Premier Hamm Should Do The Perp Walk
The Nova Scotia financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2003, claimed a surplus of $31.6 million, thanks to accounting gerrymandering. Specifically, a pension surplus was reclassified as revenue. Roy Salmon, Auditor General, gained no fans in the Premier's office when he put out a press release:

'Unless indicated otherwise, readers of financial information and reports should be able to rightfully assume that the information provided by government is prepared on a consistent basis and is suitably comparable.

It is government's obligation to provide financial information and reports on a consistent basis, and where not consistent, provide the information required for comparability.'

'Now if everybody in the province wants to go out and take an accounting degree and go into it in detail, that's fine.'

Since the politicians are running around, post Enron, Worldcom, Parmalat, et al, demanding that corporate CEOs and chief financial officers sign off assuring that financial statements are accurate, on penalty of  prison, perhaps the same obligations and penalties should apply the prime ministers, premiers, and ministers of finance.

407
Tolls went up up on February 1st. Government says 407 requires approval. 407 says it doesn't. If proven wrong, 407 assured the court that refunds will be made. But if 407 doesn't believe it needs government approval to raise rates, it is probable that it has never received government approval for all previous increases.

407 claims it lost $75.2 million from revenue of $349.5 million in 1993, much better than the 1992 loss of $99.1 million from revenue of $310.9 million. Losses attributed to interest on debt.

Newfoundland Drowning
A new review of Newfoundland finances predicts annual deficits of $1 billion a year for the next four years, raising provincial debt from $11.5 billion to $16 billion. That's about $32,000 per person, $128,000 for a family of four. In the current year, the budget is $4 billion, interest on debt is $1 billion, the amount of the projected deficit. That's $2,000 per person, $8,000 for a family of four.

There is a two word explanation for this situation - Joey Smallwood. Smallwood was premier for 25 years after Newfoundland joined Canada. During that time he authorized about $500 million in failed government projects. The most infamous was the Come-By-Chance oil refinery. Cost $120 million, selling price $1.

The schedule below covers 50 years. The interest rate is the rate on 10 year Canada bonds in January. Source the Bank of Canada web site.

The final column is the impact of cumulative interest as at January, 2003, for any debt incurred at January 1 of any year.
For example $1 debit at January 1, 2002, would have become a debt of $1.0572 by January 1, 2003.

Assume that Smallwood's disasters were all funded by debt half way through his reign, that is, January 1961.
That debt and accumulated interest would have become $500 million X 28.6593, or about $14.3 billion. In fact, the real situation would be worse because Newfoundland pays higher interest rates than Canada.
 

1954	3.55%
1955	3.13%	35.8027
1956	3.30%	34.5752
1957	4.145%	33.5249
1958	3.91%	32.4549
1959	4.65%	31.1646
1960	5.66%	29.9920
1961	5.24%	28.6593
1962	4.97%	27.1498
1963	5.05%	25.7980
1964	5.17%	24.5765
1965	4.96%	23.3951
1966	5.41%	22.2450
1967	5.60%	21.1938
1968	6.54%	20.1060
1969	7.16%	19.0398
1970	8.31%	17.8710
1971	6.67%	16.6770
1972	6.73%	15.3975
1973	7.16%	14.4347
1974	7.75%	13.5245
1975	8.30%	12.6208
1976	9.29%	11.7131
1977	8.52%	10.8154
1978	9.06%	9.8960
1979	9.82%	9.1191
1980	12.13%	8.3615
1981	12.96%	7.6139
1982	15.94%	6.7902
1983	12.28%	6.0112
1984	11.92%	5.1847
1985	11.38%	4.6177
1986	10.49%	4.1259
1987	8.94%	3.7043
1988	9.74%	3.3526
1989	10.18%	3.0775
1990	10.04%	2.8043
1991	10.22%	2.5452
1992	8.92%	2.3130
1993	8.67%	2.0985
1994	6.86%	1.9267
1995	9.41%	1.7730
1996	7.35%	1.6592
1997	7..07%	1.5165
1998	5.63%	1.1426
1999	5.08%	1.3193
2000	6.36%	1.2490
2001	5.71%	1.1886
2002	5.72%	1.1176
2003		1.0572

