Con’t from yesterday…
National Post is reporting on the tone of the testimony, if not substance.
…Former advertising executive Jean Brault broke down in tears on the witness stand at the Gomery Commission yesterday. It occurred in mid-afternoon as Mr. Brault was being grilled by the inquiry’s chief counsel, Bernard Roy
…Mr. Brault appeared to tire under the relentless questioning as the day wore on, and at one point buried his head in his hands and began weeping. He is scheduled to resume testifying today. The incident came just before the commission’s regular mid-afternoon break, which the judge then called. After a 20-minute respite, a composed Brault returned to the stand and resumed his testimony.
Monte Solberg writes; “it sounds like Judge Gomery has rolled over a really big rock and a lot of creepy crawlies came scurrying out from underneath.”
Watch Greg Staples for updates. I’m listening to CBC radio – there is not a whiff of this story there, nor as he points out, on their website.
Not so strange, that.
Groupaction timeline.
Also: read this March 16 “I’ll break your jaw” post at Conservative Groundswell. And from the Globe and Mail (sorry, no link) on March 29th;
Civil servant Huguette Tremblay testified at the Gomery inquiry Tuesday that she was ordered by those in charge of the sponsorship program not to leave a paper trail for an event.
[…]
Ms. Tremblay said that on most of the files it was Mr. Gagliano, not his office, who spoke to Mr. Guit�.
She said she believed the paper trail had to be hidden because the event took place outside of Canada.
The inquiry also heard that the sponsorship program used a discretionary fund for unforeseen events to finance a host of minor projects in the ridings of Mr. Gagliano and of then-prime minister Jean Chr�tien.
The existence of the fund and its use for events in Mr. Gagliano’s and Mr. Chr�tien’s ridings had first been reported by the Globe and Mail in 2001 but the inquiry Tuesday added new details.
So many contracts from that innocuous-sounding account were linked to Mr. Chr�tien and Mr. Gagliano that “it became a running gag,” communications executive Gilles-Andr� Gosselin testified Tuesday.
Mr. Gosselin recalled that the office of Mr. Guit�, the civil servant who ran the sponsorship program, regularly sent his firm a list of pre-approved projects that were to go under an $490,000 annual budget for “Unforeseen Events.”
Inquiry counsel Guy Cournoyer asked Mr. Gosselin if he noticed that a large portion of those contracts were associated either to Mr. Gagliano or to Mr. Chr�tien.
“When you do the tally at the end of the year, there is indeed a lot. Let us say there was a running gag in the office,” Mr. Gosselin said. “It became a running gag. Here, there’s another Italian coming.”
A Toronto Star timeline of testimony coverage headlines – very useful.
All of this too heavy to slog through on a fine bright Saturday? Take a break and run a word or two through Flikr…
All fall down
As Small Dead Animals reports rumours flying around the political world last night suggest the Gomery Commission may be on the verge of bringing down the government.
Kate,
How is it that corrupt communist elites are ruling Canada, and seemingly entrenched in the job? Canadians need to take a long deep look at their government, their media, and the health of their democracy.
I would love to see a list of these “projects,” please. Have you seen a list of beneficiaries from the “Sponsorship” scandal? Innocuous name, isn’t it? I guess the “Political Graft” or “Public Fraud” Scandal, would have been too accurate. Is there a list of Canadian MPs, and major politicians with oil and media interests? Obviously, I would like to do some research. Thanks for your post.
The Western Standard did a nice piece a couple of issues ago about Paul Desmarai and Power Corp and it seems that all the establishment, inlcludin Bob Rae’s brother is connected with it.
Sponsorship scandal
And thanks to “the internet”, a publication ban on testimony to the Gomery Commission is not terribly effective. Canadian readers should be advised that republication of internet rumours may be in violation of a court order and potentially jeopardize t…
Tom,
What decade are you living in? This behaviour is the polar opposite of communist? Rich people setting up deals to be richer??? I don’t see the connection. Is Regan still President in your world?
Tom, lets not forget Bush’s first presidential election or the fraud of the the Irag War. You want corrupt….looking at your own government first.
Just as Mr. Rockefeller & the Carlyle Group’s joeboy (Brian Mulroney)played a part in the demise of the sale of Air Canada, you can be sure he is involved in advancing the political aspirations of the Conservative party, with leaking news of the Liberal scandal. It’s not all that surprising to find such corruption among are elected public officals, but mark my words you’ll hear Mr. Mulroney’s name appear more often in the days ahead.
