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February 12, 2004

As the former vice-chair of the Treasury Board, should Paul Martin have been aware of criminal activities occurring within the Quebec sponsorship program much earlier?  Absolutely.  Does it seem a little unbelievable for Mr. Martin to say that he knew nothing about it?  With Quebec being his home turf, and in consideration of his intimate knowledge of all government expenditures as Finance Minister, this answer seems totally inadequate.

However, Sheila Copps' criticisms of Mr. Martin for not acting sooner is a blatant example of hypocritical political posturing.  Quebec MP Marlene Jennings admitted yesterday that her and other MPs questioned the administration of the program and raised red flags to the entire Liberal caucus back in 1999.  Both Ms. Copps and Mr. Martin were a part of these meetings that include every Liberal MP and Senator.

For some reason, the Liberal government, including both backbench MPs and Cabinet Ministers alike, seem to think that blaming the other guy is the best political strategy to use after the scandal blew up in their faces.

Sheila has kept her nose relatively clean in her riding battle with Transport Minister Tony Valeri, and has largely waged her public relations campaign regarding her plight predicated on the notion that Mr. Martin must take full responsibility for not only the actions of his Cabinet Minister, but more fundamentally the actions of his political operatives within the Liberal party.

If Sheila does not begin to abide by her own logic regarding the concept of responsibility, she will not have a leg to stand on both on the day of her nomination meeting and the first time that she puts forth a query in Question Period as a member of the NDP.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

So it seems as though the federal surplus will end up being double the amount that was reported only a month ago when Finance Minister Ralph Goodale told the provinces that they might not be able to receive the $2 billion because of a federal balance sheet that was "razor thin."

Paul Martin built a career around underestimating financial figures, and now it seems that his new Finance Minister is following the same manner of creative accounting.

The assertion that corporate tax revenues jumped by $3 billion in December, creating the confusion in terms of final surplus numbers, is transparently false.  This new figure makes the financial warnings that both Mr. Goodale and Treasury Board President Reg Alcock have been emphasizing since December absolutely unacceptable, both for business and the Canadian public.

If the government plans on slashing and burning federal programs and departments in the next six months, then say so.  But do not use thinly veiled attempts at inaccurate financial fear mongering as a justification for these actions.

Comments? jonathan@tdhstrategies.com