Party over country

It's been clear for some time that the Harper Cons are looking out for every opportunity to use public funds for partisan gain. But a couple of stories from the last two days offer additional evidence as to their lack of any distinction between campaigning and governing - as well as hints as to how much further they're looking to go in the future.

First, there's the Globe and Mail's report on the Cons' targeting of ethnic voters:

Select ethnic and religious groups across Canada are being targeted by a previously unknown Conservative team that is bluntly gunning for votes in a bid to supplant the Liberals in multicultural ridings in the next election.

The operation's strategic blueprint, obtained by The Globe and Mail, states the “ethnic outreach team” is largely overseen by the Prime Minister's Office and Jason Kenney, the junior minister for multiculturalism...

Overall, the comprehensive strategy involves targeted mailings, one-on-one meetings at “major ethnic events” and the creation of large databases of immigrants and new Canadians...

The “outreach team” used a Canadian Heritage government computer to create the initial version of a document that was provided at the political training conference in March. A spokesman for Mr. Kenney explained that the final version, including Conservative logos, was modified on another outside computer.

In another presentation, Conservative community relations manager Georganne Burke told Conservatives that outreach calls on them to work beyond their traditional base, even if it means “to look outside your normal comfort zone.”

Concretely, Ms. Burke urged Conservative candidates and organizers to break down each riding's ethnic and religious composition, and directly target potential voters.

She said that Conservatives should use all available opportunities to “build the database” of ethnic voters, by renting or buying lists of names from third parties and by attending events where they can gather business cards and guest lists.

The story doesn't expand on Kenney's weak attempt to deflect criticism by saying that the final draft was done on a private computer. But there doesn't appear to be any reason why the Cons could validly use public resources for the early drafts of their own partisan plans - particularly when they're at pains to say that the final version was completed elsewhere. Which means that there's already one concrete example of the Cons' misuse of public resources.

But the article also hints at another question. It appears clear that the Cons:
(a) have no compunction about using public resources for purely partisan purposes;
(b) are using "all available opportunities" to gather lists of ethnic voters, and
(c) are looking at new immigrants specifically as a target group.

Given that background, there's ample reason to wonder whether the Cons are also using government resources more directly related to their goal - i.e. data from Immigration Canada and other departments who might have useful information for the Cons' database.

Meanwhile, the Hill Times reported yesterday that Con staffers are looking for excuses to use public resources to help the Cons within an election campaign:

Sensing the possibility of a federal election this fall, the Prime Minister's Office and the Privy Council Office are working on finalizing "clear and detailed guidelines and rules of conduct" for exempt ministerial staffers who hope to work on the Tories' next federal election campaign, according to Conservative sources.

A Conservative source told The Hill Times that the Treasury Board guidelines are not clear under the new provisions of the Federal Accountability Act in terms of exempt staffers and election campaign work. Some staffers are asking for clarification, the source said.

"The Treasury Board guidelines are very barebones. The Treasury Board guidelines say, 'You cannot go and work on a campaign during working hours.' Does that mean I can email? Could I spin the media sitting here at my desk? How many people from a minister's office could go and work in a campaign? If a ministerial office has 10 [political] staffers, how many of those could go and work on a local campaign? What are the rules for minister's offices, who can do what? Which offices have to stay functional? Which offices have to have which people in them?" said one top Conservative, who added that the PMO decided to work on the new code-of-conduct guidelines for election campaigns because the Treasury Board guidelines do not provide enough details for ministerial staffers...

According to the existing Treasury Board guidelines, "Should a member of the minister's exempt staff decide to become actively involved on a full-time basis in a federal, provincial, or territorial election or byelection, the member is required to take leave without pay or resign his or her position. If a member becomes engaged in campaign activities on a part-time basis, his or her involvement must be on his or her own time and not during regular office hours. No vacation leave or any other leave with pay will be permitted for election purposes."

Now, it says something about the Cons' staffing philosophy that they see a real risk that offices might be completely cleared out during a campaign, rather than being able to plan for enough employees to keep the department running.

But the more striking part of the story is the attempt by a "top Conservative" to look for every conceivable loophole in the existing wording - including one that obviously doesn't exist by claiming the existing guideline refers to "going" rather than "involvement". Based on that stance, it's glaringly clear that the Cons don't recognize any general principle that government resources shouldn't be used for partisan gain. And that attitude suggests that the ultimate wording of the guideline is irrelevant, as the Cons will invent enough loopholes to allow their staffers to perform party work on the public dime.