The testimony at the ongoing Gomery Inquiry into the Sponsorship program, in which money was poured into Liberal friendly advertising agencies and possibly rerouted back to party coffers has reportedly heard "devastating testimony" over the past two days.
What it is, no one can say - the testimony is under a court ordered publication ban, on the premise that releasing it could prejudice other criminal trials. But it seems to be damning enough that both the governing Liberals and opposition parties are moving into high gear in preparation for the possible fall of the minority government.
Update - More on the Jean Brault, (former head of the Groupaction) testimony publication ban.
Bloggers are beginning to dig, but it's uncertain what they can publish in Canada, should they uncover the details. (Perhaps its time to brush up on our "poetry" skills.)
I don't believe the bans extend to foreign sites, though...
Other sites blogging this story:
Send me yours.
Apropos of nothing... old discussion at Rabble.ca about Miram Bedard's testimony at the 2004 inquiry.
In her opening remarks, Ms. B�dard stunned the inquiry by saying that she was told by the former head of Via Rail that people at Groupaction Marketing Inc. were involved in drug trafficking.
prompts this flashback to a CTV report from the same year.
A former executive of Groupaction, the advertising firm at the centre of the federal sponsorship scandal, says he received a death threat last week, ahead of his expected testimony next week at a Commons committee hearing.Alain Richard told CFCF News in Montreal that around 4 a.m. on March 25, he woke up to a ringing doorbell. When he opened the front door, he found a message.
"There was a message on my doorknob, saying if I talk too much, I'm going to die," he said.
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Robert Fife is now predicting a Conservative Government as a result. This has got to go straight to the top of the Liberal Party for it to be as serious as everyone is making it out to be. But of course, that is just speculation.
Sweet...Instapundit linked it! Looks like you beat me to him.
Cheers
" The Liberals may try to get an election in before the public learn the details"
Oh no, say it ain't so, Joe, Paul, Jean, Haroon, Thomas (Walkom), Peter (Mansbridge), Neil(MacDonald), Greenspon, Taber, Joe(Red)Green etc, etc,etc - and all the rest of you liberal hacks.
The Lieberals(sic) would never do that.
Let's not forget that the Conservatives are extemists. My gawd, some of them actually believe human life is sacred.
This is the best news since the Iraq election. Now let's hope Canadians are as bright as Iraqis.
How does that apply to any Canadian blogger whose server is not in Canada?
that's all we need: theocon moonbats running canada. fuck it, i'm moving to amsterdam. north american is fucked.
Buh-bye, Bob.
Don't let the door, etc.....
Bob,
Don't let the screen door hit you on the way out.
You may be a bit surprised when you get to Amsterdam to find that the ethnic Dutch are leaving the country because of the influx of theocratic Middle Easterners. Be sure to send us a report, eh?
Read rumours that testimony involves $3 million in Liberal kickbacks and Mafia involvement. Who knows?
In light of what was going on in the Immigration department and the fast track for Romanian "exotic dancers", I'd be surprised if there wasn't involvement by organized crime. I don't call them the "Libranos" by accident.
http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/archives/001151.html
Mafia - wow, Canada just gets more and more interesting.
You mean there actually *could* be a level of corruption and mismanagement so bad that the Liberals might be held accountable for it?
Inconcievable. Therefore this must be one big April Fool's prank.
"NOW DO YOU PEOPLE SEE WHAT HAPPENS WITHOUT HOCKEY??" *Read with anguished Charlton heston voice.
Could this be a CIA operation to further Bush's nefarious goals? Hmmmm ;)
Let me add these to the pile:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime_file/story/253857p-217343c.html
http://www.nydailynews.com/11-22-2004/news/story/255098p-218457c.html
http://www.parl.gc.ca/38/1/parlbus/chambus/house/debates/027_2004-11-18/han027_1415-E.htm
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/11/18/alfonosogagliano041118.html
The Canadian electorate will of course yawn and return a Lieberal government of some form, because whatever they may be - swindlers, mafiosos, drug traffickers, and general all-around incompetents - they at least aren't American-lovers, like those baby-eating Conservatives.
