Thursday, April 17, 2008

Bad Boys and “Trusty” Defamers



I have to confess to being a little flummoxed at being called a LIAR for stating the principals of Elections Canada are Conservative appointees. And yet, that’s what Harper knob-polisher and Kool-Aid® drinker extraordinaire “Trusty Tory” has done. “…isn’t it Elections Canada that does the appointing? Why don’t you start telling the truth?” he demands. When I pointed out that Elections Canada reports directly to parliament and its officials are appointed by the government of the day, it was countered with this: “I dare you to investigate your little ‘appointments’ claim. Go ahead! Look it up!” So I did.

The two officials in question are appointed by the Governor in Council which is defined as: “…the Senior Personnel and Special Projects Secretariat in the Privy Council Office, in support of the Prime Minister and his office” or, in other words, “the government of the day” just as I had said. When presented with this evidence, the response from the “trusty” one? “...you should look again at what you posted and what the truth is.” Huh… WTF?

After waiting in vain for over an hour for an explanation of this apparent disconnect from reality, it seems the deeply convoluted logic behind this ridiculous assertion can be found at Trusty HQ where, as usual, “truth” is the first casualty of shameless boosterism. As best I can tell from his Lie Exhibit “A” the assertion that Mayrand and Corbett are NOT Conservative appointees is the fact that: a) Mayrand’s appointment was approved by parliament on a unanimous vote; and b) a presser from Elections Canada in 2006 that announced the appointment of Corbett. Well, those indisputable “facts” may well be, but they’re also quite irrelevant. The two individuals in question are still appointed by the Governor in Council, which is… you guessed it — the Privy Council and the federal cabinet aka the government of the day. Of course Mayrand was approved by parliament; because as an independent, non-political agency, Elections Canada reports to them! Duh! And it’s normal protocol for a media release naming a new Commissioner to be issued under the name of the existing official in that position — it does not however mean that the officials of Elections Canada appoint their own successors.

Now, about your calling me a LIAR… Care to retract that?