Where is the Outrage?

The recent testimony at the Gomery inquiry into the sponsorship scandal has fired up the opposition parties and the media but there is little sign of the public outrage that should be building across Canada. What will it take to shake Canadians out of our apathetic attitude towards corrupt politicians, bungling bureaucrats and other scoundrels? Why are we so accepting of the blatant misuse of our money?

This progression of a lack of concern started when there was no sustained public outcry over the mess in Human Resources which we apparently thought as just the usual bumbling by a bureaucracy out of control. No sooner had that dust settled when the shenanigans at Shawinigan and the Grand Merde golf course came and went with hardly a murmur against the devious dealings of our former Prime Minister.

The stupid waste of millions of taxpayers’ dollars to spite Mulroney and the helicopter deal that was to replace the Sea Kings raised a little sigh of protest from the military but the overpowering majority of the Liberals assured nothing would happen. Add to that the approval to buy unneeded old submarines, supported by Admirals who are living in the past as old as the equipment we give our armed forces, and we have millions more wasted with little outcry.

The gun registry boondoggle is an on-going farce of administrative bungling and political vote-seeking. Do the police use the system yet to check for firearms before responding to a call? Or do the police know that criminals have not and will never register their guns, despite their initial support for the gun registry? But what is another billion dollars of taxpayers money wasted?

Our Auditor Generals bring in report after report concerning the misuse of our money, and yet we do little or nothing. There has to be a consequence for mismanagement of our money. Waiting for the next election is not enough and one can understand why Recall legislation is becoming more popular. Throwing the rascals out might give us a measure of satisfaction, but stealing our money calls for more than that. Sending them through the courts would only result in some plea bargaining and a slap on the wrist, but we ought to be doing something to let the politicians we have had enough. Give them at least a week in the slammer.

The outcry over salaries paid to executives of Hydro and other public institutions raises a few eyebrows but we accept the comparison with the bloated salaries of other CEOs. Even the outcry over the $100,000 raise given the CEO of the Sudbury Hospital is weakening in the face of explanations from the Board who can rationalize the raise as being competitive with other hospital managers. And how do you hold accountable a Board of volunteers when they mismanage our money?


Why is there no outrage? Do we believe that there is nothing we can do except wait until the next election, by which time our memories will have faded and we put the same scoundrels back in power? Will we re-elect the Dalton Gang in Ontario despite the litany of broken promises? We did it with the Federal Liberals, so I suppose we will never change if we have accepted the above list of screw-ups.

Is it because we have been conditioned to compromise everything in our daily lives? Confrontation has been replaced with conciliation – and in some cases this is the better path. But sometimes you have to take a stand on what you believe is right and not compromise. As much as one might despise George Bush, at least he had the conviction of his mistaken beliefs to do something. Can we say the same of our politicians in face of the sponsorship findings? Are we so imbued with compromise, conciliation and arbitration that we will no longer stand up for what is right or wrong?

Are the Liberals, and this means the party hacks, not only the elected members, going to face any consequences of asking for and receiving kickbacks – that was our tax money- from the Ad companies? Or will we accept their mea cuplas and believe their assurances that it will not happen again? Are the other political parties any different or do they too rely on our apathy?

We all know that big business will donate money in the hope of gaining political favour, and that is fine with me, as long as they are using their own money and the awarding of contracts follows due process. It is also okay for some of our municipal politicians to give financial support to fellow candidates as long as both parties know to whom they are beholden. That some of the public will not support people who partake of this under-the-table money handling is a sign that there is some integrity left.

But when the government awards contracts, paid for with our tax dollars, in the expectation (or demand) that the contractor kickback some of that money to a political party, that is simply wrong. I have to wonder what Anthony Rota is thinking. He seems like an honest fellow and he has to be questioning the ethics of his party.

Surely it is time we acted. Will we even bother to send a polite letter to Ottawa asking that the Liberal party face the consequences of their actions?

Where is the public outrage?