Liberal phobia and the cause….
- Thread starter Socrates the Greek
- Start date
You're going to have to do better than that. Your guys have pulled some doozies. The Cons have conned. How are you going to convince me that baking is better than frying?
Finding an honest politician is like Diogenes the Cynic in ancient Greece on his quest for an honest man:roll:
:lol:
baking is better than frying, because baking allows more nutrition (Balanced budgets ) for the consumer, with no damage to the arterial network (Canadian voter)
frying is bad for the arterial network of the body as it is known in medical circles(Canadian voter) no nutritional value at all (bad debt).:lol:
You give these people too much credit: they all come from the same neo-liberal school of economics; surpluses are achieved at great cost to society so in this case they would be a bad thing. The Liberal budget was not the product of fiscal genius but rather what you get when you eliminate costs (i.e. the same thing Conservatives do when they get in--they just do it a little less nicely); it just so happens that those costs weren't extra fat, they were essential functions within the state and Canada is worse off for it. Giving the Liberals credit for a stable banking system is just pure imagination; this system has been developed over a long time, not yesterday (that said, our banking system is of a highly aristocratic mindset, like the financial mindset throughout most of the world, so it's hardly something for Canadians to brag about).
The present Conservative government just happened to coincide with a downturn and being the dick-heads they are, haven't bothered with the usual gloss-over that has served the Liberal party so well in the past. The outcome would've been pretty much the same had the Liberals been running the show, given their past policies.
If you don't spend when you have to, you pay for it later; borrow/spend is just the way all governments operate. You have to look at what's being cut and where the spending is going. Unless you change the system itself to make it more sustainable--and that implies heavy regulation, something Liberals don't touch with a 10-foot pole--this is just the way things are done in a market-driven state.
Saying Liberals are better than Conservatives is like saying Pepsi is better than Coke; neither is good for your health.
barney good day,
So how do you tackle the federal debt that WE ARE STILL PAYING INTEREST on Mulroney’s financial mismanagement? The people who voted for Mulroney 3 times are still paying today for that misplaced vote.
To create a surplus and pay off a huge portion of the federal debt, should that be considered as a bad move, when in fact the Mulroney misplaced vote caused it?
Where else are you going to get the money to pay for such stupid off the wall financial mismanagement? Print more money, at least the Liberals were far smarter then Mulroney.
It is known that mistakes never go unpaid, it is called cause and affect. :lol:
You know, you keep babbling incestantly about Mulroney, void of any fact or context, while giving a pass to Trudeau and his ballooning Gov't, and his complete dismantling of the immigration protocols.
Or is this just another example of how little you actually know about Canadian politics?
Last edited by a moderator:
Calling me a name wont change Canada’s reality. I am happy with my forum name and avatar.:lol:
Last edited by a moderator:
Budget surplus is never a bad thing. What is bad is borrowing like there is no tomorrow and having a party on borrowed money, on our children and grandchildren's money.
What you are saying is that balancing the budget causes some hardships. Big deal. Balancing the budget is never a painless process, there is invariably going to be some hardship, the group whose ox is being gored is going to squeal.
But that is much better than borrowing like a drunken sailor and bankrupting the whole country, putting it in hock for generations, as conservatives do almost invariably whenever they are in power.
Quite so, there are no fancy gimmicks to balancing the budget. It is the old fashioned recipe, increase taxes and cut services. That is why conservatives will never balance the budget. They don’t mind cutting services for the poor, but they never ever will support any tax increases, particularly if it is going to hit the rich people.
In Mulroney's defence, he stuck pretty close to North American liberal free market thinking; the NAFTA would very likely have happened more or less the same way had the Liberals been in power. Sure there were screw-ups and corruption but generally, that was the direction the mainstream political body wanted to go. As for the voters: we live in a very politically archaic country. The fact that people view the Liberal Party as even remotely progressive is proof of that.
Putting aside that based on Liberal policies of the past, there's no indication that they wouldn't have accumulated the same debt, I don't see how one justifies the other.
The Ontario NDP inherited a massive debt from the previous Liberal government. What did they do? They gradually paid most of it off in the middle of a recession and managed to keep the public service mostly intact.
Voting Canadians may have made mistakes but I can assure you that the parties are far from the muddled dorks you see on tv; their decisions reflect general overarching interests of big business and the elite--Canadian and otherwise--that effectively determine this country's future.
This new course is a mistake at it's core because the new model is even more anti-social than the old one (the old one being the conservative idea of the welfare state and belief in traditional social order) and is highly unsustainable. Outside of that, everything seems to be following a now well-worn course of 'liberalization' with the odd economic hiccup now and then--a taste of a larger economic and social disaster down the road.
