February 13, 2003

FARMERS SUFFER BECAUSE OF LIBERAL SCANDALS

The Auditor General’s report released in early February is just an indication of how high-ranking officials and cabinet ministers in the Liberal government mismanage tax dollars with complete disrespect to you, the taxpayer.

Just weeks after his coronation, it has become apparent that Prime Minister Paul Martin has covered up not only the amount his company, Canada Steamship Lines, was awarded in government contracts, but somehow as Finance Minister he signed off on $250 million to sponsor 1,987 events that were either bogus to begin with, involved very little work, or were never completed. Of that $250 million, $100 million went to the fees or commissions of Liberal-supporting advertising agencies. Government money was basically handed to friends of the Liberals in exchange for financial support to the Liberal Party.

 “This is just such a blatant misuse of public funds,” stated Auditor General Sheila Fraser in her report.

That’s $100 million Canadian tax dollars that could have been spent dealing with issues pertinent to all Canadians, not just a select few Liberal friends in Quebec.

This disrespectful blow by the Liberals is not just to taxpayers outside of Quebec, but to residents of Quebec as well. The Sponsorship Program was designed following the 1995 Quebec referendum by former Prime Minister Jean Chretien as a means of “buying” federal presence in communities. The government paid Quebec event organizers who in turn put the Canada flag on display. The people of Quebec won’t change their support based on the waving of a few flags at a baseball game, even if they are $1 million flags. All that the Liberals succeeded in doing was to secure financial support for the Liberal Party of Canada –  but you paid for that support.

What the Auditor General’s report does is shine a much-needed spotlight on the corruption taking place within the Liberal government.  Although the corruption has been uncovered, Mr. Martin is now focused on a clean-up campaign to bury controversial issues until after the spring election instead of facing the issues that need to be addressed immediately, such as the BSE crisis and the farm economy.

Cattle producers are facing the toughest time in history. Price drops of over 50 per cent for their animals and increasing costs to maintain herds have stretched many to the limit. Agriculture Canada economists project that once Saskatchewan farmers pay their input bills and calculate depreciation, they will be $465 million in the hole for the year. It’s an amount never seen before and it comes under Liberal rule. Agriculture Minister Bob Speller says he will ask for more money for Canada’s farmers prior to the expected pre-election budget in March, but already purse-holder Ralph Goodale is saying there is no money to help the country’s food providers. Waiting until March to ask for much-needed assistance is going to be too late for many producers anyway. Our agriculture sector needs help now, be it in the form of financial aid or through tax breaks - breaks such as that which Mr. Martin receives by flying the flag of a different country on his Canada Steamship Lines boats. Flying such a flag in a farmyard should garner the same tax break, despite how un-Canadian the practice may be.

Waiting until after an election to deal with our producers’ crisis is unacceptable. These are the lives and livelihoods of our neighbours and they should not be told to wait until the Liberals have better control over matters.

While the bad news continues to mount for our rural people, Mr. Martin is off trying to assure Canadians that the Liberals won’t hand taxpayers money to his supporters anymore. Clearly, the mindset of this government is not where it needs to be.