Scandalpedia- the Canadian Liberal Attack Website

The Liberals have concocted a web page listing the scandals of the Conservative government.

The In-and-Out Scam
The Chuck Cadman Affair
The Income Trust Broken Promise
NAFTAgate
Bernier Affair
Mulroney-Schreiber Affair
Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.
John Baird and the Ottawa LRT
Jim Flaherty and Hugh McPhie
Flaherty's Gravy Train
Flaherty's Tailored Disability Centre
The Convention Fee Boondoggle
Appointment of unelected Michael Fortier
Campaign Against the Canadian Wheat Board
Smearing of Navdeep Bains
Revolving Door of Lobbyists
The Lukiwski Tape
Riddell Affair
Campaign against Ontario
Puffin-gaffe

scandalpedia.ca...

On the above linked page, each item is further linked to an explanation.

Home page;
scandalpedia.ca...

I'd like to throw these charges out for general discussion, but before anyone mentions the Liberal record, I suggest a seperate thread for that.

Please, focus on the 'scandals' listed above as to their relevance in the Canadian election, 2008.

I don't know, those seem to be pretty minor. There is nothing really that stands out at all as some kind of huge issue. I mean the Wheat board should be dismantled, it useless. Compared with the BS that Liberals did, it is really small potatoes.

reply to post by Rook1545


Thanks for your 'over-all' statement, Rook, and you may be correct... except for the Cadman affair, imho.

However, I'd like to keep comparisons to other parties out of this and focus only on the 'scandals' listed.

The Cadman link has no explanation other than that it is 'before the courts'.

Backgrounders for your perusal;

www.canada.com...

www.thestar.com...



removed bad link



[edit on 10/9/08 by masqua]

The problem entirely keeping out the other parties is that there is then no way to compare. I mean some of these seem pretty big but until you can put some perspective on it, you really have no idea how big it is.

The Cadman issue, until there is more light put on it there is no way to tell how big it really is. I mean is it sour grapes that the Liberal Party couldn't sway his vote so they throw out some crap? Did they give him the same kinds of offers but hide their trail better? Did the PCs really stoop that low (wouldn't surprise me)?

I mean a couple of these are almost laughable. The guy that slept with the wrong chick and forgot his papers one day. While it sucks, who hasn't forgotten something on the way out the door?

The NAFTA thing, so what if he leaked it? The Conservatives like NAFTA...alot of people do (I am not one of them). The people of US need to know what their potential President is talking about. They need to know that he really has no problem backstabbing one of their closest allies and trading partners.

I read through them all and I have a hard time believing some of it due to nitpicky things like wrong dates. Here is one from the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) "scandal":

Facing questions from the public, Conservative Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn claimed he was not made aware of the extended reactor shutdown and the ensuing isotope shortage until December 3, 2007. Health Minister Tony Clement claimed that he was only informed on December 5, 2008 [3].

Dec 2008 hasn't even happened.

As a side note I do find it funny how these parties are fighting proxy mudslinging wars through independent websites. It is hilarious.

The problem entirely keeping out the other parties is that there is then no way to compare.

I'll try.

The Cadman issue, until there is more light put on it there is no way to tell how big it really is.
[snip]
Did the PCs really stoop that low (wouldn't surprise me)?

Wouldn't surprise me either.

Let's look at the details;

the latest;

Harper Admits Involvement in Cadman Affair

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has finally admitted he not only knew about a financial offer made to late MP Chuck Cadman back in 2005, but that he authorized it. The offer was in exchange for the independent MP's support in defeating the Liberals.

www.atv.ca...

The offer;

A biography of Cadman, to be published this month, charges that two Conservative party officials offered Cadman, who was critically ill with cancer, a $1 million life insurance policy if he voted against the then-Liberal minority government in a confidence vote on May 19, 2005. If he had voted with the Conservatives, the government would have fallen, forcing an election.

Jodi Cadman told the Star yesterday that her father confided shortly before he died that he had been offered the insurance policy. She echoed statements made by her mother Dona that are in the biography.

www.thestar.com...

The 'doctored' tape;

OTTAWA - The Conservative party claims a tape of Stephen Harper's conversation with a B.C. author about "financial considerations" offered a dying MP was "doctored" and is seeking a court order to block the Liberals from further use or reference to it.

"The (Tom) Zytaruk tape is completely discredited," said MP James Moore at a morning news conference.

The tape has been at the centre of politically explosive allegations that the Tories offered B.C. MP Chuck Cadman a life insurance policy in exchange for his support on a key vote in Parliament in 2005.

www.thestar.com...

The denial of involvement;

A statement from the Prime Minister's Office released Wednesday night said Harper "at no time directed any party official to make any kind of financial arrangement with Chuck Cadman."

www.nationalpost.com...

[imo]
That Harper was 'uninvolved' in the Cadman Affair will be an issue during thios election. That his deputies acted alone, without his authority, flies in the face of the micro-management which his inner cabinet is renowned for.