Not some; many. The way it was paid off did much harm to the economy and society but did give the government the excuse to hack away and justified rampant privatization. Canadians went along with it dazzled by the whole "balanced budget" campaign.
Since confederation 1867
The longest Prime Minister was Liberal William Lyon Mackenzie King 3 times held office for 21 years
Second longest Liberal to hold office since Confederation was Sir Wilfrid Laurier one time elected and held office for 17 years 11 July 1896 6 October 1911
Third longest and most known the honourable Pierre Trudeau 20 April 1968
4 June 1979, in office for 11 years Pierre Trudeau 3 March 1980 - 30 June 1984, in office for 4 years, in total 15 years.
On three Liberal Prime Misters we see 47 years of Liberal rule that has shaped Canada to what it is today, a beautiful country where many want to adopt as a home land.
Liberals in office less then a year
Liberal John Turner 30 June 1984 17 September 1984, in office for 3 months
The longest Prime Minister for the Conservatives in Canada was
Conservative Brian Mulroney 17 September 198 25 June 1993, just over 8 years
6 Conservative Governments since confederation were in office for only one or less then one year
Conservative Sir John Abbott 1891-1892, in office for 1 year
Conservative Sir Charles Tupper 1 May 1896 - 8 July 1896, 3 months in office
Conservative Arthur Meighen 10 July 1920 - 29 December 1921, 6 months in office
Conservative Arthur Meighen 29 June 1926 - 25 September 1926, 3 months in office
Conservative Joe Clark 4 June 1979 3 March 1980, 10 months in office
Conservative Kim Campbell 25 June 1993 4 November 1993, 5 months in office
:smile::canada::lol:
There's a right place ... and a wrong one. Oh well ... at least your schoolin' stuck for today
Well thanks to you for helping me show Barney the truth. And I did admit my numbers were off, and after you corrected me my numbers before your correction were aiming at the same out come as the example above, again thanks to you for providing the link. And I don’t mean that with sarcasm .:smile:
Not sure what truth gets shown when providing proof for something that wasn't asked.....
I don’t see that it did any serious harm to anybody. Sure, balancing the budget caused some hardship, but that was to be expected. During Liberal rule, Canadians got richer, most people saw real rise in their incomes. Not to mention their investment grew substantially. Indeed, during the 90s, practically any investment you made paid back rich dividends.
Liberal period was truly the golden age in Canada. So I don’t accept that balancing the budget caused any real hardship to anybody.
And balancing the budget is all important. We all know what happens to a family which spends more than it earns. That way lies total destruction.
The fact that it may cause hardships to some is never a valid argument for not balancing the budget, for running a deficit.
S J P yes, the numbers speak for them self’s how long the Canadian people had the Liberals on the helm, post #1112 on this thread confirms your statement below.
Also on post#1112 I forgot to mention Jean Chrétien another 10 years
In total 4 out of 12 Liberal Prime Ministers since Confederation 1867 Governed for 57 years... The intersting part is that the people voted them in they did not force the people to vot them in. Called, "back by popular demand" Because Liberalism does work. And the people proved it.
.
"Liberal period was truly the golden age in Canada. So I don’t accept that balancing the budget caused any real hardship to anybody".
Last edited:
Socrates, in the other forum, Canada.com, I got into an argument with a conservative. Like conservatives here, he also claimed that the13 year of Liberal rule was positively Hell on earth, that Canada practically slid into third world status under Liberals. While he did not go as far as to claim that Liberal party really is the Communist party (as some do here), he came close to it.
Well, I accepted his challenge and did extensive research as to what happened during the Liberal rule. Here are the results; this is really a reproduction of that post. You may wish to keep it on your hard disk, as it has plenty of data that may be useful in future discussions.
Sorry for the overlong post, but it is chockfull of useful data.
Why don't women vote for Harper? - Share It
Well, how does Chrétien and Martin 'nightmare' compare with Mulroney 'paradise'? I looked up some statistics. I took 1993 as the base, since that was the first full year of Liberal rule (I think).
1. Budget deficit - 40 billion $ deficit to 10 billion $ surplus. Economy went from being on life support to roaring ahead.
2. Per capita income. Per capita income grew at the rate of 2.1% annually between 1993 - 1998 and 2.8% annually between 1999 and 2005.
Table 3b Personal income per capita, Canada1 and the Northwest Territories, 1993 to 1998 and 1999 to 2004
I did some calculations, and it represents an increase of 33% in per capita income between 1993 and 2004.
