Auditor NOT accountable to only the "Legislative Power" - to Executive too!
Auditor General oversees "S.17's One Parliament -not just the Commons
Further Articles on topic
Globe & Mail -May 19/10
C.E.S. Franks
What the Auditor-General can do
Mon, May 24, 2010 at 10:46 AM
To: cbc -xcountry checkup@cbc.ca,
Cc: Rt Hon Stephen Harper pm@pm.gc.ca
Governor General Info@gg.ca,
Privy Council Office info@pco-bcp.gc.ca
Dear Cross Canada Check-up,
The Auditor General surely is correct in asserting her office's mandate to review anything it wishes.
1) The term Parliament in Canada is much MORE than just the Commons and/or the Upper House. Section s17 of the BNA/Constitution describes the three elements of our "One Parliament" in the first section of the Legislative Power.
This One Parliament is comprised of the Monarch (no longer 'in-Council' since 1982), the Upper House (with it's never adjusted net-worth and property-ownership qualifications/ disqualifications) and the Lower House
2) Contrast this with sections outlining the Executive Power consisting of HRH represented by the Governor General and the Privy Council (Clerk of PC & Sect'y of Cabinet merged by order in Council in 1940 -NB between the death of Tweedsmuir & arrival of Athlone
3) All of the above-mentioned Canadian-subject officeholders are accountable to the Crown, the Monarch as an individual, represented by the Governor General (acting in most cases without the restriction to accept the Advice of the Queen's Privy Council of Canada see section 12 vs s.13 GG in Council).
4) None of the above-mentioned Canadian-subject officeholders are accountable to the voters of Canada - no one swears allegiance to them/us. Allegiance in a Constitutional Monarchy is to the Monarch. Canada is not a republic & not a democracy - we have a 'democratic element', the Commons, but our 'similar in principle' constitutional hierarchy places that element on the bottom of the power totem pole.
5) If the Auditor General is an officer of the Commons, then this Speaker IS correct. If the A/G is an officer of our ONE Parliament then the Speaker is incorrect.
6) The Governor General (lame duck is such an unsatisfactory term here) is authorized to supervise and countermand the actions of the Upper & Lower House AND the Privy Council (now usurped by the Lower House as noted above and widely thought to be synonymous with the Cabinet). She should step in and make the supremacy of the Monarch's representative's office clear once and for all.
If She feels Her current mandate and personna is not as publicly-accepted as it should be to weild such power and She prefers to seek advice from the greatest source of institutional-memory in the land She might wish to summon the entire Privy Council (s.11 sworn for life).
I believe this was also the appropriate action for the GG on the occasion of the First (& Second) Harper Prorogation requests and in response to his "I give up on this minority gov't/Hung Parliament (but I'll take another term regardless)" request for a dissolution in 2008.
The current "similar in principle" (and likely similar in content to the UK ruckus last year) expense-account scandal can be the pivotal moment in helping the Canadian population to re-form their system of government in the image of the "as-written" text of 1867 (as amended). Plain Language Version supplied here.
If the GG opts to step in and settle this accounts and accountability mess, She will bolster the 'cred & rep' of Her Office immeasurably and "out" the non-constitutional shenanigans that have quietly been ignored by every Constitutional lawyer, scholar, professor, high school teacher and Federal & Supreme Court judge since 1940. ( I call it Wm L M King's revenge-by-stealth on Lord Byng)
The upshot from correcting this Emperor's New Clothes-style "ignor-ance" might be that we Canadians will decide to make the government accountable to 'us' by claiming the right to make our own widely-considered recommendation to the Monarch regarding future Governors General .... buy selecting one person to be our "Top of the Totem/ Commander in Chief (conferred in 1947 Letters Patent)" via an at-large election.
My suggestion is to use single-transferable balloting, simultaneous with every-other General Election, for a term that commences 365 days after the Return of the Writs.
As is (similarly) said at the dead of a Monarch:
"The old Canadian Crown is Dead, Long Live the new Canadian Crown."
