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Came across an interesting article about Adscam and Jean Brault's testimony in the Gomery inquiry that was leaked despite the publication ban. If his testimony is confirmed as accurate (it was published on a blog) then it looks like the Liberals are well and truly toast. Here's the link.
Edit: I removed the link because of the possibility of contempt of court charges in Canada for anybody who linked it or followed the link. Don't want to see Lance or the Hipbase get in trouble. My apologies.
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Good call VLH. I'm torn on the publication ban... I can understand the need to not taint the jury pool and ensure a fair trail for Jean Brault and the others up on criminal charges, but it is disappointing that the Canadian media can't do its job and inform the Canadian people of this damning testimony. Anyway, no need to potentially hurt Lance and others over this issue.
I have been able to follow this issue and check out the US site which shall remain nameless for now, and if what is being said is true, then it is amazing how deep the corruption has rotted the Liberal party. Surely when it gets publicized (and it's only a matter of time now), it would be inconceivable that the Liberals would enjoy widespread support as they have for so long.
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Doesn't matter anyways....what was confidential will likely be made public sometime this week...which will lead a federal election sometime this spring. Huzzah.
At the risk of touching off a political shitstorm, I fear that Stephen "Zombie" Harper's Conservatives have an upper hand, because apparently the corruption from the Sponsorship Scandal is rank with capital R. Sadly, if the Conservatives win anything, Canada is f*cked.
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Noooooooooooooooooo, not another election. Ugh.
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I'm not big into poiltics; I read my fair share of the Citizen, and catch the news once every couple of days... jump to the CBC website on my downtime at work, but I don't think this will topple the Liberals. The Conservative stance right from the beginning has been to paint a dirty picture on the Liberarls for all that is wrong in Canada, especially this scandal. I think it's fairly accepted that the Liberals were deeply involved, and I think most Canadians still chose the Liberals (tainted as they may be) over a right-wing nut job who believes in contemporary Star Wars and the suppression of gays.
All this will do is create a minority government for the next 6,000 years, and that isn't a bad thing... Paul Martin's done a decent job (as tragically un-hip as he is) especially considering the spotlight that surrounds him as he walks through the mine-field his own party created.
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I agree. Even if all this is true, the liberals are a ton better than the slow class aka the conservatives.
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Look for a Bloq-Alliance government pitch in Quebec, while Harper goes with "CROOKS!" in the rest of the country.
This is perfect for Duceppe who can solidify his party in Ottawa, keep his promise to run for another gig, and then head to Quebec City with a very real chance of winning a referendum in 2009/10.
We (And I mean that in the sense of "everybody who wants to keep this country together") need a real leader, Liberal, Conservative whatever... to emerge on the federal scene and right freakin' quick.
The perpetual "who speaks for Canada?" has never been more important than it is now, or will be in five years.
I've already heard one 'Draft Justin' appeal... I'd be aboard, but Bernard Lord seems more likely.
The sponsorship scandal may be the hammer but Paul Martin and Stephen Harper will be the final nail if Duceppe collides with one of them in round 3.
This sponsorship thing could have much greater consequences than I think we realize today.
And for what it's worth, pure fraud, graft and "Groupes" aside, if the federal government was simply funneling funds to Jean Charest's campaign from a program intended to keep the country together... I say 'well done.'
And despite the fact that everybody and their third cousin are calling this "EXPLOSIVE" with "Jesus Returns" sized headlines, Brault's testimony really aint that grand, especially when you consider the source. The ban is intended to prevent potential jurors in the criminal cases from being biased, but it's created a mountain from a Brault-hill.
As for the Liberals being "done," that's certainly a stretch. History shows that governments mired in controversy and public displeasure can win elections if they have strong leaders and frame one big issue properly.
Mulroney pulled his very unpopular party (Complete with dismissals due to corruption) in summer '88 to a majority in fall '88 with Free Trade. Pearson took his unpopular government back to power against perhaps the best opposition leader ever with Medicare in '65. Granted, Martin's not a fraction of Person or Mulroney, and I don't know if Kyoto is a make or break issue... (And I pray Gay Marriage doesn't become one) but this is going to be one nuanced and complicated couple of months.
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I dont see this government falling anytime soon. I think we are still on track for an election next spring when the Liberals bring about their own collapse in the budget.