3. Life expectancy
1993 - 77.7
2005 - 80.1
230,132 people died in Canada in 2005, up 1.6% from 2004 - Digital Forum
It is self explanatory, need no explanation.
4. Infant morality.
Infant morality : 5.4 per 1000 births in 2005.
6.3 per 1000 births in 1993.
5. Child poverty
As I recall, you claimed that poverty (and child poverty) has got much worse under Liberals. It was a bit ironic. I don't question your motives, maybe you are really interested in the plight of the poor. But many conservatives couldn't care less about the poor, they are more concerned with the rich. Hence their adamant opposition to any measure intended to help the poor (such as increasing minimum wage, subsidized child care, social assistance programs etc.).
Well, what exactly did happen under those heartless, child hating liberals?
% of children living below poverty line.
1993 - 22%
2005 - 17.6%
http://www.campaign2000.ca/rc/rc05/05NationalReportCard.pdf
I should mention that during the last years of the benign, saintly rule of Messiah Mulroney, child poverty had got much worse (No! Surely not under a conservative!). So even with this progress, child poverty was not down to the level of 1989. Mulroney did so much damage in three years that Liberals could not set right in 13 years. Of course it is the fault of the Liberals, who could blame the saintly, Messiah Mulroney?
6. Crime rate: Of course, crime rate never goes in a straight line. Some types of crime decreases, while some other type increases. However, there was a substantial decrease in the overall crime between 1993 and 2005.
1993: overall crime rate - more than 10,000 per 100,000 population.
2003 : overall crime rate: 8132 per 100,000 population.
The Daily, Wednesday, July 28, 2004. Crime statistics
Let us recap. After 13 years of Liberal rule, Canadians are richer, safer and live longer. The prosperity is shared by the poor as well as by the middle class, child poverty is down (though not down to the same level it was before Mulroney caused serious damage, caused a serious increase in child poverty). Now, if you look hard enough, you probably will find one or two criteria where things may have got worse, it is quite possible. Again, nothing moves straight up or straight down. But taken all together, at least in my opinion it is quite an impressive record.
So Liberal rule of 13 years has been an unmitigated disaster, has it? I only hope we have another 'unmitigated disaster' next time Liberals are in power for 13 years.
Incidentally, let me make an educated guess. During the reign of Messiah Harper, child poverty is probably on the increase again, it is well known that when conservatives are in power, rich become richer and poor become poorer.
Liberal rule was truly the Golden Age in Canada.
Truly...
1. Cancelling the Sea King replacement
2. Sponsorship scandal
3. Gun Registry
4. HRDC boondoggle
5. Problems with Transition Job Funds program
6. Tainted blood
7. Radwanski Spending Affair
8. Pearson Airport
9. GST Flip Flop
10. Airbus Investigation
11. Voting against Red Book promise of independent Ethics Commissioner
12. Irving fishing lodge stays/travel on Irving jets for cabinet ministers
13. Martin traveling on private corporate jets as Finance Minister
14. Don Boudria’s stay at Boulay owned chalet
15. Denis Coderre staying with Boulay
16. Alfonso Gagliano being appointed Ambassador to Denmark
17. Shawinigate
18. Claude Gauthier (PM’s friend)’s Transelec getting CIDA grant that was questioned by the Auditor General and even CIDA.
19. Liberal fundraiser Pierre Corbeil charged with fraud by RCMP after he approached several Quebec companies seeking federal job training grants and asking for payments to Liberal Party, having gotten the names from senior Quebec Liberal Minister, Marcel Massé.
20. Michel Dupuy, Heritage Minister, lobbying the CRTC.
21. Tom Wappel refusing to help blind veteran
22. Gagliano’s son benefiting from contracts from his father’s department
23. Gagliano’s former speechwriter, Michèle Tremblay was on a $5,000 a month retainer with the Canada Lands Company to provide speeches for the Minister. Former President John Grant let her go saying “we got nothing in return.” Grant claimed that all Crown Corporations reporting to Mr. Gagliano were told to put Ms. Tremblay on a monthly retainer.
