Go Sheila!

Auditor general gives details of 'scandalous' sponsorship program

Sheila Fraser, Canada's Auditor General, pulls no punches on her report of wasteful government expenditures. Last year we heard about Office of Privacy Commissioner George Radwanski's extravagant lifestyle at the taxpayer's expense, not to mention his questionable hiring practices.

Today Sheila Fraser released a report on her audits of government spending, particularly in advertising and sponsorship programs in Québec. Supposedly these expenditures were made in an attempt to raise the profile of the federal government in Québec after the 1995 sovereignty referendum in that province. (Why the federal government felt the need to do that is beyond me.) Today's report showed millions of tax dollars were squandered through paid commissions to various communications companies that did little more than pass on the cheque to organizations handling/performing sponsorhip programs.

And there are other wasteful expenditures as well. When I watched all of this today on television, it made my blood boil. I also watched part of Question Period at the House of Commons. I confess I have never watched as much of it as I have today, primarily because it's a huge snooze. But if what I saw today was typical, it makes me wonder if all that pontificating is indicative of where our tax dollars go to in Ottawa. Prime Minister Paul Martin's response to grilling over his role as finance minister at the time was an impressive "I didn't know". Gee, he didn't know? What the hell kind of excuse is that? Was he asleep????

And on tonight's news I hear he has fired Alfonso Gagliano. The guy was the public works minister at the time and responsible for some of the misspent money. If he's being held accountable, I want Paul Martin's head on a platter too. Although Alfonso Gagliano should be held responsible, I don't believe he should be made the scapegoat for this whole fiasco. I have no doubt there were many others involved. And what about the private sector? What about those businesses that profitted? Shouldn't they be dealt with? I hope they are. Paul Martin said in Question Period today that an investigation would be launched (great, more tax dollars tossed away) and money recovered. Money recovered? Give me a break. That ain't gonna happen!

If I had my way the whole government would be dissolved and started over from scratch. The more I hear about Ottawa, the more bloated it appears to be, gluttoning itself off the hard earned money of Canadian taxpayers.

I hope Canadians make their feelings known that the greed and outrageous spending by the federal government is unacceptable and vote out the liberals next election.

And as for Sheila Fraser, I hope she's the Auditor General for many years to come! Go Sheila!