Stephen Harper Has 54 Days To Win the Prime Ministership

After my post yesterday, I've decided that I'm going to stay positive in this election.

My post on the issue of Abortion this morning was the first.

Stephen Harper Has 54 Days
To Win the Prime Ministership

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Abortion

Martin has said in the past (and will say in future - last week of the campaign is my bet) that Harper would take away a woman's right to chose. I'm not going to wait and am jump starting the issue now.

Here are the parties stances on this issue.

The google searches to verify what I've posted (search soon - most of the pages are getting quickly deleted)

abortion site:liberal.ca
abortion site:conservative.ca
abortion site:ndp.ca

NDP is the only one which is offically pro-choice.
Conservative Party - free vote on issues of conscience.
Liberal Party - No references to issues such as abortion in their platform or web site. Only mention is of the Harper is scary and will take it away type. (Who has the hidden agenda now, Mr. Martin!)

Will the parties carry through? Check the result of the Same Sex Marriage vote.

NDP - whipped vote - only MP who voted against lost her critic position and nomination.
Conservative - free vote - no repercussions for those who voted for or against.
Liberal - half-whipped - back benchers voted freely (30 against) and a whipped vote for cabinet. Joe Comuzzi, resigned from the cabinet so he could vote against the bill.

So if you are Pro-Choice and this is a very important issue for you - vote NDP.
If you are pro-choice or pro-life and support a free vote on this issue - Vote Conservative.
Everyone else - vote Green!

My views (for those interested):

Abortion is a grey area - I support a women's right to chose - hopefully at the earliest stage possible of pregnancy. I also support "fetus" rights in cases where a wanted baby is killed or seriously hurt in a wilful act by a third party. i.e. Scott Peterson case; cases where people try to steal the fetus etc.

My bet is that no party really wants to touch this issue with a 100 foot pole as it is very divisive and any movement on this issue - like Same Sex Marriage - will be forced on parliament by the courts. I support a free vote or referendum as I do not believe this is a "political" issue and it should not be used as platform to scarify the public into voting for your party or against the opposition. It is societal issue and politics should be removed from the debate as much as possible.

I support Same Sex Marriage; however, I support (and signed a petition) for either a free vote or a referndum on this issue for the same reasons as above.

Paul Martin has XX Days to Lose His Job

Inspired by J Cherniak's little side bar:

Paul Martin has
55 days
to lose his job.
Donate or Volunteer Today!

Bonus: Read this about Martin's Hidden Agenda

Blogging Tories Site of the Week - Me

I would like to thank the little people for making this win possible. Onto your tiny little shoulders I have arisen!

A short trip down memory lane:

The post that started it all - (update link fixed) Always Attack Never Defend
"The golden rule of blog politics seems to be the same as trolling: Always Attack - Never Defend. Well if you are going to do it, you might as well do it right!"

The original is here - it was based on trolls infecting another board that I posted under as System5 before I started blogging here - resulted in over 200 comments too!

Other hilights:
Belindagate
Leafs Suck

I should also mention my prestigous win as the Random Good Tory Blogger Award: for being "Funny and substantive" in the The Anals: Best And Worst Of The Canadian Blogsphere 2005

Martin booed at Grey Cup

From TSN "Prime Minister Paul Martin and Gov. Gen. Michaele Jean were among the sellout crowd of 59,157 attending the game at B.C. Place Stadium.

Martin was loudly booed when he took the field for the pre-game coin toss."

More Liberal Hate Propaganda

I feel so unclean receiving this! But here goes the latest Liberal Hate Propaganda:

"Canadians have said repeatedly that they don’t want a Holiday election. {Pale - Working in the Tories favour is that they have the most committed base. The poll found Conservative voters no less likely to vote in January than in April. Liberal and NDP voters were each down three per cent, the Bloc down five.} But the Opposition Parties, led by an angry, gloomy Stephen Harper, have decided that their political agenda must be the country’s agenda. That, of course, is their prerogative. But surely it doesn’t require, as they spent yesterday doing, calling all Liberals corrupt and drawing a direct line from the Liberal Party to organized crime.

The Bloc? Their separatist agenda requires that they construct “winning conditions” for a referendum, a referendum that PQ Leader André Boisclair has promised to hold “immediately” after winning power at the provincial level. For the Bloc, the election of a Stephen Harper government with them holding the balance of power is the ultimate “winning condition”. For they know that Stephen Harper’s neo-conservative agenda is the very antithesis of Quebeckers’ views. They, too, call all Liberals “corrupt” in the most McCarthyite way, to mask the fact that they have no policies that represent a positive vision of Quebec’s place in Canada.