24. Iltis replacement
25. Purchase of new Challenger jets for the Prime Minister and cabinet
26. NATO Flying Training program contract
27. Liberal friends appointed as IRB judges being investigated by RCMP
28. Hedy Fry’s imaginary burning crosses
29. Maria Minna’s improper municipal vote
30. Minna giving contracts to two former campaign staffers for public relations work for a conference that had already been held
31. Lawrence MacAulay and contracts directed to Holland College
32. Lawrence MacAulay and Tim Banks
33. Lawrence MacAulay hired his official agent, Everett Roche, for $70K, but Roche never did any work for it. (Oct 2002)
34. Art Eggleton and contracts to his ex-girlfriend
35. Copps’ aide Boyer’s spending habits
36. Collenette resigns for breach of ethical guidelines involving a letter he wrote to the Immigration and Refugee Board
37. APEC Inquiry
38. Andy Scott's 1998 resignation that came eight weeks too late, after a media circus wore him down for indiscreetly shooting his mouth off on an airplane.
39. Anti-American comments by Liberal MPs, officials, and the former Minister of Natural Resources.
40. Rock and the Apotex/Cipro affair
41. Rock giving Health Canada contract to car cleaning company.
42. Manley lobbying CIBC on behalf of Rod Bryden
43. Manley’s fundraiser suggesting donors to his leadership write it off as a business expense.
44. Manley using his pre-budget consultations as Minister of Finance to solicit support for his leadership bid.
45. Coderre’s relationship with Group Everest
46. Martin’s fundraiser/employee of Finance Jim Palmer
47. Martin’s “blind trust” and his relationship with CSL.
48. Gerry Byrne requesting fundraising money be sent to his home address, with no records kept.
49. Gerry Byrne pouring bulk of ACOA money into his own riding.
50. Virginia Fontaine Addictions Foundation
51. Prime Minister’s former assistant, Denise Tremblay’s huge travel expenses on Veterans Review and Appeal Board as Minister pleaded poverty to veterans’ widows.
52. Chrétien appointing Hon. Roger Simmons (former Trudeau minister convicted of income tax evasion) as Consul-General in Seattle
53. Chrétien trying to bring hit-and-run driver Carignan back into caucus.
54. The RCMP is investigating possible fraud and bribery within Industry Canada, involving possible "overpayments" to recipients of federal business grants. The probe centres on the National Research Council, which hands out federal grants to small- and medium-sized businesses.
55. More than half a dozen bureaucrats have been "removed" from their jobs at a Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) in Toronto following a police investigation into projects funded under one of the department's grants and contributions programs
56. Revenue Minister Elinor Caplan called in the RCMP and ordered a sweeping security review after four tax department computers were stolen containing confidential personal information on more than 120,000 Canadians.
57. More than $7 billion stashed in Foundations by Finance Minister Paul Martin with little or no accountability
58. Dhaliwal overseing Richmond-airport-Vancouver transit line while being owner of the airport limousine service
59. Tom Rosser, former Dhaliwal advisor lobbying Natural Resources department and minister on environmental issues only months after leaving government.
60. $5.3 million GG northern travel
61. GG budget doubles in 5 years
62. Robert Thibault giving a grant as ACOA minister to a wharf and boatyard where his brother-in-law has a monopoly.
63. Royal LePage contract, which the government was forced to cancel in the wake of serious concerns being raised.
64. Shutting down the Somalia Inquiry
65. Home heating rebate, which was sent to prisoners and deceased.
66. Martin firing Bernard Dussault, Chief Actuary of CPP
67. Ethel Blondin-Andrew buys fur coat on government credit card
68. Chrétien’s imaginary homeless friend.
69. Liberal MP Rick Laliberte’s extensive travel budget
70. Liberal Senator Thompson living in Mexico
71. Vendetta against former BDC President François Beaudoin
72. The flag give-away – which estimates suggest might now have cost $45 million instead of the promised $6 million, and reportedly involved fake invoices.
73. Gagliano’s two week trip, at taxpayers’ expense, for a two day event with the head of the Royal Canadian Mint and Maurizio Caruso.
74. Secretary of State for multiculturalism and status of women Sheila Finestone using government car (which junior ministers are only allowed to use for government business) to drive home to Montreal, which even Sheila Copps criticized. (Ottawa Citizen, May 22, 1994)
75. Liberal MP Jag Bhaduria’s hate mail to his former employers, wishing that they had been shot by killer Marc Lepine
76. Liberal MP Jag Bhaduria making false claims about his academic qualifications.
77. Paul Martin and Maria Minna attending fundraising dinner for group linked to Tamil Tigers in May 2000 (National Post, Sept. 8th, 2001).
78. David Anderson, as National Revenue Minister, suing the government for lost wages after being removed as IRB appointee by Conservative government seeking $454,000 from a deficit-ravaged federal treasury. (Vancouver Sun, July 24, 2004). Anderson eventually agreed to drop the suit.
