Harper to Replace Auditor General ~ Another Piece of the Puzzle?

Sheila Frazer's ten year tenure as auditor General is drawing to a close. Appointed in 2001, she has been a well respected and respectable presence. She raised the initial concerns that led to the Gomry Inquiry and has always been seen as a non-partisan and balancing force in her position.  Her job will end on May 30th, 2011.

Harper's majority in the House will give him a free hand to fill the position with a person of his own choosing. Although the end of her term is but three weeks away, not a hint of who that person may be has reached these ears. You will excuse me if I am made nervous by the prospects.
She has already finished writing her final report, which includes chapters on the contentious issue of how the Conservative government spent tax-payer money on the G8 and G20 summits in Ontario last June. It includes, according to leaks, a scathing analysis of the Spending in Tony Clement's riding (known to have been in excess of 50 million dollars) and the origin of those funds.

"The report was supposed to be tabled in Parliament in April but was delayed by the election and won't be released until the Commons is in session in June — after Fraser's departure."

That of course is ^NOT exactly true, as it was really stopped in it's tracks before the Contempt charges were laid. It was a result of NDP MP Christopherson's vote in the committee. This is skirted entirely in the article quoted above, even though Christopherson's opinion on other matters was widely quoted.

“Liberals Want Canadians to See the Auditor General’s Report – but Mr. Layton’s stunt of calling for a meeting with the Auditor General took some nerve after his party blocked the report’s release before Parliament was dissolved,” said Mr. Volpe, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee in the last Parliament.

“If Jack Layton and David Christopherson had their way, voters would never know that the Conservatives spent nearly $50 million on G8 projects with no controls and without Parliament’s approval – and they missed their chance to expose this waste, abuse and contempt before the election by siding with the Conservatives to bury this report.

Two days before the election was called, Mr. Christopherson – the only NDP member of the House of Commons’ Public Accounts Committee – sided with the Conservatives to kill a Liberal motion introduced by Liberal MP Jean-Claude D’Amours calling for the Auditor General’s G8 and G20 reports to be made public in the event of the dissolution of Parliament – even if there was an election.”

As we launch, or rather plummet headlong into this new Harper Majority, keep your eyes open, and let them know that you are not someone to be counted among the somnambulatory majority of Canadians who helped allow this situation to get this far. You should be easily identifyable as part of this group if you woke up Tuesday last and were feeling even a bit satisfied with the election result.

I Worry that Our Prime Minister has ^NOT exactly made a habit of making decisions that could be seen as non-partisan, open and transparent nor has he gained my trust in the Five long years since these appointments have been his to make.

He has appointed a record number of Senators, to a Senate that he promised to make an elected body. He has dabbled in any and all positions that he could turn to his advantage. How much of Canada will remain free from his control? hard to say, but this appointment may very well set the tone.

So, remember Mike Duffy. Remember Bill Elliot. Remember Christianne Ouimet who managed Over 200 files with no results. Remember all of the Contempt, and remember that it is now very likely that none of it will ever be dealt with. Remember the 2006 election, the Prorogations, the still Secret Afghan detainee Documents, the Guergis affair and the Countless other Deep Democratic Concerns.



Remember that Harper is ^NOT Teflon.

Remember that He is Proactive and Preemptive.

 

Somnambulate at Your Own Peril.

p.s. Remember CRUSH?


http://www.electionscanada.ca/
toll-free 1-800-463-6868.