Canada’s Liberals Deep in Corruption (sound familiar?)
This really stinks badly! Here’s brief time-line:
Gomery commission commissioned to probe Liberal corruption
Publication ban issued
Blogs: Silenced! Charged!
Captain’s Quarters (one of my favorite blogs) does an extensive write-up. CQ is down rig…
Tom, if I were you I would not question the health of Canadian democracy before taking a look at what exists in your own country. If the Liberal government was as corrupt as you say why would they have called the inquiry in the first place.
It was a sad day in this great nation when the sheep of this country elected Mr. Canada Steamships, Paul Martin as Primeminister. But it just goes to show you that us Canadains are just as smart as our neighbour Americans when It comes to chosing leaders…Where are those WMD’s…Mr Bush? Anyways I believe that Mr. Cretian, Mr Martin, and a vast majority of the MOB RUN Liberals need to be wiped out of exstistance, and placed where they belong…IN PRISON….SHAME….SHAME….SHAME, and then mabey the Government of Canada should start issuing we the people cheques back for all our hard earned money they have been stealing from us since god only know when.
If this was America it would be as big as Watergate
Has a Canadian politician been assasinated before?
I think its time yes way overdue for a shootin’
Dont U think so?
I agree the coverage should be made public. This has been government as usual for the Liberals since they became the “government party” ever so many years ago. I would also pose the question – imagine if this was the Mulroney government? What kind of coverage would there be? It would be Newsworld coverage ALL the time.
Canada has had a politician assasinated – around the time of confederation. He was a stauch nationalist and pro Canada – sound familiar? Actually, there is still controversy over the assasination of D’Arcy McGee.
Canadians have for years understood that they are being robbed by all levels of government. We know that the majority if not all of our politians are crooks, theives, and liars as most of them are lawyers in the first place.
What Canadians do expect though is some form of ethics coming out of parliament. The Gomery Commission is not only showing us what we already know, but it is showing us that there are no ethics in Canadian politics.
For Martin to now request a police investigation is only adding further insult in the Canadian people. He has already set the perameters for the investigation by asking the police to prove that Liberal party has been subject to fraud. How stupid, the sponsorship program was a Liberal program and the Liberals called the shots. They knew what they were doing and who got the contracts. They laundered public money, taxpayer’s money into their own treasury that would enable the Liberals to call elections when ever they wanted.
The Liberals are out to discredit the witnesses that will do them harm. Their whole opperations beginning today is nothing more than an attempt at damage control.
As long as the Liberals can scare the Ontario public into voting for them, they will win any election that comes about. And this is easy for they call the Conservative party a Western party and that’s enough to scare many Ontario voters to vote liberal.
People also have to remember: Canada is not a democracy, but rather it is a social democracy that has socialistic like powers that are both visable and hidden the constitution.
Scandel or no scandel, Ontario voters will return the Liberals to power.
Jean Brault cried
The Captain does it again and after reading this latest installment, no wonder Jean Brault is said to have cried during the Gomery Inquiry. This is big news. It slams the Chretien government while also pointing the fingers at the current Paul Martin ad…
Having lived in Ontario for awhile, I know that much less than 50% of actual Ontarians voted for the liberals. Because there are more than 3 parties running, the liberals win many seats with less than 40% of the actual vote. Rather than blaming each other, perhaps we should be looking at voting reform such as that which will be voted upon in BC in May.
My goodness, I am ashamed to be called a Canadian after seeing some of the posts here.
If we had half the leader that Dubya is, we would not be in this mess.
How ignorant and blind you fools are – you’ll gladly overlook the thieves you put in power, and point out perceived flaws in our neighbour. Talk about shooting the messenger.
It is people like some of you, who keep putting thieves into Government.
You may like the feeling of a hand in your pocket, but rest assured, honest, hardworking Canadians who aren’t blinded by contempt and ideology, do not.
IN CANADA IT IS NO LONGER KOSHER TO VOTE FOR THE PIGERALS ….. UNLESS YOU ARE TIED INTO THE MAFIOSO LIKE IN QUEBEC AND TORONTO. REMEMBER IT’S ONLY BUSINESS …. !!!!!!
I am a Canadian – in fact, an Ontarian, and therefore one of the people that will certainly be voting the Liberals back in to rule this great country of ours.
