• Justin Trudeau’s Bahamas Vacation Being Investigated by Ethics Watchdog
    25 replies, posted
[quote]Canada's ethics commissioner said Monday she is launching an investigation into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's recent family holiday at the Aga Khan's private island in the Bahamas. Ethics commissioner Mary Dawson said Trudeau may have violated the federal ethics code during his holiday with the Aga Khan, a family friend, philanthropist and hereditary spiritual leader to the world's approximately 15 million Ismaili Muslims. It's the first time the ethics commissioner has opted to investigate the actions of a sitting prime minister. In a letter to opposition Conservative lawmaker Blaine Calkins, who was among those who filed formal complaints, Dawson said she is looking into both Trudeau's stay at the island and his use of the Aga Khan's private helicopter to get there. The vacation included Trudeau, his family, Liberal lawmaker Seamus O'Regan and Liberal party president Anna Gainey, all of whom took part in the chopper flight from Nassau to get to the secluded island. Both the Conflict of Interest Act and Trudeau's own ethics guidelines bar the use of sponsored travel in private aircraft, allowing it only for exceptional circumstances.[/quote] [url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/94018bdcb8ff49e1bc438b1da27ac23d/ethics-watchdog-investigating-canadian-pms-vacation]AP[/url]
Another, better article: [url]http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ethics-watchdog-trudeau-aga-khan-1.3937269[/url] [quote]"I have therefore commenced an examination under subsection 44(3) of the Act to determine whether Mr. Trudeau has contravened sections 11 and 12 of the Act in connection with his recent stay at and travel to the Aga Khan's privately owned island. I will also examine whether Mr. Trudeau may have contravened his obligations under sections 6 and 21 of the Act."[/quote] [quote][B]44(3)[/B] If the Commissioner determines that the request is frivolous or vexatious or is made in bad faith, he or she may decline to examine the matter. Otherwise, he or she shall examine the matter described in the request and, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, may discontinue the examination.[/quote] [quote][B]11 (1)[/B] No public office holder or member of his or her family shall accept any gift or other advantage, including from a trust, that might reasonably be seen to have been given to influence the public office holder in the exercise of an official power, duty or function. Marginal note: Exception (2) Despite subsection (1), a public office holder or member of his or her family may accept a gift or other advantage (a) that is permitted under the Canada Elections Act; [B](b) that is given by a relative or friend; or[/B] (c) that is received as a normal expression of courtesy or protocol, or is within the customary standards that normally accompany the public office holder’s position.[/quote] [quote][B]12[/B] No minister of the Crown, minister of state or parliamentary secretary, no member of his or her family and no ministerial adviser or ministerial staff shall accept travel on non-commercial chartered or private aircraft for any purpose unless required in his or her capacity as a public office holder or in exceptional circumstances or with the prior approval of the Commissioner.[/quote] [quote][B]6 (1)[/B] No public office holder shall make a decision or participate in making a decision related to the exercise of an official power, duty or function if the public office holder knows or reasonably should know that, in the making of the decision, he or she would be in a conflict of interest.[/quote] [quote][B]21[/B] A public office holder shall recuse himself or herself from any discussion, decision, debate or vote on any matter in respect of which he or she would be in a conflict of interest.[/quote] [url]http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-36.65/index.html#docCont[/url] He straight up violated section 12. He won't receive a penalty for it, though, unless you count more ammo for the conservatives.
I honestly do not see why this is a problem as from what I've read it seems to me he didn't try and hide it. All I've gathered from it really is that he as a person who made a mistake which isn't that surprising considering it happened during the holiday's. I mean if anyone looks back at the Harper times he did a whole shit ton of questionable things and who knows what he did that we never found out about. Plus it's not just him breaking the rules as I'm sure ever Canadian who can vote knows people in parliament and government offices have used tax money for things they shouldn't be using it for.
I wonder if they'll force an election because of this. Can they even force an election because of this? Can the court ask the Governor General to dissolve parliament? I mean, even when Harper was convicted of contempt of parliament their government lost a vote of no-confidence and that's what actually triggered the election in 2011, not a court order. Alternatively, can Trudeau be forced to step down because of this?
[QUOTE=DELL;51680766]I honestly do not see why this is a problem as from what I've read it seems to me he didn't try and hide it. All I've gathered from it really is that he as a person who made a mistake which isn't that surprising considering it happened during the holiday's. I mean if anyone looks back at the Harper times he did a whole shit ton of questionable things and who knows what he did that we never found out about. Plus it's not just him breaking the rules as I'm sure ever Canadian who can vote knows people in parliament and government offices have used tax money for things they shouldn't be using it for.[/QUOTE] Maybe I'm super bias and I just love Justin Trudeau, but I honestly think that this law is super arbitrary. They're punishing for potentials and not actuals. Plus Trudeau keeps saying that it was literally the only way to get to the private island.
