Hmm...
It's certainly good to see that the think tank here at Falling Downs isn't the only site sceptical about the Charbonneau Commission.
Frankly, we lost all faith in the Commission when they pulled that Donnie Brasco stunt. Yup, here's this government inquiry into corruption in the Quebec construction industry, and they pay to fly in this guy who wrote a memoir about his time in the New York City Mafia?
Thirty years ago???
That's when we knew the Charbonneau Commission was guilty of what they were accusing everybody else of; sucking too hard on the government teat.
But yes, they did manage to stretch things out for four long and lucrative years, and they did manage to shine the spotlight on those mostly irrelevant corners of "corruption" wherein some bikers and some Italian guys might have made a bit of pocket change.
Those are the folks who made it into the headlines now that the final report has been released.
The SNC Lavalin guys and Arthur Porter, both vetted at the highest levels in the PMO, who scammed the system beyond the wildest and greediest dreams of those Italian guys and the bikers, are totally lost in the fine print.
Nice cover-up, Madame Charbonneau!
And nice job stretching a redundant "inquiry" out to four long years and $45 millions!
I say we need another inquiry to get to the bottom of the Charbonneau inquiry...
Showing posts with label Arthur Porter corruption. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arthur Porter corruption. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Monday, June 10, 2013
Harper surrounded by sleaze, will crack down hard on $20/hr peons in the public service
Sanctimonious Steve sure isn't smelling all that great these days.
From the illegal electronic snooping to the serial fiscal abuse and outright fraud of his hand-picked Senate appointees, Big Steve is up against the ropes...
To say nothing of that fellow Steve made responsible for overseeing all that illegal spying, put in the job by Harper himself and then absconding with untold millions in Schmiergeld.
But let's not underestimate the man. He is after all a firm believer of the "punching above my weight" doctrine.
That's the one wherein you evoke the " Canada always punches above it's weight" mantra whenever you are trying to justify some morally dubious stunt on the world stage.
So just as the Tory ship is filling up with dirty water, Steve's brain trust finds the perfect scapegoat.
The Harper gang will rebuild their brand as guardians of the public purse on the backs of public servants across the land!
Did you know those people get BANKABLE SICK DAYS!!!!
I know!
It's like the last thirty years of Reaganomics and NAFTA and the entire neo-liberal manure wagon just passed them by!
By God, Big Steve has a point. Why should those molly-coddled civil servants get sick days when I don't?
From the illegal electronic snooping to the serial fiscal abuse and outright fraud of his hand-picked Senate appointees, Big Steve is up against the ropes...
To say nothing of that fellow Steve made responsible for overseeing all that illegal spying, put in the job by Harper himself and then absconding with untold millions in Schmiergeld.
But let's not underestimate the man. He is after all a firm believer of the "punching above my weight" doctrine.
That's the one wherein you evoke the " Canada always punches above it's weight" mantra whenever you are trying to justify some morally dubious stunt on the world stage.
So just as the Tory ship is filling up with dirty water, Steve's brain trust finds the perfect scapegoat.
The Harper gang will rebuild their brand as guardians of the public purse on the backs of public servants across the land!
Did you know those people get BANKABLE SICK DAYS!!!!
I know!
It's like the last thirty years of Reaganomics and NAFTA and the entire neo-liberal manure wagon just passed them by!
By God, Big Steve has a point. Why should those molly-coddled civil servants get sick days when I don't?
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Canada's top spy unmasked as fraud artist
Here's a story that is getting virtually no traction in the Canadian media.
Rob Ford, mayor of Toronto, seen maybe smoking crack with black youths on a video that may or may not exist?
Tons of traction!
Some fat fuck in the Senate playing fast and loose with the spending guidelines?
Tons of traction!
But the top civilian overseer of Canada's spy agency, personally appointed to the position by Big Steve, fingered for major fraud... right next to nothing!
Arthur Porter was Harper's hand-picked top dog at CSIS. Privy to every national secret, and every NATO secret.
If the allegations are true, Mr. Porter connived with the good folks at Canada's premier engineering firm SNC Lavalin to defraud the Canadian taxpayer of tens of millions of dollars.
Said connivance took place under the watchful eye of SNC Lavalin Chair, anti-corruption crusader and occasional Globe and Mail columnist Gwyn Morgan.
That would seem to be a far bigger story than "Toronto Mayor smokes crack" or "Mike Duffy fudges expense account."
So where is the story?
Rob Ford, mayor of Toronto, seen maybe smoking crack with black youths on a video that may or may not exist?
Tons of traction!
Some fat fuck in the Senate playing fast and loose with the spending guidelines?
Tons of traction!
But the top civilian overseer of Canada's spy agency, personally appointed to the position by Big Steve, fingered for major fraud... right next to nothing!
Arthur Porter was Harper's hand-picked top dog at CSIS. Privy to every national secret, and every NATO secret.
If the allegations are true, Mr. Porter connived with the good folks at Canada's premier engineering firm SNC Lavalin to defraud the Canadian taxpayer of tens of millions of dollars.
Said connivance took place under the watchful eye of SNC Lavalin Chair, anti-corruption crusader and occasional Globe and Mail columnist Gwyn Morgan.
