Calculating the Cost of Propping Up a Corrupt Government

April 27, 2005

As the Official Opposition House Leader in this minority Parliament, I can personally attest to the tremendous efforts dedicated to negotiating legislation and parliamentary business in order to keep this country running. We’ve attempted to work with the Bloc Quebecois, the New Democrats and the Liberals because that’s what Canadians told us they wanted.

Now, Paul Martin is telling you that he too wants this Parliament to work. Yet consider the following, then judge for yourself whether Mr. Martin is a man trying to ‘make parliament work’.

He has cancelled opposition supply days. On those days, opposition parties choose the subject to be debated. Conservative supply days have addressed agriculture, childcare, and military spending.

Parliament unanimously passed the amended Throne Speech last Fall. It included a guarantee for a parliamentary vote on missile defence. Yet Mr. Martin announced his decision on missile defence in February with NO debate or vote.

Parliament defeated two bills that would separate the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade into two. The next day, Mr. Martin’s trade minister stated the two branches of government would operate independently without Parliament’s blessing.

Parliament approved a motion to revoke the appointment of Glen Murray to the National Round Table on the Economy and the Environment due to his lack of environmental experience. Mr. Murray, Paul Martin’s hand-picked star Liberal election candidate in Winnipeg, continues to enjoy his $650-a-day appointment.

Parliament passed a motion to establish a trust fund for the Liberal Party of Canada to deposit all funds received from companies and individuals tied to the sponsorship scandal. Mr. Martin has failed to do so.

Parliament passed a motion to establish an independent judicial inquiry into evidence that errors were committed in the investigation of the Air-India bombing. Mr. Martin is instead ‘investigating’ the possibility of an inquiry.

Not only is Mr. Democratic Deficit guaranteeing this minority parliament does not work … he’s actually defying the recorded will of Parliament. In contrast, although the Liberals held no meaningful budget consultations, Conservative MPs took the unprecedented step of abstaining from the federal budget vote in order to ensure the survival of this minority parliament.

Mr. Martin is begging Canadians to let him keep his job until Justice Gomery has issued his final report. The Conservative Party has been accused of serving our own political interests by contemplating a Spring election. Yet it was Mr. Martin who called an unnecessary election around this time last year, before the Gomery Inquiry had heard from even a single witness.

We must consider the $280-million cost of an election campaign. But we must also consider that millions more tax dollars will be pumped into the gun registry, billions will go offshore towards ‘hot air’ credits under the Kyoto fiasco, and hundreds of millions will be spent on state-run daycares.

Plus, thanks to Jack Layton, rather than getting long-awaited tax relief, Canadian taxpayers are facing another $4.6-billion in government spending. Add it all up, and that’s the multi-billion dollar price this country will pay for propping up a corrupt Liberal government. Is it worth it?

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