It must have been one of Prime Minister Paul
Martin's worst days. He had no choice but to play second fiddle
to his former boss on the hot seat at the Gomery inquiry.
He knows full well that it's a dishonourable
scene for millions of Canadians to watch as the Liberal Party
of Canada continues to mismanage the affairs of the
country.
The point isn't whether the strategy of
pouring $100 million into the coffers of Liberal friendly ad
agencies was the right thing to do.
The point is $100 million is gone and Prime
Minister Jean Chretien, along with Martin, simply shrug their
shoulders and pronounce, "We had nothing to do with it and we
don't know who did."
Both gentlemen denied giving any political
direction with regard to the misspent money, although Martin
stated very clearly prior to the inquiry that high-ranking
political direction had to be given. As well, he fired Minister
Alfonso Gagliano. Was this firing not based on just
cause?
The Federal Liberals tell us, "this was the
only way to keep the country together." That comment rightly
infuriates most Quebecers when they hear the Liberals were
attempting to buy their votes with their own dollars.
Canadians are right to wonder about the young
sailor who gave his life because of a lack of adequate funding
for our submarine program. Or to ask how many MRIs we could buy
with $100 million. What about our health-care system and our
nurses who are being burned out trying to make up for lack of
funding? $100 million would bring in 1,500 more nurses.
What about our children looking to access
affordable post secondary education? $100 million could provide
20,000 students with grants of
$5,000 each. What about a national daycare
program? $100 million could provide 12,000 spots at $8,333 per
child. What about the homeless?
What about the loss of 100 beds in our new
hospital? What about a fair deal for our city?
It is estimated that the Gomery Commission
will cost Canadians approximately $60 million.
I guess the Liberals don't value the
hard-earned dollar as I do.
Should I be so bold to talk about the Liberal
shutdown of the Somalia Inquiry, or the $92 million purchase of
"state-of-the-art" Bombardier Challenger jets, being used by
lower level cabinet ministers as their personal taxi service?
I'll save this and much, much more for another time.
Gerry McIntaggart
Sudbury