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-- Scandals don't just happen in Canada

Scandals don't just happen in Canada

quote:

Source: Economist; 12/3/2005, Vol. 377 Issue 8455, p32-32, 2/3p, 1c Document Type: Article Subject Terms: *BRIBERY *MISCONDUCT in office *TAX evasion *WHITE collar crimes PLEAS of guilty POLITICAL corruption Geographic Terms: UNITED States People: CUNNINGHAM, Randy -- Trials, litigation, etc. Abstract: The article reports that United States Republican Congressman Randy Cunningham confessed to accepting bribes and to evading taxes. The federal charges and Cunningham's guilty plea detail an astonishing list of bribes and favors accepted from defence contractors in return for helping them to win government business. Thanks to the self-interested generosity of four co-conspirators, much of it funnelled through the congressman's company, Top Gun Enterprises, Cunningham was supplied with a Rolls-Royce, antique furniture, Persian carpets, the use of a yacht as rent-free accommodation in Washington. Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader, is under scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission, for some well-timed stock sales; Tom DeLay, who has stepped down as House majority leader, is facing criminal charges in Texas of campaign-finance abuse; Michael Scanlon, a former spokesman for DeLay, pleaded guilty to bribery; David Safavian, a White House procurement official, has been charged with perjury and obstruction of justice; and Scooter Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, has been indicted for perjury. Full Text Word Count: 678 ISSN: 0013-0613 Accession Number: 19066747 Database: Business Source Corporate * * * Section: United States Congressional scandals Top gun for hire A hero with leaden feet, a Rolls-Royce and Persian carpets Dateline: LOS ANGELES ICARUS may not be an exact parallel, but Randy "Duke" Cunningham, whose exploits as a Navy fighter pilot inspired the Tom Cruise movie "Top Gun", has plunged earthwards with startling speed. On November 28th the eight-term Republican congressman, who represents part of San Diego County, stood in tears outside a federal courtroom, confessed to accepting $2.4m in bribes and to evading more than $1m in taxes, and announced his resignation: "I broke the law, concealed my conduct and disgraced my high office." Indeed so. Mr Cunningham, a rock-solid conservative, sat on the House Appropriations Committee and its defence subcommittee and was chair of the House Intelligence subcommittee on terrorism and human intelligence. The federal charges and Mr Cunningham's 33-page guilty plea detail an astonishing list of bribes and favours accepted from defence contractors in return for helping them to win government business. Thanks to the self-interested generosity of four co-conspirators, much of it funnelled through the congressman's company, Top Gun Enterprises, Mr Cunningham was supplied with a Rolls-Royce, antique furniture, Persian carpets, the use of a yacht (the Duke-Stir) as rent-free accommodation in Washington, even a graduation party for his daughter. One spur for the federal investigation was Mr Cunningham's $1.7m sale of a house in Del Mar two years ago to Mitchell Wade, the founder of MZM Inc, a contractor that specialises in classified intelligence work. Less than a year later, in a booming housing market, Mr Wade sold the house at a loss of $700,000. In the meantime Mr Cunningham, using in part his illicit funds, had bought a house in affluent Rancho Santa Fe for $2.5m. Under the terms of his plea bargain, Mr Cunningham will forfeit his antiques and other possessions along with his financial interest in the Rancho Santa Fe home, and more than $1.8m in cash. He could also, when he returns to the San Diego court for sentencing on February 27th, face up to ten years in prison and a fine of $350,000. Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, jumped on his mea culpa, calling it "just the latest example of the culture of corruption that pervades the Republican-controlled Congress, which ignores the needs of the American people to serve wealthy special interests and their cronies." In one way, this is partisan claptrap: the last congressman to leave under a similar cloud was a Democrat: James Traficant, who was expelled from the House in 2002 after being convicted of bribery and tax evasion. On the other hand, Republicans, conscious of their Christian evangelical base, tend to preach a sterner morality, which means they are more open to accusations of hypocrisy. And the "ethics cloud" hanging over the Republicans is hardly a figment of Mrs Pelosi's imagination. Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader, is under scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission, for some well-timed stock sales; Tom DeLay, who has "temporarily" stepped down as House majority leader, is facing criminal charges in Texas of campaign-finance abuse; Michael Scanlon, a former spokesman for Mr DeLay, pleaded guilty last week to bribery; David Safavian, a top White House procurement official, has been charged with perjury and obstruction of justice; and Scooter Libby, Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, has been indicted for perjury. Worse may be to come. Mr Cunningham has agreed to co-operate with the authorities in their continuing investigations; so, too, has Mr Scanlon, who was a partner of Jack Abramoff, a supremely well-connected Washington lobbyist indicted earlier this year for wire fraud in a case involving the purchase of a Florida casino boat company. Mr Abramoff's dealings with Indian tribes and Washington politicians are being investigated by both the Justice Department and the Senate Indian Affairs Committee--and prosecutors are said to have their sights on several Republicans. Fortunately for the embattled White House, there are apparently some Democrats in the target zone, too. PHOTO (COLOR): One day Tom Cruise will look like this -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright of The Economist � 2005 is the property of Economist Newspaper Limited and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. All rights reserved. Users may not save or store any or all of the content on their own systems or distribute any of the content on a local area or wide area network (such as corporate intranets or networks).