The Newfie Tunnel
Not to be outdone by Smallwood, Premier Danny Williams wants a train tunnel from Newfoundland to Labrador under the Strait of Belle Isle - 17 km - to improve tourism, move resources, and deliver electricity from Churchill Falls. The tunnel must go below 530 metres into granite because the rock above is so porous the water comes through. The cost? Billions. Time required? 12 years.  But starting off is cheap. William is spending $70,335 for a study. Canada Opportunities Agency contributes $281,339.

Manitoba Too
John Singleton, Manitoba's Auditor-General; issued a press release dedicated to the proposition that balanced budget legislation is flawed. Consequently, claims real deficit for the year will be $184 million.

And Saskatchewan -  Saskatchewan Provincial Auditor
Fred Wendel, provincial auditor, noted that the financial department produced unreliable statements, did not record a $4 billion pension liability, understated the year's pension cost by $24 million, improperly recorded an $82 million transfer, and called a $58 million expenditure an asset.

To relieve the auditor of part of his heavy work load, the legislature created the First National Trust, which is not a Crown agency. The trust receives money for social and economic development, about $20 million a year, that used to go to The First Nations Fund. The fund denied the auditor access to its records in 2003. The fund had been deficient in managing taxpayers' money in 2001 and 2002. Just got to love Saskatchewan government: If you have a problem don't fix it, ignore it.

New Brunswick's Funny Accounting - Web Site - Report
The Auditor-General Daryl Wilson pointed out that, contrary to the government's claims of a $1 million surplus, the deficit for the year is $109.4 million. This is the second report because the government was suppressing information.

 "In my opinion, it trivializes the value of audited financial statements when a news release can convey a message which is entirely different from what is disclosed in the statements,"

Nova Scotia has introduced tax reductions of $147 million, giving the citizens more money in their pockets and bigger millstones around their necks.

Canucks Win The Lottery
Canucks, the millionaires working for the Vancouver hockey team, can expect to get even richer now that the B.C. government has decided to run a lottery to benefit the club.

The Questions:
Are Canucks a 'charity' or a 'core government program'?
If lotteries are a voluntary stupidity tax how much will the wet coast pay?

Auberge Update
The Auberge Grand-Mere burned down. Arson. Fortunately, there were no employees on site, only guests. Poor Yvon Duhaime, owner, had the Shawinigan Inn, also a victim of arson. This time Yvon Duhaime has been charged with arson and fraud.

Meanwhile, the Quebec Superior Court ruled in favour of Francois Beaudoin, former president of the Business Development Bank. Beaudoin had tried to revoke a $615,000 loan to the Auberge Grand-Mere.(John Chretien sold the hotel to Duhaime and in 1996 tried to pressure Beaudoin to make a loan of $1.6 million to Duhaime.) The judge found that two Chretien cohorts who had been parachuted into the bank - Michel Vennat, as chairman (now president and CEO - Chretien's reward for a job well done), and John Carle, vice-president - were out to break Beaudoin and ruin his career. They violated a severance agreement and claimed Beaudoin misappropriated funds. They made illegal searches and photocopied personal records including tax returns.

Vennat made a complaint to the RCMP. The Mounties raided Beaudoin's home, cottage, and golf club. No charges were laid.

Said Justice Andre Denis:

"Messrs. Vennat and Carle are personal friends of the prime minister [Chretien], and have every right to be. But the Auberge Grand-Mere case and the publicity around it gave Mr. Beaudoin the impression that he was the victim of a vendetta..."

"The ferocity, even nastiness, with which he was treated throughout this whole affair would certainly allow him to think that way."

"The whole affair leaves a profound impression of injustice."

"The court considers that Mr. Beaudoin suffered an unspeakable injustice as a result of this matter"

"If one had wanted to break him and ruin his career, one would not have acted differently."

Subsequent to the decision, the BDC board expressed "complete confidence" in management.