"God Save the Crown".
rce
416-819-7333There is no shame in turning back, when you discover you're on the wrong path. © 2006
Further Articles on topic
Globe & Mail -May 19/10
C.E.S. Franks
What the Auditor-General can do
Mon, May 24, 2010 at 10:46 AM
To: cbc -xcountry checkup@cbc.ca,
Cc: Rt Hon Stephen Harper pm@pm.gc.ca
Governor General Info@gg.ca,
Privy Council Office info@pco-bcp.gc.ca
Dear Cross Canada Check-up,
The Auditor General surely is correct in asserting her office's mandate to review anything it wishes.
1) The term Parliament in Canada is much MORE than just the Commons and/or the Upper House. Section s17 of the BNA/Constitution describes the three elements of our "One Parliament" in the first section of the Legislative Power.
This One Parliament is comprised of the Monarch (no longer 'in-Council' since 1982), the Upper House (with it's never adjusted net-worth and property-ownership qualifications/ disqualifications) and the Lower House
2) Contrast this with sections outlining the Executive Power consisting of HRH represented by the Governor General and the Privy Council (Clerk of PC & Sect'y of Cabinet merged by order in Council in 1940 -NB between the death of Tweedsmuir & arrival of Athlone
3) All of the above-mentioned Canadian-subject officeholders are accountable to the Crown, the Monarch as an individual, represented by the Governor General (acting in most cases without the restriction to accept the Advice of the Queen's Privy Council of Canada see section 12 vs s.13 GG in Council).
4) None of the above-mentioned Canadian-subject officeholders are accountable to the voters of Canada - no one swears allegiance to them/us. Allegiance in a Constitutional Monarchy is to the Monarch. Canada is not a republic & not a democracy - we have a 'democratic element', the Commons, but our 'similar in principle' constitutional hierarchy places that element on the bottom of the power totem pole.
5) If the Auditor General is an officer of the Commons, then this Speaker IS correct. If the A/G is an officer of our ONE Parliament then the Speaker is incorrect.
6) The Governor General (lame duck is such an unsatisfactory term here) is authorized to supervise and countermand the actions of the Upper & Lower House AND the Privy Council (now usurped by the Lower House as noted above and widely thought to be synonymous with the Cabinet). She should step in and make the supremacy of the Monarch's representative's office clear once and for all.
If She feels Her current mandate and personna is not as publicly-accepted as it should be to weild such power and She prefers to seek advice from the greatest source of institutional-memory in the land She might wish to summon the entire Privy Council (s.11 sworn for life).
I believe this was also the appropriate action for the GG on the occasion of the First (& Second) Harper Prorogation requests and in response to his "I give up on this minority gov't/Hung Parliament (but I'll take another term regardless)" request for a dissolution in 2008.
The current "similar in principle" (and likely similar in content to the UK ruckus last year) expense-account scandal can be the pivotal moment in helping the Canadian population to re-form their system of government in the image of the "as-written" text of 1867 (as amended). Plain Language Version supplied here.
If the GG opts to step in and settle this accounts and accountability mess, She will bolster the 'cred & rep' of Her Office immeasurably and "out" the non-constitutional shenanigans that have quietly been ignored by every Constitutional lawyer, scholar, professor, high school teacher and Federal & Supreme Court judge since 1940. ( I call it Wm L M King's revenge-by-stealth on Lord Byng)
The upshot from correcting this Emperor's New Clothes-style "ignor-ance" might be that we Canadians will decide to make the government accountable to 'us' by claiming the right to make our own widely-considered recommendation to the Monarch regarding future Governors General .... buy selecting one person to be our "Top of the Totem/ Commander in Chief (conferred in 1947 Letters Patent)" via an at-large election.
My suggestion is to use single-transferable balloting, simultaneous with every-other General Election, for a term that commences 365 days after the Return of the Writs.
As is (similarly) said at the dead of a Monarch:
"The old Canadian Crown is Dead, Long Live the new Canadian Crown."
"God Save the Crown".
rce
416-819-7333There is no shame in turning back, when you discover you're on the wrong path. © 2006
posted by Walk a Kb or Two in my cassins | 9:12 am
|
0 comments