As for the daming testimony, well of course the opposition parties are saying its terrible. what else are they going to say.
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I agree that the Liberal minority gov't won't collapse anytime soon, although I think that Harper, Layton and Duceppe will use the threat of an early election to gain concessions from the Liberals. The whole publication ban issue stinks to high heaven in my view. Not only has Chretien and his lawyers attempted to yank Gomery from the inquiry, the whole timing of the ban and the laying of the charges against Brault seems to have benefits for Martin and his gov't.
If an early election does happen, I predict a coalition between the NDP and the Bloc in Ontario and Quebec. Harper has the whole "social conservative" label working against him in those two populous provinces so the likelihood of the Conservatives gaining ground there seem very slim. The Liberal Party isnt dead by any means but they are teetering awefully close to irrelevancy under Martin's leadership.
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Here's a good reason why I removed the link, though I applaud those bloggers who have decided to thumb their nose at the publication ban. It simply wasn't my call to make.
Feds bid to plug Gomery leaks
By Stephanie Rubec
CANADA'S attorney general is probing possible breaches of a publication ban set up to protect explosive testimony at the AdScam inquiry. Justice spokesman Patrick Charette said federal lawyers are looking into the Internet sites reproducing excerpts of Montreal ad exec Jean Brault's testimony and providing a link to a U.S. blog featuring more extensive coverage of the hearing.
"We have to decide what the best course of action is," Charette said, adding federal lawyers could charge Canadian bloggers and website owners with contempt of court or suggest AdScam Justice John Gomery issue warning letters.
POSTED ON WEBSITE
"It's a discussion that will take place between Justice lawyers and the Gomery commission," Charette said.
Website owners and bloggers began thumbing their nose at the publication ban on the weekend. A U.S. right-wing blogger posted the first accounts of Brault's testimony on Saturday and Canadian bloggers have followed suit.
Winnipeg blogger Michael Napier said the threat of being hauled into court to face contempt charges won't cause him to pull the testimony excerpts from his site. Since he posted the information, traffic on his site has doubled. "Does the right of one person override the right of 32 million people?" Napier asked.
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So the lid's off. And after taking my grains of salt, it seems to me that Chuck and Brault might be crooks who took advantage of a flawed and unaccountable program.
Much of the kick-back stuff dates back to before the Sponsorship program even existed, and that's where the Liberals will run into trouble. Peter McKay stood up in the House today and accused the government of being involved in a criminal conspiracy... I found that a bit of a stretch... and so did the speaker.
Some goons took advantage of a policy within a bureaucracy and government, that let's face it, has been no stranger to corruption since Johnny Mac's day.
The Liberals are goin to get stung for the "mutual back scratching" that has been wrong but real in Canadian government forever. Maybe this will lead to a cleaning up of business methods, but I doubt it... people will always be willing to pass envelopes under the table.
As for Chretien, Dion and their Sponsorship program, I think their legacy is safe, as Chretien was then (and sadly is still) the only politician on the scene able to boot f*** the seperatists into the ground.
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Yeah, corruption has been around forever.
Trudeau ran the Liberals into the ground amid all kinds of accusations of patronage and pork barrelling that left Turner with no hope of beating Mulroney. Mulroney then proceeded to run a government marked by pork-barrelling and patronage, which ran the conservatives into the ground. And then Chretien did the same.
What I think the Conservatives should note is that this time the public elected a Liberal minority despite the whiff of corruption. Martin himself didn't smell too good from the day the scandal first broke. So this should tell the right that the public is deeply distrustful of their platform. Their efforts to move left on social issues show they're getting the message.
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Stephen, I was in Alberta before the convention, listening to Albertans griping that Harper had already become a Liberal in all but name. :roll:
Everyone knows that the conservative problem post Mulroney is that their western base pushes policies that are disastrous for them in Ontario. They're just papering over their internal fractures right now. Whether they can stick to a moderate platform while holding together as a party is a real question, to me.
I think that even with adscam, their ability to win an election is in question. In a sense, an election would be for the Conservatives to lose, but they've displayed a fine ability to do just that in their past couple of outings. I think Canadians are pretty cynical about corruption. When it comes down to it, a few choice remarks from the right side of the Tory party could keep Martin in power.
Do you think it significant that the Globe, CTV, and so on are reporting on adscam and publication bans, but not reporting opinion polls?
