Partisan politics

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservatives have grown more careful about being partisan when operating under the Government of Canada banner, especially since they stopped that "Canada's New Government" silliness earlier this year.

But this press release, from the Government House Leader, Peter Van Loan, appears to stray deeply into partisan territory.

In fact, I think it says here that partisan stuff like this is definitely a violation of the communications policy of the Government of Canada. You use your party website to do that -- if, for instance, you want to PhotoShop your opponents' head and put a funny hat on him or turn him into a walking salad. 

I'm looking specifically at the part that says the communications function of the government of Canada includes: "providing communications support and advice to ministers and senior officials on (non-partisan) government matters, including the preparation of speeches, news releases, briefing notes, presentations, memoranda and correspondence."

 

Comments

[Sara-Anne Peterson]

How about some info for the poor old Canadian citizen. I don't know where to ask this question. A 200,000 square foot federal building in Quebec city that is being built and firms are lobbying for? Didn't our government just divest us of a whole bunch of federal buildings? And now we are building more. Is this a public, private partnership planned? What a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes while we are focussing on the sensational. Public private schemes are fair game for lots of hanky panky and not just the kind the Conservative folks have been caught at recently.

[Mike]

Ahahahahahahahahahahaha... A complaint from Mr "I never met a Question Period question I couldn't turn into a blame-13-years-of-Liberal-mismanagement reply" Van Loan that the _Opposition_ is interfering with the business of the nation. Oh the hilarity! (I guess the last few days of pre-summer break run-up is intended to be the MPs' joke-telling time. I think everyone else might just as well go home because PVL has just set the bar at an unmatchably laughable level.)

[David]

Van Loan asking for more time to do House business is absurd. His party has been obstructing the work of numerous parliamentary committees for months. What a hypocrite. Good for the opposition for calling his bluff.

[calis]

Our government webpages often look like an advertisement for the Harper Conservatives. If one compares ours to the government webpages of other democracies, including the US, one sees a striking difference.