I think that a person who was Finance Minister at the time of a quarter of a billion dollars being stolen from taxpayers to fund friends and a political party, and whose political background, riding and friends are from the party and province where the crimes took place, is not a problem at all.
Clearly, there is no relationship between the new “good” Prime Minister and the old “bad” Prime Minister – I know that to be true, becuase the CBC and the Globe and Mail assure me that they are at odds with eachother. I am confident that any bad eggs in the great party are no longer in government.
Long live Canada – SOO much better than the United States.
And what of the “everyday” Canadian. The person who tries to make ends meet. Lives an honest life, pays his taxes and then some. When we see these bureacrats and politicians living high on the hog using “our tax-dollars.” They have no shame, no heart no sense of what is wrong or right. I don’t deny a person making a living bit I have never seen a politician leave Ottawa empty handed with either a “guilded” pension plan a political appointment and or both. first time shame on them Second time shame on us!!!!!
But the conservatives are a western party. Win a significant number of seats in Quebec and Ontario and then you become a national party. And, as much as the new crop of conservatives don’t want to hear it, every election is won and lost in Ontario and Quebec.
The liberal party is destroying itself.It is up to Ontario to complete the job in the next election.
If the Conservatives are a western party, then the Liberals are surely an eastern party. As you said every election is won or lost in Ontario and Quebec so how does that make the Liberals a true national party. Every election is won or lost in Ontario and Quebec because that is where the majority of blind idiots live. The rest of us have opened our eyes and moved west.
So it seems Quebecers are corrupt mafioso! I would only like to remind you, for the record, that we were the most disgusted about the sponsorship scandal and it showed in our vote on election day: 53 Bloc Quebecois MP elected: never seen in history! But the attitudde of systematically stigmatizing Quebec as corrupt might well cause it’s separation.
Students, professors, teachers, workers are actually on strike against the provincial federalist liberals for bad governing. And you know what the sponsorship program was about? Selling Canada to Quebec. Well, conclusion is: Ottawa can keep it’s dirty money and let Quebec mind it’s own business!
Ottawa has been funneling money into Quebec for years trying to appease the people there and keep them onside and that’s not surprising considering the fact the last four Prime Ministers were from Quebec. Too bad they wouldn’t spend as much money in Western Canada then perhaps western Canadians wouldn’t be so inclined to vote Conservative all the time.
Mafia indeed is in Quebec and running it according to their corrupt ethics. Not to mention the unions controlling that province (note back in the 90’s how French construction workers from Quebec were permitted to work in Ontario, yet the government of Quebec and the union refused to extend the same courtesy by barring Ontario construction workers from working in Quebec. The cancer has now spread to our Federal government, where an english person with excellent qualifications would be overlooked for someone with no skills but were french. An Employment Agency in Ottawa admitted that to me and much to my dismay, it was true. (I see that as nepotism, and a way for the french to grab more power and that corruption will become rampant. Not to mention “Ottawa-Hull” no longer exists as Quebec grabbed Hull and changed it’s name to Gatineau.) As a result of the corruption and being sick and tired of the whining french pea soup I came west, and I am sad to say, the french cancer is coming here too and there will be a time, anglophones will not be able to find work out west either. In embarrassment for my heritage, I turned away from it, and I refused to teach my children french, in order to promote such corruption. PS: Would you believe one of the murders of the FLQ cell who murdered Pierre Laport, is a professor at a university in Montreal teaching? Imagine that happening anywhere else in Canada. And they call us redneck!
We should not forget it’s all hearsay at this point. Unless, you believe what you *want* to rather than actual facts. The structure of the sponsorship program was in place during the last PC government and run by the same man – Guit�. The hearsay on those years is equally damning.
[http://www.patmartin.ca/ndp.php/patinthenews/332]
At any rate, an editorial on a neocon-bent web log is no more reliable than the hearsay printed on a NDP MP’s web site.
I guess looking at the gomery commission’s findings, Michael Moore’s reports on 9/11 vs Bush, Jaques Chirac’s trial waiting for his mandate to be over, Agentina’s workers being denied there non-boss, non goverment control (The Make) etc….. we can say the the masses are quite pacific. We can also say that money is a desee that poor workers are not soffering from…. yet …
Capitaine Fracas
Elise, you should be ashamed of what you wrote. Imagining that french people are dominating Ottawa is the most outrageous and non believable thing I have ever heard. What I feel in your comment is plain hatred. Hatred towards a culture you never dared to understand but which you so shameliy stigmitize as murdering teachers. This attitude governs Ottawa. This attitude was behind the sponshorship scandal and this attitude is the reason why Quebecers and english Canadians can’t talk to each other. When you put out such lies, you bring down all the efforts to renew the dialogue between our peoples. You call Quebecers a cancer, does it make you feel good about yourself ? Does it somehow elevate your soul to a higher degree ? Don’t forget one thing: the sponsorship scandal was all about trying to make us love people like you. Do you think it worked?