It all amounts to a nasty campaign {Pale- So after calling Harper an angry, gloomy guy with a neo-conservative agende that is against what's best for Quebec - they expect a nasty campaign - quel suprise!}. As Liberals, we need to be prepared for the lowest possible level of political discourse from our opponents. We need to be prepared to respond to excessive charges. And we need to promote our record of achievement. That means speaking of a 30-year low in unemployment. Record surpluses. The best economy in the G-8. Social innovation. Child care. Tax cuts. Positive things – things that we can all be proud of.

I will be spending the rest of the time before Monday working with the Campaign team to construct a winning campaign. That campaign will cost over $18 million. {Pale - Ah, the pitch - gimme some money to slur my oponents more so the angry scary guy does not win!}Now more than ever, we need your help to mount that campaign. Our candidates need your time and talents. Your friends and neighbours can and should be asked to pitch in and help on our campaign.

Finally, we need your help to finance the campaign. Please take the time to donate to a winning campaign. Even a small amount helps. And as we approach year end, you are close to obtaining a generous tax credit.

As we approach our campaign launch, we carry with us the support of the hundreds of thousands of Liberals across Canada. And more than ever, we ask for a demonstration of that support: financial, moral, {Pale - ha ha moral they need some morals} and otherwise – to re-elect a Liberal government.

Free Canada! Vote For Change! Do Not Vote Liberal!

I see the grass roots campaign has begun ....

Liberal M.P.'s dropping like flies?

HawkWatch2 is compiling a list of Liberal's who wont be running this time around. He's looking for help to be able to come to an exact number. Please add to the comments on his post or send him an email if you know of a Liberal M.P.'s who is sitting this one out.

List so Far
David Anderson
John Efford
Claudette Bradshaw
Marlene Catterall
Rose Marie Ur
Don Boudria
Peter Adams
Pat O'Brian
Jerry Pickard
Carolyn Parrish
Paul DeVillers

Paul Martin to be Put Down

From our local national free tabloid - Dose.

"It’s been decided: the federal Liberals should not stay in power.

In a heated exchange of dialectical prowess, the Toronto Debating Society squared off on Tuesday over the proper fate of the Martin government. Adjudicators awarded the victory to the team arguing to send the PM packing by a margin of 126 to 118 points. The popular vote was even more decisive, with 7 to 2 in favour of kicking the Grits to the curb."

Some debating quotes:

“If the opposition can bring down the government that is not just their right it is their duty.”

“The country needs the opportunity to tell the government where it should go.”

My Favourite:

“It is the moral responsibility of the opposition to keep an eye on the shenanigans of the government. And if you discover that your dog is rabid, then you must destroy that dog before it hurts someone else.”

Secret Agenda Discovered

In a shocking twist, the Globe and Mail was leaked a copy of the Top Secret Conservative Hidden Agenda from last May - probably by a Liberal Investigative Arranger of Records. (L.IA.R. for short).

Unfortunately, most of the good ideas in the Hidden Agenda have been stolen and implemented but the same Liberals.

For example, the document says that the Tories would reduce by one point the percentage that the middle-income bracket is taxed, a move that would save taxpayers $4.9-billion by the year 2009. In the most recent mini-budget, Finance Minister Ralph Goodale announced an identical 1-per-cent cut, as well as a matching cut to the lowest bracket.

Similarly, the Liberals announced an expansion last week of programs aimed at easing the financial burdens faced by postsecondary students. The Conservative proposal advocates adding $250-million to the Student Loan Program.

Kyoto Fall's Down

So David Suzuki says that "emissions should be cut 25 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, and 80 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050" (More on Suzuki here.)

Eighty per cent? What are the plants going to breathe - you know plants need to CO2 to live, eh?

And this is based on the pretty weak science that CO2 has any affect on the global climate.

I'm with Alberta on this one, go slow until the science actually develops strong results. You know the scientific method of creating hypotheses, testing them, releasing the findings in an unbiased manner.

Bonus Link: Now these guys are serious.

"We can't be breeding right now," says Les Knight. "It's obvious that the intentional creation of another [human being] by anyone anywhere can't be justified today."

Knight is the founder of the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement, an informal network of people dedicated to phasing out the human race in the interest of the health of the Earth. Knight, whose convictions led him to get a vasectomy in the 1970s, when he was 25, believes that the human race is inherently dangerous to the planet and inevitably creates an unsustainable situation.