Said the judge:

"The court cannot help but note the the witness contradicted himself and is contradicted in the evidence in numerous instances, greatly undermining his credibility"

One wonders how big a surcharge the lawyers charged in processing the KPMG bill.

Liberal Stupidity Continues
To produce ethanol from wheat and corn, $78 million is going down the drain. The problem? Even the environmentalists know that more energy is required to produce the ethanol than the ethanol contains.  The beneficiaries:

- Farmers
- Commercial Alcohols of Varennes, Que.
- Husky Oil Marketing of Minnedosa, Man.
- Husky Oil Operations of Lloydminster, Sask.
- NorAmera BioEnergy of Weyburn, Sask.
- Okanagan Biofuels of Kelowna, B.C.
- Seaway Grain Processors of Cornwall
- Suncor Energy of Sarnia.

Of course, Natural Resources Canada has a different version which it sent out to newspapers grateful for cheap copy, not to mention government ads. Natural Resource Article

Rotten Boroughs

Canadians are being treated to the Belinda Stronach machine recruiting Quebec members to the Progressive Alliance of Reformed Conservatives. Each riding gets to vote in the leadership race, the number of members in riding is not a consideration. Consequently, Belinda might become the leader because of riding votes from a province where she doesn't speak the language, and has little of possibility of actually winning seats in an election. Behind the scenes pulling the strings:
former Magna director Bill Davis; Magna director Mike Harris; and Muldoon.

Belinda received 35% of the votes, which translates into a much smaller percentage of members of the Progressive Alliance of Reformed Conservatives.

"I would appreciate your co-operation in ensuring that an appropriate reminder is communicated to all employees in your division in the few, final days left, so that they can help make a difference in the future of our country"

"Belinda needs our help .... this is a rare opportunity for all of us to stand up and be counted"

Belinda ended up with 35% of the vote, but a far smaller percentage of support from the party membership.

The Minister (unofficial) of Circuses and Freak Shows

"If I was prime minister, patronage in our government would quadruple overnight. The problem with this government is there is not enough patronage and unelected bureaucrats are trying to give direction."

Dennis is going against Jack Layton in the next election. For more publicity Dennis was given the task of coming up with a grand vision of for federal involvement in the development of the Toronto waterfront. The biggest buck recommendation? $30 million for the Toronto Port Authority, an outfit that could give Alfonso Gagliano a fight in a mismanagement competition.

The minister's most recent brainwave was to have the Public Accounts committee inteview a panel made up of all the bodies involved in the Sponsorship program. The Public Accounts Committee did not agree. They'll be interviewed individually, starting with Alfonso Gagliano.

In Mau, in his riding, Mills put up signs with his mug and "Save the Waterfront". He claims that these are not election related.

"These signs have to do with my parliamentary work. In other words, these are not my election signs,"

• If great economies would result, the home owner can replace his own fridge and doesn't need a subsidy.
• Fridges will be replaced by bigger units, so the electrical savings will not occur.
• Fridges will not be retired, but kept to increase capacity, or be moved to the cottage. Thus electrical use will go up not down.
• General Electric is attempting to get in on this program but whether it is to be the sole supplier of fridges or as a financial agent remains to be seen. If it is is the supplier of fridges, you can bet that it will remain the supplier of fridges even if more efficient units are available.

Clarke Addison, the parent company of Addison Properties, also bought the another property for $4 million, shortly after the government had paid for an historically correct renovation.

Never Believe The Bastards
Governments play a game. Hire a supposedly independent consulting company to give opinions about a government program. The understanding is that the company will praise the program no matter how stupid or ill-conceived or mismanaged, if they want to be considered for additional assignments. The government believes that an outside consultant will be seen by the gullible taxpayers as more independent. Thus the praise received will be earned from an impartial judge.

Natural Resources Canada has a program that has been running six years - RIDE - Renewable Energy Deployment Initiative, a program to subsidize energy that don't make economic sense.

