denverb2b
May 7th, 2002, 04:27 PM
Off Topic some what as this newspaper article has nothing to do with satellites but has lots to do with how and what the liberals arr all about
Tory leader Joe Clark openly accused the Liberals of a "pattern of corruption" Tuesday, the day before a Auditor-General's report into alleged impropriety is to be tabled in the House of Commons.
Sheila Fraser's report is expected to be made public Wednesday, several days after it was received by the government. Information leaks suggest that she will recommend an RCMP investigation into allegations of impropriety surrounding the granting of government contracts to advertising firms with Liberal connections.
During Question Period Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister John Manley deflected numerous, increasingly harsh, questions into the granting of government contracts, saying that "we don't need these unfounded accusations from the opposition."
He repeatedly told the opposition variations on the theme that, "The Auditor-General's report will be tabled tomorrow and the member can wait."
But several opposition members predicted that the government will immediately head off all questions the instant a police investigation is launched, saying that it would be inappropriate to discuss matters in police hands.
"I have been told by people that work for the government that they're smiling today because it's going to get very quiet," Canadian Alliance leader John Reynolds told reporters after the House session.
"All Auditor-General reports in the past have come to us immediately, this one has been held back. They're got every spin-doctor in this government working to see what they can do to control the spin tomorrow to make look as though 'we can't talk anymore, the police have got this issue.'"
Mr. Clark said outside the House that "obviously" the RCMP should do its work, but that "there's a larger problem here of a pattern of abuse by the government and we simply need to know what is going on."
"What we need is an investigation, a root-and-branch investigation, of what is going on here," he told reporters. "There is certainly a need for a full, objective investigation, not just of one instance, but of the pattern of corruption that is growing here."
Mr. Clark was frankly dismissive of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's statement that federal spending in Quebec had played an integral role in pushing separatism into remission.
"You cannot justify any means by the ends, [and] that's what he's saying. He's saying, in effect, we can break any law, we can break any constraint so long as it achieves our goal."
Speaking in the lobby of the House of Commons — unprotected by the Parliamentary privilege which blocks lawsuits based on statements made during debate — Mr. Clark added a brutal addendum.
"We live in a system of the rule of law. The government of Canada appears to be breaking the law, they appear to be breaking or breaching that law with some regularity," he said
Tory leader Joe Clark openly accused the Liberals of a "pattern of corruption" Tuesday, the day before a Auditor-General's report into alleged impropriety is to be tabled in the House of Commons.
Sheila Fraser's report is expected to be made public Wednesday, several days after it was received by the government. Information leaks suggest that she will recommend an RCMP investigation into allegations of impropriety surrounding the granting of government contracts to advertising firms with Liberal connections.
During Question Period Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister John Manley deflected numerous, increasingly harsh, questions into the granting of government contracts, saying that "we don't need these unfounded accusations from the opposition."
He repeatedly told the opposition variations on the theme that, "The Auditor-General's report will be tabled tomorrow and the member can wait."
But several opposition members predicted that the government will immediately head off all questions the instant a police investigation is launched, saying that it would be inappropriate to discuss matters in police hands.
"I have been told by people that work for the government that they're smiling today because it's going to get very quiet," Canadian Alliance leader John Reynolds told reporters after the House session.
"All Auditor-General reports in the past have come to us immediately, this one has been held back. They're got every spin-doctor in this government working to see what they can do to control the spin tomorrow to make look as though 'we can't talk anymore, the police have got this issue.'"
Mr. Clark said outside the House that "obviously" the RCMP should do its work, but that "there's a larger problem here of a pattern of abuse by the government and we simply need to know what is going on."
"What we need is an investigation, a root-and-branch investigation, of what is going on here," he told reporters. "There is certainly a need for a full, objective investigation, not just of one instance, but of the pattern of corruption that is growing here."
Mr. Clark was frankly dismissive of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's statement that federal spending in Quebec had played an integral role in pushing separatism into remission.
"You cannot justify any means by the ends, [and] that's what he's saying. He's saying, in effect, we can break any law, we can break any constraint so long as it achieves our goal."
Speaking in the lobby of the House of Commons — unprotected by the Parliamentary privilege which blocks lawsuits based on statements made during debate — Mr. Clark added a brutal addendum.
"We live in a system of the rule of law. The government of Canada appears to be breaking the law, they appear to be breaking or breaching that law with some regularity," he said