I liked professor Reynold's line: "A publication ban. How . . . Canadian." So true.
Which link was Professor Reynold's line in?
"Which link was Professor Reynold's line in?"
aka Instapundit
Hey Bob. Amsterdamn? Study up.
http://www.zondervanchurchsource.com/product.asp?ISBN=0310248124
I'd be a little bit cautious about crowning a Conservative government just yet. It depends on the nature of the scandel and whether it actually does outrage people. Remember the events happened under the previous adminsitration and although Martin was a senior member in the Cabinet, he also did not get along with the Chretien circle. I suspect he can distance himself from it fairly effectively.
In addition, although the PC's and the Reform party are now united as the Conservatives, it would be optimistic to think that they still did not have their differences. Stephen Harper, try though he might, is still not thought of as being a "mainstream" conservative in central and eastern Canada. He is still viewed as a "right-wing" nutbar by a considerable number of people.
There has always been a considerable swing vote in Canada that shifts party allegiences during elections but this is mainly because the Liberal and PC parties were often fairly close on many populist issues. The strong right-wing focus of the Reform Party has always kept that central swing vote firmly on the Liberal side of the spectrum. I don't think that Harper has done enough to appear reasonable enough for a significant portion of those voters.
You still might get another Liberal minority...depending on how the campaign goes and how the votes split, they might even trade up to a liberal majority. How? The Libeals will take the Atlantic provinces, some selected portions of Quebec, the majority of seats in Ontario, a few in Manitoba and Sask., a some of the Northern territories. They will lose in Alberta and BC.
The entire election is frankly dependent on how much inroads that the Conservatives make in Ontario...and as long as they are perceived as "redneck reform party" they won't do well except in some of the rural ridings...If the tories can penetrate Ontario urban votes well enough, they might take a minority government.
That's my two cents.
Just checked my sitemeter - this post is getting over 500 hits an hour.
Somebody, somewhere must have posted the details of what was heard at the inquiry yesterday. It's got to be out there. Someone with access to a server in Zimbabwe or some place like that could not have much to fear by posting it, I'm sure. Send out the internet minions with arm-loads of keywords to scour the darkest corners of the internet. Perhaps one of the jihadist websites would be kind enough to post the details. What would they care? They're already being hunted down by the CIA and FBI. What's a few mounties on their ass for violating a publication ban? They'd probably enjoy outing a supposedly principled democratic Western government as a bunch of lying, corrupt, decadent infidels, don't you think?
Deano: Martin may well try to distance himself from the Chr�tien inner circle, but he did have this to say in the House on February 1st of this year, under questioning about the Sponsorship Scandal by the deputy Tory leader:
Mr. Peter MacKay: Mr. Speaker, clearly the Prime Minister has more in common with his predecessor than he cares to admit. He refuses to be accountable. He will not even get up in the House and answer simple questions, hiding behind apologists and ducking the issue.
Why is the Prime Minister continuing in the steps of his mentor and being stoney silent on this important issue? When will he end this Chr�tien circus sideshow and let the commission get on with its work?
Right Hon. Paul Martin (Prime Minister, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, when the hon. member talks about having things in common, let us look at what we have in common: the elimination of the deficit and the creation of the national child benefit. Who was the person who said that we would not send troops into Iraq when he was trying to be forced by the Leader of the Opposition as he is involved in that?
Yes, I am very proud of what the last government did and I am very proud that I was part of it.
We will get to the bottom of what happened, which is why we created the Gomery commission.
As I recall, this was followed by thunderous applause from the Liberal benches.
The need to remain skeptical that anything will come of this, electorally, cannot be repeated enough.
When the Lewinsky story first broke out in the MSM, the only real debate among political analysts was over how long it would be before the President would be forced to resign.
Well, okay...there were a few skeptics who thought Clinton would try to hang on even through the impeachment process; but even that scenario was just the delaying of the inevitable, since we were all sure the Senate would drive him from office by a healthy margin if it came to that.
We all remember how that came out.
