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With the Gomery report now in the hands of Librano Spin Central, it’s just a matter of hours before the public gets a refresher course on testimony the blogosphere has already hashed and rehashed over the past months. That’s probably a good thing. (Speaking of spin – it’s important to note that the decision to send the report to Paul Martin in advance of its release to Parliament was by the direction of, who else? Prime Minister Paul Martin – not Justice Gomery.) |
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If the past is any indication, the national media will seize upon a few quotable quotes and recycle, analyze and dissect those to buy time while they wait for the first poll results to come in – with the usual cast of Harper critics on “standby” should it appear the Conservatives are climbing in the polls.
This thread is for your Gomery related comments, trackbacks and links. I’ll try to update this post during the day, as work permits. For that reason, I’ll leave it at the top of the page until Wednesday.
(Speaking of which, it’s been a long day in the paint booth, so don’t expect much more from me this evening.)
Canadian Conservative sees a lose-lose situation for Paul Martin – because the “Little Guy From Shawinigan” isn’t going to take the fall for this without a fight.
Where’s Belinda?
Paul Martin, Jean Lapierre and Scott Brison are holding press conference at 1 PM to respond to the Gomery report, while Reg Alcock and Jean Lapierre are scheduled for another press conference at 4 PM .
From a CPC media release;
According to media reports, Martin last night met with a handful of select ministers, including Treasury Board President Reg Alcock, Public Works Minister Scott Brison, Transport Minister Jean Lapierre and Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan. (Toronto Star, November
1, 2005). Oddly, while the Transport Minister will be attending both press conferences and other ministers have been involved in shaping the Liberal government’s response to Gomery, no mention is made of Belinda Stronach, the minister supposedly responsible for responding to Gomery’s recommendations.� Why is Stronach not involved in the response if she is the minister who is supposed to be responsible for this file?�
[emphasis mine]
The Globe and Mail claims to have inside info on the contents of the report.
Ottawa � Former prime minister Jean Chr�tien will get hit with a finding of blame by Mr. Justice John Gomery today, but Prime Minister Paul Martin will not, The Globe and Mail has learned.
Among those receiving a negative finding alongside Mr. Chr�tien will be former bureaucrat Chuck Guit�, former minister of public works Alfonso Gagliano, Liberal fundraiser and Chr�tien supporter Jacques Corriveau, and Mr. Chr�tien’s long-time chief of staff, Jean Pelletier.
Does this mean Canadians can expect consequences, such an official investigation and punitive action against whoever leaked the contents? Or, will everyone just assume this is the same old, same old – the powers that be at the Globe stepping up to the plate to help Paul Martin pre-spin the report to blunt its edge?
Tough question, both organizations being equally trustworthy.
Looks like Gomery came down harder on Chretien & Co. than anyone expected, or at least, than the talking heads at CTV expected – a relief, in view of concerns that he’d soft pedal the report because of the restrictions of “Paragraph K” in preventing laying of blame.
I’m not going to attempt to live blog any of this. But I’ll point you to an article by Greg Weston that puts the Gomery report in context – and reminds the reader of the two heroes of Adscam, and of how this inquiry only touched on the massive and long-standing Librano reward system in awarding of advertising contracts across goverment.
If there’s anyting lacking from The Gomery Report, it’s a sub-title: “Tip Of An Iceberg”.
Listening to CTV right now, Gomery is stressing this point. Good job, sir.
LaFlamme is talking about the consequences for whistleblower Alan Cutler. Not one word that it had nothing to do with Sponsorship – that he blew the whistle on Paul Martin awarding an improper contract to Earnscliffe.
Report is here
A brief summary at Darcey’s.
“Gomery Pyle” takes a kick at Warren Kinsella.
Also – a very good roundup at Robot Guy. Stephen Taylor was at Chretien’s press conference heckling? That deserves a post of its own.
Belinda’s absent voice is deafening.
Bryson’s permanent smirk givs me the creeps, but he was on CPAC answering flack and providing nebulous but passable answers.
Belinda is a novice and would lose composure under impossible odds like these. Bryson, on the other hand has a thickened political skin and so is better suited to damage control. TG
It’s blooming hard times without sponsorship cash
…While most Canadians associate the now-defunct federal government initiative with scandal, Mr. B�dard saw it as the lifeblood of Ottawa’s Tulip Festival…
…Like other celebrations across the country, the Tulip Festival relied on annual federal grants. When the sponsorship program was suspended and then killed outright by Prime Minister Paul Martin’s government, the spring festival lost $100,000 in stable funding…
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20051102/GOMERYFESTIVAL02/National/Idx
Has anyone noticed in PMPM’s sound bites over the last couple of days he makes mention that the first day he was PM he cancelled the “ADSCAM” program, IF (big if) he didn’t know anything about the program why was he in such a hurry to cancel it once he became PM? Any comments.
That in fact, is false. He didn’t cancel it until the AG brought down her report – two months after he was sworn in.
Also, I’ve heard that 7 of the 10 with “lifetime bans” from the Liberal Party weren’t even members.
Ya gotta hand it to Cruton, though-storming down the sidewalk surrounded by media hacks, (looking really pissed off), and not a heavy anywhere in sight,(of the camera).
PMPM-on the other hand- has at least three apes, (closer than shit to a blanket)! The expression on his face, is….uh…..fear? (Ten bucks sez the Quebec Mob waxes him!) Can’t wait to hear the Quebec RCMP’s slant on that one.
Re: Cancellation of sponsorship program: Wrong again. He did indeed cancel it at his first cabinet meeting on Dec. 13, 2002, the day after he became Prime Minister. You could look it up:
http://www.globalethics.org/newsline/members/issue.tmpl?articleid=12220318442316
And if he “didn’t know”, why’d he cancel it? Because he has only ever asserted that he didn’t know about the details of the administration of the program — until it became a matter of public controversy with a series of Globe stories in 2001 and 2002. Therefore, by 2003, he knew. By 2003 there had been public audits; referrals to the RCMP; a moratorium on sponsorships announced (yes, in public) by Ralph Goodale; and major changes to the administration of the program. That’s all a matter of public record too.
But the MSM gets everything wrong. Fortunately bloggers are infallible.
So, Martin first learned the details of the sponsorship program the year before he was sworn in, when the Globe and Mail made it a “matter of public controversy”.
If this is in fact the case, surely he deserves no credit for canning the program after becoming PM. What was the alternative — party members exchanging cash-stuffed envelopes onstage at some CBC gala?
On the issue of infallibilty, Mr. Wells, bloggers are not only often wrong on points of fact, but are wrong so frequently that in the end the sheer additive force of these errors acquits the New Liberals of any malfeasance. Your point is well-taken.
In the words of Nancy Sinatra, (and you can all chime in on the chorus):
These boots are made for walking, and that’s just what they’ll do.
One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.
Afterwards, you get to share an 8′ X 10′ cell with a tattooed dude who sez: “Hi, my name is Spike, Honey!” (“Of course I will introduce you to Warren.”)
MP backs plea for federal cash
10/13/05
Newmarket will ask Ottawa to help fund the Stickwood Walker project, Mayor Tom Taylor told dignitaries and media during a ground-breaking ceremony on the site Tuesday…a new on-site sign boasting the new home of Newmarket’s state-of-the-art recreation complex…..Newmarket-Aurora MP Belinda Stronach promised to work hard to get the funding required…
http://www.yorkregion.com/yr/yr4/YR_News/Newscentre/Era_Banner/Newmarket/v-printyork/story/3095162p-3589886c.html