Canadian Liberals scramble as scandal unfolds

[YogsVR4]

http://www.detnews.com/2005/nation/0...A08-147471.htm

OTTAWA, Canada -- Prime Minister Paul Martin scrambled Monday to prevent the fall of his government amid a kickback scandal in his Liberal Party, as a new poll showed the opposition Conservatives would easily win fresh elections if held today.

In what some say is Canada's version of Watergate, in terms of magnitude and potential damage, Martin reiterated that he had nothing to do with the ethics fiasco, in which party members are accused of having taken kickbacks from advertising agencies hired to promote federalism in the rebellious French-speaking province of Quebec.

"Not only do I have the moral authority, I have the moral responsibility," to keep the government afloat until the full inquiry into the scandal concludes in the fall, Martin said. "Canadians are entitled to ask someone to step forward, and I'm the prime minister of this country. I can assure you that anyone who has been implicated is going to be punished."

How long Martin can remain prime minister is anyone's guess, and the halls of Parliament were rife with speculation about whether new elections were around the corner.

The separatist Bloc Quebecois could introduce a confidence motion by Thursday, though the more powerful Conservative Party was hedging, knowing most Canadians are not keen for new elections.

"There is a depth of anger there. The Liberal Party is in deep, deep trouble," said Richard Simeon, a University of Toronto political science professor.

A poll published by the Toronto Star on Monday indicates that only 25 percent of those questioned last week would vote for the Liberals if elections were held today. The Conservatives were backed by 36 percent, up 10 points from a survey in February.

The poll, conducted by EKOS Research Associates, surveyed 1,125 Canadians over voting age between last Thursday and Saturday, with a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.

The scandal, based on a secret program that dates to the 1990s and the Liberal Party leadership of former Prime Minister Jean Chretien, erupted anew Thursday when a judge probing allegations of misuse of public funds lifted a publication ban on testimony by a Montreal ad executive.

The executive, Jean Brault, who faces fraud charges stemming from the now-defunct program, told the federal inquiry that senior Liberals forced him to secretly divert more than $818,000 to the party's Quebec wing in exchange for sponsorship contracts. Brault spoke of hushed-up payments to Liberals in restaurants, money being given to a brother of Chretien and contributions strong-armed out of employees.

Brault said he got $141 million in government business for his firm.
Chretien and Martin have vehemently denied any knowledge of wrongdoing.

The "sponsorship scandal" outraged the public when it was uncovered in 2002, after the auditor general determined that $82 million from a $204 million national unity fund went to Liberal-friendly advertising firms.
The program was developed to promote national unity in Quebec following the narrow defeat of a separatist referendum in the French-speaking province in 1995. Advertising agencies with Liberal ties allegedly received millions of dollars in exchange for little or no apparent work.

In the House of Commons on Monday, Martin told lawmakers he was the one who dissolved the program, convened the investigating commission and filed lawsuits against 19 ad agencies to recover government funds.
----------------------------------------------------------------

I hope they nail that low life Chretien. If Martin was in on it, I hope he gets it too, but the Chretien is pond scum.













Never pay again for live sex! | Hot girls doing naughty stuff for free! | Chat for free!

[Raz_Kaz]

It comes to no suprise on how the liberal government spends money. They are a bunch of theives.
Plus that poll thing is bullshit, Candians complain time and time again on the bs the Liberals do....but every election they keep winning.

[KustmAce]

Canadians actually DOING something? And illegal at that? Wow. Methinks Hell is awfully cold about now...

[Gotti]

The funny thing about this is that stupid Canadians will re-elect the Liberals the next election, they do everytime.

And it doesnt help that teachers at the schools in Ontario brainwash students into loving the liberals and hating the conservatives. So all the kids grow up voting for Liberals because they dont know the facts, all they know is that they've bin told Liberals are good

[Twitch1]

Gotti- it's all that Molson they drink, eh?

[DVS LT1]

It's kinda funny how a few weeks ago the Liberals came out and announced they had requested the RCMP to investigate the notion that the party might actually be the victim of fraud in this fiasco...

... lol ya and now buddy goes ahead and tells all how the lobbyists and add guys had to pay the Liberals over a million bucks in order to start getting the money flowing the other way.

Ya them Liberals are in shit - blowing close to a quarter billion dollars.

But ya know what, unfortunately for elections it comes down to the beast you know - the Conservatives look like a clown party also so who the hell do you vote for?? The Green Party? Not to defend what the Liberals have done but at least they've pumped out multi-billion dollar surpluses for like the past decade even while fucking up at the same time. Last time the Conservatives enjoyed a long stint under Mulroney they ballooned the national debt ten fold. Enter G.S.T.

Nevertheless, I will likely vote Conservative next election - again!

[Twitch1]

Hey, politicians of all persuasions in all countries, what ya gonna do with 'em?