[QUOTE=DELL;51680766] I mean if anyone looks back at the Harper times he did a whole shit ton of questionable things and who knows what he did that we never found out about. Plus it's not just him breaking the rules as I'm sure ever Canadian who can vote knows people in parliament and government offices have used tax money for things they shouldn't be using it for.[/QUOTE] the classic "it's okay is someone else does it"
[QUOTE=DaCommie1;51680850]I wonder if they'll force an election because of this. Can they even force an election because of this? Can the court ask the Governor General to dissolve parliament? I mean, even when Harper was convicted of contempt of parliament their government lost a vote of no-confidence and that's what actually triggered the election in 2011, not a court order. Alternatively, can Trudeau be forced to step down because of this?[/QUOTE] No [quote]No penalty for potential ethics violations Provisions which allow for a $500 fine for violations of the act do not apply to the sections in question. That means the maximum penalty Trudeau could face is a "notice of violation," though a finding of a breach of the act would provide ammunition for the opposition parties to question the prime minister's commitment to transparency and ethical conduct.[/quote] More ammo for the conservatives. [editline]16th January 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=Ithon;51680871]the classic "it's okay is someone else does it"[/QUOTE] Oh yeah this is actually brought up more in parliament than you think. The Conservatives were going apeshit about Trudeau saying "yeah people try to lobby me but I turn them down" (a potential), then the Liberals brought up about how the opposition actually engaged in corruption (an actual).
At least he didn't try to cover it up for months and then pretend he didn't know what was going on in his own office like Harper tried to do with the Duffy expenses scandal. Harper straight up lied in Parliament and he "got away with it", not counting his party being punted out by a decisive Liberal victory in the next election. This really seems like a tempest in a teapot, but I'd be concerned if Justin is sloppy about avoiding conflicts of interest in the future. Once is a fuckup, twice is a worry, thrice is a deliberate pattern. Let's hope we don't have to get worried.
[QUOTE=elixwhitetail;51680907]At least he didn't try to cover it up for months and then pretend he didn't know what was going on in his own office like Harper tried to do with the Duffy expenses scandal. Harper straight up lied in Parliament and he "got away with it", not counting his party being punted out by a decisive Liberal victory in the next election. This really seems like a tempest in a teapot, but I'd be concerned if Justin is sloppy about avoiding conflicts of interest in the future. Once is a fuckup, twice is a worry, thrice is a deliberate pattern. Let's hope we don't have to get worried.[/QUOTE] Trudeau breaking rules, or looking like he's broken rules, has already happened 3 times. The narrative that the Conservatives are exploiting is that he's young, acts like a kid, and has no regards for the rules. Especially early in his career. He swore at the Minister of Environment when he said "We're backing out of the kyoto protocol lol" [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ2FmGOU4tE[/media]
[QUOTE=ROFLBURGER;51680922]Trudeau breaking rules, or looking like he's broken rules, has already happened 3 times. The narrative that the Conservatives are exploiting is that he's young, acts like a kid, and has no regards for the rules. Especially early in his career. He swore at the Minister of Environment when he said "We're backing out of the kyoto protocol lol" [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ2FmGOU4tE[/media][/QUOTE] I want to slap him just for that facial hair.
Trudeau is great
[QUOTE=Ithon;51680871]the classic "it's okay is someone else does it"[/QUOTE] It's okay because he owned up to it and isn't trying to hide the fact that it happened. The other people breaking the rules is something you have to consider in the judgement of the facts. The difference being those people generally do it on purpose and try to hide it in the paperwork. If the rules get broken and you don't try to hide it then it's quite okay.(Unless it causes harm to people) Now on a legal level that's a bit different though on a person level it's okay in my books. Plus you Americans have Trump to look forward too. Which from what I've seen he doesn't seem to care too much for the rules.
I'm personally glad we'll have Trudeau during Trump's first term I can only imagine the incoming mess if Harper was still in office.
[QUOTE=Killer monkey;51680994]Trudeau is great[/QUOTE] Unless you live in Alberta. He gives zero fucks about us which is why I'll probably be voting Conservative next election, and for as long as I live in this province.