The issue concerns bringing down a government by offering a tempting million dollar insurance policy to a dying man. This is no minor infraction
[/imo]

I mean a couple of these are almost laughable. The guy that slept with the wrong chick and forgot his papers one day. While it sucks, who hasn't forgotten something on the way out the door?

The slip-up concerning his remarks in Afghanistan, Id leave alone as a misinformed 'slip-up', not that it isn't important in itself.

The Maxime Bernier/Coulliard Affair;

Mid-April: This isn't publicly known yet, but somewhere in this period, Bernier leaves briefing materials from the early April NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania in Couillard's home. Some of the documents are classified.

May 7: The Bernier-Couillard story explodes.

The news breaks that Couillard, now Bernier's ex-girlfriend, had been in relationships with two men involved in the biker underworld in the 1990s.

One of them, Stephane Sirois, had been an associate of Maurice (Mom) Boucher, a Hells Angels leader in Quebec currently serving a first-degree murder sentence for ordering the 1997 murder of two prison guards.

Another, Gilles Giguere, died in a gangland slaying.

Couillard herself has no criminal record. According to court records examined by the Globe and Mail, the Hells Angels had considered putting out a contract on her life.

www.ctv.ca...

Hmmm... interesting that classified documents are available to his girlfriend who also has access to the upper echelon of the Hell's Angels Chapter in Quebec.

Considering the fact that the HA are an international organization, it could be of signifigant advantage to them if, indeed, the material was 'passed on'.

regardless, it was a huge mistake on the part of Bernier.

What's even more interesting is Harper's response;

(from the above link)

"I have no intention to comment on a minister's former girlfriend," the prime minister said at a Parliament Hill news conference with Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko. "I don't take this subject seriously."

"Let me be very clear: this is not to do with the minister's life or the life of a private citizen, 99 per cent of which I think is completely off bounds," said Harper.

www.ctv.ca...

Security measures;

According to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, top secret clearances require a full field investigation, which involves checking CSIS records, interviewing friends, neighbours and employers, consulting with local police and possibly interviewing the applicant.

[snip]

In addition, each candidate is checked out by the RCMP, CSIS and the Canada Revenue Agency.

[snip]

While checks are only done once, the official said ministers are always told to advise the prime minister's office or PCO if there are any material changes in their lives, including marital difficulties.


In the case of Bernier, the official said the minister would have been obligated to advise the Prime Minister's Office about Couillard's troubled past, if he indeed knew about it.

www.ctv.ca...

So, in total, it seems Maxime 'forgot' to advise the PM about his affair with the vivacious Couillard who happened to have connections to the Hell's Angels.

[imo] Maxime didn't tell because of her affiliations. If he had, security would certainly have raised flags. That sensitive documents concerning Afghanistan were left available only makes this incident MORE scandalous.[/imo]

The NAFTA thing, so what if he leaked it? The Conservatives like NAFTA...alot of people do (I am not one of them). The people of US need to know what their potential President is talking about. They need to know that he really has no problem backstabbing one of their closest allies and trading partners.

That NAFTAgate thingy;

Citing what he would later describe as a "source at a senior level in the embassy," Clark reported that an Obama "operative" had phoned Wilson personally in previous weeks, warning that "Obama would take some heavy swings at the trade deal," but assuring the ambassador it would just be "campaign rhetoric," not to be taken seriously.

The story, Clark emphasized, went beyond trade: "It goes to the question of truthfulness. In other words, did Barack Obama say one thing privately to a foreign government and then say something entirely different to the voters of Ohio and Texas? And it appears tonight that's exactly what he did and that's exactly what the Clinton campaign is zeroing in on," concluded the reporter.

What call?

In saying that, Clark was correct. The sting of the story was its insinuation of hypocrisy, something voters seem to hate more than nearly anything else. The suggestion Obama was a hypocrite would do a great deal of damage on the campaign trail.

www.cbc.ca...

The denial;

The original leak that triggered what some U.S. Democrats call 'NAFTAgate' will not be examined, the Conservatives announced Tuesday on the day of the crucial Ohio primary.

The opposition says a Canadian government official may have broken the Security of Information Act in publicizing its private diplomatic conversations with an Obama aide.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he wants to find out who leaked details that have embarrassed Obama and raised questions about his sincerity with voters.

He denied U.S. reports that his own top aide – chief of staff Ian Brodie – was the source of the original one. He promised to investigate the incident, without specifying which one he was talking about.

www.thestar.com...

(bolding mine)

The support of the denial;

A Privy Council Office report into the so-called NAFTAgate issue on Friday cleared Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief of staff of breaching any confidentiality rules.

Harper ordered the investigation after a news report suggested Ian Brodie leaked details of a Chicago meeting between an aide to Barack Obama and a Canadian diplomat over the Democratic presidential hopeful's NAFTA position.