Scandals happen everywhere, it's just that in Canada the criminals get away with it.

Also, the magnitude/severity/frequency of Canadian scandals is far larger than anything else in the Western world.

Canada needs accountability and reform.

quote:

Originally posted by ShadoWolf Scandals happen everywhere, it's just that in Canada the criminals get away with it. Also, the magnitude/severity/frequency of Canadian scandals is far larger than anything else in the Western world. Canada needs accountability and reform.

source?

if U.S. defence contracts are involved, I'm suspecting they're far larger than anything going on here.

quote:

Originally posted by MarkT source? if U.S. defence contracts are involved, I'm suspecting they're far larger than anything going on here.

aye!

quote:

Originally posted by MarkT source? if U.S. defence contracts are involved, I'm suspecting they're far larger than anything going on here.

As far as public ones go, with actual inquiries, I'd have to agree ShadoWolf.
Where else can you find $100 million dollars of public, non-military money laundering?

It's interesting, but there doesn't seem to be much info on just how much money was at stake here. I infer perhaps a few million? So fine, he's being fined $350,000 and facing up to 10 years in prison. Here, we have over $20 billion embezzled and the punishment for these people is to go around the country making speeches about "integrity".

If the guilty parties here were actually being punished for their crimes then I wouldn't be complaining. I know that there's corruption everywhere - what's important is that it gets identified and rectified.

He also confessed. The Liberals have denied everything to this date (obviously they can't continue to deny what the Gomery report has already made public, but they certainly haven't expressed any regret over it or any SERIOUS plans to pay the money back).

quote:

Originally posted by MarkT source? if U.S. defence contracts are involved, I'm suspecting they're far larger than anything going on here.

You mean like these?


=========================
EH-101 Helicopter Debacle
=========================

�In 1993 the Liberals paid $500 million to cancel the $5.8 billion
acquisition of 43 EH-101 helicopters to replace the 1960s vintage Sea
Kings and the Labrador fleet.
All 43 would have been delivered by 2003.
The 15 Labradors have been replaced with the $790 million Cormorant deal.
Delaying the Sea King replacement has meant soaring maintenance costs
and frequently grounded copters --$60 million per year to maintain the
Sea Kings; 30 � 40 hours of maintenance for every 1-hour of flying
time.
The latest boondoggle on the replacement of the Sea King with less
effective helicopters has been the splitting of the procurement into
two parts and then revising the decision to do a one step procurement
wasting more taxpayer money on poor decision making.�

EH101 helicopter contract
http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cach...&hl=en&ie=UTF-8


============================
$100 million Challenger Jets
============================

�Liberals purchased 2 new Challenger jets to add to its political
fleet for $100 million at a time when the military is in desperate
need of Sea King replacements.
The new jets replaced two 19-year old jets that had a reliability rate
of 99.18% while our Forces fly in dangerously old 40-year old Sea
Kings.�

