WHAT price do you put on the indepen- idence and sovereignty of this country? What is the integrity of our government worth to you, as a Canadian? If the answer to these questions isn’t “price- less,” then f truly despair for the state of our nation. Over the course of the past | ‘year, P have been tring to bring you information derail- ing the apparent interference of the Prime Minister’s Office with the joint CSIS/ROMP Project Sidewinder and per- haps some of the reasons why such interference might have taken place, The story, in and of itself, is far too complicated “to explain in a single column ..or indeed, in a newspaper “story. . “Tn the past few weeks, | told you that the SIRC com- .Mittee’s report into the demise of Sidewinder was compromised, Pexplained the reladonships between the ime minister's son-in-law, Andre Desmarais and the ‘China Interns nvesement Corporation (CITIC)..° Two weeks ago we looked cat Bob Rae, former NDP pre-_ ‘mice of Ontario. A man lead- ing 2 party in power which accepted political contribu- ns from the Canadian com- ies owned by the very peo- ple being investigated by the Sidewinder project and a man whose brother, John, is the ciinpaign manager for the: Prime Minister and a senior Desmarais”. company. And how he was now’a part of SIRC. harged with th deciding ional Trade and ¢ crime and punishinent whether or not there was political interference by the Prime Minister’s Oilice. In fact, Sidewinder was, in part, about the very activity of political contributions, In Canada, it is iHegal for foreign nationals to vive » contributions to our politicians. But, what happens when they own busi- Nesses in Canada and through the companies, give substan- dal donations? Does that somehow make it OK? When f wrote that the SIRC report had been com- promised, tainted by the appearance of contlict of inter- est, no information on the -repert had been made public. And, to a degree, that is still - the case. But, in the House of Commons two weeks ago, Lynn Myers, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Solicitor General, answered Alliance member Jim Abbott's “question on Sidewinder by saying that SIRC has estab- lished that there was no politi- ‘cal interference resulting. in the conclusion of the investi- gation. Considering, thar the Chairman of SIRC stated a week earlier that the report - wouldn’: be completed until late in the year, it is interest- ing how Myers could even. ~ make such a statement. Myers tried to contain the damage a few days fater by raising a Point of Order in the House. He said, “J would dike so emphasize that Pwas not reading tram or directly quot- ing the SIRC report, which is a classitied report as this House knows, during ques- tion period. But [can advise the House that the solicitor general has asked the Security intelligence Review Conmnittee to make as much of that report available as pos- sible, subject of course to any national security concerns. “The solicitor general has advised me that he will be tabling the cesulting report as reviewed by the Security Intelligence Review Committee once that is avail- able,” Myers concluded. So Mivers has already used the “conclusions” of the report as a defense to Abbot's allegations yet he says that the report is nor yet available, How does that: work? It would appear this is” further evidence that the fix is in. The original Sidev Snider report was ordered buried with all related documents shredded. Who made that order is not clear. Why, is equally unclear, Over four years of investigation done with the investigators calling for an increased probe and some burvauerat orders a whole file destroyed?” The destruction of docu- ments to a bureaucrat is sacri- legious. This becomes even more so when the bureaucrat- ic organization is CSIS, whose, ~ very business is information gathering, not information destroying. ° What is clear is that Sidewinder was all about Asian organized crime, politi- cal corruption and influence peddling. The publication by various news outlets of excerpts of the original report establishes that without ques- tion. The government and the brass at CSIS have bear falling all over themselves try- ing to cenvince you that there was no undue influence exert- ed by the Prime Minister's Office and that the Sidewinder investigation was litde more than ramour and innuendo. To prove it, SIRC, in their role as civilian watchdog of See Opposition page 9 How do T choose the best racquet for my » ably fovel & badger Meret Stiles Come tat w the experts at Top «7 Sad. Demoing racquets is the "only aire way te knew, demon ane abwotunely FREE at Top Seed. YONEX RDTI 70 , king reg, $220.99 * for POWERY., HEAD Ti S6 long rey. S27929 Hy ai 1480 Marine Dr, North V. 980-8912 BAGWEN St EVENSON RaRRTt RS AND SULie HORS 1800 - 400 Burrard Street Vancouver, BC VOC. 346