I don't believe a snap election is the best call for the Liberals, for several reasons; and if they don't go that route, then the key for the Liberals will be to follow the Clinton strategy as closely as possible. It starts with getting the publication ban rescinded--yes, at the Liberal Government's insistence if necessary--and all the goriest undeniable bits out into the open. Then the process can begin of:
a) shrugging off the worst of the provable stuff as old hat, in the past, Chretien's fault, etc.;
b) vigorously denying that can't be proved beyond a shadow of a doubt;
c) engaging in character assassination of all the key damning witnesses and investigators;
d) dredging up choice episodes of Tory corruption, stupidity, and mismanagement--real or imagined--from the past, to get the "everybody does it/they're all crooks/there's no difference really" mantra started;
then e) when the whole affair is well-worn enough to have waned from the shocking to the merely annoying, persuade the public that they would not have to be troubled by this whole sorry, unpleasant mess anymore if they make a point of punishing any politican who keeps bringing it up.
*Then* you're about ready to call that election.
To give it a special Canadian twist, you can try adding f) some deeply cynical backhanded praise of the Canadian political system, where people are sophisticated enough--like the Europeans, and most assuredly *not* like those rubes south of the border--to shrug off episodes like this, because after all, it's just the way the world works, nothing to lose one's sang-froid over.
Goodness, I hope I'm wrong...but I've a sinking feeling I'm not...
Kevin:
Remember that the Liberals are in a minority situation. They *don't* have a choice whether to call an election or not. If they lose a non-confidence vote it's most likely going to lead to a election.
Martin can't continue to play stupid cause he was front and centre in the Chretien government and he did not resign or complain out loud. People have pointed out here that it has been illusion that he has been seeking the truth.
Furthermore people gave him the benefit of the doubt in the last election that he was 'clean.' Obviously the rotton apples fall close to the tree...
We need to convince the public that it is not only prudent to get rid of a suspicious PM but get rid of a rotten Liberal autocracy.
YES, the machinations run strongly as the liberals try their age-old tricks to maintain power at any cost for their own benefit and for that of their friends only. I see no desire for people to face annother election though to save the slimy liberals.
As an outsider looking in (kinda, my fianc�e is Canadian) the question I have is how much did the $100M support the Liberals got affect the election? Some Canadian Conservatives I correspond with felt that they were going to do far better than what ended up happening. Was this optimism or did all that unknown money have an effect that wasn't predictable? For example, how much did that affect Saskatchewan where the CPC received more votes, but only one seat.
The outside view of Canada is that the Liberal strongholds of the metropolitan centers control much of what happens in Canadian politics. That the Liberals are a minority only because they don't actually "own" the votes of the NDP and the Bloc. Yet those parties cannot be seen to be friends of the CPC. The CPC only got 30% of the vote. Why would a scandal...even if it was directly tied to Martin...drive voters to the CPC? Are there that many moderate swing voters that voted Liberal last election?
Can the type of victory that the Progressive Conservatives had in 1984 be repeated in today's social climate in Canada? It seems to me that the CPC can be vilified in the population centers merely by claiming that "the Conservatives want to turn us into Americans". Unless I'm missing it, I'm not seeing the Conservative figure with the sort of communication skills and charisma that a Westminster type of Parliamentary system requires for sea change type swings.
Of course, all of this is from the perspective of an Okie and could be completely wrong!
Are there that many moderate swing voters that voted Liberal last election?
Yes, the canadian electorate only seems to support the party that gives the most handouts. There was a total collapse and destruction of the PC party a few years ago due to a scandle.
This attitude is more pronounced in the east,ON and PQ, were all politicians have focused due to our stupid political system. The fringes, primarily the west, only determine an election if the 2 parties are so closely aligned it has to be determined out here. The Liberals and NDP take full advantage of maintaing canadian dependency, and the people out east fall for it every election.
It's depressing to realize just how much Canadians are willing to put up with in terms of corruption before even _considering_ throwing the bastards out. Even if the evidence includes videotapes of Mr. Dithers handing out bags of unmarked bills, a lot of people are going to try to ignore the evidence. Better the devil you know, and all that.
The Conservatives are still vulnerable to charges that they're religious zealots out to strip away civil liberties and institute a religious tyranny. There doesn't need to be any evidence of anything for a substantial proportion of the voting public to believe it.
I was horrified at my manager's knee-jerk reaction last election, which summed up for me, the outlook of your average "educated" middle-class Canadian: "Well, you CAN'T vote for those idiots! (meaning, the extremist, baby-eating Conservatives.) They don't know what they're doing! They'll run the country into the ground! You HAVE to vote Liberal."
This type of Canadian always assumes that I am like-minded. (Isn't everybody, eh?) They take for granted the universality of the Liberal appeal, as if it were a matter of fact, or the obvious choice.
This type of Canadian is reviled when they realize that I am, in fact, a baby-eating Conservative. ("Like, are you crazy, eh?)
And this type of Canadian invariably becomes visibly repulsed, and physically agitated when they learn that I am a supporter of George W. Bush. (You're a fuckin' asshole, eh!)
I agree with the analysis above, in "I'd be a little bit cautious about crowning a Conservative government just yet." Regrettably, I tend to believe that no matter what, the Liberals will always govern Canada.
I wonder about the numbers for western Canada, though. With Paul Martin moving 20,000 Ottawa public service jobs to B.C., he may have already bought the votes that he needs out there. If not, he can always move another 10,000 or so at a time until he has achieved the desired result. All this, with total disregard to the lamentations of the public service unions in Ottawa.
Now, I'm not a real big union fan, but they do have a point in this case; the moves are being dishonestly touted as "moving government closer to the people", when the real motive is in fact, "moving votes closer to the government"
D.M.
The scandel goes to the top, even to Paul Martin. What Canadian trusts their government? There are very few who do, but that's not the issue when it comes to an election in Canada. All the liberals have to do is win Ontario and they have a mjority government again, and to do that, it is really simple.
First of all 90% of all new media outlets are pro-liberal, so they will paint the Conservatives evil and sinister like they usually do.
Secondly, the liberals will get out that little old lady again and say "Steven Harper" and the little old lady will shake in her boots and say on que with her shakey voice; "He scares me."
Thirdly, the liberals will say; "Steven Harper has a hidden agenda." and the people of Ontario will say; "yes that's true, I'll vote liberal." and why? Because the Ontario people are sheepals and will do as they are told by the media and by the liberals.
That's how you win an election in Canada. You keep the provinces divided on western, central and eastern regions, scare the Ontario whimps into useless and blind submission.
In the morning the Ontario people will wake up as from a hang over and wondered why they voted liberal.
So much for Canadian politics. We know our politicians are crooks, liars and cheets. We know they rob the nation blind. We don't need an inquirery to tell us what we already know.
hey to all you pessimist out there...remember Premier David Peterson in Ontario in the 1990 provincial election and the slogan of the people "LIBERALS LIE...LIBERALS DIE!!! Look what happen to Peterson...It will happen to Martin and his provincial cousin McGuinty...keep the faith
You all bitch that the Liberals will be returned to government no matter how badly they fuck up. Maybe that should show you the agenda of the CPC is greatly out of line with the views of Canadians. Don't blame the voters for the fact that there is not a viable alternative to the Liberals.
Ok Bee,
Your at fault then...... what do you expect when the east collapses into dependency. So what your saying is CPC has to do a give away to the east so they can be elected?
To that I say, how desperate can you get?
When will the conservatives ever learn? To me they are incredibly naive to thing that Canadian voters will vote for them just because the Liberals are a bunch of corrupt thieves. The media doesn�t need to portray the Conservative party as loonies, all they have to do is let some of their elected (!) members spout off and anyone with a brain looks for any other name on the ballot that doesn�t have Conservative beside it. I mean come on���does the Conservative party really think that anyone that isn�t religious, white, and straight, not living in western Canada will vote for them? Or those outside of Vancouver anyway. As a westerner now living in Ontario, Stephen Harper and some of his minister strikes fear into the hearts of many. The general opinion is better to pay off Quebec than be dictated to by a bunch of religious zealots. When will the get it that they are the reason they can�t get elected not the media or the stupidity of the voters.
The general opinion is better to pay off Quebec than be dictated to by a bunch of religious zealots
Great.... another eastern moonbat that would rather have his pockets picked than opt for change...when are these guys going to learn.
Taxation rates are beyond comparison and they want the corrupt gov. librano's to take more....
Say goodbye to the west, with that kind of attitude there is NO need to be part of Afgan North(Canada)
well i'm the little guy from ontario...hmmmm...well you people from south of the border have got to me now... you know more what's going on in canada than i do...but it's alway's that way. but this TIME..i think you will get a surprise.. we are not all stupit.i have seen the light.. either way let's give the other parties a change to get their SHARE too.... WHY NOT......
well i'm the little guy from ontario...hmmmm...well you people from south of the border have got to me now... you know more what's going on in canada than i do...but it's alway's that way. but this TIME..i think you will get a surprise.. we are not all stupit.i have seen the light.. either way let's give the other parties a change to get their SHARE too.... WHY NOT......
All right kennth... don't be afraid of the winds of change...put money back in your pocket.. enjoy the life that say's you rule and control your destiny... break the chains of dependency, and join the freedom of democracy...what a concept..
Well. This kid is a new one on the block and I have to say that there are some very well thought-out comments and many questionable reasonings as to why this beautiful country should slide into the Zimbabweland that we seem to be heading for thanks to the woolly-headed Canadians that reside east of the Manitoba/Ontario border. Can't you guys read or see what is squirming under the rocks that are being overturned by the Gomery commission. Now that we are getting to the heart of all the slimy activities of the LIEberal libranos and their hundreds of minions that parade in the 'HEAR,SEE,SAY NO EVIL' in that far-off never-neverland that is Canada's capital and its sycophantic atmosphere, we will finally "OUT" these pathetic political people. Now that we have had the parade of M.SLITHERER (i.e.Chretien) and MR.DITHERER (Martin) and that circus out of the way, Gomery can get down to brass tacks and let us have the report we are all, breathlessly, awaiting to reveal these vile people. Thanks for the opportunity to vent through this medium as opposed to the LIEberal-dominated medium that feeds us endless papp from back east (Nat.Post excluded.)
As a Canadian, I'm sick of politics in this country. Our politicians keep pushing it as a great democracy--what crap--when you can buy an election outcome before it happens?? How much democracy can you afford? It's equivalent to our justice system--how much justice can you afford? This stupid british system we have isn't even used by the brits any more. We elect our dictators and that is the brunt of it
Mike Hawryluk, ju are absolutely in black. I remeber this country ~15 years ago, what a difference.Malroney to the end,NDP in BC and one wants to puke. I am 68. Old and sick as ex says,so
she divorced,there are younger men. But what I want to talk is this: Rules created by feminists are above laws. Division of asset takes over 2 years and no end. What of country is this. Indios kill cop. Government is glad, that they did not kill 3 or 4.Feminismus is ruling this cirkus..........One day somebody `s going to write book.Bear kills tvo fishermen inside a town. Wardens
say:"They were on his teritory"....What demokracy,take phonbook. For women over 20 ## to call if that bastard bits her, or she wants to get rid of him[mine case], for men there is teleph.##
=0. You may call to forest....Lawyers are affraid
to work for man.I Know!!!!!!!!!Everything is $**t.
Canada was a wonderful country....then i grew up i wish those wimps in the east would just smarten up and let someone else into power...ANYBODY!!!! heck even the mariwana party would be better at least our tax dollers would only be raided for munchies and the occasional dime bag
who knows its said that ppl that share joints get along....the pot party could smoke up the dignitaries and even bring about world peace.... naw really though i think we should go fer the lesser of the 3 evils maybe us canadians could vote in the NDP for once the pc' and LIEbrals(ya i loved that one) have had their turn lets see if easterncanada would really go for a change i know us bible thumping hippies(putting our"western" sterotypeing as one)are really sick of not even having a say, less ridings MORE FREE WILL!!!!! we can only Pray that the east will do the right thing for the rest of this country and at least get those LIEbrals OUT
Candidly I hope there is no election on the horizon for Canada untill the, "people Vs. the Liberal party of Canada" suit is launched, for money laundering, theft, misrepresentation of identity, and a few other white collar crimes that these highly organized and sophisticated syndicates have perpetrated against us. It should not be lost on the canadian public that the Bonnano family of organized crime was consulted and involved in this scheme. I am shaking with rage at the greater potential here than a mere 250,000,000 in sponsorship scandal. Consider this we first caught wind of this outhouse/river of effluent back in the mid nineties, and teflon Jean or should I say "the Teflon Don" shrugged his shoulders gabbled incomprehensibilities till our eyes glased over in utter befuddlement. Then the bastard called an election and like the weakminded stormtroopers controlled by Obi Wan Kenobi Ontario, and Quebec conspired to Give him a majority government. TWICE MORE!!!! In short they damn near got away with it scott free, because Canadians in general, and particularly you bloody centralists, are complicit in your lack of assertion about accountability in your government, and complicit in your lack of action about the corruption you are surely seeing, participating in, or even hearing about second or third hand because ya wouldn't want your buddy to lose their plum government job.
Oh and as for the BOOB who implied that only white straight Western Canadians, are conservative, well... I find you to be an insular bigoted myopic fool of the very first order, someone who would rather be told what to think than to find out the pertinant factors and their relationships to one another first hand, before compiling a reasoned opinion for yourself. Also I find you to be morally bankrupt, at least in so far as your involvement in politics goes, you sir, or madam "semac" are precisly the reason this corruption goes on in the first place, your tolerance for this bunch of corrupt theives, and probable votes have whored your country to corporate pimps in the form of special interest groups of nearly every kind. Your tacit tolerance of these corrupt theives, has allowed then to create hollow and meaningless govenrment makework projects in the form of things like most of Indian affairs and the gun registry program. Every time I drive past an oil rich reserve like we have a few of here in Alberta, and STILL se the squalor that exists there and STILL see the mansion on the hill that someone in the reserve lives in but may not own, (for you americans this a canadian peculiarity) I can only conclude that the sponsorship scandal is only the tiniest tip of a much bigger iceberg, that we may never see all of. BTW I am an Albertan Canadian, I have never voted for the Liberal Party of Canada. Also yes I am White, and straight, but no I don't think we should wrap axes in bundles of hickory switches and march on paliament. Yet.
Daryl
Read history, lest you find yourself unwittingly controlled by it's consequences.
yeah, any easterners that want to make this a fight about anything other than it is, i've got some numbers for you to crunch and consider. in the forty year period from 1960-2000 there were 3 provinces that contributed positively to canada's bottom line. bc contributed 8 billion or so, ontario contributed 27 billion or so, and alberta contributed 170 billion. every other province and territory took money away, including quebec which got its hands on over 200 billion in that same period. thats more than the 3 'have' provinces contributed! not only has quebec taken all the money the rest of canada can make for her, she has forced canada into hundreds of billions of dollars in debt. (read ron schlenkers UofC report). and everytime ontario votes liberal they give us the excuse that the nation has spoken. well, with sars and softwood lumber, now alberta is the only province contributing to canada's fiscal balance sheet. in the last election i told myself that if ontario had voted all ndp i wouldve shrugged and said, i guess they just don't agree with alberta's conservative tendency, but they voted the liberals back in. so, to the easterners reading this blog, feel free to vote however you want in the upcoming elections, but know this; if you vote the liberals back in it shows us that:1) you agree with theft, 2) you are scared sheep taking as verbatim what your cbc and globe and mail's are telling you as it regards any other party (oh stephen harper you devil in the blue dress), 3) and that you're generally stupid people. i'm not one for such harsh language but i can find no other word to describe people who constantly bite the hand that FEEDS them, and keeps them WARM. I didn't quote those numbers to say that alberta is selfish and wants to keep all of its oil money, it just wants to belong to a country that doesn't take the money we give, to reward thieves with it. and while some of us might want to join the states, i don't. however, alberta(all on its own) would be one of the most successful countries on the planet, and while ralph says he doesn't want anything to do with separation, most of us will be left with no choice in the future if the east keeps taking our money to make this country we all belong to, an embarrassment. trust me, the common person in alberta thinks these thoughts regularly. and i ask anyone with an answer to my question to respond. Why should we stay in a country that takes all our money only to make us worse? and i'm not talking about stephen harper here and his views, just try and answer my question on its face. and please don't give me the historical data that shows that in 1915 the east gave so much money to the west. i hear newfies all the time trying to remember some figure that they gave alberta before we hit our oil money. whatever the number is it doesn't compare to the apples we're talking about here. and the principle behind equalization(which i totally disagree with in the first place (b/c it keeps losers, losers)) is also not at issue here. alberta agreed to share its wealth and poverty no matter the circumstances, all i'm asking is to what end? picture yourself in a family where the person making the money keeps having to give it to the violent and agitated older sibling who then spends it on crystal meth. is it wise for alberta to keep helping quebec hurt herself?
If the outcome of the inquirery is as devostating as they say it is, and no doubt it is, will Paul Martin call an election before the results can be published, or will he pull the plug before he himself becomes part of the scandle, proving his testimony to be lies.
Having finally superceded the publication ban by reading the material online (thank you Bloggers everywhere!), the new information certainly does suggest that the Liberals may find themselves in serious difficulty however Martin may still be able to paint much of the events as a byproduct of Chretien's governance.
The other aspect of this is that this sounds to me (and believe me, I hate to say it) like the fairly typical party graft (writ a little larger then normal) that seems to be part and parcel of Canadian politics. The Liberals have been comfortably in power for 15 years, mainly due to the collapse and fragmentation of the Conservative opposition, so they have taken full advantage of that fact to pad their party coffers and the pockets of their friends and supporter with contracts and patronage.
Chretien and his pals are past masters of political patronage and hidden kick-backs. Did you ever wonder how someone who spent 40 years in public office (and Canadian public office don't pay that much...) amassed a personal fortune of millions?
Surprise, surprise, this is nothing new - it dates back to John A MacDonald and the railway. It is also not a Liberal party exclusive activity as there is still court actions winding away on the remains of the Conservative Mulroney government's legacy with Aerobus contracts etc.
What the situation cries out for is the need for hugely stronger oversight capabilities on party spending, the rewarding of government contracts and the gray areas of campaign finance....and as an added bonus a far more limited usage of publication bans. I understand that the current ban is in place for specific reasons related to criminal trials in Quebec but I strongly suspect that the sanctity of the trial is the least of the reasons for the ban being in place.
Maybe this will be a wake-up call.
How would a party that has substantially the same values and policies as the Liberals be a viable alternative? It's only an alternative if it's different. And it's only viable if enough people support it. Ergo, there can only be a viable alternative to the Liberals when enough people are willing to consider something different. The lack of a "viable alternative" can't be blamed on the parties.
Liberals always bring up this "viable alternative" canard. Here's a tip: if you want Liberal values and policies but with different leaders, change the leadership of the Liberal party. Meanwhile, those of us who don't support Liberal values and policies would like the chance to express our point of view, thank you very much, even if it means being in opposition.
Well, as an Ontario resident, and probably one of the few living in a conservative electorate both provincially and federally, I have to say to both my western and francophone cousins that there are many of us in Ontario whom are sick of Liberal rule. I consistently vote conservative and know of many that do also. This may be the first election in a very long time where there is only one conservative party to vote for. With the end of vote splitting the end of the Liberals should be a slam dunk in a province that has just been screwed over by their provincial cousins. Excepting in some new Canadian ridings, were the Liberals purchase votes through the idiotic immigration policies of this country, I'm confident the Liberals are finally done.
I think this time the liberals have really pissed in the pickles. As the old adage says, " never let common sense interfere with good sound Liberal thinking"
Maybe I'm quibbling, but in what way did the last election have more than one conservative party that would not also apply to the next election? I don't see that vote splitting is going to be much of a factor in the next election, except perhaps for a Liberal-NDP split in some ridings, and perhaps a split in Chuck Cadman's riding.