Elise your a racist simple minded person.
Hmmm – now francophone is a race?
It is undeniable and no secret that most of our PMs have come from Quebec.
Do you really think this is because you necessarily have the best candidates?
The fact is, most of the national parties (the Libs in particular) pander to Quebec.
I have no beef with the Quebecois who love Canada, and fight for its good, but those of you who keep threatening to separate, please – put your money (actually, its largely ‘our’ money) where your mouth is.
Oh, and when you separate, give back to Canada what is owed – money, infrastructure, etc.
And you can defend yourselves too.
How’s that?
When is this country going to wake up, and come to its sences? Actually the people of this ONCE GREAT NATION! I am almost ashamed today to call myself a Canadian. The Liberal Government should be immediatly dissolved and a full blow criminal investigation should be launched… I read a comment refering to Richard Nixon, and Watergate, this corruption with the current Government makes Nixon look like a angel…what is the matter with the people in this country that they are so afraid to stand up, and raise hell, and demand for the resignation of the PM? And besides that, what the hell is the matter with the opposition that they will not bring down the current Government? Makes me think they too just might have their hand in the cookie jar as well. What we need in this country is the re-birth of the CCF, and bring this country back from the brink of collapse…as for the French, last time I checked they fly the same Maple Leaf as I do, mabey its about time we the people of Canada start working together for the common good of the country, instead of wasting billions and billions of dollars trying to tear it apart. Maybe its time for Mr. Harper to step up to the plate and show us what type of leader he really is, and I agree with the posting of a previous writer that the vast majority of the Liberals belong in prison…cut the BS already…we deserve to know the truth, and we should all stand united and DEMAND to know it!
People are angry and so they should be. Let’s hope that we see those quilty of wrong doing, found quilty and convicted. After that, we should sit down as a country and look at enforcing real reform where it is needed like: limiting the amount of powers our Canadian prime ministers have had and have and limiting the number of terms of office any one prime minister can hold-let’s limit that to 2 terms. From there we need to put pressure on our governments for representive government. That means,instead of us all venting our frustrations into the air and insulting one another including the USA, (they are our neighbours so let’s all grow up and treat them with some respect, regardless of how we feel about them) we become pro-active and start putting a lot of pressure on our elected officials. Start petitions, send e-mails, letters and I mean in droves. You would all be very surprised at how good that is going to feel. Hold demonstrations and do whatever it takes. Kill the problem at the source and prevent it from happening again.
We the people are all to blame for our passivity.
Globally, Canadians are known for it!!!
I would like to throw the Liberal party out because they deserve to be thrown out BUT, if the conservatives get in, their leader would be holding the same level of powers in his or her hands-sure once in a while we will get lucky and get an honest, principled leader but how long can we afford to wait? (we all remember Mulroney).
Canadians think this is bad-let’s crack open Indian Affairs!!!
There are more MPs in Toronto (with over 50% of it’s population non-Canadian born) than MP’s in all the 4 western provinces. Get ready you western bastards! the sucking Liberal vortex will rebound again. PS – thanks for the money.
Canada (and most of the World)suffers from Truth Defissiency,lack of integrety,and plain common logic,or discernement.When Refprm Party first started they talked about implementing a Swiss kind of Government where the people would have a say in the big issues of policy,If they had stuck to it and first made the West really strong,we could have shown Ottawa,how a prosperous West would have benefitted all of Canada,Did you know that Switzerland has no Primeminister or President.But it was not to be as Manning soon started to ‘salivate’ to Primeminister.We all lost our opportunity!Really sad. A Grandma.
I can’t believe what i read in here! I am a Quebecer and i love my Country. I am a pro Canada Quebecer. But seeing there are so many stupid people writing so many stupid things makes me wanna go for THE ONE……..THE REFERENDUM that would allow us to be a free nation governing our own Country.
Just remember……..that shit is happening in Ottawa……..Nothing like that has ever happened in Qu�bec…….
