Interim Gomery Report

Well, it's here. Martin's been pretty busy this afternoon, but I don't think a damn thing will really change. An election perhaps in February... another liberal re-election? What happens here? I don't think the Conservatives can form a good, stable government, and Harper.. well, that's another story... The NDP?

I really don't buy that Martin knew nothing about this... it smells like complete BS to me.

“Canadians must be able to have faith in the integrity of government and in the people who administer it.

^

I wish they'd say something meaningful for once...

he Liberal government reacted swiftly to a damning report on the federal sponsorship scandal that said it “subverted and betrayed” Canadians' trust in their system of government, saying they would clean up government accountability to ensure this type of corruption never happened again and reportedly referring the report to the RCMP for possible further charges.

Mr. Justice John Gomery's interim report, released Tuesday, placed some of the responsibility for the scandal on former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. It did not, however, place blame on Prime Minister Paul Martin's current government.

Public Works Minister Scott Brison spoke to reporters minutes after the release of the report on behalf of the Liberal government, saying that the activities outlined by Judge Gomery were endemic in governments for decades and that it was Mr. Martin's government who stopped it.

Globe and Mail Article

4 Chances to Stop Abuse

`The report of an inquiry into a deeply flawed government advertising program to promote Canadian unity also said senior Liberal officials in French-speaking Quebec had engaged in an elaborate kickback scheme and in illegal campaign financing.

In all, about C$100 million was funneled from the program to pro-Liberal advertising firms.

`Judge John Gomery, found that advertising firms in Quebec had received lucrative federal contracts and then knowingly kicked some of the money back to the Liberal Party's Quebec wing, enabling it to sidestep electoral financing laws.

`The wrongdoing centers on a sponsorship program set up in 1996 after an referendum on sovereignty for Quebec failed narrowly. The program paid for Canadian flags and posters at Quebec events and aimed to boost the cause of federalism.

`Gomery, who has spent the last year investigating the affair, said the program had backfired amid "a blatant abuse of public funds" and he lashed out at "carelessness and incompetence ... (and) greed and venality."

He apportioned some blame to Chretien, who ordered the program to be established and ran it from his office. Gomery also fingered former Public Works Minister Alfonso Gagliano, several senior aides and bureaucrats and the heads of the advertising agencies involved.

"Since Mr. Chretien chose to run the program from his own office, and to have his staff take charge of its direction, he is accountable for the defective manner in which the sponsorship program and initiatives were implemented," he said.

Yahoo article w/ various opinion at bottom of page