What the Chucks going on?

T

tay

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May 20, 2012
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Gee, it seems like just 20 months ago when Arthur Porter (currently residing in a Panama penal colony) was replaced by Chuck Strahl, who promised he "won't lobby" governments.

Brian Hutchinson: Chuck Strahl takes on an unlikely role as Canada’s new spywatcher | National Post



However, Chuck's 'system of "double make-sure" to protect himself and the public from conflicts of interest and questions around ethics' may be suspect at this point. His affably facial-haired son Mark is, by pure coincidence, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, which one would logically assume considers the Enbridge pipeline a primary dossier, given the substantial impact it will have on both northern and, yes, aboriginal affairs.

Member of Parliament Profile



But, why digress into spitballs of triviality & inconsequence.


Still, it remains unclear if the two discussed Northern Gateway issues over a plate of festive Christmas turkey with all the trimmings. Unconfirmed reports suggest the Strahls do not deep-fry their fowl, instead preferring to roast the beast in a convection oven, possibly heated with Enbridge-sourced natural gas.

In totally unrelated news, Chuck's former federal Chief of Staff Laurie Throness was recently elected Liberal MLA to the party currently governing BC. By divine providence, Throness is the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General for Corrections, and is a member of the Cabinet Committee on Secure Tomorrow, and the Legislative Review Committee.


Laurie Throness | Members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia


more


Canada’s top spy watchdog lobbying for Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline | Vancouver Observer
 
T

tay

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May 20, 2012
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Lot's of voices call on Strahl to end Enbridge lobbying or quit CSIS oversight






NDP Leader Tom Mulcair has called for the resignation of Chuck Strahl, head of the watchdog committee which oversees Canada’s intelligence agency (CSIS).


Strahl has been heavily criticized this week for working as a lobbyist on behalf of Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines, while serving as the chair of the Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC). SIRC oversees the spying activities of CSIS, and also receives complains about their operations.


“I was distressed to see that he was doing this. It is a pure conflict situation and he should either put an end to that conflict or he should resign." Mulcair said. "Strahl can’t have it both ways. What’s compromised is the public interest.”


Strahl was appointed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to SIRC in 2012. Strahl had a contract with Enbridge dating back to 2011, shortly after he retired from federal politics.


Strahl registered to lobby the B.C. government on behalf of Northern Gateway Pipelines on December 6, 2013.


Three days earlier, he registered to lobby the Alberta government on behalf of a joint First Nations – Chinese tar sands development.

“He understood the sensitivity of the position he was inspiring to when he told everyone he wouldn’t lobby governments when he took that job, and he is lobbying governments” said Mulcair.


“How can he continue to supervise the security apparatus of the state, and then be paid money by companies that are directly involved in that security apparatus?” said Mulcair, referring to the close relationship between CSIS, Enbridge and other industry stakeholders.


Mulcair isn’t the only one calling for Strahl to extract himself from the perception of conflict of interest.


Norman Spector, Former Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, told CBC Radio today: “Frankly, I think he has to go”.


Maclean's political editor Paul Wells told CTV's Power Play that, "he's got to pick." Robert Fife, Ottawa Bureau Chief for CTV News, said Strahl "should either resign from that position" at SIRC or stop working for Enbridge.


Dan Veniez, a former Mulroney aide and Harper appointee, thinks that more needs to be done to support those that oversee Canada’s state secrets:


"The mandate and responsibility of the chairman of the Security Intelligence and Review Committee is a very important, solemn, and serious one," he said.


"Effectively, he is the last line of defence between our constitutionally guaranteed Charter protections and civil liberties, and the role of our intelligence apparatus in the post-9/11 world. That is an extremely onerous task and critically important charge that should not be taken lightly. And in my judgment, it should certainly not be a part-time one."


Veniez was appointed by Prime Minister Harper to Chair Ridley Terminals, a coal terminal in Prince Rupert, B.C.






Mulcair calls on Strahl to end Enbridge lobbying or quit CSIS oversight | Vancouver Observer
 
T

tay

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Chuck Strahl resigns as Canada's top spy watchdog


HARPER REPLACES STRAHL WITH MARIACHI AMIGA DEB GREY




"Please accept this letter as formal notice of my decision to step down as Chair of the Security Intelligence Review Committee."






With that, Chuck Strahl stepped down as Canada's top spy watchdog.


The embattled head of SIRC came under heavy scrutiny after the Vancouver Observer broke the story on Jan. 4 that Strahl had as a lobbyist for Enbridge Northern Gateway.


After further research, Strahl was found to have done contract work for Enbridge since 2011, and APTN news found that he had also registered in Alberta as a lobbyist for an Frog Lake Energy Resources Corp (FLERC), energy company with financial ties to China.


Only earlier this week, the CEO of FLERC dismissed the controversy as a "tempest in a teapot", but things boiled over with Strahl's resignation.


Strahl defended his conduct, saying he had "fully compliant with all relevant rules and regulations, and have affirmed that all of my post-political activities were consistently appropriate and above board."


He said he had contacted the ethics commissioner's office on numerous occasions to give updates about his lobbying, and the office had always cleared him of conflict of interest.


But Strahl had registered to lobby for the Enbridge Northern Gateway only a month after news that Canada's main spy agency, CSIS, coordinated with the RCMP and the National Energy Board to spy on pipeline critics during the Northern Gateway pipeline hearings.


Opposition leader Thomas Mulcair urged Strahl to quit his lobbying for Enbridge or his work as the chair of Canada's spy oversight agency.


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Chuck Strahl resigns as Canada's top spy watchdog | Vancouver Observer
 
T

tay

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May 20, 2012
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55Mercury said:
was there a good ol' mexican stand-off?
Click to expand...




There was before and Strahl and Grey were a team............






Grey served as Reform's deputy leader and caucus chairwoman until March 2000, when the Reform Party was folded into the Canadian Alliance. When Manning stepped down as Leader of the Opposition to contest the Alliance leadership race, Grey was appointed interim leader of the Alliance and Leader of the Opposition.


She was the first female Leader of the Opposition in Canadian history. She held the post until new Alliance leader Stockwell Day was elected to the House of Commons in September of that year. He appointed Grey as deputy leader and caucus chairwoman once again.


Grey resigned those posts on April 24, 2001, in protest against Day's leadership. In July of that year, Grey quit the Canadian Alliance and joined 10 other Alliance dissidents in the "Independent Alliance Caucus."


While Chuck Strahl eventually emerged as the dissidents' leader, Grey lent the group instant credibility since she had been Reform/Alliance's matriarch as well as the deputy leader. When Day offered an amnesty to the dissidents, Grey was one of seven who turned it down and formed the Democratic Representative Caucus (DRC), led by Strahl with Grey as deputy leader. In September 2001, the DRC formed a coalition caucus with the Progressive Conservatives, and Grey served as chairwoman of the PC-DRC caucus.


She later said that she lost confidence in Day after seeing him attack his staffers after a public gaffe.




Deborah Grey - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
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