Another Canadian Politician Raising Money From The Companies She Regulates
from the no-conflict,-no-interest dept
While conflicts of interest between politicians and lobbyists from the companies they're supposed to regulate are so common in the US that they barely get any attention, up in Canada it's apparently not quite as common. Still, however, given the fuss over Sam Bulte's attempt to raise a bunch of money from the entertainment industry she was supposed to regulate just days before the election -- eventually leading to her losing the election -- you would think that other politicians would be a little more careful. Not so. Michael Geist, who helped shine the line on Bulte's questionable activities is now doing the same for Bev Oda, the Canadian Heritage Minister who has held fundraisers for the entertainment industry she's supposed to regulate. As with Bulte, it certainly seems like a bit of a conflict when all the people giving her money for her campaign are on one side of the debate, and there's really no one who can represent the users' standpoint. As Geist notes, none of this was done illegally. It's all within the letter of the law -- but it does raise serious questions about the impartiality of Oda, and whether or not the system really is fair.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
One of those countries
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: One of those countries
I'd much rather live in a country that holds its elected officials accountable.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: One of those countries
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
perspectives
In other words,the total cost of a national election (and all of the fundraising and opportunities for influence peddling associated with it) was about equal to the amount raised and spent in a single high profile Senate seat in the US.
The Heritage Department in Canada is a joke anyway - its main purpose is to try to find ways to force Canadians to not watch American TV channels, not watch American movies and not listen to American music - at all of which it has failed miserably.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: perspectives
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Pizza
[ link to this | view in chronology ]