harper, practice what you preach

ACT NOW PM:
24 HOURS NEWS, March 24

Stephen Harper extended an olive branch to senior public servants yesterday, asking for their help in cleaning their departments of corruption.

Harper asked about 250 bureaucrats gathered at a Gatineau museum to back his government's plan to table a federal accountability act meant to prevent future abuses of the public treasury.


Harper jets to New Brunswick to hand out millions in campaign-style visit
March 25, 2006

FREDERICTON (CP) - There's nothing wrong with using a government jet at taxpayers' expense to dole out millions of dollars in spending promises - as long as you intend to keep them, says Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Harper's one-day, three-city visit to New Brunswick on Friday had all the trappings of an election campaign. At each stop, dozens of clapping, whistling partisans cheered the Conservative prime minister who was accompanied by Premier Bernard Lord.

With Lord's minority Tory government about to bring down a provincial budget Monday that some predict could trigger a spring election, the whistlestops had a decidedly partisan flavour.

"There's going to be some good news for your riding today," Lord said in greeting to one local MLA among the crowd of a couple of hundred at a Fredericton transport garage.

Harper flew from Ottawa to Moncton on Friday morning aboard his Challenger jet to announce $6 million in federal funding for that city's bid on the world junior track championships.

He then flew to Fredericton for a midday announcement of $200 million in highway spending, and ended the afternoon in Saint John with a $3-million federal pledge to help clean up the city's harbour.

Harper called the Fredericton highway announcement "one more step we made in the last election to stand up for Canada by investing in our country's infrastructure."

It is also good local politics - matching promises made by Paul Martin's former Liberal government.

Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay spent Wednesday touring New Brunswick with Lord, attending events from breakfast through dinner to re-announce projects put on the books by the Liberals.

Preventing the former Liberal government from jetting about the country to make local spending announcements was an ongoing Conservative rationale for bringing down Paul Martin earlier rather than later last year.

As early as last April, Harper was denouncing Martin's plan to "fly around the country on a government jet at taxpayers' expense, and he can throw enough money all over the country to cover up the stench of corruption."

Liberal MP Andy Scott of Fredericton said Friday that while he welcomes the spending commitments for his province, he's not happy with Harper's blatant politicking.

"This is very inconsistent with what Mr. Harper had to say six months ago," said Scott, the Liberal infrastructure critic.

Harper defended his hop-scotching flights, saying the New Brunswick announcements will really be honoured.

"The previous government made literally billions of dollars of unfunded announcements," Harper said when asked about his old criticism.

Noting he had yet to pass a Conservative budget, Harper said: "I can assure you these are modest announcements that are fully within the commitments that we have budgeted for.

"They are also targeted specific announcements that not only benefit real people in New Brunswick on the ground, but are consistent with the national objectives of the government of Canada," he added to applause.

John Williamson of the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation said the principle of limiting partisan business while using the government Challenger must be maintained by Harper.

But given that the Conservatives are a new government in a post-election period, the New Brunswick jaunt passes "the sniff test," said the taxpayer watchdog.

"If it gets to the point where we have to do a spend-o-meter for Stephen Harper, we'll get interested."