We founded the Canada with no means, we now can create a much greater Country. And just remember……We don’t owe you nothing…….We
paid for the development of this Country….We were 50% of the population not such a long time ago…………(and are still almost 25 %).
Wouldn’t be a problem Invoicing you for our properties that will remain outside our new Country……..
You know what……It’s a real good thing that we dont speak the same language……It creates a fence against stupidity.
Quebec is completely corrupted. That right. People talk french. They want their own country and haven’t any gratefulness of all Canada have do for them. A great number of time, English Canadians and a lesser number of loyalist quebecers, elected quebecer candidates that was use by their own party for get some quebecers votes…Quebecer also don’t make the effort for learn to speak and write a good english! Proof: read this appaling comment! Why do you endure this disobedient province? Why? For a strong Canada, do what every country of the world will do: Ask to separate Canada from Quebec. All problems about Quebec will be settled. There will never be quebecer prime minister. Canada will be free of us. Just vote for Quebec outside party!
To all those sepratists in quebec…have fun seperating when we close off our airspace, and the St.Laurence…you’ll have your own country alright…
Remember one thing: a federalist party composed of franchophones and anglophones POLITICIANS did the fraud, not a provincial party. Politicians are corrupted, not the “qu�becois”.
(And to all those of you who just love this kind of qu�bec/separatist bashing, why do you put so much effort so that Qu�bec remains part of Canada if we are so bad/stupid/corrupted?)
This separation issue shouldn’t be the focus of discussions. It has been a century that qu�bec has sovereingnist ambitions and the issue won’t be settled soon. What we must focus on is the punishment of those corrupted bastards!!!
Man O man……
I got here via links and luck, kinda and I can’t shake the feeling that i am back in time, way way back ! I am french quebecer, not always all proud of it but hey, nothing is perfect right, even Canada! I am in a 99 % french speaking city, I kick my butt a long time ago to learn english, lived 2 years in Toronto etc etc but, like mathieu-mtl is saying, come on people, get real !!
The adscam scandal has only one concern, GREEDY politicians, that’s all, nothing more, nothing less. But it is also nothing new . All over the world, politicians are doing the same, no matter what polical parties. They do it for one reason, because we, as people and voters, we don’t do our jobs, that’s it. We don’t get involved when it is time, to many of us don’t even go and vote and afterward, we act surprised !! Yeah, sure, we can all say it is liberals fault but we need to go deeper, we need to know who are the people we are dealing with.
As far as I can remember, before the liberals were in power in Ottawa, I think people kicked them out because of what ? Corruption right ?
How comes Jean Chr�tien, heving been a politician all his life is now multi millionaire ? Remember the Airbus deal, do a search on Google engine for power corp., Desmarais, Chretien, Mulroney, Mckeena, go even further, dig into ONU, Maurice Strong, Louise Frechette, Paul Martin and the list go on and on..
But besides all that, I am having a MAJOR problem.
Kicking out the liberals, okie, fine but for whom ? Stephen Harper is now a living proof that he is not a leader but a politician, checking here and there for the polls to tell him if it is time or not for election. Man, I don’t want such a prime minister, no way. Bloc quebecois ? Come on, I asked earlier to try and be serious !
I had a dream not lonmg ago and for a change, it was a real fun one. On voting day, I was was watching the results on Radio-Canada and at the sane time, Bernard Derome and Peter Mansbridge told the world, and the winner of the Ottawa riding is : NONE OF THE ABOVE !
Yeah, that’s right, people for once when all to vote and sent a clear signal to those politicians, we are fed up with ALL of you, get out and never come back, all voters voted none of the above, that’s all. And then maybe, maybe, real people having OUR best interest at heart might get involved.
But darn it, like I said, all was a dream !!
No matter we are from Quebec, Ontario, BC, Alberta or whatever, we are all people and people have friends, dreams, goals and respect for each other, all things politicians forgot long time ago. Never let them get in your way!
I live in Quebec but I am not French neither English. I am as angry and as outraged as all you folks who wrote to this page in regard to the scandal. But I have problem to understand why some people would see other people are more corrupt or stupid than others base on where they live or what language tongue they speak. I hope that is just a minority otherwise I wonder why I choose to come to Canada like many millions of people. As for the scandal, the problem is not where the MPs and PM come from. We should have s system to relieve them from power and facing trial should any of this event happen, whether they are in power or not. We should vote for the person we want as the PM but not through electing sufficient MP of the party that person is heading. A permanent, independent, monitory system should be in place to handle all complains and investigate and makes all report to parliarment and all major media. We don’t really know who is more honest than other but the problem is not the people we elect, we will find good as well as bad people, it is just the law of number. It is s system that allows us to put those political crooks in jail that is missing. East or West I don’t give s damn, and I don’t think that is what this enquiry is supposed to do.