�Mr. Gerry Ritz (Battlefords�Lloydminster, Canadian Alliance): Mr.
Speaker, Shandong Airlines of China ordered four 604 Challenger jets
from Bombardier for $100 million. Shandong cancelled two of those jets
and then the Prime Minister bought them, two of them, for $100
million, twice the price. It is lucky for taxpayers Shandong did not
cancel all four.�
http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/2/parlbus/...n006_1435-E.htm

�We start with the two new Challenger jets to fly the Prime Minister
and cabinet ministers around. They were paid out of DND funds, even
though the department itself advised that there were no problems with
the existing aircraft.Given the difficulty the military has had in
keeping its 40-year-old Sea Kings and Hercules transport planes in the
air and the problems that have been identified with the CF-18 fleet,
the Challenger jet purchase is an example of Liberal ministers putting
their own comfort ahead of the safety and effectiveness of Canadians
troops. The unnecessary jets are being purchased from where?
Bombardier, a huge Liberal donor.�
http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/2/parlbus/...n021_1315-E.htm


=========================
Pearson Airport
=========================

�Red Book promise to cancel the $750 million privatisation deal
resulted in a cost of at least $60 million, which was paid out in the
form of damages and legal cost and does not include the legal cost
incurred by the Liberal government or massive economic loss due to
slowed air traffic at Pearson.�

�They breached a signed contract in the Pearson Airport scandal. They
denied compensation to the wronged parties. Then they were forced to
pay $60-million in damages only taxpayers money.�
http://jamesbredin.tripod.com/numberfour/id38.html


***

other Lieberal scandals:

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 Mass�.
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, Mich�le 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. Chr�tien appointing Hon. Roger Simmons (former Trudeau minister convicted of income tax evasion) as Consul-General in Seattle
53. Chr�tien 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. Chr�tien�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 Fran�ois 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. Andr� 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. H�l�ne 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 Montr�al, 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

***

One of the worst Lieberal scandals IMO is JudgeScam. Money can always be replaced; the rule of law is far more precious. Sadly, politics has trumped law in this country.

http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...threadid=259972


Another scandal is the $9.1 billion the Lieberals have hidden from taxpayers:

http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...threadid=242680


Then there's the $48 Billion EI Scam:

http://winsun.canoe.ca/News/Columni...10/1346463.html




etc. etc.

quote:

Originally posted by DigiNut If the guilty parties here were actually being punished for their crimes then I wouldn't be complaining. I know that there's corruption everywhere - what's important is that it gets identified and rectified.

I do agree, but I don't think the Liberal party itself should be punished. Chretian was involved and a few others in the PO, et all... They should be punished, but obviously not everyone in the Liberal cabinet was involved. Don't punish the many because of the actions of the few. I personally have a beef with our entire parliamentary system. Gives far too much power to the PM when there is a majority government.

quote:

Originally posted by drgoodvibe I do agree, but I don't think the Liberal party itself should be punished. Chretian was involved and a few others in the PO, et all... They should be punished, but obviously not everyone in the Liberal cabinet was involved. Don't punish the many because of the actions of the few. I personally have a beef with our entire parliamentary system. Gives far too much power to the PM when there is a majority government.

It's more than a "few", though... they're only even looking at the people who mishandled billions. If they punished everybody who misappropriated or helped to misappropriate smaller amounts (i.e. millions) with the same severity as the guy in the article you posted, over half the LPC would be behind bars.

And again I really think it's delusional to allow Martin to stay in power after this - if he's not guilty, then he's incompetent. Pick one. Being finance minister is like being CFO and prime minister CEO - if you're careless enough to allow something like this to happen right under your nose, you're not fit to be in that position.

Whether or not you believe me, I'd be saying the same thing if Harper was in charge. This isn't about partisanship, it's about whether or not the current leader (and his underlings) actually have the necessary qualifications and trustworthiness to run a country. If I saw any party or party leader with that kind of track record, I would think that he is unfit to lead, and if it somehow became clear that all the parties were composed of such individuals, I would leave the country.

quote:

Originally posted by drgoodvibe I do agree, but I don't think the Liberal party itself should be punished. Chretian was involved and a few others in the PO, et all... They should be punished, but obviously not everyone in the Liberal cabinet was involved. Don't punish the many because of the actions of the few.

