Edmonton – Former Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Brent Rathgeber is voicing his opinion about the way his former party is handling the Senate scandal.
Rathgeber resigned from the conservative party in June over what he called the Harper government’s “lack of transparency.”
The now Independent MP for St. Albert – Edmonton argues Prime Minster Stephen Harper and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) have dealt with the ordeal poorly.
“Political staffers will argue that the ends will justify the means, and, of course, will stop at, essentially at no measure to achieve their political ends, and in my case, it was gutting my bill, and in this case, to make a senate scandal go away, but, of course, in the process they made a small problem in to a much bigger one,” says Rathgeber.
Beleaguered Senator Mike Duffy claims the conservatives repaid expenses and paid his legal bills and was told by the party to lie about where the money came from. On Monday, Duffy said the conservative party has no moral compass and Harper supporters would be shocked about what goes on behind closed doors.
Rathgeber says Prime Minister Harper needs to make sweeping changes within his party to regain the trust of Canadians.
“I think it’s incumbent on the prime minister to take some responsibility, even if he did not know the details, and clean house and reaffirm his commitment to Canadians that he’s going to operate an open and transparent government because Canadians feelings about this government in terms of transparency and openness has been lacking for some time.”
In a Global News poll, asking Canadians who they believe, 40 per cent of pollsters believe Mike Duffy is telling the truth, while 18 per cent believe the prime minister. Thirty-seven per cent believe neither politician.
Sixty-eight per cent say Prime Minster Harper should resign if it’s found he misled parliament. Thirty per cent say he should stay on.
Rathgeber doesn’t know whether Senator Duffy is telling the truth, but the St. Albert – Edmonton MP says Duffy’s claims remind him of his own situation.
“Some of the things he was describing, it really hit close to home, with respect to how I was treated last May and up to my departure from the caucus in June. Just with respect to driving the bus and taking control, telling you how things are going to go and what you’re going to say.”
The independent MP believes the scandal is causing dissent within the conservative party, particularly because of the way the PMO treats members.
“I think they’re beginning to question the ethics and how the prime minister’s office treats some of their colleagues and former colleagues,” says Rathgeber.
The Conservative’s annual meeting begins Thursday evening in Calgary. Rathgeber would like to see the prime minister use the opportunity to reassure his party that he’s still the leader and is responsible for what happens within the party.
As for his own situation, Rathgeber believes he made the right decision to resign from the conservative party and sit as an independent.
“My constituents appreciate that I’m no longer associated with that caucus or with that government and that I’m able to speak out and continue to argue and lobby for open government and transparency, things that I weren’t able to do when I was scripted as a member of that caucus.”
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