79. David Anderson suggesting that the BC doesn’t need extra House of Commons seats, because they wouldn't be worth much given the poor quality of most West Coast MPs. (Vancouver Sun, July 24, 2004)
80. A consultant on an executive interchange program persuaded Natural Resources to undertake a $700-million reorganization of its research facilities for which no business case had been made. The program was fast-tracked because he had developed a social relationship with the deputy minister. He was eventually charged with diverting $525,000 to a numbered company he controlled. (Globe and Mail, May 30, 2005)
And the list continues under Prime Minister Martin:
81. Raid on reporter Juliet O’Neill’s home by RCMP
82. Permanent Resident Cards
83. Judy Sgro going on vacation as cards became mandatory and landed immigrants were left stranded
84. Minister Frulla’s renovations
85. Pay raises for chiefs-of-staff in ministers offices, while spending is frozen for public service.
86. The government’s changing numbers on how much money has gone to CSL
87. Lobbyists in Paul Martin’s transition team being allowed to return to lobbying immediately, after being involved in process of picking new cabinet and senior staff.
88. Minister Comuzzi’s anti-Quebec comments
89. Martin government using closure after only six days in the House of Commons, followed by using time allocation in the Senate.
90. Problems with DND’s contracts with Compaq Computers that may have cost taxpayers up to $159 million for work not performed.
91. Martin using government jets to tour the country campaigning before election, spending up to $1 million for air travel alone.
92. Martin’s relationship with Earnscliffe
93. Questionable contracts to Earnscliffe
94. The appointment of former Liberal MLA Howard Sapers as the Correctional Investigator of Canada
95. Pierre Pettigrew’s flip flopping on health care
96. David Dingwall’s expenses as head of Royal Canadian Mint
97. Liberals planning to give David Dingwall a severance package after he resigned
98. The secret National Unity Fund reserve
99. Calling an early election after earlier promising first to get to the bottom of the sponsorship scandal
100. Martin suggesting changes to legislation and introducing bill that benefited CSL, despite concerns from his own Deputy Minister that he was in a conflict-of-interest (Ottawa Citizen, May 26, 2004)
101. $99 million Public Works contract that went to company overseen by Liberal fundraiser and future Senator Paul Massicotte (Montreal Gazette, June 26, 2004)
102. Parliamentary Secretary Dan McTeague’s 3-person, $224 trip to a Pizzeria
103. Immigration Minister Judy Sgro’s staff being allowed to stay on “extended travel” benefits, letting them bill taxpayers’ for thousands of dollars in hotel rooms and meals, because they didn’t want to move from Toronto to Ottawa until after the election.
104. Correctional Service of Canada Commissioner Lucie McClung’s travel expenses
105. Contracting irregularities on more than two dozen projects at DND worth tens of millions of dollars, showing over-billing, profit excesses, unauthorized additional work, lack of accounting records, spiralling cost overruns, etc. (Globe and Mail, July 14, 2004).
106. ACOA Minister Joe McGuire canceling ACOA loan and grant to ABL Industries Inc. because it would compete with company in his riding. (Fredericton Daily Gleaner, July 17, 2004).
107. Andy Mitchell’s chief of staff’s $22,000 in expenses to commute to Ottawa (Toronto Star, August 2, 2004).
108. André Ouellet’s travel and hospitality expenses at Canada Post.
109. Government delaying release of audit on Ouellet until after the election (Globe and Mail, July 31, 2004).
110. Martin’s principle secretary Francis Fox’s sister getting untendered contracts (The Province, July 27, 2004).
111. Continuing problems in advertising files at Public Works (Ottawa Sun, July 26, 2004).
112. A Liberal Party of Canada fundraising letter signed by Paul Martin, asking potential contributors to offer $7,000, $7,100 or $7,200 in contributions – far in excess of donation limits passed by the very same Liberal government
113. Liberal Senator Raymond Lavigne violating municipal bylaws. Municipality pursuing legal action against him. (Ottawa Citizen, August 19, 2004).
114. Spa Days for inmates approved by the Correctional Service of Canada, which on Aug. 21 invited inmates at the Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener, Ont., to dabble with manicures, pedicures and aromatherapy, not to mention cups of tea served in fine china, all accompanied by a harp serenade. (National Post, September 9, 2004).
115. Five employees in the ''overwhelmed'' immigration section of Canada's embassy in Iran have been fired over the past year after they each were caught breaching federal ethics rules (National Post, September 13, 2004).