PM's Canadian Shipping Lines Polluting the Great Lakes

Do the Right, Honourable thing, Mr. Prime Minister:
Stop polluting our drinking water!

Article and Petition

h/t Warren Kinsella

Round up

Federal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale says Saskatchewan shouldn't expect a new energy deal with Ottawa anytime soon. But Goodale argues that Saskatchewan has been getting more than its fair share of federal money.

A Health Canada bureaucrat who took more than a million dollars that was supposed to go to a First Nations health centre won't do any jail time.

Alberta Premier Ralph Klein is doling out cash for students in other provinces as part of a message that Alberta's windfall of energy wealth benefits everyone. Klein used a speech in Ottawa to announce a $20-million endowment fund that will provide $2,025 scholarships each year to about 325 students. The scholarships will be divided evenly between all provinces and territories.

Campaign Summits

Who Says You Can Not Have A Summit During an Election Campaign? Can't be Paul Martin!

Remember the G-8 Summit during the last campaign - you know the one where "his aides hope[d] a strong performance at the summit [would] be reflected in media reports and boost sagging Liberal support."

I think he meant that missing summits and conferences is only bad when they can not be used to boost sagging Liberal support.

Federal Bureaucracy Sick of Liberals Too!

A grim message came from former deputy minister Harry Swain, who said the federal bureaucracy is being driven to "breakdown" by unnecessary and costly rules brought in by Martin.

I warned about these bureaucrat fellows here.

Choice Quotes:

"Ridiculous and surreal impositions are raining on the public service from management theorists and politicians -- sometimes the same person -- seeking to bury Gomery"

"Two hundred and thirty-eight new rules, plus legions of comptrollers and auditors, will not prevent malfeasance if a prime minister decides that a higher cause justifies playing fast and loose with the rules."

"What it did, of course, was take tens of thousands of small businesses all across the country -- many of them owned by active and politically engaged citizens -- and tell them that they now had to slipstream some large company, a company which raised the little guy's prices by 15 to 30 per cent for the privilege of riding on its standing-offer coattails. Gosh, imagine Liberals inventing toll-gating."

Swain described as "silliness" Brison's plan to sell some, or all, of Ottawa's $3.5 billion in real estate holdings -- and then lease those buildings back. "And your people think their cubicles are small now," he joked, adding: "It's a slam dunk that the vapourish 'savings' that are apparently already booked cannot survive examination by rational people."

This "son-of-Public Works ... would be as efficient as Piggly-Wiggly but for the fact that they are unpractised in these new realms and hence take twice as long and cost three times as much."

Yeeoouch!

Tories, NDP to Support Liberal Tax Cuts

Paul Martin's plan of using retroactive tax cut may just backfire on him - by passing them and not allowing him to run a campaign on them!

CFRA reports "The Conservatives and the NDP both say they won't vote against the Liberals on any of the income tax reductions promised in Finance Minister Ralph Goodale's fiscal update on Monday.

A report says the Liberals will introduce a motion for a 500-dollar increase in the amount of money Canadians can earn before they pay tax as soon as possible. The government could also bring forward a bill to reduce the tax rate for the lowest income rate to 15 per cent from 16 per cent as early as today."

They then can keep this years tax cut while leaving things open for a budget after the election to adjust thing for 2006 and beyond - as the parties see fit - depending on the results of the election, of course.

Oooooops. There goes a plank from the Liberal election package. And since most people are blaming the Liberal brand for corruption - plank number two gone. Ship is taking on water - better be a good patcher.

Top Secret Last Ditch Liberal Election Promised Revealed!

Apparently, a Red Book of Liberal Election stategies was left behind at the Summit of the Americas a couple of weeks ago. This booklet floated around the globe until it landed in Sri Lanka.

An enterprising candidate - a long shot to win - received the booklet and is now using it to fight his campaign.

Here is the super secret last ditch election promise sure to save the floundering Liberal party - the wealthy Sri Lankan presidential candidate said he will use his personal fortune to buy a cow for every home if he is elected.

Update: A sign was included with the package.

Harper Talks Quebec

"We're getting good candidates in place and I think we simply have to hit the ground and make the case to Quebecers," Harper said after a speech in Montreal. "If they want real change, the only way to do that is to change the government. The Conservative party represents a philosophy of federalism that most Quebecers should be very comfortable with."

Pull the Plug

Let see if Paul Martin has the man parts to pick a Christmass election date. Here are some images to inspire! It's all up to you Paul - no dithering!