Goss Gilroy was hired to evaluate the program and found it to be "not cost effective" because it promoted energy systems that "have little chance of becoming price competitive and developing into sustainable industries". It recommended phasing out incentives for, for example, solar power because 'strategy of boosting sales, achieving economies of scale and reducing system prices to where they can compete without incentives is unlikely to be successful'.

• "performance was hindered by a lack of internal reporting, and performance measurement, consistent day-to-day management of REDI and by a lack of a co-ordinated marketing strategy"
• "the program, which does not appear to have been strategically focused to begin with, became even less focused over time"
• "If the underlying economics of these industries cannot be changed, perhaps REDI should focus on building a heightened environmental ethic among Canadians that would convince them to choose [renewable energy ] technologies over conventional technologies in spite of the higher prices"

Said Minister John Efford:

• "How can [someone] predict that 20 or 25 years down the road that these are not going to be used by the consumers on a regular basis and be cost effective and be an alternate source to fuel supplies that are now running out as we are talking?"
• "Every day we use a barrel of oil that's a barrel of oil less for the future"
• "If Goss Gilroy had been around when the Wright brothers invented the airplane, we wouldn't have a jet in the air today"

The only rebuttal required: The Wright brothers were not a government project.

The reason for the report? Herb Dhaliwal wanted to know why a program set up to encourage businesses to buy green energy technology spent only a fraction of its budget on equipment rebates. That is, insufficient amounts of money had been spend, and, therfore, the amount wasted was lower than budgeted.

MPs Trust (Slush) Funds
You won't get a tax receipt, but you can donate money to an MP's private trust fund. No one knows how much is stashed away because they cannot be examined by Canada's chief electoral officer. The money can be used for anything except election campaigns, including going into the politicians pockets. So if you want to legally bribe a politician, go to it. Unlike a donation to a political party or campaign, your name will never be disclosed.

Oops - Did It Again
Ontario government lawyers, 10 months into a trial, suddenly found a mere 1,874 documents not previously disclosed to the other side which had already closed its case. The government had pulled a similar stunt previously in the case and the Ontario taxpayer had to pay $50,000 to the plaintiffs in legal costs. For this recent stunt, Judge Frances Kiteley awarded the plaintiffs additional money, probably up to $300,000, for additional legal costs, saying:

"it's the straw that broke the camel's back".

"The delays and interruptions that have occurred in this case - for which the plaintiffs share no responsibility - have exceeded any tolerable level"

"The staggering volume of non-disclosure by the defendants has prejudiced the plaintiffs ability to proceed with the case"

The Crown counsel Robert Charney and Sarah Kraicer told the judge the material appears either to repeat information which had already been disclosed or is simply irrelevant. Not to mention that some may be protected by cabinet privilege.

And you wonder why the courts are clogged.

Other Martinites - Part 2 - See Part 1
Dennis Dawson of Hill & Knowlton may be running in the Beauport riding in Quebec City.

Mounties In The Spotlight
Shirley Heafey, chairwoman of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, has filed suit in the Federal Court of Canada. The Mounties are accused of breaking laws intended to make them accountable.

And the Mounties had an unauthorized bank account for the sponsorship funds which was used to buy pretty horsies for the musical ride. The Quebec provincial police are investigating that one.

Let's Have A Grand Jury System
The MFP inquiry in Toronto is in recess. The courts have ruled against Jeffrey Lyons and ordered 18 boxes unsealed. Jeffrey is appealing. He hopes that even though he testified that he was not acting as a lawyer, he can invoke lawyer-client privilege and keep the inquiry from examining the contents.

So far, the inquiry has heard 150 days of testimony from 80 witnesses, involved 40 lawyers, 64,000 pages of documents, and cost $11 million.

And it has yet to get to the consultants hired by Lastman & Co. For example, Ball Hue, formerly a Metro Toronto employee, collected $10 million on  $2 million purchase orders. He has disappeared, probably to China. Michael Saunders, a U.S. consultant who can't be forced to appear, picked up $4 million over four years. He first met former city treasurer Wanda Liczyk when she worked for North York. Wanda is now vice-president of Toronto Hydro, at $270,000 per.