[QUOTE=Taepodong-2;51684260]Unless you live in Alberta. He gives zero fucks about us which is why I'll probably be voting Conservative next election, and for as long as I live in this province.[/QUOTE] Do you have any evidence to back this up? Or is this just the usual pissy conservative stance that the East doesn't care about Alberta if it's isn't a conservative that's in office? Because that's what it was last time when Paul Martin was PM. Which is also funny because when there is a conservative PM Alberta switches from "Nobody cares about us! Wah!" to "Fuck you, you're on your own!". Man, people here get so whiny. You never hear this shit from the other provinces or territories who can actually make that argument and have it be valid.
From what I can gather we're being hurt the most from the liberal and NDP policies. Having an elected premier who puts on more taxes in a time where we need less and ignores majority opposition to proposed bills, or otherwise doesn't share the provinces views/wishes. We're mad because its almost authoritarian. You dont create a strong progressive energy province by punishing companies and people who're trying to turn a profit, you make it more appealing for them to have their businesses there. Thats why Alberta was such a strong province, having the lowest taxes make more people and businesses want to work/live there, along with a strong oil industry. Despite hitting economic lows we remain to be a have-not province and pay out to the other provinces. Lets cut quebec off Canada's tit, because when you've historically taken 50% of the equalization payments since 1982, its not equalization, its paying to support your dipshit brother who doesn't work. See how quick the east falls when the west stops supporting them.
[QUOTE=Valon Kyre;51685181]From what I can gather we're being hurt the most from the liberal and NDP policies. Having an elected premier who puts on more taxes in a time where we need less and ignores majority opposition to proposed bills, or otherwise doesn't share the provinces views/wishes. We're mad because its almost authoritarian. You dont create a strong progressive energy province by punishing companies and people who're trying to turn a profit, you make it more appealing for them to have their businesses there. Thats why Alberta was such a strong province, having the lowest taxes make more people and businesses want to work/live there, along with a strong oil industry. Despite hitting economic lows we remain to be a have-not province and pay out to the other provinces. Lets cut quebec off Canada's tit, because when you've historically taken 50% of the equalization payments since 1982, its not equalization, its paying to support your dipshit brother who doesn't work. See how quick the east falls when the west stops supporting them.[/QUOTE] The oil industry has gone to shit before Trudeau was there and Canada's economy too that's what happens when you put your eggs in one basket.
[QUOTE=The golden;51686264]It's so surreal reading this when we just ditched a PM who annihilated our currency and economy and drove his home province (Alberta) into the dirt. I fail to see the logic here.[/QUOTE] Conservatives get blue balls so damn quickly. You'd think that after a fucking decade of their party being in power they'd be able to muster up a [I]little [/I]bit of patience for the Libs. It's even funnier when you consider that the conservatives were in power in Alberta for 40 bloody years and the second they lost it was and still is all gloom and doom. Don't mention the new carbon tax here in Alberta if you don't want your ear chewed off by bitter Albertan's who have to pay a couple cents extra for gas now.
[QUOTE=Taepodong-2;51684260]Unless you live in Alberta. He gives zero fucks about us which is why I'll probably be voting Conservative next election, and for as long as I live in this province.[/QUOTE] Your province refuses to develop any other major industry asides from oil mining, mining which is no longer even profitable due to cheap Saudi oil. Why should the rest of the country have to artificially prop your province up through subsidies from our taxes, fixing none of the issues in process?
[QUOTE=Taepodong-2;51684260]Unless you live in Alberta. He gives zero fucks about us which is why I'll probably be voting Conservative next election, and for as long as I live in this province.[/QUOTE] Alberta is so disconnected from reality you could get away with calling it a separate c(o)untry.
I envision a Canadian parliament in which everyone breaks out in Tourettes
[QUOTE=mcharest;51687837]I imagine a Canadian parliament in which everyone breaks out in Tourettes[/QUOTE] Well there's that one conservative that has muscle spasms like she was fucking hit with a baseball bat when the PM gets close.
As a Canadian living in The Bahamas I find this very interesting. In the family islands are all private charter, its not as fancy as it seems although I understand he probably wasnt uncomfortable either... i've gone on 2 "private charters" to Staniel Cay and Harbor island (because thats all the airport can deal with, literally a runway with little else) . its not as big of a deal as they make it out to be. and its all private islands out there, boating past Johnny depps island like its nothing because it is.
I'm pretty mixed on Trudeau and this doesn't make him sound any better. The Conservatives can get stuffed though.
[QUOTE=pentium;51687839]Well there's that one conservative that has muscle spasms like she was fucking hit with a baseball bat when the PM gets close.[/QUOTE] Remember Jean Chrétien choked that guy and then knocked another dude to the ground? Those were the days. Only in Canada can your PM get the nickname "The Shawinigan Strangler".
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