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OTTAWA - (Web posted April 22, 2002 @ 5:30
p.m.) - Canadian Alliance MP James Rajotte said the federal government could
help restore Canadians' confidence in the conduct of politicians by establishing
guidelines for Liberal cabinet ministers who have been secretly fundraising to
become the party's next leader.
On Monday, a Léger Marketing poll revealed
that 69 per cent of Canadians believed their federal and provincial political
systems of government were highly or somewhat corrupt.
The Canadian Alliance used the poll results
to urge Prime Minister Jean Chretien to table guidelines for his ministers who
are conducting behind-the-scenes leadership campaigns.
Chretien told the House of Commons that he
hopes to have some guidelines tabled by the end of May.
But he wasn't about to let the matter rest
without a few jibes at the Opposition.
"They dare to tell us to do something,
they won't even do themselves," Chretien said during Question Period, in
reference to the lack of fundraising disclosure from the candidates in the
recent Canadian Alliance leadership race.
Cabinet ministers, however, hold positions
of power within government and conducting a secret fundraising campaign to gear
up their leadership drives could place them in a perceived conflict of interest.
Just ask Finance Minister Paul Martin.
The spotlight was shone on Martin's covert
leadership campaign recently when a supporter inadvertently mailed a campaign donation
of $25,000 to the party's national headquarters.
It turned out the money, which came from an
Alberta energy company, was collected for the minister by Calgary lawyer Jim
Palmer who was also working for the Department of Finance.
The money was eventually returned.
Rajotte, the member of Parliament for
Edmonton Southwest, said incidents like that reinforce the public's perception
that politicians are corrupt.
"Canadians see a lack of accountability
and transparency," said Rajotte. "We have to take some strong measures
to correct that.
"Ways to do that would be making an independent
Ethics Commissioner, having that Ethics Commissioner have public (leadership
fundraising) guidelines for cabinet ministers and ensuring that those guidelines
are followed."
Canada's Ethics Commissioner presented the
prime minister with a series of guidelines on how to regulate the conduct of
ministers who want to become party leader on April 12.
Rajotte also accused the Chretien government
of having similar draft guidelines in its possession for more than a year, and
that those guidelines should have been made public.
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