Mohammed Azhar Ali Khan Canada is a stable country with a civilized political system that functions smoothly. But once in a while Canada sheds its inhibitions and lets go of prudent behavior. That's happening right now. As columnist Andrew Coyne wrote: “We've got the RCMP investigating the Prime Minister's Office. The Ontario Provincial Police are investigating the premier's office. And the Toronto police are making inquiries at the mayor's office. How in God's name did it come to this?” Coyne somehow left out Quebec, which Maclean's magazine has called the most mismanaged province. A public inquiry has uncovered corruption, influence peddling, gang activities and misdeeds by politicians and officials. The interim mayor of Quebec's largest city Montreal Michael Applebaum has resigned after being arrested and charged with fraud and corruption. He had replaced mayor Gerald Tremblay who was forced to resign over allegations of corruption. Quebec's third-largest city of Laval has been placed under trusteeship by the provincial government. Its long-time mayor Gilles Vaillancourt has been arrested and faces charges that include conspiracy and fraud. Toronto, Canada's biggest city, is staging its own drama that involves Mayor Robert Ford. His latest controversy involves a cellphone video that shows him smoking crack cocaine with underworld figures. The mayor denies that he is an addict, is linked to drug dealers or that the video is genuine. Ford became mayor in December 2010, after serving as city councillor since 2000. He had championed families, favored low taxes and reduced waste and won by an impressive 11 percent margin. Even then he made colorful remarks such as calling cyclists “a pain in the ass to the motorists” and saying that “Orientals work like dogs.” He later apologized. The mayor even lost his seat when the Ontario Superior Court ruled that he had violated the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act by speaking and voting on a matter in which he had financial interest. However, Ford appealed and the court reinstated him. Former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty is in a different class. He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in 1990. Nobody thought he would lead the provincial Liberals. But after the front runners mowed each other down McGuinty emerged at the top. He served as premier from 2003 to 2012 and worked constructively. He once joined Ottawa Muslims for Eid prayers and, while other dignitaries sat on chairs, McGuinty joined in the prayers to show respect for their faith. McGuinty boosted green energy and education. But Ontario lost manufacturing jobs and piled up deficits (estimated at about $10 billion this year) and a debt that has reached $255 billion. McGuinty abruptly cancelled two gas plants during the last provincial election costing $500 million. The Ontario provincial police have also begun investigating the mass deletion of e-mails dealing with the matter. As mini-scandals swirled around him, McGuinty resigned as premier and then member of the legislature. At the federal level the government is wobbling also. Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Tories had provided steady leadership, winning two elections and getting rewarded by winning a majority in the last election. The government started pursuing policies that seemed to be at odds with the Canadian way - rebuffing the United Nations, doing away with a detailed census, cutting social services and research while boosting funds for fighting crime when crime rates are falling, proroguing parliament when it seemed it would lose a vote of confidence and unleashing malicious, misleading ads against its opponents. It also became authoritarian, provoking a mini-rebellion in its own ranks against excessive control. The prime minister appointed several high-profile senators who raised funds for his party and sang its praises. But they also submitted excessive bills to the taxpayers for travel or for living away from their usual residence. It turned out that though they claimed to represent other provinces they had in fact been living in Ottawa or Toronto. Senator Mike Duffy paid $90,172 back to the government for improper housing expenses as did Senator Pamela Wallin. But then it emerged that the prime minister's chief of staff Nigel Wright had given Duffy a personal check for that amount. Wright insisted he helped Duffy on his own and did not tell the prime minister. But this is a prime minister who keeps his staff, his ministers and his party's members of Parliament on a tight leash. The RCMP has started to look into this matter while Wright has resigned. Opposition politicians and pundits are asking serious questions to which so far there has been no satisfactory response from the government. Thanks to his majority in the House of Commons, the prime minister is in no danger of being toppled and the election is two years away, giving him time to repair the damage. It won't be easy but it also shows that in Canada nobody is above the law. — Mohammed Azhar Ali Khan is a retired Canadian journalist, civil servant and refugee judge.
