Walkom: Frank Iacobucci's appointment diminishes Parliament

[CHIMO]

Politically, Ottawa's decision to hand off the Afghan prisoner scandal to retired Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci serves both Stephen Harper's Conservatives and Michael Ignatieff's Liberals.

Constitutionally, however, it is a disaster. It flies in the face of the bedrock Canadian principle that cabinet is responsible to Parliament and that a government – any government – must accede to the wishes of a majority of elected MPs.

Instead, it brings to the mix a peculiarly American notion, one that sees the executive and legislature as co-equals which, when they are deadlocked, must appeal to a judicial referee.

In this case, the referee is a former judge who – in the end – will merely make recommendations to government in a bitter dispute over Harper's refusal to give MPs documents that they have demanded.

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/article/777471--walkom-frank-iacobucci-s-appointment-diminishes-parliament

[HeresyLives]

1. Iacobucci is a good man.

But he has no business deciding what Parliament can and can't see.

Harp has put him in an untenable position.

[Spazito]

2. Iacobucci could simply say NO...

and make it clear that Parliament has the right to ALL the documents, full stop. If the situation is 'untenable' it is because Iacobucci make it so by accepting this and muddying the water even more, imo.

[HeresyLives]

3. And watch it handed to a Con judge...?

[Spazito]

4. Iacobucci is a CON judge

He served in Mulroney's government as Deputy Minister and was appointed to the Supreme Court by Mulroney.

[HeresyLives]

5. That doesn't make him a Con.

[Spazito]

6. He served in the Mulroney government...

the Mulroney government was made up of Conservatives, Iacobucci was and is a Conservative. With him accepting this appointment to review that which has NO right to be reviewed, the documents, prior to being handed over as requested certainly diminishes him in my eyes and, to repeat, if he felt it was an "untenable" position he would have simply said "no", it seems he chose not to do that.

[HeresyLives]

7. Mulroney was a PC, not a neo-con like Harp.

And Mulroney appointed people outside his party.

I was PC once, I've never been a neo-con.

[Spazito]

8. I didn't say he was a neo-con at all...

I stated he was a CON as in Conservative, if I believed he was other, I would have probably used the CRAP designate instead. Whether Iacobucci was a card-carrying Con (Conservative) or not, I believe he was and is, is a side issue to the main which is his seeming inability to refuse that which he has no reason for doing, reviewing documents that have no right to be reviewed before handing them to Parliament.

To get back to the original point, Iacobucci is not in an untenable position, he is in a position in which he knowingly put himself.

Edited to fix typo.

[HeresyLives]

9. Cons ARE neo-cons.

They are not conservatives, PCs or Tories.

That's the mistake Ontario made when they elected Harris.

As to why Iacobucci took the job...we don't know.

He could come out and say...show em all.

[Spazito]

10. "He could come out and say...show em all"

That is precisely the point, he should be saying that NOW instead of agreeing to review them as to whether they should all be shown. Instead he is going along with harper's pretense that the PMO is a co-equal branch of government and that diminishes my respect for the former Judge.

[HeresyLives]

11. Well he has to review them first.

And I don't think he cares about your opinion.

[Spazito]

12. LOL, he doesn't HAVE to review them...

again, that is the point. NO works equally, actually better than caving in. He caved, sadly. Seeing as he has already bought the harper co-equal scam and has agreed to review that which he has no Constitutional right to do, our argument is moot other than you and I disagree whether Iacobucci is in an "untenable" position or not. I say we agree to disagree on that point and go back to fighting 'toiletries', lol

[HeresyLives]

13. He has to at least LOOK like he's doing the job.

That way, if he says 'show em all'...nobody can quibble. LOL