See that? It's the tip of the iceberg.
Warren Kinsella on February 11, 2004:
But nowhere - nowhere - have I seen a scintilla of proof that anyone within government, officials or otherwise, enriched themselves. Zero, zippo, zilch. The enriching all took place in the private sector - for which the guilty parties will pay, and deservedly so.
Gomery inquiry yesterday:
....
Ms. Tremblay said she once sent 300 golf balls with the signature of Mr. Chrétien printed on them at a total cost of $1,200. It remains unclear what they were used for, but sources told The Globe and Mail that they received golf balls with the former prime minister's signature on them at his annual Liberal fundraising golf tournament.
....
Ms. Tremblay added that Mr. Guité once told her to set aside a $675 yellow jacket with a picture of the Bluenose on the back for Mr. Chrétien.
....
Ms. Tremblay's testimony also revealed some of the free-spending atmosphere that reigned in the small branch of the civil service that managed the sponsorship program.
As new money was pouring in during the mid-1990s, she wrote a note to one of her colleagues stating that the program's budget was growing at a wild pace.
“The sky's the limit!” Ms. Tremblay wrote. “Well, we're now floating in orbit.”
Remember the words of Mike Duffy:
A little off topic but it came to mind....
Ah, the high rolling days of the mid 1990's - remember those days. I thought Harper did a great job last spring in putting this waste in perspective:
The subtext of all we will hear from the Liberal pundits - the Chretien/Martin battle is not over - both will fight for their "legacy" - and it has all been done, or is being done, at our expense.
But nowhere - nowhere - have I seen a scintilla of proof that anyone within government, officials or otherwise, enriched themselves. Zero, zippo, zilch. The enriching all took place in the private sector - for which the guilty parties will pay, and deservedly so.
Gomery inquiry yesterday:
....
Ms. Tremblay said she once sent 300 golf balls with the signature of Mr. Chrétien printed on them at a total cost of $1,200. It remains unclear what they were used for, but sources told The Globe and Mail that they received golf balls with the former prime minister's signature on them at his annual Liberal fundraising golf tournament.
....
Ms. Tremblay added that Mr. Guité once told her to set aside a $675 yellow jacket with a picture of the Bluenose on the back for Mr. Chrétien.
....
Ms. Tremblay's testimony also revealed some of the free-spending atmosphere that reigned in the small branch of the civil service that managed the sponsorship program.
As new money was pouring in during the mid-1990s, she wrote a note to one of her colleagues stating that the program's budget was growing at a wild pace.
“The sky's the limit!” Ms. Tremblay wrote. “Well, we're now floating in orbit.”
Remember the words of Mike Duffy:
This is very serious stuff. The Royal commission will bring out the here-say because that's a lower standard of proof than you need for criminal charges but the police are on this in a very big way.
Trust me, store clerks who saw the little person with the visa card buying it for the wife of famous people and those who went on trips simply to pick up gifts on behalf of senior politicians and put them on the ad agency card and get back on the plane to bring them back home where they were given as a gift to these senior politicians - this will all come out. It may take a while but it will all come out and it's going to blow this town wide open.
A little off topic but it came to mind....
Ah, the high rolling days of the mid 1990's - remember those days. I thought Harper did a great job last spring in putting this waste in perspective:
In his 1995 budget speech, the current Prime Minister said the following, and I am going to quote at length:
The government has just introduced a new and much tighter system to manage its spending.... For the first time, departments will have to prepare business plans for three years forward.... That transparency and that accountability will mark a major departure from the past.... Individual ministers are being asked to alter their funding approach accordingly. They will be held accountable for their decisions
and those decisions will be reviewed annually.
Reviewed annually, one can only assume, by the Minister of Finance, or at least by Treasury Board, of which the Minister of Finance was the vice-chair.
The year 1995 was significant because that was the year the Liberal government nearly lost the country. That was also the year in which the Liberal government decided to create the sponsorship program. Let me repeat that. The year that the Liberals created the sponsorship program was also the year in which the current Prime Minister put in place “a new and much tighter system to manage its spending”.
Most Canadians remember 1995 as the year in which the government cut billions of dollars from the health care system. Let me repeat and emphasize that as well. The year that the Liberals created the sponsorship program was also the year in which the current Prime Minister massively cut spending on health care.
The 1995 budget put forward four priorities. The very first priority was “the reform of government programs and procedures, to eliminate waste and abuse and ensure value” for the taxpayer's dollar. That promise was repeated in his 1996 budget speech:
If there is one area where we must never let up, it is the effort to root out waste and inefficiency.
In his 1998 budget speech he said, “The battle to root out waste and inefficiency can never end”. Apparently it can never begin either
The subtext of all we will hear from the Liberal pundits - the Chretien/Martin battle is not over - both will fight for their "legacy" - and it has all been done, or is being done, at our expense.
