DESPITE the best
efforts of the federal
government, the gross
mismanagement of the
Transitional Jobs Fund
within the Human
Resources Ministry
(HDRC) has not quite
disappeared.

Close, but not quite.

I suggested last week that
the proposed subsidy to
Canadian NHL teams was
nothing more than a smoke-
Screen designed to focus
attention away from the sean-
dalous incompetence of the
HDRC in the disposition of
over three billion taxpaver
dollars.

It appears thev almost got
away with it, but the story
now seems to have got some
legs and is beginning to be an
issue across this country.

The minister responsible,
Jane Stewart, was forced to
issue a statement last Friday
trying to undo some of the
damage.

The release begins by say-
ing that “there has been a
great deal of misinformation
and confusion in the last few
days. ...”

She then said the words
which immediately make me
suspicious of any politician
who deigns to utter them: “I
wish to set the record straight

”

What she really means is
that we've got it right and
she now has to muddy the
waters as much as possible.

Unfortunately for her, her
defence is weak.

“Let’s be clear on several
counts,” she begins. “Money
is not missing. HDRC has the
records of all cheques issued
through our accounting
mechanisms, and we know to
whom we made payments... ,”
she pleads in defence of the
department mandarins.

Isn’t that special?

They know to whom they
doled out the governmental
largesse.

She doesn’t inention that
of the 400-plus fites thar were
examined at random by the
auditor general, 87 of the files
were completely empty of any
documentation. Nothing, not
;-. even one of those infuriating

~ yellow sticky things that
inhabit our lives.

She also conveniently did-
n’t mention that her own rid-
ing of Brant, a “have” area by
any measuring stick, received

crime ana
punishment

over $30 million trom
HDRC in the past three
years.

Included in that figure is
the Brant School of
Hairdressing which, accord-
ing to the HDRC, received
$11,400 in job creation
grants. Not so, according to
the owner of the hairstyling
school, Lena VanKerrebroeck.
According to her she never
received a dime and like the
rest of us only knows the
one-way tlow of money to
Ottawa.

Other businesses on the
HDRC list from Stewart's
riding include Phoenix Rising
Yoga Therapy, the Prison Art
Foundation and Dunk’'s
Custom Log Sawing. Even
the giant sportswear company
Adidas got a little of the tax-
payer’s lolly.

But it’s not just Stewart's
riding where there were ques-
tionable grants. One needs to
look very carefully at the
prime minister's riding of
Shawinigan to understand the
problem. There are a host of
dubious grants to a variety of
businesses in the PM’s back-
yard, some of which have
been reported by the
National Post. But one of the
most telling is the hotel pro-
ject called Auberge
Gouvernor Shawinigan
owned by Belgian business-
man Pierre Thibault, who
has, shall we say, a checkered
past.

Thibault built his $6.4-
million hotel with
$2,025,000 of federal grant
money, including $600,000
in money from HDRC
announced on March 13,
1997, without any depart-
mental paperwork whatsoev-
er.

Interestingly enough,
Chretien further publicized
the grant in his conscituency
bulletin in April of 1997, the
month the federal election
was called. Funnily enough,
HDRC’s own guidelines say
that grant money will not be
given to restaurant and bar
facilities.

It scems that the HDRC

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lar Bot

administers the “Fransitional
Job Fand as nothing more
than a political slush fund for
the Liberal party. And we get
to pay for the privilege.

The traly naive among us
are wondering why no heads
have rolled as a result of this
seandal, Bur let's have a quick
look at some of the plavers.

The minister responsible is
Jane Stewart, the daughter of
Bob Nixon, former leader of
the Ontario Liberal party and
chief bagman for the Libs in
Ontario,

Stewart has been groomed
for power most of her life.
According to my sources in
Ortawa she is the anointed
one, the choice of Chretien as
his replacement when he
retires,

Stewart is responsible for
an annual budget off are you
ready for this, $26 billion. To
put this in perspective, the
budget administered by
Health Minister AHan Rock,
once considered a front-run-
nee for the top job, is only
$1.8 billion.

The former deputy minis-
ter for HDRC is Mel Cappe.
He was promoted to Clerk of
the Privy Council. He is the
de facta head of the federal
civil service and principal sec-
retary to the cabinet.

In other words, he wields
the most power in govern-
ment.

He sets the agenda for
cabinet. Only he decides what
will be discussed. He decides
who will see the prime minis-
ter.

He is virtually omnipotent
and answerable to no one.
His salary went from
$165,000 to $250,006 per
year with the promotion.

The bureaucrat who was
responsible for the adminis-
tration of the Transitional Job
Fund is Martha Nixon.

At the time of this mess
she was Senior Director
General, in charge of
Operations of the HRDC
Investment Branch. She is
now the Assistant Deputy
Minister in charge of”
Operations in Immigration
Canada. Any wonder why we
have a problem with our
tefugee system?

And, as 2 final insult to us,
the forlorn taxpayers, senior
managers in HDRC were
given performance bonuses in

LATTA

1996-1997 totalling
$980,009. If you're not sick
vet, there’s something wrong.

There is a stench to this
scandal that will not po away.
One wonders if this mess,
dubbed “Shovel gate” by
Southam columnist Lawrence
Martin, will be whac finally
inspires the battered, but thus
far apathetic, Canadian tax-
paver tO start a tax revolt.

In some countries it would
be enough te overthrow the
government.

— lknight@dircet.ca

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