Wouldn't it be nice to dispense with the lawyers? Simply haul the bodies into the grand jury room without lawyers, ask them questions, and jail the perjurers.

Mikey's Minions Millions
First Mikey made Hydro One exempt from freedom of information legislation, then he dumped a bunch of his operatives into it with fat contracts. It would have worked if Dalton hadn't won the election and let the pus ooze out.

Michael Gourley - $3.7 million - former deputy minister of finance, partner with Pricewaterhouse & a buddy of the Emperor Ernie, signed a contract with Hydro One on Jan 7, 2000, retroactive to July 1, 1999. Contract was untendered. Hydro One paid $1 million out before anything was signed. In September 2000 a second contract was signed retroactive to Jan 1, 2000, paying $80,000 a month. Total of the second contract? $1.2 million. Also a $4.4 million for a leadership seminar - 400 persons in for  one-day training. That's $8,500 per person, for 'leadership development' and 'commercial orientation',  a unique program, unavailable elsewhere. Gourley's own company, Jems Associates Ltd. received a contract in 2001 paying $40,000 in the first month, $10,000 for subsequent months, for a total of $105,000. Also picked up nearly $1 million in 15 months running Ontario Electricity Financial Corp.

Tom Long -  Monitor Group contract  from June, 2001 to March, 2003, $1.487,781.64 - chair of 1995 and 1999 Conservative election campaigns. Long has been associated with Monitor Co. Canada. Long has also been associated with headhunter Egon Zehnder International. This firm receive $83,000 for recruiting Debbie Hutton as Hydro One vice-president of corporate relations. The corporation is owned entirely by the taxpayers of Ontario. Several documents prepared by Long were delivered to Debbie Hutton

Debbie Hutton was Mikey's aide and worked with Long on Mikey's campaigns. At Hydro One, as vice-president of corporate affairs, her responsibilities seem to have concentrated on feeding and hydrating Conservatives- the premier, Tom Long, Janet Ecker & hubby Derek Nelson, Leslie Noble, Mike Murphy (U.S. election strategist), Guy Giorno (Mikey's staff). If Long received 4 months of her salary for 'recruiting' her, her salary is probably at least $250,000.

Look for Debbie in a star role at the Ipperwash Inquiry into the death of Dudley George. Debbie was Mikey's messenger to various meetings considering responses to the occupation of the provincial park.

Leslie Noble - Strategy Corp Inc. - $250,980 - co-chair of the Conservative election campaign. Leslie gave a presentation on the pros and cons of selling Hydro One. Included was this question: "Is management working working in its own self-interest, or in the interests of the shareholder [the government]?"  Sure wasn't working for the interests of the taxpayer.

Glen Wright used Hydro One to pay for hunting trips for Conservative insiders.

Paul Rhodes - $335,237 - communications director for election campaign -

Previous revelations about Mikey's crew:

Tom Long wrote speeches for Ontario Hydro chairman William Farlinger - $650/hr .
Leslie Noble picked up $91,000 for consulting (or is that consluting) for which nothing was on file.
Paul Rhodes provided advise in a 10 page fax for a bargain $2225,000
William Farlinger picked up $350,000 a year plus enormous expenses for being a figurehead, sorry, chairman
Tom Trbovich, from the national party, produced a 3 page fax for $136,000

Of course, nothing was subject to competitive bidding.

In 2002, Mikey spent $662 million on outside consultants.

Mikey Says 'Oink, Oink'
First, Mikey made Hydro One exempt from freedom of information requirements. Then he quit. Then he became made $18,591.25 advising Hydro One. And we know about it because the Emperor Ernie lost the election and the Liberals made Hydro One subject to the freedom of information requirements.

Mikey appointed buddy Glen Wright as chairman of Hydro One. Hydro One hired Mikey buddy Pierre Marc Johnson, former Quebec premier, on a $115, 807.01 contract that ran from November, 2002, to August, 2003, for analysis and strategic advice. Johnson hired Mikey. Johnson, a lawyer, contends that the contract was between him and Mikey, and had nothing to do with Hydro One. Under conflict-of-interest regulations, cabinet ministers cannot lobby the government or its agencies for one year after leaving government. Mikey left government on April 15, 2002, and, therefore, has not complied with the regulations.

