Elitism such as Chaggar's, intended or not, would be deadly for Trudeau Liberals!
The other day, the otherwise smart Liberal House leader in the House of Commons,Bardish Chaggar, opined that the "House of Commons is not where [the politicians] talk about political fundraising". Let me give you the exact quote. "You know, in that place [the House of Commons] is not where we talk about, I would say, political fundraising. Political Parties can talk about that. We can talk about legislation. We can talk about rules that govern the work we do, but would say that's the place to really advance the challenges that Canadians are facing, the concerns that they are facing."
One would have thought, no matter what one thought of the political fundraising that is fast becoming an albatross around my political party's neck, that House of Commons is definitely the place to talk about it. It is the People's House. Political fundraising--good, bad or ugly--is people's business; and the people's business belongs and can be discussed--must be discussed--in the People's House.
Welcome to government; since the Liberals are in power it is their conduct and standards that are at the forefront in public discussions. Over 60 percent Canadians are concerned about the perception that is created by the current Liberal practice of fundraising--followed until recently by all political parties--that the media have dubbed "cash for access". Before the X-MAS break the government had been on the ropes in the House of Commons for not living up to PM Trudeau's own guidelines for government ministers.
The House is a place for the government and the opposition to discuss anything they deem relevant; and in the question period the speaker prohibits questions that may appear out of order. Insofar as the Commons Speaker didn't stop the opposition from asking questions about "cash for access", he must have deemed them appropriate and permissible.
In a move reminiscent of Prime Minister Kim Campbell's elitist dictum of an election being "no time to discuss serious issues", Chaggar had gone on to say "political parties can talk about that [political fundraising]" among themselves, away from the House. As I was finishing this blog I learnt that in a further interview with the Huffington Post which had published the original story, Chaggar has walked back these comments saying she didn't mean to suggest that the House is not the place to discuss the fundraising issue. Chaggar's remarks may not have been intended to convey elitism. But they reeked of it. Trudeau would do well to remember himself and remind Chaggar that after what appeared to be her elitist remarks, Campbell Tories had suffered their worst electoral loss.
http://ujjaldosanjh.org/
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Ujjal Dosanjh, Politician -Canada-Former Premier BC, Former Federal Minister of Canada
ujjaldosanjh@gmail.com
Phone No. : 1111111111
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