Yes! I’ve also had a drean once, some 10 years ago! It was called the nation of Canada… In this country I was proud of my identity, proud to be a french canadian, proud to know a second language, Shakespeare’s language which I love to speak, listen to, communicate with the rest of the world. In this dream I could go from coast to coast and find fellow canadians different in their origins and culture, and be able to connect. I would learn to love their differences and they would learn to love mine. I think Trudeau phrased it as “one nation with two official languages”.
My high ideals came to an abrupt end on july 2001, when I spent time in Ontario, which is a beautiful province, geographically, and also for the canadian culture found there. But it seemed for some people I have met there, some parts of this great country of ours are shamefull. I’ve heard liars go to Quebec.
I’ve heard things that obviously don’t embetter relationships between peoples, and let’s face it, Canada is a regroupement of minorities. I had before me the same xenophoby I had seen in some english-hating french canadians, and I said to myself : “OK, maybe I aught to forget the idea of Canada as a whole since it seems to me there are “lesser” parts in this country.” You see how confused I am because of mixed signals I get, and maybe, just maybe, I represent a large group of people from my province.
So, yes politicians are corrupt, yes, you need to be bilingual in order to win a federal election in canada, and if possible, speak also innu, and cri, and spanish, and chineese, because this is a country of minorities.
But we forgot to have an ideal of cooperation that seeks the benefit of the other; the “foreinger” who lives next doors or in the next province. You say you don’t want Quebec to separate… Is it for political reasons, as the liberals, to keep the resources and power in Ottawa or do you REALLY care for quebecers? Can we (french)accept we once were conquered but our culture subsisted because of high ideals that are bigger than money and power? It’s LOVE my friends… Love your own origins, love the guy with different origins, and serve him as you would be served, and we will become a happier country.
That’s what I’ll be looking for in a politician: a person of ideals, action and humility. That’s what I will BE myself. If there are no good citizens, how do you expect there to be better politicians? As for Brault and Gagliano, and Chr�tien, and the rest of the cheaters, and corporate thieves, they must be punnished but they don’t deserve so much of our attention. Let’s keep looking to an ideal and work to reach it.
Oh my God….
I’m one one those “peasoup”, or whatever name you want… I can’t imagine this… In the 21st century, with all the information, media, communication existing, we still have some people having that kind of view…
Having travelling around Canada from east to west for my work and for pleasure, I know it’s not the majority who thinks Quebecers are “cancer”, “corrupted bastards”, whatever name you want… and the same on the other side, it’s not all English canadians who are “racist”, “rednecks”, etc… I met some beautiful, funny and so gentle persons everywhere… Unfortunatly, stupidity can also be everywhere, and yes I met it everywhere…
Yes, we have a system that can be easily corrupted, yes we have thieves who have no regret taking money in our pockets, and they should be punished for it, let’s hope they will be, and we will worked to build a better system somehow…
But let’s not forget somethings… Whatever problem we encounter here right now, I sure prefer it vs some nations and countries where you can be shot just for not thinking as the leader thinks… where I could kill my wife just because I think that maybe she had an affair with someone and get away with it because her life worth nothing or less for the law… where I could not call the police after being robbed or attacked because it was the police who did it… and don’t tell me I say this because of race , religion or language differences… I don’t care here… all those “differences” are usually used by some people to gain or keep control and power over other peoples…
We have a beautiful country, separated or not. I remember a friend or mine, an Irish girl, who cames to lives in Quebec-Canada for a year, and she told me that she loved the country, but she was laughing at our “fight”… fight for a question of language, and like she said, back home, they were throwing bombs at each other for this kind of thing… She envied us for this relative peace compared to what she lived before…
Instead of insulting each other for no reason, or mainly for ignorance about “the other side”, why couldn’t we just try to resolve those pbm… whining, insults and fights won’t get us anywhere… except maybe that it will just help the “separatist” cause…
I don’t have any solution for our democratic country, but I hope someone finds one before t’s too late.