At the time, Mikey had an office at Queen's Park where he worked on Ontario's Promise, a children's charity he set up.

Justice Bites The Dust
Michael McArthur received four life sentences for shooting one civilian and three police officers in a botched bank robbery.
Silly people who do not understand the redemptive powers of the justice system will ask why he wasn't locked up. It seems that 134 previous convictions didn't merit excessive incarceration.

Alberta had spent $22 million, including a new courthouse to accommodate two drug trials. Both trials have been abandoned because they did not get to court fast enough. The delay? Police and prosecutors did not disclose evidence. One case was thrown out in late 2002, the second in February, 2004. 36 people walked.

In Quebec, members of Hells Angels are being released because they cannot be keep in jail after serving two-thirds of their sentences.

P.E.I. Bailout
In 1998 Polar Foods International was created out of six small lobster processors. In February, 2004, The Bank of Nova Scotia called loans of  $53 million. The province had provided loan guarantees to $26 million. Ocean Choice purchased Polar Foods from the P.E.I.. P.E.I.'s expected loss? $20 million.

In five years Polar lost $16 million.

Quebec Loss
A Gaspe project has been canceled, costing Quebec $75 million. Quebec was contributing 25% to creating a coated paper operation out of an old newsprint mill. The original estimate was $500 million. $300 million had been spent when the latest estimate to completion was $765 million.

Other participants: Tembec Inc - 25%, Quebec Federation of Labour's Solidarity Fund - 50%.

Foundation Foolishness
The Canadian Foundation for Innovation and the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation are two of the larger foundations created between 1997 and 2003 that received $8 billion. The money transferred to the foundations was termed expenditures in the budget. To justify this classification, the foundations had to be independent of government. Thus billions of your money have be tossed into organizations that may become feasts for the directors that run them, either through excessive expenses and compensation or through subverting the objectives of the foundation to serve their own ambitions.

The auditor general has pointed out that the government should not use foundations to create immediate expenses when the money will be disbursed by the foundation years later. Further, the government intentionally made oversight of the foundations weak, and beyond government control. The boards of the foundations must submit annual reports and independent evaluations but are beyond the reach of the auditor general. Considering what happens within government, should foundations be beyond review of the auditor general?

Affordable Housing - A Relative Term
Canada, Ontario and Toronto are combining to produce 903 units of affordable housing. Funding? $24 million. That's nearly $266,000 per unit.

NB Power Failure
NB Power, a crown corporation, undertook a $750 million restoration project of a power generation plant. The plant was to burn a dirty heavy petroleum product available only from a Venezuelan company. The head of the crown corporation assured the government that a long-term fuel contract had been signed. Apparently not true. NB Power is suing for $2 billion, the amount it estimates it will cost to replace the fuel with heavy oil. Success seems a longshot.

NB Power says the politicians did not want a contract signed because of plans to privatize the power plant.

Raiding the BC Legislature
After more than two months, a case summary was released by the courts related to raids on December 28, 2003, but no names  The investigation is attempting to discover if two officials accepted bribes

"personal benefits as consideration for their co-operation, assistance or exercise of influence in connection with government business, including BCRail"

"offered to facilitate promotion prospects or employment opportunities"

Pay attention now. The names:

RCMP - investigating marijuana smuggling, money laundering and police corruption

BC Rail - crown corporation - sold for $1 billion to CN Rail

Gary Collins - BC minister of finance

David Basi - owned rental house used as a marijuana grow operation - home and office raided - fired - $54,000 severance - aide to finance minister/government house leader Gary Collins - organized Indo-Canadian community for Martin - his political operatives, Basi's Boys, specialized in taking over BC ridings by recruiting members in the Indo-Canadian  community which now makes up 40% of the membership - federal Liberal membership in B.C. grew from 4,000 to 43,000, $400,000 in memberships and $600,000 in donations - Basi's Boys took over Herb Dhaliwal's riding.