116. Questionable contracts and spending from the Canada Investment and Savings group set up by Martin in 1996 (Globe and Mail, September 13, 2004)
117. Questionable contracting practices at Canada Information Office (The Hill Times, September 13, 2004).
118. A top Canadian diplomat based in China has resigned amid reports he is being investigated for allegedly taking bribes to help Chinese nationals enter Canada illegally. (Vancouver Sun, September 22, 2004).
119. Abuse of government credit cards by staff at Fisheries Department (CP Wire, September 24, 2004).
120. Canada’s questionable hiring of the niece of Syria's foreign affairs minister to work at the embassy in Damascus (Globe and Mail, October 5, 2004)
121. Hélène Scherrer using Challenger to fly to Banff during election to give partisan speech
122. Abuse of Challengers by Paul Martin and various ministers (eg. Andy Mitchell, Claudette Bradshaw)
123. Abuse of Challenger jets for political business instead of government business (Le Devoir, October 4, 2005)
124. Paul Martin taking Challenger jets to Liberal fundraisers
125. Challenger food bill of $508 per flight
126. Expenses during election filed by aide to Ralph Goodale
127. Questionable expenses during election filed by aides to Judy Sgro
128. Ongoing problems and safety concerns with the submarine program
129. Various federal departments reported in excess of $1.1 million in theft of computers in 2003, but the information is potentially more valuable than the hardware (Vancouver Sun, October 14, 2004).
130. According to the latest public-accounts-of-Canada reports for the period March 2004 and March 2005, over 700 laptops, desktops and central processing units went missing from 35 federal government agencies -- worth $6 million. (The Province, October 19, 2005)
131. Federal government has lost track of $587 million a year in EI overpayments and underpayments at the Department of Human Resources. (Ottawa Citizen, October 12, 2004). However, the government defends itself by stating that in fact it has only lost track of $25 million a year and collects the other overpayments. (Ottawa Citizen, October 13, 2004)
132. $133,000 grant to a Toronto film company that used classified ads to search for the "perfect" penis. (National Post, October 14, 2004).
133. Man convicted of fraud against government hired to teach ethics course to public servants (National Post, October 20, 2004).
134. Public Works selling confiscated grow-op equipment to drug traffickers. (National Post, October 21, 2004).
135. Pressure by Liberal MPs and ministers on ACOA to make funding decisions based on politics (New Brunswick Telegraph Journal, October 25, 2004).
136. Paul Martin’s Director of Communications Scott Reid insulting Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador (Toronto Star, October 28, 2004)
137. The Martin government spent $127,223 on a poll last February testing ways to diffuse negative reaction to the bombshell auditor-general's report -- which included the finding the Liberals ignored their own rules prohibiting the use of tax dollars on partisan polls (Vancouver Sun, November 8, 2004).
138. Judy Sgro’s campaign volunteer (a stripper) getting ministerial permit
139. Sgro’s senior policy advisor going to strip club to meet with owner to discuss bringing more strippers into Canada. (National Post, November 25, 2004). Subsequent revelations indicate that he went to at least one other strip club to conduct similar meetings (Toronto Sun, December 7, 2004)
140. Sgro giving out details of private immigration files, violating Privacy Act
141. Allegations that Sgro broke the elections law in failing to properly identify the source of a campaign contribution. (Toronto Star, December 8, 2004).
142. Revelations that the program to bring in foreign exotic dancers was created under pressure from organized crime (National Post, December 18, 2004)
143. Irwin Cotler appointing his former chief-of-staff to federal court (National Post, November 23, 2004).
144. Heritage Minister Liza Frulla giving grant to magazine that put her on the cover and made her honourary president (Ottawa Citizen, November 25, 2004)
145. Despite promising an end to cronyism and patronage, Martin appointing Liberal MP John Harvard as Lt-Governor of Manitoba, in order to get him to step aside for “star” candidate Glen Murray.
146. Despite promising an end to cronyism and patronage, Martin appointing Liberal MP Yvon Charbonneau to UNESCO, in order to get him to step aside for Martin crony Pablo Rodriguez.
147. Despite promising an end to cronyism and patronage, Martin appointing former Liberal MP Karen Kraft-Sloan as Ambassador for the Environment. (Department of Foreign Affairs Press Release, February 16, 2005).
