UPDATE: Scheer has now ended the employment of his sister in law in his constituency office. You can read about it here.
Past updates are below:
Justin Trudeau would be rightfully criticized if he did the same, and the Conservatives should be criticized as well.
One thing we’ve seen in Canadian politics is that something doesn’t have to be illegal to be wrong.
The Trudeau government has done many things that are technically within the rules, yet we can still recognize that those decisions can be harmful to the country or unethical.
And in the case of former Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer hiring his sister in law, it certainly is not something that should be done.
As I’ve said before, it is essential to call it like it is.
When the Liberals do something wrong, they should be criticized.
And when the Conservatives do something wrong, they should be criticized.
Now, Scheer’s hiring of his sister in law was cleared by the ethics commissioner, and did not violate the rules. And it isn’t the same as the former Liberal MP who hired her sister while having her use a fake name to get away with it – which did violate the rules.
However, many Canadians will understandably look at this situation and say it doesn’t feel right.
Scheer hired his sister in law to work in his constituency office, a job that is paid for with taxpayer money. Sheer’s wife, Jill, works for her sister in law’s company.
If Trudeau had done the same, the Conservatives would be criticizing him.
And it seems Erin O’Toole isn’t happy, saying “Canadians want and deserve better and I am going to expect that from my team.”
Scheer should reverse the hiring of his sister in law, and the Conservatives should institute their own internal rule against the hiring of family members with taxpayer dollars.
If the Conservatives are going to defeat Justin Trudeau, they must protect themselves from charges of hypocrisy, and must hold themselves to a higher standard. And, for independent media like myself, I feel it is essential that we are as willing to call out the Conservatives as we are the Liberals or any other party.
All Canadians deserve better than this.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – YouTube