Don’t get me wrong: I love Quebec, and many Quebecois (particularly those who love the rest of Canada back).
However, I’m getting tired of hearing that old drum beat – “Give us what we deserve, or we separate”
Yes, Quebec had a huge role to play in Canadian history, but look at what’s going on today – Quebec’s productivity has fallen so much – much of what is left, is heavily-subsidised to compensate of inefficiency (i.e. Bombardier, who benefit so much from the Liberal party’s largesse).
For a province with so much of our population, isn’t it a tad odd that you’ve become not a “have” (i.e. Ontario or Alberta or even BC) but a “have not” province?
And yes, the politicians are to blame here, not the actual Quebecois themselves (who were used as a justification for corruption and theft).
Please remember that next time you hit the polls.
And please, for the love of Canada, stop beating the separatist drum.
I read the front page of the paper today, and almost fell over to hear the BLOC is just as dirty as the Liberals…Shame on you all. This is just getting way out of hand…Wait till someone blows open how much Paul Martins Canada Steamships LTD recieves in Government monies and contracts, our money…and yet taxes just keep on going up and up along with inflation that is through the roof, and 1000’s of homeless that The Canadian public and Government for the most part turns a blind eye to. This whole thing just makes me sick! Mabey someone should start to organize a strong armed underground movement of the people, and we topple the government ourselves, and take back from these greedy bastards what is ours, our tax money, and our country, and our DIGNITY!
The Gomery Commision testimony is another example of how our tax moneys are sometimes squandered squandered. Maybe we need more auditors
the assure the citizens the government of the day is spending legally, properly and prudently. Sheila Fraser and her staff have done a great representing us. Those who are guilty of wrongdoings should be disiplined or prosicuted and miappropiated funds should be returned. Now the hard part, making the government of the day to play by ths laws and rules.
Besides all that loony accusations towards each other solitude, let me remember you that all of us have been robbed to the bone by people who consider politics as their backyard. Long terms are the best way to develop guilty associations that put money ahead of ethics.
This kind of corruption has nothing to do with language or “culture”. The morals of a bunch of “unempeachable” elected representatives for the plutocrats staying too long at Ottawa without any real critic or strong warnings, yes…
At least we have Sheila Fraser.
Like Lafontaine (Jean, not Louis-Hippolyte) said in Les animaux malades de la peste,
“Selon que vous serez puissant ou mis�rable,
Les jugements de cour vous rendront blanc ou noir”
For those who not read French
“Wether you are rich or humble, court order will make you guilty of innocent”
On another subject,
I think the Quebecers are not ready to have a Prime that does not speak French well. And because it is almost impossible to win the elections without Province of Quebec, many candidates will come from here simply because they have this advantage. Easterners are not well accepted from money funders nor as Westerners.
Ed Broadbent almost passed on the second PC Muroney’s term and he spoke French terribly but his efforts pleased the population. John Turner was not well enough supported and both changed their speeches when they tought they could win. This scenario can happen again when the government will be dislocated. Do we want Liberals again ?
I am both a liberal and a socialist ( and an Anglophone Canadian from “down east.”) Neither label automatically means that I condone what the Liberal government has been accused of doing over the past several years; given what I have heard about Brault’s testimony, I will be more angry and disillusioned if the opposition _doesn’t_ bring down the government and force an election. What has been implicated by Brault’s testimony will make Watergate look like a game of hide and seek, and Britain’s Profumo scandal look like Sunday night in the Queen’s bedroom.
I object to the xenophobic and racist fingerpointing of some posters here who blame the people of Quebec for the scandal and bash Canada for its seeming complicity in all this. I blame, instead, those politicians regardless of stripe who manipulate the natural concerns of citizens and feed on it for their own gain. People point to AdScam along with the HRDC flap and the gun registry and wag their fingers over wasted money while the government quietly racks up budget surpluses that make the wastages in all three boondoggles look like a child’s allowance – in Bangladesh. The Quebec question is a non-issue except to those politicians and to certain quebecois-de-pure-laine who envision lording over a separate Quebec free from “money and the ethnic vote.”
The problem for anyone looking to bring down the current regime is that for over eleven years the Liberal government has running the ship of state seemingly into calmer and calmer fiscal waters: the principal on the national debt is being paid down and the economic downturns that have plagued the U.S. in the late ’90s and early 00’s have yet to materialize here. Whatever Paul Martin is or isn’t in ethical terms, the man has helped the country’s economic picture immensely. For this reason, many Canadians have been reluctant to risk the economic problems that may arise if a government hell-bent on cutting taxes and reducing government services goes in, regardless of how much they may agree with that party’s social platform.