Bob Virk - home and office raided - suspended with pay - aide to transportation minister Judith Reid - brother-in-law to Basi

Virk and Basi are backroom Liberal operators, both organizers for Paul Martin, and both worked on the privatization of BC Rail

Judith Reid - transportation minister - removed from cabinet

Christy Clark - Deputy premier, Education minister, married to Mark Marissen

Pilot House Public Affairs Group Inc. - lobbyists

OmniTRAX - U.S. company - unsuccessful bidder for BC Rail - hired Pilot House

Erik Bornman - partner Pilot House Public Affairs - communications director of BC federal Liberals - former president of B.C. Young Liberals - Paul Martin's B.C. director of operations - lobbied Gary Collins, Judith Reid, Premier Gordon Campbell for OmniTRAX

Brian Kieran - partner Pilot House Public Affairs - lobbied for OmniTRAX

Bruce Clark - office searched - employed by Pilot House Public Affairs - brother of Deputy Premier Christy Clark - B.C. fundraiser for Paul Martin

Mark Marissen - visited by police - Paul Martin's B.C. campaign manager - married to Christy Clark

Federal Environment Minister David Anderson - had employed both Erik Bornman and Mark Marissen

Constable Ravinder Dosanjh - suspended without pay by Victoria Police Department

Squeaky Wheel et al
Glen Wright, FIRED, was chairman & president of the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, received a Toronto apartment, $2,800/month, and an upgraded alarm system at his Kitchener home.
 

He opened an office in Kitchener  for himself and Ian Mclean, his executive assistant. Since Mclean also lives in Kitchener, he claims mileage commuting to Toronto.  In 18 months he charged $16,000 commuting mileage.

Wright signed an untendered contract - $85,000 for 2 days work a week, 60 hours per month at $100/hr - for media advice, with squeaky Wheel Communications, operated by Karen Gordon. She is the wife of hunting buddy Jeff Bangs.

"The chairman's office had unique requirements to deal with stakeholder relations and deal with the external world"

More BC Behaviour
Children and Family Development Minister Gordon Hogg resigned. His deputy, Chris Haynes was fired. Haynes had previously worked for the ministry in Prince George.

Doug Walls, former Liberal riding association president has been under investigation by the RCMP concerning the 1998 bankruptcy of  Fred Walls and Son Ltd.,  his Prince George Ford dealership. Walls is married to a cousin of Premier Campbell's wife. A special prosecutor, Josiah Wood, was appointed  January 8, 2004, to review RCMP recommendations that fraud charges be laid. The RCMP sent a report to the Crown counsel in May, 2002, a mere 20 months earlier.

Walls received untendered contracts from Hogg's ministry to assist in creating an independent authority to care for the disabled. In 2003, Walls was named acting CEO. Apparently a $400,000 debt was written off without informing the minister. The amount is related to information technology services that were never provided. An independent auditor has been hired.

Gun Registry
The CBC (Feb 2004) is reporting that the current estimates for the gun registry will be $2 billion.

Bobby Rae Haunts Queen's Park
Company pension plans come in two main varieties: Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution.

Defined Contribution means that the company contributes a specific amount to the pension plan. The pension payout to the emloyee depends on the health of the plan. Thus the employee is betting on the ability of the fund administrators and the health of the market.

Defined Benefit means that the pension to be paid is set. The employer is responsible to contribute as much money as is required to insure that the pensions can be paid. Thus the employee is betting on the health of the employer to be able to make up any shortfall.

But the Ontario government wants to protect the employees who chose a Defined Benefit plan from the predicable consequences that follow if the employer goes bankrupt. To this end, in 1980, Ontario set up the Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund. Employers pay a small levy into the fund. Pension payouts from the fund are limited to $1,000/month.

Bobby Rae exempted General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, IBM, Sears Canada and Stelco from the requirement to increase contributions to their underfunded defined benefit plans during the recession in the 1990s. They were required to make larger contributions to the Guarantee Fund.

