Mark Carney has three major problems at present: truth, trust, and legitimacy.
Truth
Since entering the Liberal Leadership race, Mr. Carney has shown a propensity for preferring an alternative reality to the truth. For example, his claim that it was his “privilege to work with Paul Martin when he balanced the books—and kept the books balanced” is quite the nose stretcher given the fact that Martin introduced a balanced budget in 1998, a full six years before Carney joined the Ministry of Finance in 2004.
Likewise, Carney’s assertion that he had nothing to do with Brookfield Asset Management’s decision to move their head office from Toronto to New York is an out and out lie considering that he not only chaired the board meeting making the decision, but he also voted in favour of the move and then wrote to shareholders urging them to vote for the move! Carney’s later “clarification” indicated that he should have been more “precise” in his answer regarding the Brookfield move. “Precise”? How about “truthful”?
Carney’s latest challenge with the truth is his claim to have eliminated the consumer carbon tax. Anyone with a passing familiarity with Canada’s government structure knows that the Prime Minister has no authority to sign any legislative instrument. Under the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, S.C. 2018, c. 12, s. 186, it is the Governor in Council, i.e. cabinet, that Parliament has authorized to make regulations respecting the workings of the Act. Any changes to Schedule 2 under the Act, which contained the carbon pricing scheme, are made by the Governor in Council via regulation, which is signed by the Governor General, NOT the Prime Minister.
Carney’s cheap signing stunt was just that, a juvenile photo-op to emulate President Trump’s Executive Order signings in an attempt to persuade a gullible electorate that the carbon tax nightmare is over. To truly eliminate the carbon tax would require an Act of Parliament, and as Parliament is not sitting at the moment, the best Carney can do is offer a temporary reprieve. Whatever document Carney signed has no force of law. The suspension of the consumer carbon tax will only become a matter of law once it is signed by the Governor General.
Trust
To earn the trust of Canadians, Carney should have: (1) fully disclosed his and his family’s financial holdings; and (2) pledged to repeal the carbon tax regime.
Instead of earning that trust, Carney has made a half-hearted and minimum disclosure, moving to place his assets in a blind trust with the exception of “personal real estate.” Details of the assets and trustees are woefully missing. Also missing are details around his wife’s and his children’s assets that could raise serious conflict of interest issues. On the carbon tax issue, the best Carney could do was stage a faux “executive order” signing to remove the consumer portion of the carbon tax regime, still leaving in place a significant portion of the tax that will be borne by consumers. Following this, Carney decided to jet off to visit his WEF buddies in Europe.
All things considered, not a promising start to earning the trust of Canadians.
Legitimacy
More importantly, however, to earn legitimacy, Carney must first face the electorate at the ballot box. Until he does so, Carney has absolutely no legitimacy as Prime Minister.
It is a FUNDAMENTAL constitutional requirement that members of the executive, i.e., the cabinet including the Prime Minister, be elected members of Parliament. This requirement is part of “Responsible Government”, which means that the executive is responsible to the legislative assembly. It is important to understand that the government is only the government to the extent that it has the confidence of a majority of the House of Commons. Typically, the party that has the most elected members will form the government without the need to seek support of other parties, as is currently the case with the Liberal/NDP alliance.
Responsible Government was introduced into Canada via Lord Durham’s Report, in the aftermath of the rebellions of 1837–38 in Upper and Lower Canada and has become the bedrock of Canadian democracy. Let that sink in for a moment. A major reason Canada experienced its only armed rebellion was opposition to the executive being unaccountable to the legislative assembly. The objectionable de facto rule of the Family Compact in Upper Canada and the Clique du Château in Lower Canada had been achieved by the appointment of non-elected individuals to their Executive Councils by the Lieutenant Governors.
In the absence of an election, Carney’s appointment and behaviour as Prime Minister is nothing less than an insult to, and a major step backward, for Canadian constitutionalism, and is an affront to Responsible Government.
By delaying the inevitable, the Liberals are currently engaged in a PR exercise aimed at boosting Carney’s image to impress voters as he plays on the world stage posing for photo-ops with UK and French leaders – photo-ops being paid for by the long-suffering Canadian taxpayer!
The only way to correct the mess the Liberals have made is with an election now, not in October and certainly not next year. No more excuses. No more lies. It is high time that the Liberals acted responsibly. It is high time to return to Responsible Government.
For further information contact:
Pauline Guzik
National President
REAL Women of Canada
Cathy Smith
Western Canada Board Member
REAL Women of Canada
Email: info@realwomenofcanada.ca
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