Opposition leaders issue ultimatum to Martin

The opposition leaders are demanding that Paul Martin should call an election in early January or he could face a no-confidence motion that could bring down his government in November.

Harper said the opposition parties agreed to let Martin call the election in January so that parliament could continue to get some work done – such as the energy rebate bill, C-66 – before it breaks for Christmas.

"If the government wants these things done, if it wants to avoid a Christmas election, this will give it the opportunity," Harper said.

Harper rejected a suggestion that the date was more motivated by the opposition leaders' desire to avoid aggravating voters by forcing a Christmas election.

Young Liberals ...

Try to grow up a little! From Christina Blizzard.

"A retired cop is furious that a recent convention of young Liberals in Windsor turned into a boorish boozefest that kept him awake until the wee hours of the morning.

London resident Paul Chaytor says drunken revellers pushed him, swore at him and consumed alcohol in an elevator during a young Liberal convention on Oct. 22."

Even More Income Trust Fallout

Enuf feedback for you Ralph?

Now the Bank of Montreal is calling on "Finance Minister Ralph Goodale to step up to the plate and publicly declare his support for income trusts, a move it claims is necessary to remove the pall of uncertainty that is clouding the sector's future."

BMO's recommendations are expected to be echoed by others in the financial services industry over the coming weeks. The Canadian Bankers Association, an industry group, is currently finalizing its submission, which sources said will advise Ottawa to provide two kinds of tax relief to Canadian companies: One on the general corporate tax rate, and another on dividends.

Royal Bank of Canada, the country's largest bank, is expected to make a similar argument to Ottawa when it delivers its response in a couple of weeks.

Paul Wells on Belinda Stonach

Normally, I find Paul Wells'ssss blog out there.

But this line is too funny not to pass along.

"Get ready for the deepest tax cuts you ever saw. Get ready for these guys to cancel the GST and replace it with rebates. Get ready for a massive system of cabinet appointments for every breathing non-incarcerated adult Canadian.

We are all Belinda Stronach now."

Duelling Headlines

Dont' you just love it when funny headline show up at the same time?

Tories Have More Money in the Bank

Quebec Liberals Consider Return of Sponsorship Program

Delayed Election

So the plan to call for an election in January was immediately questioned by constitutional experts, who pointed out that the Prime Minister would be under no obligation to comply.

The question should be which Prime Minister - Martin or Harper?

Vote non-confidence in the Liberals but confidence in the Conservative-NDP-Bloc block. Then Prime Minister Harper would have the confidence of the house. Pass some motions that all 3 can agree on - like an ethics package. Also, all 4 leaders could sit in the native and health conferences.

Prime Minister Haper then goes to the Governor General to call for an election on the prefered dates.

Mission accomplished!

Rick Mercer Attacked!

Rick Mercer has been attacked by flying rubber discs - check out the shocking footage (Windows Media).

I am officially denying any knowledge and was out of the city when the attack took place!

In the Spirit of Kyoto

Rick Mercer's One-Tonne Challenge asks you to reduce your annual "greenhouse" gas emissions by one tonne.

Well, due to circumstances beyond my control, I have reduced my emissions by 2 tonnes.

So, I will be auctioning off the extra tonne to the highest bitter - just like the Kyoto Treaty says I should.

Want to help the pseudo-science movement and their c02 unscience but don't want to inconvenience your lifestyle?

Place your bid!

Mulroney Era Scandals

Blue Bloggingg Soapbox has a list of over 200 Liberal Scandals since being elected in 1993 - 80 under Chretien and 120 under Paul Martin.

The first thing you know is someone will say that Mulroney had scandals - yadda yadda yadda - so the Liberal's scandals don't count.

Here are Mulroney era scandals to compare to the 200 and counting.

1) The big one was Tunagate which brought down Mulroney's minister of fisheries and oceans. Fisheries minister John Fraser had overturned an order from his own inspectors and ordered a million cans of StarKist tuna released for sale to the public. The inspectors had said the tuna, packed at the StarKist plant in St. Andrews, N.B., was so badly spoiled that it wasn't even fit to be turned into catfood. The plant's owners had lobbied Fraser to release the cans for sale, saying they might shut the plant if the tuna couldn't be sold.

When the story broke, Fraser said he had sent samples of the tuna to two independent labs for testing, but those labs later said they hadn't finished their tests by the time Fraser decided to release the shipment. Six days after the scandal erupted, Mulroney asked Fraser to resign. In a twist the opposition parties were quick to exploit, Fraser and Mulroney both initially said that Mulroney had known about the original decision to release the tuna. The two men later said the prime minister had not known until the affair became public.

