The Only Change
Is the colour of their ties
The federal ethics watchdog is investigating a sole-source contract Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s office awarded to a well-connected Conservative.
Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson told Flaherty of the pending investigation in a letter Tuesday.
Flaherty has admitted his office broke government contracting rules in hiring Hugh MacPhie to help write last year’s budget speech and provide advice on how to sell the document.
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A spokesman for Flaherty says the finance minister has been open and transparent about the contract and will fully co-operate fully with investigation.
What’s to investigate? He broke the rules, and he got caught breaking the rules – the only question now is, what is the penalty for breaking those rules?
Well…. there is one other question, what happened to CPoC priority #1? If I recall correctly it had something to do with “cleaning up government” and “accountability“.
– they’re not doing so well with that one are they?
[ratings]
Who on earth makes $122,000 for writing a speech?
Is it just me, or is that amount exorbitantly exorbitant for a speech that was read out loud once?
Regardless of which party pays that much for a speech, it’s ridiculous. That money could have been used for another heart surgery. It could have been used to feed several thousand hungry Canadians for a month or 2. That money could have been used towards making water drinkable on any one of hundreds of First Nations reserves across Canada.
Flaherty is an ass with his explanation. But IMHO, the bigger deal is that money is wasted on an astronomical level – money that could have done good.
More proof that the Cons are simply liars..AND hypocrites. I am SO glad to be an anarchist…just wow.
But, but, but… did he break the rules as he understands them? Maybe he thought he saw a loophole.
Yeah, ThrobbinFeller, it’s a cryin’ shame the way these here polyticians set their priorities. That’s sorta what I booged about this mornin’. When you see money goin’ down the drain like that an’ there’s all sortsa places where that money’d do some real good, it gets the ol’ blood pressure movin’ up there towards the danger zone.
JB
What’s $100k or so between friends and the party faithful ‘eh?
Here’s a good accountabililty rule: you break a rule, such as a tendering rule in this case, and get caught, just like Jimmy did, then the party pays for half the cost of the contract and the MP pays for the other half, and Mr and Ms. Taxpayer are offa the hook.
Hit the buggers where it hurt$.
Thats a good idea Jonzor. Thats the kind of legislation I think many Canadians would get behind.
But, where does jail time come into play? I don’t like the double standard applied to “white collar”and “blue collar” crimes. There should be a threshold where politicians get thrown in jail, don’t pass go, don’t collect $200.
$25,000 is far too low a cutoff for mandatory tendering of contracts. Make it $250,000, take 10% of the bureaucrats that aren’t needed any more and stick them in audit and we’ll all have more money in out pockets.