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March 18, 2004

Avid watchers of Question Period, or those that have an interest in witnesses appearing in front of a parliamentary committee can only determine that anyone under the microscope of inquiry has absolutely nothing to fear.  Why is that, one might ask?  The answer is simple...that neither of these forums have the ability to apply the proper pressure to receive clear, concise and telling answers.

Mr. Gagliano passed the buck of responsibility, gave testimony that seemed to contradict that of bureaucrats already questioned, and generally seemed uninterested in the sanctity of the proceedings. 

He said that he only met Chuck Guité, the top bureaucrat in charge of the sponsorship program between 1997-1999, three to four times a year, once apparently to mysteriously approve ads for the Nagano Winter Olympics (not usual territory for a Minister's daily activities).  This is a  funny revelation, not only because other testimony attested that Gagliano took a direct interest in and had intimate involvement of the sponsorship program, but also because Mr. Guité got such frequent private meetings with a Minister heading a department that has 19,000 employees and a budget of $4 billion.

The most interesting tidbit that did emerge amidst the muddled and cloudy answers provided came with this statement:

"A minister does not run his department — he has neither the time nor the freedom to do so...I acted as a spokesman for my department and unless I had some serious reason to disagree with him I accepted my deputy minister's recommendation as the position I should take."

If not Mr. Gagliano, then who?  This is a copout answer even by the usual political standards of playing hot potato with responsibility.

Regardless of what, if any impact, comes from Mr. Gagliano's testimony and the committee's final report on the sponsorship program, the notion that those in Cabinet are capable, aware and involved has been shattered for many years to come.  In the name of the Canadian public craving someone, anyone, to step up and assert leadership and accountability, this does not bode well for the already soiled reputations of anyone that presently holds public office.

Comments? jonathan@tdhstrategies.com