Speaking in Kingston, Ontario recently, former Prime Minister Paul Martin offered his thoughts on what good government is.
Don't laugh.
Of course, Martin seems to have forgotten that was before Ottawa-area anarchists firebombed a bank. When thousands of protesters are set to descend on downtown Toronto, that's one thing. When anarchists are running about in the nation's capital, blowing shit up in advance and promising more such acts during the summit, that's another thing entirely.
But moreover, it's actually more than a little amusing to see Martin trying to lecture Prime Minister Stephen Harper about "good government". Not only does Harper now have double Martin's experience as Prime Minister, but his lecturing about transparency comes off as far short of convincing.
After all, it was Paul Martin who, along with Ralph Goodale, made the decision not to hold a public inquiry into the Income Trusts leak. That led NDP MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis to write a letter to the RCMP to get them to investigate.
The news that the RCMP had opened the investigation came at a very poor time for the Liberals, many of whom think that the investigation cost them the 2006 election.
In other words, the Liberal Party's lack of transparency cost them government. This was after the unprecedented revelations of the Gomery Inquiry -- it is, in fact, unprecedented to find a governing political party literally stealing from the citizens of Canada.
It should have been even more unprecedented to have an electorate docile enough to reelect that party to government after it becomes clear that party has stolen.
After 2004, it wasn't unprecedented at all.
Yet Paul Martin, the former Prime Minister who got that inexplicable free pass in 2004 and found that it couldn't bear further scandal in 2006, wants to lecture the Conservative Party on good government.
It is to laugh.
But don't. At this point, it's just cruel.
We had numerous issues of transparency involving the Liberals, their use of their majority in not having an open accounting or investigation.
ReplyDeleteI have lost count how many times they terminated a Public Inquiry. Somalia, APEC, Tainted Blood etc.
The Auditor General was NOT allowed to investigate Crown Corporations either.
The Report from Sheila Fraser highlighting how every rule was broken and senior minister claiming ignorance in how those Quebec advertising agencies had millions without proof of any work is just silly.
AG had over $ 39 million unaccounted for still and we are still not farther ahead in recovering the money.
The CPC have made improvements, but NEED to do more in getting information from all Departments and Crown Corps public.
Shielding Ministerial staff from having to testify before inquiries was also a major boner.
ReplyDeleteI'm also concerned about the amount of time it's been taking this government to respond to information requests.
That's rich from someone who got 161 million dollars from taxpayers for his steamship line.
ReplyDeleteIt's sour grapes. Just remember, in Martin's mind he's supposed to be wrapping up a government empowered by the biggest Parliamentary majority in Canadian history right now.
ReplyDeleteMy, how the would-be mighty have fallen.