More questions of corruption

WITH the Canadian
Alliance leadership
campaign winding its
way through the final
days, two candidates
are swaggering to the
- finish line while Tom
': Long staggers.

But one thing this cam-
paign has taught us is that
the attitude of corruption is

~ Fampant in our political life.

When two paid staffers in
Gaspe were exposed this
weck fabricating member-
ship applications, Tom Long
desperately needed to come
out publicly and decry that
sort of activity. But he did-
n't. And neither, surprising-
iy, did the two main com-
petitors, Preston Manning
and Stockwell Day, or the
party as ar entity.

: The reluctance was epito-

mized by the prime minister .

in Question Period last week
when he was able to deflect
atrack on the blatant cor-
‘ruption of the federal --
eral party by attacking
“th “Alliance for.the prob- :
ims in Gaspe. Sure it’s the
‘pot calling the small ket-
tle black, but it was effective
imuting the accusations.
The problem, as I see it,
t ignorance or priority
ging in.terms of the

important issues, but rather ~:

at.of a system which is so.
sL permeated with corruption
thi

yone simply turns a

¢ lest they be tarred :

brush.:
x 1 we explain
>, Liberals’ relative. |

Leo
Knight

crime and
Bi punishment

arguably gained that privi-
leged position with the assis-
tance of organized fraud and
deception by his supporters.
And the Opposition stands
mute,

Am I wrong in all of this?
Is the state of politics such
that we are supposed to dis-
miss this as nothing more
than dirty pool and not
criminal behaviour? Well,
no, I’m sorry, bui I can’t.

Our political leaders are
supposed to represent our

_ interests. They aren’t sup-

posed to seck and gain
power, whatever the cost,
simply so they can advance
the cause of their own politi-
cal ideology or to line their
or their pals’ pockets.
Whatever the vi may think,
they govern for all not just a
select few.

Unfortunately the state
of government in this coun-
try has evolved into dictator-
ships with all the power cen-
tralized in the office of the
respective premier or prime
minister.

- Remember Lord Acton’s
sage observation that

ower tends to corrupt and

“absolute power corrupts
7 absolutely.”

For proof, one need only

‘look as far as the HRDC
. scandal and the 20 or so

police investigations current-
ly ongoing into various cle-
ments of the grants given.

To date, not one head
has rolled. Inaction some-
times speaks volumes.

Qao00

When Ujja! Dosanjh left
the attorney general’s office
for the loftier position of
premier, he made sure he
had his mole in his former
quarters. He conveniently
placed old buddy Barry
Salmon as
“Programs/ Projects
Development Analyst” in the
ministry.

Salmon, you'll remember,
is the political fixer who ran
interference for Dosanjh,
instructing Paul Gill, the
brother o Peter Gill of
Gillian Guess fame, to
downplay his relationship
with Dosanjh lest the pesky
media start putting two and
two together.

He’s also married to
Sandra Houston, the Deputy
Chief of Staff in the pre-
micr’s office. Dosanjh, inci-
dentally, was best man at the
wedding.

Salmon’s position was
supposed to be temporary.
Bur, as inevitable as the sun
coming up in che morning,
the behind-the-scenes
manoeuvring is taking place
to give Salmon a permanent
place ar the public trough.

The in-service govern-
ment job posting service is
showing Competition num-
ber AG2000:7615, for a
“Program Manager,
Planning and Priorities”
the AG’s ministry. This i is a
created position essentially.
It’s posted as a Management
Level 4 job paying $64,123.

But this is done as part of
the subterfuge. You see, had
they posted the jub as ML 5
or ML 6, they'd actually get
qualified "people within the
ininistry applying for the job
because of the extra money.

Keeping it at ML 4
ensures Dosanjh gets his boy
in place. Then, once in
place, the job can be
upgraded to a higher pay-
grade.

Hronically, the person
responsible for the so-called
“competition” is Patti
Thomas, Director of
Management Services. She
conveniently has her office
right next door to Salmon’s

‘ so she won’t have to go far

to conduct her “interview”
with the job candidate.

Thomas is also very
familiar with the upgrading
of job classifications.

She managed to get her
own position upgraded sev-
eral levels in the span of a
few short months, though
nobody I spoke to can figure
out why.

The “how” is the subject
of much more speculation,
none of it flattering.

She’s also the person who
decides how much money
the Organized Crime
Agency gets to spend.

. Needless to say she doesn’t

have the first clue about
policing or how to conduct
complicated investigations.
Sigh.
— lknight@direct.ca

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