If you go through the scandal list, you'll see that almost the entire Liberal cabinet (past and present) was involved in at least one scandal.

The Liberal Party has a culture of corruption. It's the result of brokerage politics gone bad. The Party itself has violated the Criminal Code and should be deregistered.

http://www.libertarian.ca/english/n...r-liberals.html

It's the only way to clean up the party. The New Liberal Party (NLP) will be a clean party that principled liberals can support.

quote:

I personally have a beef with our entire parliamentary system. Gives far too much power to the PM when there is a majority government.

Agreed, which is why the reform agenda is so important. A Triple-E Senate would be a nice place to start. The fiscal imbalance must also be addressed ASAP. None of that will happen if the Lieberals stay in power.

quote:

Originally posted by DigiNut It's more than a "few", though... they're only even looking at the people who mishandled billions. If they punished everybody who misappropriated or helped to misappropriate smaller amounts (i.e. millions) with the same severity as the guy in the article you posted, over half the LPC would be behind bars. And again I really think it's delusional to allow Martin to stay in power after this - if he's not guilty, then he's incompetent. Pick one. Being finance minister is like being CFO and prime minister CEO - if you're careless enough to allow something like this to happen right under your nose, you're not fit to be in that position. Whether or not you believe me, I'd be saying the same thing if Harper was in charge. This isn't about partisanship, it's about whether or not the current leader (and his underlings) actually have the necessary qualifications and trustworthiness to run a country. If I saw any party or party leader with that kind of track record, I would think that he is unfit to lead, and if it somehow became clear that all the parties were composed of such individuals, I would leave the country.

good post, I agree with you mostly. For me, although I see Martin as unfit to lead for pretty much the same reasons as you do. I still believe in the party platform. I believe in our supreme court (gay rights), i'm pro-choice, I don't want privitized health care (two tier), (but also agree that throwing money at it won't solve anything)and so on. However i'm not socialist enough to vote NDP. Im already getting taxed to high heaven -- but anyways here I am caught between a rock and a hard place. I still have to vote for the party that fits my values the best.

quote:

Originally posted by drgoodvibe good post, I agree with you mostly. For me, although I see Martin as unfit to lead for pretty much the same reasons as you do. I still believe in the party platform. I believe in our supreme court (gay rights), i'm pro-choice, I don't want privitized health care (two tier), (but also agree that throwing money at it won't solve anything)and so on. However i'm not socialist enough to vote NDP. Im already getting taxed to high heaven -- but anyways here I am caught between a rock and a hard place. I still have to vote for the party that fits my values the best.

While I understand all that, I think it's important to look at the LPC's track record and perhaps realize that the platform they *say* they have is not the platform they actually have. I don't support any of our social programs but even if you do, the Liberals do not. They may claim to, but the history of their leadership indicates otherwise.

They believe in taxing us a lot and throwing a few bucks at the social programs but that is not a commitment. If you want your tax dollars to be spent legitimately then you're looking in the wrong place with the LPC.

I'm not telling you to vote CPC - vote for the NDP, I don't care - I'm just saying that a party's track record should be more important than its party line.

quote:

Originally posted by drgoodvibe I believe in our supreme court (gay rights), i'm pro-choice, I don't want privitized health care (two tier), (but also agree that throwing money at it won't solve anything)and so on. However i'm not socialist enough to vote NDP. Im already getting taxed to high heaven -- but anyways here I am caught between a rock and a hard place. I still have to vote for the party that fits my values the best.

Sounds like you have almost the exact same views as Stephen Harper.


-Harper supported the Supreme Court decision re: Same-Sex Marriage

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNe...41209/20041210/


-Harper is pro-choice. The CPC is officially neutral on the issue.

http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/2/parlbus/...1-E.htm#Div-235

http://www.geocities.com/riteturnonly/policy.pdf


-Harper is against "two-tired" healthcare.

http://www.conservative.ca/EN/previ...imes_guarantee/


-Harper would lower your taxes (GST cut, income tax cuts, dividend tax cut, plus a plethroa of other tax credits)

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