Letter-writers in today's Star ask questions that demand to be answered. The first makes a point that occurred to me early on when SNC-Lavalin averred that bribery and fraud charges were the result of rogue employees, an oft-used disclaimer by those seeking to evade criminal responsibility:
Re PM loses top aide, Feb. 19Then again, perhaps the above writers are clinging to a sense of morality and justice that is quickly becoming but a quaint notion. If so, our nation has deeper problems than the hyped-up loss of 50,000 jobs should SNC-Lavalin be held accountable for its crimes. (Have we no other engineering companies in Canada to bid on contracts and employ people?)
This excellent article mentions that SNC-Lavalin has pleaded not guilty to bribery and fraud charges related to its work in Libya, saying any wrongdoing or illicit payments made to the regime of Moammar Gadhafi were made by employees without its consent.
It seems highly unlikely that those employees would fund such initiatives out of their own pockets. Once again, the key to unravelling sordid affairs of this nature is to follow the money.
Harry J. Rollo, Toronto
The SNC-Lavalin affair seems to be mostly about our prime minister doing all kinds of things to keep that company running as it is now. Why is he doing this? It smells like money.
First, the company is well-known to be a strong supporter of the Liberal Party. More importantly, the goods the company manufactures in Canada for export ensure a steady flow of money into the federal treasury.
Note that this includes war materials sold, indirectly, to Saudi Arabia. Does this not matter to us?
Alan Craig, Brampton
.. we find comments quite interesting, very informative.. and in a sense, most of Twitter is essentially 'comment' with a decent scattering of 'news' & often with links or events of the day or the past (as we both know there are also many 'gems' too via twitter, reflecting art or nature, ecology, politics, music as well)
ReplyDeleteSadly.. we are left looking at the odd entrails of the Lavalin and Norman criminal proceedings. We are being 'informed' by Mainstream Media, a daily barrage of partisan shrieking by one Andrew Scheer Inc who released a tweet with video pompously telling Canadians to 'retweet this, it tells you all you need to know about Lavalin, so retweet so all the other Canadians can see it' - words to that effect. No I did not watch the CPC video production or retweet.. instead, the pompous insult reminded me of how detestable that rebranded hysterical evangelical Reform Party really is. Now they pretend to be journalists ? Really ? 'All we need to know' sounds remarkably like Ezra Levant
My point though.. I don't and won't buy into the old 'polarization' of the nation grift. The 'choose us because we aren't them' as if that's leadership or a promise of good governance. Hell, that's how the Liberals got elected in a majority - by not being Stephen Harper
Canadians need to know where there money is going. Yes some goes to Lavalin or their customers. Some to Big Energy (a lot !) Some to farmed salmon.. and some goes to the Trudeau Government's elected caucus, our appointed Senators, PMO, Privy Council etc who may be getting paid very well with pension and in full in a timely manner via the vaunted Phoenix pay system (we don't hear any of them complaining.. certainly not Senator Denise Batters who complains or rather 'communicates' with Canadians, only via her whacko partisan outbursts)
We (the salamander horde) comment or complain too.. here's a sample that went out as a general tweet or retweet of anothers tweet with our comment - and was then adapted after for the use or consideration of Warren Kinsella and his commenters. There are interesting commenters there too!)
Note : As always, the horde strives to simplify or codify.. uncomplicate a problem - indeed try to solve it or be part of the solution but though we fail too, most of the time, we are chock full of 'try') Obviously, below, we are attacking the 4 terms written by The Globe and Mail for how muddled they are. Indeed they are 'hearsay conjecture' - 2nd or 3rd hand terms per anonymous sources. In their rush to have 'a scoop' the collateral damage so far seems to be the political career of Ms Wilson-Reybould and the Veterans Affairs Ministry, now variously described as 'a backwater ministry' an 'insulting demotion' .. ergh. We're not through with Gerald Butts yet.. yes the incoming Norman criminal trial.. whereby Scott Brison may take an equal lashing along with the usual short pants suspects.. now including the Clerk of the Privy Council
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.. shades o grey eh!
Ms Wilson-Reybould surely could build a list, plus include approx dates .. a list in descending order of urgency, the times she was ‘urged ‘ and any ‘attempts to press’ her or ‘press’ her or ‘put heavy pressure upon her’ & she can draw a red line and bisect the list with the legal ‘Its Time to Resign Red Time Line’.
Now she (Jody, If I may be so bold..) could also create a similar list regarding the Norman Criminal trial. Many of the names are identical.. but different case, different stakes.. and add Scott Brison to the list – somewhere !
Your points are well-taken, Sal, and it is perhaps to state the obvious in the current mess of our politics that one really needs a program to tell the players apart.
Delete.. we may not see the docs ms Henein has demanded via subpoena in the Norman Criminal Case. Keep in mind the Government claims they are Classified, all 135,000 of them. Ms Henein suggests letting the judge decide while letting them remain 'under seal' aside from his appraisal. Ms Henein also questions how Scott Brison has yet to be contacted to secure all docs and email. Don't think she will dawdle on that. Finally my point. Regardless of what happens with Lavalin - the pattern of Government behaviour will be very revealing under the microscope of Ms Henein and a supportive judge (who has already expressed concerns re Government and Prosecution collusion re obstruction of Defense 'discovery' docs)
ReplyDeleteMy bet is the charges are soon dismissed.. contentious of course.. huge in fact. But not on the scale of what may be revealed re how every single player in the Lavalin affair was behaving in the Norman Case. What a 2nd can of worms..
The government would probably find special meaning in the quote from Hamlet, Sal:
Delete"When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions."