Habamus Rodentum has done something that the mainstream media couldn’t be bothered with – actually read and report on the contents of the Kroll report. While CBC and CTV reported that the actual figure for Adscam was $355, it did not occur to them to report how the Liberals managed to get millions in extra funding through without the approval of parliament – which is required under the Constitution Act.
The Kroll Report (KR) has indicated that the amount of $355 million, $105 million over the Auditor General’s amount, was increased because other funding was given by various departments of the Liberal government for SPS (Special Programs & Sponsorship) on top of the that given within the Public Works budget for SPS.
Any requests for money, under Treasury Board rules, were supposed to document what the money was to be used for by segregating the budget for each use. This was not done but allowed to pass through the [Treasury Board] and PMO’s office for authorization to spend, bypassing Parliament.
Anything that was submitted to Parliament for SPS spending did not contain appropriate details in “Reports on Plans and Priorities” (RPP�s), “which include the individual expenditure plans for each department”. Any increased spending over the budget does not have spending authority and has to go back to Parliament to be voted on.
The big story of the Kroll testimony yesterday wasn’t the extra $105 million – it was the fact that parliament was misled. This wasn’t the work of a few “rogue” ad executives or civil servants. The extra-parliamentary spending – or as “habamusrodentum” puts it, “a fraud against the government” – was directed by the Prime Minister, the Treasury Board and Public Works Minister.
Wow, public appropriations without legislative approval–the Liberals really DO seem to idolize Charles I, don’t they? That money was spent illegally and should be considered due back to the Treasury, with interest.
The Kroll report looked at 1994 to 2003. The Auditor General looked at 1997-2003. There was no “found money”. They just looked at different time periods. Nice try though.
Who will offer a second opinion, a third opinion, a fourth opinion?
Are there lawyers reading this blog?
Who will take this on, pro bono?
Will this blog and commenters and others begin lawsuits against The Liberal Party of Canada, Jean Chretien, Paul Martin, the Privy Council of
Canada, and all Liberal Senators and Members of Parliament, and all else who can be named?
Forget the RCMP, they are fatally compromised.
Who will defend Canadians?
Only the Canadian people can defend themselves.
This brazen fraud was committed against Canadian taxpayers, because they knew they could get away with it! ( They did, and they will continue to do so- no one will ever go to jail, no stolen money will be recovered, and the taxpayers will continue to pay the LAWYERS who make it so!
Uh right. Only a Liberal would describe an auditor’s reporting of an additional $105 million in misappropriation and mis-spending, not previously disclosed to the taxpayers, to be “just a different accounting period”.
It’s why they call you the Libranos.
Mainstream media hilarity:
I just visited Damian Penny’s site. He runs Google Ads. One of those is an ad for Maclean’s. The headline of the Maclean’s ad is: “Liberal Media”.
Why let the facts get in the way of a chance to gore the Liberals. I don’t care whether the Liberals received money or not. I am going to say that they did anyway. We need to perpetuate this story so that Harper doesn’t look both angry and misinformed.
“Who will take this on, pro bono?”
Only licensed in Florida, sorry. Otherwise, I’d seriously consider it.
In the outrage over the good point Sad Tories made (different time periods), you folks missed the most salient point.
“The Kroll report looked at 1994 to 2003.”
Wasn’t the Quebec refendum in 1995?
As such, hasn’t the Liberal line that the sponsorship program was merely in reaction to the unity crisis spawned by the referendum just been exposed as a bunch of bull—-?
Sad Tories:
Over the last week the Auditor General indicated another $800 million in advertising by the federal government which contracting processes were described as “majorly flawed”.
In addition, and extra $50.1 million is identified as being fraudulently siphoned off in the Kroll Report. So now it is $150 million in plundered funds.
Oh yeah, nothing here move along!!! Now we have the government proposing to ignore further votes of confidence in the House of Parliament.
Of course when your government is identified as a known thief, we are just dickering about how large the amounts are, we shouldn’t raise an eyebrow. Moreover, the Libranos are now entering the dictatorship stage of government, of spending without Parliamentary authority, and further trampling all over your democratic rights. Nope, no need to be concerned.
Are you completely mad; or can you still be saved?
Guite said it…”Who runs election campaigns…. advertising firms”. He didn’t say Political parties, which is what the average Canadian would say, he said Ad agencies. How many ad firms in Quebec were working on Liberal election campaigns since 1993? (Paid volunteers)
If we compare the quality of the campaigns it is obvious that the Liberal’s campaigns were vastly superior to Reform’s, Alliance’s and
Tory’s. Is it because the Tories have no talent or is it because the Liberals have the use of so many more talented hired guns?
I don’t like what the Liberls are doing to my country but I have to say that the CPC just dosen’t seem to have a very good “rapid response team”. They get pounded at every turn and seem incapable of returning fire. It is one thing to turn the other cheek, it is another to stand by while the representatives of about 33% of Canada are verbally assaulted, insulted, etc,etc. Are there no sharp tongues helping the Tories? Don’t these people know how to counterpunch”. The MSM abuses Mr. Harper, and he never strikes back with ” spoken like a true Liberal”, and “your organization has received how much Liberal advertising revenue?” If you don’t respond to abuse you are in effect a facilitator of that abuse. No one likes someone who won’t stand up to protect their freinds from abusers, but they always support and cheer those who stand up to abusers. ( The Liberals get cheers and Tories get thumbs down. So far, I have not seen much in the way of Quality responses from the Tory team. There is better counter punching, faster reactions , more inciteful cognition in Blogs than anywhere else.
What the Tories need to do is tap into the talent out there that is not under the influence of sponsorship money, forming cluster groups, connected through the internet, that respond to government attacks, respond to lies and disinformation….The truth will set you free, but first will cause you great pain.
Kate: thanks for the referrals *curtsies*
There is so much in there it’s hard to get all the good points.
I wish I lived in America…home of justice *sigh*
Hold up…Kroll did not say outright they by-passed Parliament. I did.
If there are any lawyers or accountants reading this report, it would be helpful if they looked at page 55 and the schedules, which I couldn’t open
to determine why the amounts of $40 million for SPS were given to Public Works. And whether or not they were ABOVE the budget allocation and needed Parliamentary approval. Those allocations seen HUGE increases, which I can’t see Parliament giving concent to compared to the lower amounts the years before.
Yes, I’m quoting you. If anyone credible reads the report and comes up with a different interpretation, I’ll be happy to include that in an update.
By-passing parliament for funding increases is an established MO for the current federal liberal Kleptocratic cartel. Sheila Fraser stated in the Gun Registry audit that this was done a couple of times in gaining funding for registry increases…she also alluded to the fact that defrauding the Capital appropriations committee must have happened to allow a 2 million capital project balloon into a 2 Billion dollar patronage feeding frenzy.
Defrauding parliament is another Liberal corporate competency
From Kroll: “CCSB did not specifically indentify or segregate the $40 million in the yearly RPP for Public Works which was provided to Parliament for use in the approval of the overall Government of Canada budget.”
So Public Works didn’t “identify” $40 million used for Sponsorship. It was “hidden”. pgs 41-42 shows a jump from $8.3 million to $40. In 1999 $8.3 was given Parliamentary approval to spend another $5 million on top of the previous years $3.3 million. That “Parliamentary Approval” has to be voted on but has to have those RPPs explained below.
There is no indication from the Report that the extra $32 (over the $8.3)in the next year 99-00 had Parliamentary approval for extra funding detailed in what is called “Reports on Plans and Priorities” (RPPs), “which include the individual expenditure plans for each department”. From 00-01 to 02-03 the budget stayed at $40 million consistently. (pgs 41-42)
Any increased spending over the budget [already approved by Parliament] does not have spending authority and has to go back to Parliament to be voted on. (This was pointed out in the report)
on page 55 table 51 shows how funding did not have authority from Parliament. It appeared to have authority from the Prime Minister and the Treasury Board. I recalculated it at $17 million but I don’t know if that was a portion of the $40 million or if the remainder (23?)was “shown” to Parliament. If that makes sense? ie: did the government continue to show 8.3 million to Parliament while hiding the rest?
Gomery Commission is going to send me a copy of the report but without the Schedules which would give the details but they won’t because they are being used as evidence. If it’s evidence then it has to be brought up at some time. I hope the media are keen on this and report on it.
I am in the process of contacting an expert to inquire about table 51. As soon as I clarify it more explicity, I will post it again and link over.
Ralph Goodale alluded to what I think is a transfer of funds today in his testimony when he told Gomery that he refused to allow Chretien funding approval (?) for transfering funds (?). I’ll have to find a link because any media reports today were vague.
I still don’t know why they haven’t reported on the stuff in the report, why the silence?
I am just kidding about me getting sued…that’s all tongue in cheek and a little bit of purposeful goading.
And bty…my blog got a hit by the Public Works Ministry today…hmmm
Redux…
What did I miss? Parliament was mislead with the gun registry as well? I can’t fathom this stuff by-passing Parliament. It’s law that any appropriation of the public revenue has Parliamentary approval.
What is actually going on that Canadians aren’t understanding and I’m finally getting? I’m having trouble swallowing this crap