Angry In TO notices a detail that doesn’t seem to have been reported in the English language press about the appointment of lawyers to the bench in Quebec.

Benoit Corbeil, former general manager of the Liberal Party of Canada in Quebec, affirms that a member of the selection committee of the judges telephoned to him with some questions to know if a lawyer had militated well for the party.
“He asked to me whether such or such lawyer had devoted much time to the party,” Mr. Corbeil during a discussion with la Presse indicated, this week. “When it was the case, I answered by the affirmative. A few weeks later, I noted that the lawyer in question had been appointed judge.”

It pays to have friends in low places!
From the just released Saskatchewan Liberal Association return, 2004 fiscal period.


(click for full size image)
I don’t see a column titled Suitcase Of Cash, so I suppose the money was clean.
Maybe even run through a double rinse cycle.
Source: Elections Sask.

Coyne; “I only caught the last part of the interview, so perhaps they’d been talking about it incessantly beforehand. But at no time after Lawand let slip this thunderbolt did I hear Hanomansing say, “What?” or “WHAT” or “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY?” It just seemed to pass without comment. Oh, of course “The former director-general of the Liberal Party of Canada in Quebec testified under oath that his life had been threatened.” “Did I mishear? Am I crazy? Doesn’t anyone else think this is huge?”

Apparently not. If buring it deep in the article means anything, the Canadian Press considers physical violence to be just another day at the office for the Libranos.

Dezainde’s appearance at the inquiry also took a dramatic turn when he broke down in tears after mentioning an alleged threat by an associate of then-public works minister Alfonso Gagliano during a spat over underground party fundraising.
The witness lost his composure after explaining how the party finances at Montreal headquarters had been “taken hostage” by Gagliano associates, including aide Joe Morselli. Dezainde said Morselli blew a gasket in July 2001 after Dezainde refused to rehire a fundraiser fired days earlier for lobbying government departments, in writing, on party letterhead.
Dezainde said Morselli confronted him in the canteen of the Montreal office and pointed a finger centimetres from his face.
“He said, ‘From here on in, I declare war against you,”’ recalled Dezainde.
He said he immediately reported the incident to Gagliano, who blamed the incident on Morselli’s bad temper and promised to have words with his confidant.
Dezainde broke down as he recalled telling friends and family about the tense moment. Presiding judge John Gomery, just before ordering a break in the proceedings, asked him: “You considered this to be a threat of physical violence?”
Dezainde replied: “Yes.”

Now, go read this, too. Apparently, it is not permissible to mention that money was dropped off in Chretien’s riding, because it’s outside of Gomery’s mandate.
What was that kerfuffle, again, about we “tin-foil hatters” making too far too much out of Paragraph K?

*

David Warren has a column in the National Post today that sounds like.. well, like he’s been reading blogs.
Where else would you find questions on why the Canadian media isn’t covering the Martin connections to Oil-For-Food, a mention of his company Cordex Petroleum, that none of the Canadian tsunami aid has arrived in Sri Lanka, and a reminder that Adscam is only a tightly contained tip of a huge Liberal government corruption iceberg?
Good on him, though. It’s nice to see someone is big media is paying attention.
Via Neale.

Democracy Watch has background on who was hired to vindicate[1] Immigration Minister Judy Sgro;

To conduct the investigation into Sgro’s and others’ actions, the Ethics Commissioner hired (without a contract bidding competition) law firm Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG).� BLG donated $165,000 to the federal Liberals between 2000 and 2003 (2004 donation figures are not yet publicly available); donated more than $25,000 to Paul Martin’s campaign for the Liberal Party leadership; has three partners representing Liberals before the Gomery Commission inquiry (David W. Scott and Peter K. Doody representing Jean Chr�tien, and Guy J. Pratte representing Jean Pelletier), and; in February 2005 hired Gar Knutson, former Cabinet colleague of Sgro.

Curiously, the reports that Sgro has been cleared of wrongdoing are premature at best, as the Ethics Commissioner has not yet delivered his report. Most of the media is running on reports from Sgro’s staff.
The National Post seems to have actually, eh, fact checked the report.

Ethics commissioner Bernard Shapiro is refusing to confirm a report that former immigration minister Judy Sgro has been cleared of alleged conflict of interest.
In fact, Shapiro says his report into the matter isn’t finished.
He will only say he released a confidential letter to Sgro answering a question she asked him in November.
He won’t discuss details of the question or his response.

Hmmmm… damned faint “vindication”.
Footnote:
[1] – Perhaps I worded that clumsily. I suppose the technically accurate term is “investigate”. Hair splitting, really.

Just received a heads up that CTV news will be airing a whistleblower segment tonight, involving a government reclocation contract.
Correction- it airs on Thursday, May 12.