Still, the sponsorship scandal is similar to Watergate in one important respect: the more one digs, the more $#!& one comes up with until the government is made to answer for it. Even if the details of Brault’s testimony are never made public, the furore that has erupted over it and the media’s treatment of that may prove enough to knock this government down.
It’s funny how everyone complains about corruption in government, and being robbed by politicians, but how few people complain about gigantic salaries in big business and being robbed by mega-corporations — and this is something that happens every day, not just once a year at tax time.
Complainers, you’ve got it all backwards. Our political leaders are incompetent and corrupt because they are UNDERPAID. Any really competent person can get a job in the private sector at many times the salary we pay our Prime Minister and other leaders. So, the private sector gets the really competent people, the government gets the leftovers who aren’t good enough to cut it at that level, and we get screwed over — both personally and financially — at both ends.
Face the facts, government is just like condo buying. If you pay cheap, you get cheap — one floor up, and facing the back alley. If you want the penthouse with the ocean view, it’s gonna cost you more. Same thing with leadership, if we are going to ever attract truly competent and ethical leadership we have to pay them what the job is worth.
And that includes compensating them adequately for the intrusive media coverage, and for all the 3am phone calls and hate letters from all the crackpots in the country.
If you don’t believe me, just answer these two questions: (1) When was the last time we had a really competent, trustworthy leader? (it’s been well over half a century!) and [2] How much did you pay for your last tank of gas/insurance policy/bank service charge/ticket to a sports event/air ticket/car/truck/snow machine/phone bill.
Very nice comments Mario, and to everyone else who’s able to look beyond this AdScam / Sponsorship Scandal and see that it’s not the “everyday” Canadians, anglophones, or francophones who were commiting this corruption but those greedy people who were given a blank cheque and “direction” to spend it as they saw fit.
Did we as Canadians lose out millions of our tax dollars – yes. Are we losing a few more bucks right now with the inquiry – yes. Did our Former PM’s riding benefit – yes.
So what if a few guys are going to go to jail – it was wrong of them to hide and steal our money; and it’s wrong of them to try and blame it on anyone but themselves – including our former and current governments and PMs.
I think it’s pretty clear that by “direction” it does not mean “give this money to Chretien”. Those who given the money, were (and are) responsible for the money – plain and simple.
Truthfully, I feel this whole scandal was brought on beautifully by the opposition parties trying to discredit our government. Now I understand that is what they are supposed to do – and this is why we have multiple parties. However I for one think this scandal was blown out of proportion by our own media services trying to create ‘a lead story’ and gain viewership. We already know the quality of journalism has deteriorated in the last few years, and this story was pre-packaged not requiring any in-depth work by media services to break it. They’re loving it – a huge return on little or no investment. So of course they’re going to keep it going. American’s have had scandals for ages and it does wonders for their news media.
As for those comments from people who are blaming francophones, Quebecers, Ontarians and everyone else – you need to realize that its a few bad apples who are spoiling the bunch. Not every Quebecer is involved in some kind of government controlling mafia and as Ontarians, we just wish we were. Additionally, its not un-common for the constituencies of PMs and high-level MP’s to benefit from their Member’s position in parliament – that’s been happening since 1867. Contrary to that, if your constituency votes in the opposition party it may not see certain benefits since it’s Member sits across from the party in power. Your MP’s ability to influence government is severely diminished.
We live in a great country – one which is trully the best in world. We have the ability and opportunity to discuss our nation, our government and our people openly and honestly and without fear of tyranny. But we need to work together, and stay together, in order to keep it great. Walking down the slippery slope of our delecate language issues just because those at fault were from Quebec is really not required in this discussion. It would not have been brought up had GroupeAction been located in Winnipeg.
Everyone will have the opportunity to make their desicion on this government 4+ years (maybe less depending on how the house votes over the next little while) and I’m sure this sponsorship issue will be at the forefront. Our regional opposition parties will be using it to persuade voters when really who wouldn’t expect the Conservatives (very right-wing) and Bloc (mostly right-wingers) to make decisions to aid their friends/associates any less than our current adminstation???
However, even at our worse we are still much better than our friends south of the border. We are able to recognize there is a problem, even if we don’t like to admit it.