| In speaking with a development expert in France yesterday who is a sage observer of the Canadian scene, having been schooled in Canada, he noted that some in his country wonder what's going on over here. "How long will your people support a government with high polling numbers when all these revelations are spilling out about scandal and its lack of respect for its people?"It's not as though many of us haven't been asking ourselves the same question over and over again in this campaign. It started with contempt of Parliament, was fuelled by complaints of lack of access, and is now about to head into the home stretch with a burgeoning scandal. It isn't required that we go into all the details here (they're on the front page of every newspaper and the lead story in the newscasts), but one particular point has forcefully irked Auditor General Sheila Fraser.When pressed for a better accounting of the G8/G20 summits, the Conservative government attempted to rag the puck. It was becoming clear that an election was in the offing and they weren't about to make this stuff public, so instead they made it up. They quoted Fraser even as they stonewalled, maintaining the AG had perused their books and found everything in order: “We found that the processes and controls around that were very good, and that the monies were spent as they were intended to be spent,” they quoted her as saying. Those of us in the Commons that day were confused when this was presented to committee. "Where did that come from?" we wondered.Well, it turned out she had been talking about the former Liberal government's handling of the security spending following the attacks on that memorable morning in New York City, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C. on September 11th. Her quote on the CBC news interview had actually taken place in 2010. Conservatives had lifted her quote, misled Parliament with it, in an effort to stall Parliament long enough to get out of town following their fall on charges of contempt. Fraser hit back hard yesterday, affirming that her quote had nothing to do with the G8/G20 summits.But the government got what it desired - suspended animation. While it spews forth talk about coalitions, demonizes the Bloc, and continues with the relentless attacks on the Liberal leader, it's trusting that all that bluster will effectively keep you from deciphering what's really going on. Now that the Auditor General has fired a direct shot at their dubious practices, will Canadians finally see the bubble burst? Will they care? Well, they've got three weeks to get their Canada back.A good friend of mine from Calgary called this morning and observed: "The opposition parties don't come out here much because they can't win, and our Conservative MPs never come to our doors because they can't lose." That was prescient - we are stuck at a time when a government is sagging under its baggage of corruption and mistruths while citizens barely take note. Contempt, corruption, claiming false attribution to the Auditor General of all people - this is what we have come to. When you add all that to untendered contracts, the firing of numerous public officials for speaking truth to power, defying the Speaker of the House, the politics of fear and incivility, you have a compelling narrative and an occasion for real issues and clarity in this election.Dictionary.com defines thumbing one's nose as a "crudely defiant and contemptuous gesture." We now have a government that has done exactly that to the Speaker, to Parliament, to the media, to its professional civil servants, the Auditor General, and now to you. How does it feel? You have one chance, just one, to deal with it as an educated and concerned citizenry before you're locked into this pattern for another few years. The opportunity comes on May 2nd. If you don't grasp it, then it is proof positive that a government can thumb its nose at its own people and get away with it. True conservatism would never do this to this country and neither would the other historic political philosophies. But this is democracy and only you can stop it. For one brief moment, the power of the pencil in your hand can be mightier than a government's contempt. |
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