Fraser eventually went on to a new job, becoming Speaker in the House of Commons, but the 400 StarKist workers in St. Andrews weren't so lucky. The plant was shuttered after the company's market share slumped, and they were thrown out of work. Noone got sick though.

2) Robert Coates stepped down as defence minister in 1985 after it was revealed that he had visited a strip club in West Germany while in that country on official business.

3) Communications Minister Marcel Masse left over an alleged violation of the Canada Elections Act (he was later exonerated), followed closely by John Fraser (Tunagate).

4) In 1986, Minister of Regional Industrial Expansion Sinclair Stevens stepped down because of conflict of interest allegations related to a $2.6-million loan to a Stevens family company. In December 2004, a Federal Court judge declared null and void the findings of the Parker Inquiry. The court ruled that Parker's definition of conflict of interest exceeded that in the guidelines governing ministers in the Mulroney Cabinet, and that Stevens' behaviour did not violate the guidelines that governed him.

5) André Bissonnette, the minister of state for transport, resigned in 1987 while the RCMP investigated his alleged involvement in land speculation.

6) Roch La Salle, who served Mulroney in the public works, and supply and services portfolios, left cabinet the same year after being charged with demanding a bribe and accepting money from businesses looking for government favours. The charges were later dropped.

7) Conflict of interest allegations involving a personal loan felled Supply and Services Minister Michel Coté in 1988.

8) Bernard Valcourt stepped down in 1989 after pleading guilty to an impaired driving offence.

9) In 1990, current Quebec Premier Jean Charest had to leave his two posts as minister for fitness and amateur sport, and minister for youth after trying to talk to a judge about an ongoing case.

10) And, finally, in 1991, Housing Minister Alan Redway offered his resignation after being charged over joking about having a gun while boarding a flight at the Ottawa airport.

11) Quebec MP Michel Gravel, who in 1986 was charged with 50 counts of fraud and influence peddling. He later pleaded guilty to 15 charges, paid a $50,000 fine and served four months in jail.

Notice it's about one a year and that a couple were not politically related and some were exonerated!

Also note, that they either resigned or were fired or served jail time - unlike most of the Liberals.

As a Conservative, I'll stand behind that record against the Liberal record anyday.

Unions - Gotta Love Them

Beacuase the NDP sure does.

Ontario's Fire Marshall is concerned a union's threat to fire "double-hatters" may be compromising public safety.

Four Ottawa firefighters have quit volunteering at rural volunteer fire departments at the demands of their unions.

Fire Marshall Bernard Moyle wants Ontario to pass legislation protecting double-hatters from dismissal.

So why do the unions support the NDP again - oh yeah - putting themselves ahead of the public interest.

Goon/Enforcer entitiled to WCB

Check out TSN.ca

The Virginia Court of Appeals upheld a Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission finding that ''fighting is an integral part of the game of hockey'' and that American Ty Jones' injury arose in the course of his employment as an ''enforcer.''

Jones' former team, the Norfolk Admirals, had argued that the fight amounted to willful misconduct and that he was not entitled to workers' compensation.

L. Steven Emmert, a leading Virginia appellate lawyer and hockey fan with no connection to the case, suggested the finding Tuesday was so obvious that it does not amount to much as a legal precedent.

''This court finds that fighting is an integral part of hockey,'' Emmert said. ''Thirty million Canadians could have told you that.'' But he added: ''Maybe clubs will be a little more careful about sending a goon - an enforcer - out to thunk somebody in the head.''

Probably Chretien's Fault Too

Most of these ethical issues, while clearly happening on Paul Martin's watch as leader and PM, clearly contain the letter 'C' - with very few 'P's and 'M's - so they are Chretien's fault as well.

The Earnscliffe Strategy Group, an Ottawa consulting firm with close political ties to Prime Minister Paul Martin, has received more than $10 million in federal government money since the Liberals took power, new documents show. And another Ottawa polling firm that has sometimes worked with Earnscliffe received more than $61 million in the same period.

Trouble at Industry Canada with many as 15 companies improperly being paying commissions to lobbyists - which is stricty forbidden by the Technology Partnerships Canada fund rules. These companies found in breach of their contracts should return all of their money from the fund, not just the contingency fees.

Spending scandal in the Fisheries Department that has included the firing of two civil servants.

Contract awarded by the Indian Affairs Department on the condition that an outside consultant leave no paper trail.

