Ah, the foul stench of Conservative government

All in a day's work for Harper and company, as word gets out that a lawyer acting for Stephen Harper and John Baird is simultaneously registered as a lobbyist in both of their departments:

The case of Emanuel Montenegrino, who simultaneously worked for Harper in a private civil case while registering to lobby the Prime Minister's Office, highlights a potential regulatory sinkhole in the centre of the Conservatives' vaunted Federal Accountability Act...

Liberals pounced Thursday on reports that Montenegrino – a Conservative supporter who has represented Harper, Environment Minister John Baird and MP Pierre Poilievre in civil suits over the past year – is registered by a host of groups to lobby a variety of government departments, including the Prime Minister's Office and Environment.

"It would appear hypocrisy knows no bounds in this Conservative government," Liberal MP Ralph Goodale said in a news release.

"Just days after the so-called Federal Accountability Act was tabled, and continuing until after it received royal assent (in December), the prime minister would have been aware that his own lawyer was lobbying his office."

Out of curiosity, which takes precedence: soliticor-client privilege or federal lobbying rules?

And from the same article, some other registered lobbyists are also simultaneously among the Cons' primary strategists:

Harper confidantes such as John Reynolds and Ken Boessenkool, both of whom regularly meet with the prime minister to discuss party strategy, are also registered lobbyists.

The prime minister recently made a high-profile appearance with wheelchair athlete Rick Hansen to pledge $30 million in federal cash for spinal cord research. Reynolds, a former MP and interim party leader, is registered as a lobbyist for Hansen's foundation.

Boessenkool, one of Harper's closest advisers, is registered to lobby for energy giants TransAlta and Enbridge, as well as the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association – all of which have a vital interest in Conservative tax and environmental policies.

The renewable fuels association, meanwhile, is headed by Kory Teneycke – a former Reform party youth activist who worked in the Conservative party war room in the last election. The association is currently running TV ads promoting a Conservative pledge on renewable fuels and featuring an appearance by high-profile Tory candidate Peter Kent.

And to add some extra spice to the putrid mix, there's the news that MP Inky Mark's parliamentary mailing privileges were hijacked by the Cons to enable a special-interest group to lobby against Mark's own position:

NDP Wheat board critic Alex Atamanenko and Ethics Critic Pat Martin strongly condemned the recent hijacking of MP Inky Mark’s parliamentary mailing privileges by an anti-CWB lobby group.

“Mark has been the only Conservative MP with the good sense to stand up for the preservation of the wheat board,” said Atamanenko. “So I can only imagine his constituents surprise when they got a mailing from their MP that included an attack on the CWB as part of a campaign to ensure Conservative Minister of Agriculture Chuck Strahl’s view wins the barley plebiscite.”

According to a Winnipeg Free Press article, the seven-page attack mail prepared by the anti-CWB group Market Choice Alliance read "We can not win the fight for freedom of choice without your help. We ask that you be a leader in your communities and rally your fellow farmers, tell them how that choice is there’s (sic) and that this vote is their voice -- use it for choice."

Mark has had to issue a counter mailing to explain to his constituents that he did not order the anti-CWB mailing.

If the current polls weren't enough of a reason for the Cons to want to force an election soon, the prospect of more and more of the Cons' sleaze getting noticed over time can only serve as another reason for Harper to want a quick trip to the polls. But hopefully Canadians will recognize just how foul the Cons' stay in office has been already - and make sure that we're not stuck with any more of the stench than can be avoided.