When Stephen Harper announced his cabinet on Feb. 6, no one anticipated that Liberal David Emerson would be a part of his cabinet as the Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics. Another surprise was Michael Fortier’s appointment to the Senate and to the position of Minister of Public Works, considering Fortier didn’t run in the election. The re-emergence of of former Ontario Premier Mike Harris’ government is also a source of anxiety.
The Conservatives defend that Emerson’s crossing the floor is in no way reminiscent of Belinda Stronach’s move last year. When Stronach crossed the floor to the Liberals, the Tories were up in arms and had harsh words to say about Stronach and the Liberals. According to cbc.ca, Harper said of his party: “We don’t go out of our way to romance MPs to get them to cross the floor. Liberals will do anything.” Peter MacKay, reports The Globe and Mail, said that “unlike other moves, it didn’t happen at a critical juncture that propped the government up.” However, Emerson’s move to the Conservatives gives the party a critical stakehold in British Columbia, and more so, a major city like Vancouver.
For a party that campaigned on a platform of transparency and honesty, Harper’s decision is neither transparent nor honest. Throughout the election period, Emerson was a vocal critic of the Conservatives—he even went so far as to declare himself “Stephen Harper’s worst nightmare” reported ctv.ca. Yet when offered the ministerial position, he did not hesitate to make the change from nightmare to bedfellow.
In becoming a Conservative in a staunchly Liberal riding, one might wonder if Emerson will adequately represent his constituents in Vancouver-Kingsway. In this riding, the Conservative candidate received only 18 per cent of the votes in the election, behind the Liberals and the NDP. It doesn’t seem as though Emerson even considered his constituents when he made his decision, despite the fact that it is because of them he is in the House at all.
Micheal Fortier’s appointment to the Senate is a blatant by- of the democratic process. Harper once said that the Conservatives “are trying to create a principled party where people act in a principled way.” Fortier’s appointment if anything, demonstrates a lack of principles. Not only has Harper undermined the electoral process, but he has also undermined the efforts of individuals who, unlike Fortier, actually campaigned during the election.
Additionally, the appointment of former Ontario MPPs Tony Clement and Jim Flaherty from the Harris era does not sit well, considering the amount of damage that government did to the province.
Stephen Harper’s decision to name David Emerson and Michael Fortier to his significantly smaller cabinet is indicative of his strategy to have Conservative representation in all parts of the nation. However, the lack of a serious Conservative presence in British Columbia and Quebec prior to Harper’s appointments, was telling of the incongruity of for the Conservatives.
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