Honest Politics Now

There have been enormous changes in Canadian public life in the past two decades. More and more, politicians and officials are expected to act honestly and in the public interest. Yet, for many, honest politics is still an oxymoron. Using high-profile political scandals as case studies, this book explores the standards of accountability to which Canadian politicians are now being held. The authors discuss conflict-of-interest and abuse-of-trust cases such as Brian Mulroney's receipt at secret meetings of envelopes stuffed with thousand dollar bills; the gas plant scandal in Ontario; Allison Redford's self-serving authorizations of spending in Alberta; Mike Duffy and the Senate expenses scandal; party financing cases such as the Robocalls affair; "dirty hands" examples such as the sponsorship scandal and the Arrar affair; the "cash for access" controversy surrounding Justin Trudeau's fundraisers; and municipal issues including the sagas of Rob Ford and Hazel McCallion. Canada is a leader among countries promoting ethical politics in a democratic society. In this book expert authors from across the country discuss the strengths and weaknesses of measures now in place and point to the most important challenges that remain before Canadians can believe that honesty prevails in public life.

For many, honest politics is an oxymoron. Yet there have been enormous changes in Canadian public life in the past two decades to identify and address expectations that politicians and officials will act honestly and in the public interest. Using high-profile political scandals as case studies, this book explores the standards of accountability to which Canadian politicians are now being held. Among the case studies addressed are the gas plant scandal in Ontario, the "Railgate" scandal in B.C., the Robocalls affair, the "sponsorship scandal", Stephen Harper's attack on the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the saga of Rob Ford. This book critically analyzes changes introduced and implemented over the last twenty years intended to deal with ethical issues in politics, including the boom of independent ethics commissioners, the regulation of lobbyists in Canada, and federal efforts to protect whistle-blowers. Contributors to the book include experts in all these areas, drawn from across the country.

Including a new and insightful afterword by the author, Stephen J. Harper, Canada's 22nd Prime Minister, draws on a decade of experience as a G-7 leader to help leaders in business and government understand, adapt, and thrive in an age of unprecedented disruption. The world is in flux. Disruptive technologies, ideas, and politicians are challenging business models, norms, and political conventions everywhere. How we, as leaders in business and politics, choose to respond matters greatly. Some voices refuse to concede the need for any change, while others advocate for radical realignment. But neither of these positions can sustainably address the legitimate concerns of disaffected citizens. Right Here, Right Now sets out a pragmatic, forward-looking vision for leaders in business and politics by analyzing how economic, social, and public policy trends--including globalized movements of capital, goods and services, and labour--have affected our economies, communities, and governments. Harper contends that Donald Trump's surprise election and governing agenda clearly signal that political, economic, and social institutions must be more responsive to legitimate concerns about public policy, market regulation, immigration, and technology. Urging readers to look past questions of style and gravitas, Harper thoughtfully examines the substantive underpinnings of how and why Donald Trump was able to succeed Barack Obama as President of the United States, and how these forces are manifesting themselves in other western democracies. Analyzing international trade, market regulation, immigration, technology, and the role of government in the digital economy, Harper lays out the case for pragmatic leadership as a proven solution to the uncertainty and risk that businesses and governments face today.

Through a comprehensive analysis of legislative and organisational changes and interviews with all the key players, The Honest Politician's Guide to Prisons and Probation provides an authoritative account of the crisis which has gradually engulfed the prison and probation services since 1991. Setting out the nature and extent of the crisis, King and Willmott show how the Woolf agenda was overridden in a process of political churn, through explorations of the Conservative government until 1997, New Labour from 1997 to 2010 and the Coalition and Conservative governments since 2010. Uniquely, interviews with all surviving Home Secretaries and Justice Secretaries of the period include insightful and candid reflections upon their time in office, and how they saw the future. Views from both inside and outside the prisons and probation services are also explored, based on interviews with the Director Generals of the Prison Service and of the new National Probation Service, Chief Inspectors of Prisons and Probation and the four most recent Lord Chief Justices, including Lord Woolf himself. Concluding by drawing on this collective wisdom, King and Willmott set out what is needed for an effective and sustainable future. It is essential reading not just for those in Westminster, but also for practitioners in criminal justice, advocacy organisations, thinktanks and scholars and students in Criminology, Criminal Justice, British Politics and Public Policy.

Scientists have a choice concerning what role they should play in political debates and policy formation, particularly in terms of how they present their research. This book is about understanding this choice, what considerations are important to think about when deciding, and the consequences of such choices for the individual scientist and the broader scientific enterprise. Rather than prescribing what course of action each scientist ought to take, the book aims to identify a range of options for individual scientists to consider in making their own judgments about how they would like to position themselves in relation to policy and politics. Using examples from a range of scientific controversies and thought-provoking analogies from other walks of life, The Honest Broker challenges us all - scientists, politicians and citizens - to think carefully about how best science can contribute to policy-making and a healthy democracy.

"This is the first of four books in this series. The characters highlighted here range from discourteous teenagers; the savvy longterm unemployed; frazzled shoppers; the conniving media, dodgy financial backers; captains of failing industries... and everyone in between." -- back cover.

A revealing and compelling case for the establishment of a strong national anti-corruption body and the enactment of other vital democratic reforms. Over the last few years, instances of the federal government spending taxpayers’ money to gain improper political advantage in elections have continued, with many hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on the Community Sport Infrastructure Program (aka the Sports Rorts) and the Urban Congestion Fund (the Carpark Rorts). As Stephen Charles writes, these electorally targeted pork-barrelling exercises are better understood as political corruption, which can take many forms but essentially involves dishonest conduct that undermines trust in our democratic political system. Keeping Them Honest points to the crucial absence of a federal integrity commission to expose corruption in government and public administration, and to hold wrongdoers to account. While the federal government promised to establish such a commission in 2018 (a promise since abandoned), Stephen Charles argues that, in any case, its insipid terms would protect — rather than expose — ethical breaches by federal politicians. As well, as Catherine Williams reveals, there is an overwhelming need to deal with the dark side of Australia’s political system: the hidden influence of political donors and lobbyists, including the revolving door between lobbyists and former ministers; the absence of controls on electoral expenditure and political advertising; and the cavalier, unregulated expenditure of public money. Keeping Them Honest explains what we need to do to expose political corruption, uphold accountability, and restore trust — and why we need to do it now.

This edited collection analyses the unique characteristics of urban gardens, worker-owned coops, ecological communities, occupied factories and other social movements to demonstrate what we can learn from them in order to rethink our economies and societies.