148. Despite promising an end to cronyism and patronage, Martin appointing defeated Liberal candidate Dave Haggard as the chair of a newly created Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship. (OIC 2005-0001)
149. Despite promising an end to cronyism and patronage, Martin appointed his friend Dennis Dawson to the Senate
150. Despite promising an end to cronyism and patronage, Martin appointed his former Principal Secretary Francis Fox to the Senate
151. Despite promising an end to cronyism and patronage, Martin appointed disgraced former cabinet minister Art Eggleton to the Senate
152. Martin and his wife complaining about having to live in 24 Sussex (Edmonton Journal, November 17, 2004)
153. Millennium Bureau spending done with same lack of controls and oversight of sponsorship program
154. The RCMP has charged a senior Immigration Canada manager and four accomplices in an alleged bribes-for-status scheme in which Arab immigrants paid up to $25,000 to have their claims fast-tracked and approved (National Post, December 17, 2004)
155. Making widows of RCMP officers killed in the line of duty pay for their husbands’ funerals (Under pressure from the Conservative Party, the government reversed this policy)
156. Martin patronage-appointee Jim Walsh breaking ethics guidelines and attending Liberal Christmas Party (St. John’s Telegram, January 20, 2005).
157. Port authority losing more than $60,000 in public funds on the stock market. When Central Cape Breton Community Ventures took over the port in Iona in 2000, the private agency deposited only $5,000 of the $245,000 it received from Transport Canada into a designated bank account. The federal funding was meant to cover the port's maintenance, insurance and professional services costs (Chronicle-Herald, January 31, 2005).
158. Canadian flag lapel pins being made in China. Only under pressure, Scott Brison flip flops and agrees to have them made in Canada again.
159. Questionable dealings around the privatization of the Digby Wharf, which even Liberal MP Robert Thibault wants the RCMP to investigate (Chronicle-Herald, February 10, 2005).
160. Adrienne Clarkson spending $17,500 to evaluate cleaning at Rideau Hall (Ottawa Sun, February 19, 2005)
161. Martin patronage appointee Glen Murray breaking ethics guidelines and attending Liberal Convention as delegate
162. Martin ignoring parliamentary committee and appointing Glen Murray as chair of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy
163. Marlene Jennings, the Parliamentary Secretary for Canada-U.S. relations, making anti-American remarks
164. Government knowing about details of torture and murder of Zahra Kazemi back in November and still sending ambassador back to Iran
165. Government knowing about details of torture and murder of Zahra Kazemi back in November but doing nothing
166. Tens of thousands of dollars were spent on questionable acquisitions at CFB Borden (Ottawa Sun, April 18, 2005).
167. Joe Volpe keeping stripper visa program operating, despite having promised to shut it down (CTV.ca, March 5, 2005)
168. Jean Lapierre acting as lobbyist without registering
169. Joe Volpe trying to intimidating Sikh community
170. In the spring of 2003, the RCMP investigated allegations that Liberal MP Gurbax Malhi had requested favours and financial support for Paul Martin's 2003 leadership campaign in exchange for helping Indian nationals get these temporary resident permits (Globe and Mail, March 10, 2005).
171. Liberals spending $443,237 to change the name Passport Office to Passport Canada (Montreal Gazette, April 21, 2005).
172. Ken Dryden’s chief of staff charged with careless driving (Ottawa Citizen, March 22, 2005)
173. Liberals trying to buy off Conservative MPs with offers of patronage positions
174. Liberals handling of the submarine program
175. Public Service Integrity Officer’s travel expenses (Ottawa Sun, May 4, 2005)
176. Liberal Senator Michel Biron going to hearing to support killer Karla Homolka (CTV News, June 9, 2005)
177. Public Works contract watchdog Consulting and Audit Canada violating contracting rules (Toronto Star, July 4, 2005)
178. Technology Partnerships Canada rules being violated to pay lobbyists (Globe and Mail, June 24, 2005)
179. Former Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Robert Nault is working as a paid lobbyist for Nelson House First Nation in what some allege is an apparent violation of a federal code of conduct. Among the federal departments Nault is lobbying is the Indian and Northern Affairs department he headed until December 2003, according to a lobbying report Nault filed with the federal government. Nault registered as a lobbyist for Nelson House, now known as Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, on July 18, 2005 -- one year and seven months after leaving his cabinet post. Under the Conflict of Interest and Post-Employment Code for Public Office Holders, Nault is barred from working for any entity with which his department had "direct and significant official dealings" for two years after leaving office. He is also barred for two years from lobbying his former department or any of his former cabinet colleagues (Winnipeg Free Press, September 14, 2005)
180. According to documents obtained by the Globe and Mail, Pierre Pettigrew billed Canadian taxpayers for $10,000 for trips for his driver in 2001 and 2002. Pettigrew took his driver to South America and Europe, even though the driver didn’t do any driving on the trips. (Globe and Mail, September 14, 2005)
