The Iaco Gambit is complete BS and you know it. Stand Up For Parliament & Democracy: 84 days and counting - Documents Now! You must enforce the Order ASAP. No delay. Otherwise, you are party to submission of Parliament to Executive. What makes a retired judge superior to Parliament? No-one, incl. Iaco, is above Parliament. What's the difference between a retired judge and Justice bureaucrats? None!
Stalling tactic is right - read, write, "translation time" (where have we heard that before?), push to absolute limit allowable time to release, and hey!, it's Summer Break! But much more importantly, Iaco, in making himself Govt's useful tool, is no different from Justice DM or any Govt bureaucrat. Yeah, what the Govt really needs is another pair of eyes - BS. If that was so, why, over a year ago, did they not respect MPCC or ask a justice for 2nd opinion then? Why did they not use Iaco when committee requested docs? Why did they wait 84 days after Order of Parliament, after entire prorogation, to ask Iaco to have a look?
You are either serious about the most fundamental issue, democracy & parliamentary supremacy, or you are not. There is no 3rd option. No, "Oh well, then, if they will ask a retired judge/have an inquiry, then we'll IGNORE the Order of Parliament, and pretend everything's hunky dory so we don't have to actually stand up for our supposed principles and maybe, horrors!, be accused of being anti-judge/anti-military - we'll just wait for the Fall, and then everyone will realise that Libs are great and we'll win our godgiven majority, led by our brilliant, experienced campaigner in chief." BS BS BS. I predicted back in December that they might try to delay things with an inquiry. But the Cons don't even respect you enough to try that on. They don't even respect you enough to try BS SCC reference gambit. How little do they respect you, how little do they think of you, how easily do they think you'll be cowed and fold on your supposed principles? They tell you a retired judge is going to do what dozens have already done, on one little bit of file, and ask you to wait until next Fall to do anything. They are spitting in your face. They are spitting in the face of Parliament, and democracy. Will you take it? Are you pussies? Because we Canadians are not, and we don't vote for gutless pussies. In fact, we work against them.
Iaco is a fool to accept this job, as would be anyone, retired judge or no. He's made himself into a useful idiot. But that is no surprise, we've often seen how ignorant judges are of nexus of public administration & democracy. Of course they are. They are have only ever done law, and know nothing of public administration and politics. Think Gomery, think SCC-Khadr, which as Pardy and we all know, is a pure consular matter and not foreign affairs. And of course, Iaco's history is one of deference to police, prosecutors and government. Even when he supposedly stands up for tortured, he only fights for minute portion of documents to be released that could easily have been, without any fear, and timidly declares "indirect" responsibility. Yeah, CSIS, ignoring DFAIT, went over, told torturers we have these questions we want answered and detainees are Al-Qaeda, and walk out. Real "indirect".
You must press on with Order of Parliament. You must dismiss Iaco virtually out of hand "Iaco irrelevant. Parliament demanded documents 84 days ago. Every day is a day too long. They must be produced - NOW!" Dewar & Lee have right instincts. If you let this go, then a breach is opened and not just will Parliament and democracy be diminished, forever, but actual list of delaying excuses will grow. Do you think these are the only docs out there? If Govt can get away with this BS every time, then Parliament's role as check is irrelevant. Justice delayed is justice denied.
Do not play their games. Do not let yourselves be spat in the face. Do not roll over and take it, simpering. Do not cower in the corner. This is not about you. This is much bigger than you. This is about democracy. Your actions in these days will have a serious lasting effect on Canadian democracy. We are watching. And if you botch this, we will take you out. Why would we prefer one bunch of Parliament-haters over another? If you're as bad as them, you'll get the same treatment. For Gods' sakes, stand up for Parliament, for democracy, for your own bloody selves! Do you really have no self-respect whatsoever?
Why is everyone so intimidated by robes and uniforms? No one thinks figure skaters are divinely chosen to rule us - why these stupid, incompetent old men? Do you realise just how incompetent and/or cynical these people are? The CDS (un?)knowingly sent our soldiers to die uselessly, without equipment, numbers, tactics or anything - in any mature country he would have been tried and jailed for incompetence, "negligence causing death", as happens elsewhere. I know these people. They mostly suck. Why are you so intimidated by them? Are you impressed by your local useless mayors, in full mayoral kit, with medals and all, when you know the inside scoop and how useless they are? No. So why scrape and bow and tug your forelocks to these chumps? Get some self-respect. Canada needs it, and you.
Stand up For Parliament, NOW!
PS. As I said at very beginning: "It's a funny old world. It now falls to the most superficial Kundera-dancer of all, who was the worst cheerleader for empire, war, and justified torture, who extended the mission, to now affirm that our morals, that life, actually does have meaning, through pursuing the criminals responsible for aiding and abetting of torture, no matter who or what. Go to it Iggy. Justify your life. Not many men get such a chance to make up, a bit, for past immorality. It's your time. Make your father proud." And I would add now that for one who has made so many infamous misjudgments in the heat of the debate, on Empire-lite, Iraq, Afghan-2006/2008, passim, this is a unique opportunity to prove he has the steel and determination and judgment to lead a country. You've shown you can do it. Now do it!
PPS. Duff Conacher is undereducated on these matters: http://www.cbc.ca/politics/insidepolitics/2009/12/parliamentary-privilege-a-scoc-precedent.html%29
http://www.cbc.ca/politics/insidepolitics/2010/03/a-question-for-iacobucci.html
PPPS. Listen Iggy, for once, dammit: Retired judges do not "re-establish the just authority of the House of Common", only the HOUSE OF COMMONS ITSELF can reestablish its own authority! And every day it waits, it abdicates its authority further, effectively submitting to the Executive. You must enforce the Order of Parliament ASAP! Either Parliament is Supreme (mere statutory law in question here, no countervailing constitutional question, contra Spector spin), or it is not. If it is not, we are no longer a democracy. If it is, or you believe it should be, you must enforce Order ASAP! Use it or lose it. And if you lose it, you lose my and awful lot of others' support. More than that, we will turn against you. Stand up for Parliament, dammit!
PPPPS. Are Michelle Simson & Derek Lee the LPC's last democrats? I hope everyone agrees with her & him, Simson: Kudos to Derek Lee, MP for Scarborough Rouge River for standing up in the #hoc today to safeguard the rights of all Canadians!
PPPPPS. A day I never thought I'd see - I have to refer you to an excellent post (no joke) by F&W about Iaco's history, Afghan Detainee Diversion . I was referred to it by Scott Tribe, who has written a series of excellent posts, Why was former Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci chosen by Nicholson , and even more, Conservatives still in contempt of Parliament.
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