Trouble is, Stelco is bankrupt. And the Guarantee Fund is underfunded and cannot come up with $773 million to cover   Stelco's deficiency. It is short $543 million. Should McGinty bail it out? And if he does, what happens when the next bankrupt comes through the door? The Stelco employees chose their plan and accepted the risk. The taxpayers should not be penalized.

Ipperwash Inquiry
Justice Sidney Linden started the inquiry April 20, 2004, in the Forest Memorial Community Centre. Dudley George was shot by the OPP September 6, 1995. Obviously, an inquiry should be held expeditiously, but first Mikey and the Emperor Ernie had to be tossed out.

Said Judge Linden:

'An important aspect of our democracy is the right of all citizens to know what happened in a given situation, particularly in a situation where there has been a loss of life.'

Witnesses will start testifying July 13, 2004.
 

$160 Million Fraud
The feds claim that Hewlett Packard owes $160 million for subcontract payments for which no work was performed. HP has a different version:

 "At DND's request, HP engaged in sub-contracting activities with a variety of supplier companies," HP said in a statement this week.

"DND's instructions to HP were to process invoices for these suppliers, although the nature of the work being performed was, in many instances, never disclosed by DND. Despite repeated HP requests for particulars of the work to be provided, DND informed HP that the work was confidential and that, in the interest of national security, HP was not entitled to this information."

And now the suspicion is that similar payouts were occurring in - wait for it - Public Works.

The Hidden Nuclear Cost
The Nuclear Waste Disposal Organization estimates that an underground disposal site for 5 million used fuel bundles would cost $10-12 billion in current dollars. At present, about 1.8 million used fuel bundles are stored  above ground.

The money for the underground storage is to come from a trust fund holding contributions from the energy companies. Since about one third of the underground capacity would be taken be existing used fuel bundles, the trust fund should now have about one third of the expected cost, about $4 billion. Interest earned by the trust fund might offset the impact of inflation. In actuality, the trust fund has about $500 million. The user is not paying the full cost of nuclear energy. Just one more game played by politicians to temporarily hide the consequences of their decisions.

Capitalism vs Dictatorship -Forbes, March 15, 2004

                                      Net Worth

Paul Martin                $225 million
Yasir Arafat               $200 million
Fidel Castro               $150 million

Judicial Inquiry
In April, 2004, Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant has asked the Canadian Judicial Council to conduct an inquiry into the conduct of an Ontario judge Justice Paul Cosgrove. The inquiry could deliver a recommendation that the judge be removed.

$$$ BS $$$
The feds spend $6.5 billion a year on consultants. Budget of Toronto? $6.5 billion. Define value-for-money as used by the federal Liberals.

Smart Ontario Tories
Despite the higher tolls and the higher volume, 407 is reporting higher losses. SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. reported that in the the first quarter, its loss from 407 was $5.1 million, up from $3.6 million in the first quarter in 2003, because of higher interest and other expenses.

Jack Layton On The Stump
Jack want the Canada Pension Plan to be the source of loans to make buildings more energer efficient. Property owners would repay the loan from the energy savings.

The example he used was a Saskatoon youth shelter where the improvements cost upwards of $200,000. The energy savings?
$2,000 a year. Enough to pay interest of about 1% a year. Annual reduction in principal? Zero. With investments like this the CPP should be in really sad shape when you want your pension.

The particular project was part of Quint Development which creates co-op housing with government money for the benefit of the homeless and the bureaucrats in the homeless business.  The province (Saskatchewan) provides forgiveable grants of 25% of the purchase price (forgiven over 5 years), if home remains occupied by target group). The City (Saskatoon) contributes a grant of 5% of the home costs to assist the downpayment. With these equity contributions in place, the local credit union provided uninsured financing in the remaining 70% of the cost.

Jack and spouse, both making fat salaries provided by the Toronto taxpayers, lived in subsidized housing until publicity drove them out into the real world.

Another NDP Policy
Jack Layton is proposing two new national holidays. In keeping with the NDP tradition of naming new holidays for their creator, Rae Days, for example, these new national holidays will called Jack Off Days.