'One Thing Leads To Another' - How Stephen Harper Single Handedly Created The Current Senate Scandal ..
When Stephen Harper decided to add Pamela Wallin and Mike Duffy to Canada's unelected, undemocratic Senate, he started in motion a series of events that has ultimately become an ugly, nasty political scandal.
For starters, neither Duffy nor Wallin qualified for senate appointment as representatives of their respective native provinces.
While Ms. Wallin is originally from Saskatchewan, she has lived away for most of her adult life and Saskatchewan was no longer her principle residence. Saskatchewan's right leaning corporate MSM came running to Harper's defence and tried to murky the waters about Wallin's residency requirement.
Same with Mr. Duffy. While originally from Prince Edward Island, he has for decades made Ontario the site of his actual 'principle residence'.
In his haste to add these two high powered, Conservative fundraisers to the 'Upper House', Stephen Harper and the Senate turned a blind eye to the residency requirements for Duffy and Wallin. In fact, to try and maintain the optics of residency in their respective provinces, both Senators started to declare, in writing, that their residences were 'back home' in both PEI and Saskatchewan.
Here is where it all went wrong.
In order to be appointed to the Senate, ‘principle residence' reality had to be fabricated in order for Harper's appointments to be acknowledged under existing Senate rules. False expense claims were the only way to maintain the charade ...
Stephen Harper wanted both Duffy and Wallin in the Senate so that these well-known Canadians could crisscross the nation and rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations for Conservative Party coffers.
Harper created this mess. It is his doing ... and hopefully, it will also be his undoing.
Amen.
-Buckdog 2008: Academic Says Pamela Wallin Does NOT Meet Residency Requirements - Should NOT Be Appointed Senator 'From Saskatchewan'!
"While Ms. Wallin is originally from Saskatchewan, she has lived away for most of her adult life and Saskatchewan was no longer her *principle* residence."
I would argue that that's exactly where she keeps her principles.
They would be such a hindrance in Ottawa.
The english language is such a bitch. :-)
Posted by
Dana |
1:56 pm, May 20, 2013
Hell it goes all the way back to his first day on the job as PM, when he appointed Michael Fortier to represent Quebec in his cabinet. And Fortier had to scramble to buy a few acres of land to meet the requirements. I remember it well.
Posted by
Unknown |
2:01 pm, May 20, 2013
Dana ... nice play on words lol ... can I post that comment???
Posted by
leftdog |
3:42 pm, May 20, 2013
It went wrong when both Duffy and Wallin had to actually live in their home provinces newly acquired residences.
It appears that neither bothered to check those requirements. In PEI, they had "time category" so a health card, driver's license, taxation kicked in - minor details but Duffy blew it.
Wallin, ditto.
Now where are those residency requirements....
Posted by
susansmith |
7:34 pm, May 20, 2013
Right wingers in power always assume that these so called 'rules' are just a minor irritation that merely need to be worked around.
Here's how the thought process works: "If the rule says you must be from Saskatchewan, well just use a Sask addy and sign the damned form .. it doesn't really matter." LOL
It really backfired on them this time.
Posted by
leftdog |
11:26 pm, May 20, 2013