Immigration Minister Judy Sgro’s senior policy advisor going to strip club to meet with owner to discuss bringing more strippers into Canada. (National Post, November 25, 2004). Subsequent revelations indicate that he went to at least one other strip club to conduct similar meetings (Toronto Sun, December 7, 2004). Sgro giving out details of private immigration files, violating Privacy Act. Allegations that Sgro broke the elections law in failing to properly identify the source of a campaign contribution. (Toronto Star, December 8, 2004). Immigration Minister Judy Sgro’s staff being allowed to stay on “extended travel” benefits, letting them bill taxpayers’ for thousands of dollars in hotel rooms and meals, because they didn’t want to move from Toronto to Ottawa until after the election.

Martin patronage-appointee Jim Walsh breaking ethics guidelines and attending Liberal Christmas Party (St. John’s Telegram, January 20, 2005).

Joe Volpe keeping stripper visa program operating, despite having promised to shut it down (CTV.ca, March 5, 2005)

Jean Lapierre acting as lobbyist without registering.

According to documents obtained by the Globe and Mail, Pierre Pettigrew billed Canadian taxpayers for $10,000 for trips for his driver in 2001 and 2002. Pettigrew took his driver to South America and Europe, even though the driver didn’t do any driving on the trips. (Globe and Mail, September 14, 2005)

Joe Volpe’s questionable hospitality expenses (Globe and Mail, September 21, 2005), including $138 for two people at a pizzeria

The government’s changing numbers on how much money has gone to CSL.

Lobbyists in Paul Martin’s transition team being allowed to return to lobbying immediately, after being involved in process of picking new cabinet and senior staff.

Martin using government jets to tour the country campaigning before election, spending over $1 million for air travel alone.

$99 million Public Works contract that went to company overseen by Liberal fundraiser and future Senator Paul Massicotte (Montreal Gazette, June 26, 2004)

Parliamentary Secretary Dan McTeague’s 3-person, $224 trip to a Pizzeria

Correctional Service of Canada Commissioner Lucie McClung’s travel expenses

Contracting irregularities on more than two dozen projects at DND worth tens of millions of dollars, showing over-billing, profit excesses, unauthorized additional work, lack of accounting records, spiralling cost overruns, etc. (Globe and Mail, July 14, 2004).

ACOA Minister Joe McGuire canceling ACOA loan and grant to ABL Industries Inc. because it would compete with company in his riding. (Fredericton Daily Gleaner, July 17, 2004).
Andy Mitchell’s chief of staff’s $22,000 in expenses to commute to Ottawa (Toronto Star, August 2, 2004).

André Ouellet’s travel and hospitality expenses at Canada Post.

Government delaying release of audit on Ouellet until after the election (Globe and Mail, July 31, 2004).

Martin’s principle secretary Francis Fox’s sister getting untendered contracts (The Province, July 27, 2004).

Continuing problems in advertising files at Public Works (Ottawa Sun, July 26, 2004).

A Liberal Party of Canada fundraising letter signed by Paul Martin, asking potential contributors to offer $7,000, $7,100 or $7,2000 in contributions – far in excess of donation limits passed by the very same Liberal government

Abuse of government credit cards by staff at Fisheries Department (CP Wire, September 24, 2004)

Challenger jet food bill of $508 per flight

Man convicted of fraud against government hired to teach ethics course to public servants (National Post, October 20, 2004.

Public Works selling confiscated grow-op equipment to drug traffickers. (National Post, October 21, 2004).

The Martin government spent $127,223 on a poll last February testing ways to diffuse negative reaction to the bombshell auditor-general's report -- which included the finding the Liberals ignored their own rules prohibiting the use of tax dollars on partisan polls (Vancouver Sun, November 8, 2004).

Irwin Cotler appointing his former chief-of-staff to federal court (National Post, November 23, 2004).

Heritage Minister Liza Frulla giving grant to magazine that put her on the cover and made her honourary president (Ottawa Citizen, November 25, 2004).

Despite promising an end to cronyism and patronage, Martin appointing various former Liberal MPs or Liberal candidates to patronage positions, including John Harvard, Yvon Charbonneau, Stan Keyes, Dennis Dawson, Francis Fox, Sophia Leung, Sarkis Assadourian, Karen Kraft Sloan, Dave Haggard and Glen Murray.

Public Works contract watchdog Consulting and Audit Canada violating contracting rules (Toronto Star, July 4, 2005).

Hat Tip to the Carleton-Mississipi Mills Conservative Association for most of these - more on the site.

Paul Martin's Post Gomery Reaction

Don't I look exonerated?