Mr. Goulet goes to Ottawa VIC GOULET sells used cars, and last summer, business being awful, he started thinking about how much he pays the government to govern him. Might it be that some of his taxes were being wasted? He wrote his MP, who is John Fraser, Speaker of the House of Commons: “It has been my understanding that Sinclair Stevens was charged and convicted of conflict of inter- est under the Jaws of Canada and further the legal costs of his at- tempt to clear himself were paid for by the Canadian taxpayer. “It is also my understanding that Sinclair Stevens has chosen to appeal this decision ... Would you kindly inform me ... will the Ca- nadian taxpayer foot the bill.” The reply came two weeks later from Mr. Fraser's office. The card attached to it said Lisa P. McNaughton, Special Assistant. The signature was by P. Bren- nan. Mr. Brennan had signed on behalf of Ilan M. Klassen, who is also a special assistant to Mr. Fraser. So you decide for yourself who answered. We kno-vy it was not Mr. Fraser. They said, ‘‘We will be in touch with you again as soon as Mr. Fraser has had an opportunity to review your correspondence.”’ Next month, Mr. Goulet was provided with a letter written TO Mr. Fraser FROM Richard Clair who is a special assistant TO Kim Campbell, Minister of Justice. Are you getting confused? P'case, stay with it. There is a path through the forest. Mr. Fraser F.is passed along his constituent’s question to the justice minister, and her office was now telling Mr. Fraser that a reply would be forthcoming ‘‘at the earliest opportunity."’ Next month it was September. A quarter of a year had gone by. Mr. Goulet checked by telephone, asking when he might have a reply to a question he had thought to be quite simple. He was told there had been a work slowdown due to a civil ser- vice strike, but all should be ready shortly. Next it’s October. Mr. Clair, the special assistant to Justice Minister Campbell, writes directly to Mr. Goulet. Paul St. Pierre } PAULITICS & PERSPECTIVES ‘*Please be advised that Mr. Stevens was not charged and con- victed of any offence contrary to the laws of Canada. As a result of a Commission of Enquiry, certain allegations of conflict of interest were found against him. His costs of legal representation before the enquiry were paid by the Gov- ernment of Canada.’’ Since Mr. Goulet had stated in his original letter that the legal costs had been paid by the gov- ernment, he felt no sense of grati- tude at having his words repeated back to him. He wrote Mr. Clair: ‘*What penalty or fine was the result of these findings? And if there was no penalty or fine why would the government of Canada pay his legal costs? | understand the costs were in excess of $1 mil- tion. **, Should any Canadian citizen be called upon to answer conflict of interest ... can the citizen ex- pect to have their legal costs paid for by the government ...? And can the citizen expect that there would be no penalty or fine if cer- tain allegations were found against them?”” Then it’s December. Christmas is near, and the car business is still lousy. Mr. Goulet writes again to Mr. Clair. Heavy ferry traffic expected THE B.C. Ferry Corp. (BCFC) is expecting a busy B.C. Day long weekend. BCFC spokesman Bill Bouchard said the B.C. Day long weekend is traditionally the sum- mer’s busiest for the BCFC. . There are 24-hour sailings five days a week on the Horseshoe Bay-Nanaimo route. Starting every Thursday at 11 p.m. and running through to Tuesday at 5 a.m., sailings from Horseshoe Bay are scheduled every two hours on the odd hour. The 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. sailings also offer 50% fare discounts. Pentauer Feit Weke sella Beiter Ak WEEKEND ; PTURDAY, SUMO ¥ AID Maat), (/NCLUBED ON 0002 GREAT Heald ARE FIVE FABUDS EGGS BENGD/ C7. CHOOSE ONE FOR & ON STFS ee A F OSORIME ORINVE Win £24-VI3F “Is there any reason for the delay, and if so what is it? ... Should { be writing to another department?"’ This time he gets an answer back in the same month. “Since the responsibility for the matter you raise falls within the purview of the President of the Queen's Privy Council, [ have taken the liberty of forwarding your correspondence to the Right Honorable Joe Clark..."” Well, well. Half a year it has been lost in the wrong ministry. The Privy Council office an- swered in mid-February 1992. They made no reference to their minister, the first bureaucrats to refrain, but undertook no answer in their own name. “The commission of enquiry ... investigated allegations that Mr. Stevens had violated the Govern- ment's conflict of interest code . applicable to him by virtue of his position as a minister of the Crown. “As Mr. Stevens’ participation was clearly central to the suc- cessful completion of the ... en- quiry, it was essential he appeared before it and that he should have access to competent legal counsel +. The amount ... was $637 ,009.64.°” The letter from Deputy Privy Council Clerk P.D. Elcock goes on to say that Mr. Stevens was found to have violated the code 14 times and that he isn’t active in politics any more now, but the letter never did answer Mr. Gouiet’s original question of whether he will have to pay if Mr. Stevens proceeds with an appeal. Mr. Goulet says he didn’t really need to be told that people accus- ed of things normally attend their trials and are considered central to those proceedings. He does not feel richly reward- ed for having sought information from the people he elects, but he doesn't have another eight months to spare for writing other depart- ments. Business is stiil lousy. A PA CO p° 3:1 Zoom, Low Light (1-lux) Performance | © A/V Dubbing, p OA/V Fade to Black ® Digital Auto Focus f © New Automatic Lock Mode © Hi-Speed Shutter to 1/4000 | ©. Flying Erase Head © Synchro Edit Feature Store Hours: Mon-Sat. 9:30-5:30 Friday night until 9pm Parking in rear of building C.G.M Friday, July 31, 1992 ~ North Shore News - 9 7