The news report said Brodie had told Canadian reporters during a media lockup that Obama advisers had privately assured Canadian diplomats that Obama's tough talk on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement was essentially rhetoric

www.cbc.ca...

[imo] the 'leak' was carefully crafted and timed to damage the Obama campaign in Ohio and push support to Hillary Clinton. This was no mere 'mistake'. Brodie, btw, has stepped down. [/imo]

the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) "scandal":


Facing questions from the public, Conservative Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn claimed he was not made aware of the extended reactor shutdown and the ensuing isotope shortage until December 3, 2007. Health Minister Tony Clement claimed that he was only informed on December 5, 2008 [3].

Dec 2008 hasn't even happened.

Obviously a typo.

Let's look at what happened...

The Scandalpedia charge;

On November 18, 2007, Atomic Energy Canada Limited (AECL) shut down its nuclear reactor at Chalk River, Ontario, halting production of two-thirds of the world’s radioisotopes used for medical diagnostic testing.

scandalpedia.ca...

Oooo... not good for the medical industry (globally).

So... what happened?

The real Situation;

the National Research Universal (NRU) was shut down not because of any real safety issues but because the relationship between the CNSC and AECL had become poisoned beyond repair.

This separate report was commissioned jointly by AECL and the CNSC and written by a Washington-based consultancy, Talisman International LLC. In its report, Talisman said vague licensing conditions and some poor communication processes at all levels in both organizations helped lead to the NRU shutdown.

The Talisman consultants were harshly critical of the relationship between the industry and its regulator.

www.canada.com...

The Information delay;

Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn may have known in September that the Chalk River reactor needed improvements to protect public safety, months before it was shut down, according to an auditor general report released Tuesday.

www.ctv.ca...

The Linda Keen/Lunn scrap;

In a caustic letter, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission president on Tuesday told Lunn his threat to fire her over the affair is "entirely without merit," challenges him to provide evidence of her misconduct, vows to serve out her term and reminds him the Supreme Court of Canada has "consistently held that the principles of fundamental justice require quasi-judicial tribunals to be free from political influence or interference."

His actions in the affair, particularly a Dec. 8 phone call between the two and Lunn's letter are, she writes, "examples of improper interference with both the institutional independence of the CNSC and with the administration of justice," and could have a "significant chilling effect ... on the practices and decisions of other tribunals who are responsible for important work on behalf of Canadians."

www.nationalpost.com...

Keen's firing;

Federal Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn defended his decision to fire the head of Canada's nuclear safety watchdog Wednesday, arguing she lost the government's confidence over the way she handled the shutdown of a medical isotope-producing nuclear reactor late last year.

www.cbc.ca...

Harper's comment;

"I think the minister of natural resources, in fact all the ministers of the government who worked on this file, are to be commended for acting, frankly, beyond the normal call of duty to ensure that the Canadian medical system was not needlessly endangered by decisions made by the president of the nuclear commission," Stephen Harper said during a New Brunswick press conference.

www.cbc.ca...

[imo] The aging Chalk River facility, requiring substantial upgrades which were pushed by the CNSC, but downplayed by AECL , are the root cause of this incident.

Regarding the 'scandal', related by the Liberal website;

Critics decried the Conservative government’s actions as attacks to silence those who refuse to toe the party line and for firing Ms. Keen for doing her job – looking out for the safety of people working in and living near a nuclear reactor. Critics also expressed serious concerns concerning the Conservative government’s actions and its implications for the proper oversight of arms-length, independent bodies tasked with the ensuring the safety of Canadians

scandalpedia.ca...

The bickering caused;

Rather than working with AECL to install the backup power supply system, Minister Lunn demanded Ms. Keen and the Safety Commission approve immediate start-up of the reactor, without the backup power supply, a violation of national law and international standards regarding nuclear safety

Having worked most of my life (32 years) in the Nuclear industry myself, I can attest to the fact that political influence on nuclear systems have a dangerous side effect.

Nuclear safety is the primary concern, no matter how small the threat is. Redundancy in shutdown systems coupled with emergency power supply to enable them supercede ALL politics. We're not talking about grain elevators here.

As a side note I do find it funny how these parties are fighting proxy mudslinging wars through independent websites. It is hilarious.

Truly

The Puffin Poop scandal got me laughing too.

I guess I just take it all with a grain of salt. Sad to say but I don't vote. I had written up a big huge thing explaining why not. It boils down to me refusing to have to vote for the lesser of the evils simply because there is no candidate that represents my interests. I would run for MP myself, but being in Alberta, there is absolutely no chance of me winning unless I am running under the PC banner and I refuse to do that.

The entire Canadian political process is a joke, but until we get a party that is not sacred of changing it, we are going to keep having these issues. When there is a real sense of responsibility in Ottawa then I will give more credence to these things but until then, it is all a laugh.