That would seem to be a far bigger story than "Toronto Mayor smokes crack" or "Mike Duffy fudges expense account."
So where is the story?
Monday, May 20, 2013
Mike Duffy, King-maker
As Machiavelli said, he who breaks the King is the new King-maker.
Puffy Duffy has finally got the clout he always aspired to. He has undone the most powerful man in Ottawa, Nigel Wright.
It's interesting how this story is being spun. Mike pleaded with Nigel,... pleaded! What would become of his family if he suddenly died, etc. Finally, to stop the whining and save the Canadian taxpayers a few bucks, Nigel pulled out his chequebook and solved Mike's problems with the Senate audit committee.
Mike Duffy was among the upper echelon of Canadian journalists for twenty or thirty years. Those guys don't make hedge-fund salaries but during that era they did OK. He's been in the Senate since '08, where they do OK too.
He's on the speaker's circuit where he makes up to $5,000 per appearance.
And we are to believe that this guy can't scare up 90 thou?
Bullshit!
This $90,000 personal cheque wasn't philanthropy on the part of Nigel Wright.
It was a shake-down!
And let's keep it in perspective. Mike got to know the Senate and its inhabitants back in the day, when enforcement of arcane accounting rules was unheard of. His Senate dreams come true and whoa, all of a sudden the trough has a meter on it?
Damn!
Frankly, I think there are other scandals that could benefit from some of this bright light and hot heat that Duffy's been getting.
Just as a for instance, it would seem that Arthur Porter, the charlatan who wormed his way into the confidence of Stephen Harper and was subsequently made the top civilian at CSIS, is a lot more newsworthy than Pam Wallin or Mike Duffy.
Puffy Duffy has finally got the clout he always aspired to. He has undone the most powerful man in Ottawa, Nigel Wright.
It's interesting how this story is being spun. Mike pleaded with Nigel,... pleaded! What would become of his family if he suddenly died, etc. Finally, to stop the whining and save the Canadian taxpayers a few bucks, Nigel pulled out his chequebook and solved Mike's problems with the Senate audit committee.
Mike Duffy was among the upper echelon of Canadian journalists for twenty or thirty years. Those guys don't make hedge-fund salaries but during that era they did OK. He's been in the Senate since '08, where they do OK too.
He's on the speaker's circuit where he makes up to $5,000 per appearance.
And we are to believe that this guy can't scare up 90 thou?
Bullshit!
This $90,000 personal cheque wasn't philanthropy on the part of Nigel Wright.
It was a shake-down!
And let's keep it in perspective. Mike got to know the Senate and its inhabitants back in the day, when enforcement of arcane accounting rules was unheard of. His Senate dreams come true and whoa, all of a sudden the trough has a meter on it?
Damn!
Frankly, I think there are other scandals that could benefit from some of this bright light and hot heat that Duffy's been getting.
Just as a for instance, it would seem that Arthur Porter, the charlatan who wormed his way into the confidence of Stephen Harper and was subsequently made the top civilian at CSIS, is a lot more newsworthy than Pam Wallin or Mike Duffy.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Surprise! Quebec Corruption Inquiry "needs more time"
And why wouldn't they! After all, the commissioners have got themselves a pretty sweet gig, investigating dirty deeds in the Quebec construction industry.
It could take a while longer to get to the bottom of that; at least 18 more months according to the commissioners.
The commission has held hearings since last May and is burning through tax-payer dollars at better than a million a month. So far they have been focusing almost exclusively on guys with Italian names who carry money in their socks.
When you watch a bit of their schtick on TV it's pretty obvious that all concerned have watched multiple reruns of The Godfather.
The highlight of the hearings thus far has been the appearance of "Donnie Brasco," aka Joe Pistone, the FBI agent who infiltrated a New York City crime family over thirty years ago.
How would that qualify him to testify before a commission on corruption in Quebec thirty years later? Beats me, but I suspect the common thread may be those Italian names.
Meanwhile, there's non-Italian corruption showing up in la belle Provence too. Former Stephen Harper pal Arthur Porter is suspected of having skimmed tens of millions from a contract to build Montreal's new "superhospital" in collusion with the Francophone execs of Quebec's biggest infrastructure contractor, SNC-Lavalin.
It could take a while longer to get to the bottom of that; at least 18 more months according to the commissioners.
The commission has held hearings since last May and is burning through tax-payer dollars at better than a million a month. So far they have been focusing almost exclusively on guys with Italian names who carry money in their socks.
When you watch a bit of their schtick on TV it's pretty obvious that all concerned have watched multiple reruns of The Godfather.
The highlight of the hearings thus far has been the appearance of "Donnie Brasco," aka Joe Pistone, the FBI agent who infiltrated a New York City crime family over thirty years ago.
How would that qualify him to testify before a commission on corruption in Quebec thirty years later? Beats me, but I suspect the common thread may be those Italian names.
Meanwhile, there's non-Italian corruption showing up in la belle Provence too. Former Stephen Harper pal Arthur Porter is suspected of having skimmed tens of millions from a contract to build Montreal's new "superhospital" in collusion with the Francophone execs of Quebec's biggest infrastructure contractor, SNC-Lavalin.
Tens of millions?
How'd he even get those kind of sums into his socks?
How'd he even get those kind of sums into his socks?
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