181. Joe Volpe’s questionable hospitality expenses (Globe and Mail, September 21, 2005)
182. According to media reports, Industry Canada has frozen federal financing for research projects by an Ontario biotechnology firm pending the outcome of an investigation into the company's agreement to pay $350,000 in lobbying “success” fees to former Liberal cabinet minister David Dingwall. Such contingency fee payments violate Technology Partnership Canada rules. (Globe and Mail, September 23, 2005)
183. Expenses of chairman of the Royal Canadian Mint Emmanuel Triassi, who also approved David Dingwall’s expenses (Globe and Mail, October 4, 2005)
184. Last week, Public Works was also silent on details of another case involving forensic accounting. Government accounts published on Thursday showed a department employee had embezzled $3.45 million from Public Works office in Koblenz, Germany. Even though the employee was convicted and jailed in Germany, Public Works will not name him or give any details of the crime (Ottawa Citizen, October 4, 2005)
185. The federal government inadvertently revealed yesterday that it is conducting a large-scale forensic accounting probe into "possibly criminal matters" when it published details of a contract intended for a Quebec accounting firm. The notice awarding a $2-million contract for forensic accounting services was published on the government's tendering website, MERX. It gave notice that Consulting and Audit Canada was planning to award the sole-source contract to Leclerc Juricomptable, a Quebec City firm specializing in forensic work and litigation support. The contract award notice said the work had to be sole-sourced to Leclerc because it is "not in the public interest to jeopardize the current investment in the investigation or to significantly increase the risk to a successful completion of the investigation into possibly criminal matters." A spokesman for the Department of PublicWorks and Government Services said yesterday that the notice was published "prematurely" and would be withdrawn last night. He could not say, however, what is under investigation, but said the contract was not tied to another scandal that has kept Quebec forensic accountants busy over the past years. "It's not related to sponsorship or Gomery, that I can tell you," said spokesman Pierre Teotonio (Ottawa Citizen, October 4, 2005). It was subsequently revealed that the department involved was CIDA (CP Wire, October 4, 2005)
186. Questions about campaign funds from Raymond Chan’s campaign going to his companies (Vancouver Sun, October 7, 2005)
187. Questions about a possible conflict-of-interest between Chan’s activities as minister on behalf of possible business associates (Vancouver Sun, October 7, 2005)
188. Questions about the report that Chan filed with the Ethics Commissioner (Vancouver Sun, October 7, 2005)
189. Government giving out contract that specifies no paper trail to be left in government offices (Vancouver Province, October 11, 2005)
190. Questionable travel expenses at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (CP, October 16, 2005)
191. Two employees at DFO fired for making fraudulent travel claims (CP, The Province, October 18, 2005).
192. Lobbyist registrar Michael Nelson has launched investigations of four people for eight possible breaches of the ethics guidelines for lobbyists, the first such investigations ever launched under the code. (Globe and Mail, October 18, 2005)
193. According to media reports, the federal government has terminated two contracts with a consulting firm that used to be run by Liberal MP David Smith and now run by his wife, following a forensic audit of the contracting practices at a federal agency (Globe and Mail, October 19, 2005)
194. ATI requests by prisoners for information on prison system and guards, when information is actually disclosed
195. Liberal candidate Richard Mahoney lobbying for satellite radio company for a month before registering (Ottawa Citizen, October 19, 2005)
196. Delays and ballooning costs mean a giant software project at National Defence will eclipse its original budget and won't meet its goals until 2011 -- if at all. An internal audit obtained by Canadian Press raises red flags about a new system designed to streamline computer tracking of military inventory and purchases. MASIS -- or Materiel Acquisition Support Information System -- started in 1997 as a $147-million undertaking. What began as a focused effort to cover a single equipment category in each of the navy, army and air force soon mushroomed. By 2003, Defence officials estimated MASIS would be in place by 2006 at a cost of $325 million, more than twice its forecast budget. A full introduction of the complex software has now been extended to 2011. The heavily censored May 2005 internal audit, released under the Access to Information Act, catalogues a litany of "revised planned milestones.'' "The prime contract has been amended six times, each time increasing amounts for professional service fees,'' it says. (CP, The Record, October 24, 2005)
197. Hospitality and travel expenses of executives at CMHC (Journal de Montréal, October 24, 2005)
198. Questions about Squamish land deal lease (The Province, October 26, 2005)
199. Liberals handling of tainted water at Kashechewan First Nation
I really should dig out the updated list...
Enjoy.