Mike Duffy's trial starts in three weeks. And wouldn't you know it? Nigel's Wright's name is back in the news -- not for his role in the Duffy Affair, but for the role he played in the awarding a contract to a man John Baird has called "a dear friend." Michael Harris writes:
A Jewish community centre in Markham applied for a federal grant from the federal Department of Human Resources to pay for an expansion to its facilities under the Enabling Accessibility Fund. Totally cool.
Public Works Minister Diane Finley’s department received 355 such applications, which her bureaucrats reduced to just 25. The cut-off to make that shortlist was 82 out of a possible 100 points. The top 25 applications were then sent out for external evaluation. Out of that number, just four were ultimately approved for funding.
Since the application at the centre of this scandal scored a lowly 52 out of 100 points, it didn’t make the short list and didn’t qualify to be sent out for external evaluation. At least, it didn’t qualify until the minister personally intervened and overruled her professional staff. Another victory for putrefied politics over sound public policy.
Finlay intervened after some heavy lobbying:
Baird, Peter Kent, Nigel Wright and others in the PMO either advised, strong-armed or lobbied Finley into reconsidering the project. Wright told Dawson that he had advised Finley that the matter had to be considered “carefully and fairly.”
Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson found that Findlay broke conflict of interest guidelines. Stephen Harper says that she “acted within her discretionary powers and in good faith …” He had the same reaction when Dawson found that Christian Paradis did the same thing:
Paradis was found to have given preferential treatment to Rahim Jaffer by telling his departmental staff to meet with the former CPC MP about his company Green Power Generation. Before the ink had dried on Dawson’s finding against Paradis, Harper was dismissing the ethics commissioner’s finding as meaningless. He told reporters in Bangkok that Paradis didn’t act with “ill intention of any kind,” and “did no harm.”
The garbage keeps piling up.
14 comments:
Not only is the garbage overflowin', Owen, but it's stinkin' to high heaven.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UejelYnVI3U
Wainwright's got in right, Anon.
.. in this particular scandal its almost as if all the likely suspects in the Duffy scandal are involved.. aside from Duffy, but with the addition of John Baird and Peter Kent
Kent is noteworthy.. as is Baird of course.. but Peter Kent certainly deserves exalted status. Truly a good soldier in the Harper machinery and machinations.
As (please don't laugh) the Minister of Environment.. sharing the same bed as Joe Oliver, Jim Flaherty, Keith Ashfield.. Kent led years of appeals to avoid fulfilling the mandate to act on behalf of endangered species
His ascendent moment of course, was to 'regretfully' agree to poisoning boreal wolves with poison baits.. to protect the boreal caribou that lost their habitat to tar sands and energy exploitation.
By that time, it was obvious that all the ministries were being run out of the PMO.. Fisheries, Environment, Finance, Resources.. Now this Harper creep is trying to wrap himself in A Rouge River savior flag.
There is a special place for sellouts like Peter Kent
It's interesting to note what Kent's sell out got him, salamander -- turfed from the cabinet.
I'll state the obvious here, Owen. There is only one thing to do when the garbage is overflowing: toss it to the curb to be carted off to the dump.
Precisely, Lorne. Or else it will become a danger to public health.
.. actually.. there is classic Harper strategy evident. Once a Minister or MP has accomplished the dirty work, its time to get them out of the public eye and bring on a distraction or straw man/woman.. or an accident waiting to happen.
Certain Ministers are somewhat untouchable.. ie a MacKay or Kenney or a Baird.. for differing reasons. Oliver is perfect due to his age.. but old Joe defines 'toxic' after his accomplishments savaging the environment with Peter Kent, Jim Flaherty as well as the tag team of retread Gail Shea & Keith Ashfield.
The legacies of those shrill partisan creeps is assured.. at some point somebody in mainstream media will earn a Pulitzer tying together all of them dancing to the tune of Harper, Ray Novak versus Canada's environment, wild species, habitat, air and waters
Great picture Owen why does the Jewish community get extra special treatment when First Nations go hungry 1200 of their woman 'disappear' and allot do not have clean drinking water WTF? Also their government living quarters are outrageously below Canadian standards. Does the government fix these things oh no. The RCMP in Saskatchewan used to round up male First Nations band members routinely drive them 30 or 40 miles out of Regina. Then dump them out of the patrol or squad car in sub-zero weather. They the RCMP thought it was a hilarious joke until they got caught by the news and it came to the public's attention. The RCMP was then looked upon as 'barbaric' no wonder so many of them get shot and killed out west. I don't condone that behavior on either side. Now this is a clue to where some of the females 'disappeared'...
Sure makes one wonder the Mounties have unfettered control over most of Canadian territory how dare Stevie blunder pass bill C-51 which puts us all "in jail"?
Jews have money they do not need our taxpayer's handouts excuse me?
I am getting sicker and sicker of this scandal ridden government. Time to give them the proverbial kick in the arse at the voting booth eh?
Mogs
I suspect there aren't many pro- Harper votes among First Nations people, Mogs.
It's getting easier and easier to tie them all together, salamander. They no longer need to hang separately.
Baird, like a rat on the Titanic, jumped. Is this Bibi bribe the reason?
Perhaps he knew this was coming, rumley.
Another scandal coming to the forefront Owen. There is another interesting case and lawsuit that's been happening since 2011. The MSM has not covered it at all, which is interesting considering the signifigance of it. Rocco Galati is the lawyer representing the plaintiff William Krehm & Ann Emmett who are suing The Bank of Canada. the Government Federally, Provincially and municipally used to borrow money from The Bank of Canada interest free. That changed I think in 1974 with Trudeau where the federal government borrows from private banks at market interest rates. Galati wants the Bank of Canada to legally go back to it's original function of loaning money to governments interest free. Apparently out of the G8 countrie the Bank of Canada is the only public bank. So far the government has lost 3 appeals so Galati is making some strong headway. For a case of this magnatude,in process since 2011 we have heard nothing. There is a rumour that Harper has put the muzzle on the MSM. You can go to www.comer.org, the interviews with Galati about this case and the state of Canada's judicial condition are excellent.
Galati was successful in getting the Supreme Court to reject Harper's choice of Marc Nadon for the court, Pam.
I wouldn't bet against Galati.
Post a Comment