In the Globe today, the Tories go after former Liberal MP Marlene Jennings, the person who instigated the RCMP investigation into the G8 Legacy Fund -- the big, sloshing pot of cash Harper cabinet minister Tony Clement liberally showered across his riding (ostensibly) in preparation for the summit held in Huntsville last year.
The way the Tories manipulate information is frighteningly impressive. After accusing Jennings of a "publicity stunt" and the Liberal Party of employing "cheap, baseless drive-by smears," they then seek to completely obscure the core issue of the G8/G20 controversy. The article ends with:
Tory memo concludes that Auditor-General John Wiersema “was clear when he said that he was ‘not aware of any specific law that was broken.’
“Every penny is accounted for, not one red cent is missing,” the memo says. “Mr. Wiersema acknowledged this when he said ‘we know that we got what we paid for in those 32 projects.’”
Indulge me for a moment as I parse these two statements:
1) It's wonderful the Auditor-General is unaware of any laws being broken. I'm not aware of it either, but the Tories won't crow about that in a memo, will they? Wiersema's opinions are completely irrelevant on legalities. He's an accountant, not a lawyer or a police officer. Which is why the RCMP is investigating if there are any illegalities that stem from this nasty bit of business.
2) We all know the money was spent. No one has attempted to say that it wasn't. It's great the government can account for every penny, but the problem isn't missing funds. The real issue is whether that money should have been spent that way in the first place. Spending money inappropriately or illegally is still inappropriate and/or illegal even if you can trace every penny of it.
This memo is spinning so hard I feel like I'm on a Tilt-A-Whirl -- and the last time I did that I was immediately ill when I stepped off.
Kind of how I feel when I read this drivel from the Conservative Party.
The way the Tories manipulate information is frighteningly impressive. After accusing Jennings of a "publicity stunt" and the Liberal Party of employing "cheap, baseless drive-by smears," they then seek to completely obscure the core issue of the G8/G20 controversy. The article ends with:
Tory memo concludes that Auditor-General John Wiersema “was clear when he said that he was ‘not aware of any specific law that was broken.’
“Every penny is accounted for, not one red cent is missing,” the memo says. “Mr. Wiersema acknowledged this when he said ‘we know that we got what we paid for in those 32 projects.’”
Indulge me for a moment as I parse these two statements:
1) It's wonderful the Auditor-General is unaware of any laws being broken. I'm not aware of it either, but the Tories won't crow about that in a memo, will they? Wiersema's opinions are completely irrelevant on legalities. He's an accountant, not a lawyer or a police officer. Which is why the RCMP is investigating if there are any illegalities that stem from this nasty bit of business.
2) We all know the money was spent. No one has attempted to say that it wasn't. It's great the government can account for every penny, but the problem isn't missing funds. The real issue is whether that money should have been spent that way in the first place. Spending money inappropriately or illegally is still inappropriate and/or illegal even if you can trace every penny of it.
This memo is spinning so hard I feel like I'm on a Tilt-A-Whirl -- and the last time I did that I was immediately ill when I stepped off.
Kind of how I feel when I read this drivel from the Conservative Party.
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