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Corruptio optimi pessima.
To these people, the release of the auditor-general's report highlighting the thin edge of the wedge that is the misuse, misappropriation and missing money from the federal governments' communications departments must come as welcome relief. The more a government changes, the more it stays the same. Sheila Fraser unleashed a torrent of criticism from all corners of the political divide with the disclosure of her multi-month investigation into government programs. It's difficult to capture the scope of the corruption running throughout a number of government departments, which is perhaps the reason the public's ire is so fired. One of the most egregious areas of monetary malfeasance comes - not surprisingly - is found in Chapter 3 of the AG's report [http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/domino/reports.... ] , that focuses on federal sponsorship programs. The unaccountable, untendered expenses paid out to Liberal friendly Quebec companies almost defy listing. Among some of the highlights: • Parliament was not informed of the program's objectives or the results it achieved and was misinformed as to how the program was being managed. •Those responsible for managing the program broke the government's own rules in the way they selected communications agencies and awarded contracts to them. • ... some sponsorship funds were transferred to Crown corporations using unusual methods that appear designed to provide significant commissions to communications agencies, while hiding the source of funds and the true nature of the transactions. • Documentation was very poor and there was little evidence of analysis to support the expenditure of more than $250 million. Over $100 million of that was paid to communications agencies as production fees and commissions. • Oversight mechanisms and essential controls at Public Works and Government Services Canada failed to detect, prevent, or report violations. The degree of abuse outlined in Ms. Fraser's report is such that the federal Liberals are having difficulty distancing themselves from the scandal. How does the government decide which is worse for optics: the government is utterly corrupt, was aware of or even willfully participated in the sponsorship program or was so completely incompetent as to remain blissfully unaware of the millions of dollars sucked out the door? In the week that has passed since details of the sponsorship scandal became public, the Liberal party has seen drops in its polling numbers of up to 20 per cent after enjoying a surge in popularity following the retirement of former Prime Minister Jean Chretien.
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