Parliamentarian Nightmares

"The prime minister's chief of staff has certain responsibilities and this stinks. It's as simple as that. It doesn't pass any smell test. Whether he did it in good faith or not doesn't matter. It's a huge error in judgement."
Eddie Goldenberg, former chief of staff to former Prime Minister Jean Chretien

"That's the problem they've got. Now it's sitting in the Prime Minister's Office. They've actually created a bigger story than what is there... When you dig yourself in this deep, there are not many places to go. This should be the gift (for the opposition) that keeps giving. How do you defend it?"
Keith Beardsley, former deputy chief of staff to Stephen Harper

"We are engaged with the office of the ethics commissioner on this question and that's ongoing right now so I'm not going to comment further. The prime minister has the full confidence in Mr. Wright and Mr. Wright is staying on."
"Obviously there are some outstanding questions and our office is in contact with the ethics commissioner from one angle, and Senator Duffy has some questions to answer, but he'll answer those as an independent senator."
Andrew MacDougall, director of communications for Prime Minister Stephen Harper

Statements outright condemning a situation that reeks of skullduggery at worst, inadvertent and ill-judged interference at the most innocent interpretation. And alternating statements that refuse judgement, preferring in defence of the prime minister and his office to interpret the situation as one that arose not through deliberate machinations but of unaware indulgence.

Somewhere in between lies the truth. It is difficult to believe that the prime minister would deliberately undertake to indulge in activities he would instinctively know to be unethical and even unlawful simply because this does not reflect the measure of the man. It is more likely and infinitely more palatable to believe that a man who has his trust as a professional was guided to irregular and inexcusable action through ignorance of what that action represents and would result in.

It is not simply a case of a well-heeled individual handing over gratis a cheque in the sum of $90,000 to an admired colleague to aid him during a time of duress. Nigel Wright, in a position of trust as chief of staff to the prime minister placed himself and Stephen Harper into an untenable position of appearing to favour a Conservative-appointed senator and high-profile fund-raiser for the party, who indulged in malfeasance at public expense.

The resulting scandal should have been predictable. Mr. Wright, in his lack of wisdom should have had the foresight to understand that this was a situation that should be viewed at arm's length, that any intervention, personal or not, from him would be construed as interference by the PMO, and by extension to the one individual who ostensibly has responsibility and control over it all, Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

For one arm of government to take steps to give favour to another arm of government, undermining its autonomy, when criminal proceedings are involved goes beyond the pale of permissibility and acceptance. It flies in the face of Parliamentary responsibility and duty to the electorate believing in the inviolability of government rectitude and honour in governing the affairs of the country.

The self-serving actions of Senators Pamela Wallin, Mike Duffy, Mac Harb and Patrick Brazeau throws a grim shadow of shame over the Senate of Canada. Their seeking to enrich themselves through unethical billings from the public purse for expenses they are not entitled to under the umbrella of Senate rules dependent on an honour code simply besmirches the reputations of all those sitting in the Red Chamber who take pride in their position and the work they perform.

This is one extremely serious situation of hugely poor judgement that has slipped over from the Senate into the office of the Prime Minister of Canada. There is simply no way that this episode of tawdry self-service can slide into obscurity without a concerted effort on the part of Prime Minister Stephen Harper to turn the rising tide of public opinion fuelled by a gleeful news media, to convince of his innocence in this affair.

He may indeed, and likely is, innocent of any involvement in this ill-judged move to rescue an undeserving Senator from a well-earned fate, and through so doing tarnishing his own reputation through an illegal and unethical band-aid solution. But the odour and the tarnish is there, both waiting to be expunged through both an explanation and an apology.

Difficult to achieve, but achievable by the honourable and intelligent man Prime Minister Harper happens to be.