More Questions About Bev Oda's Expense Claims?

I'm sure there is a very logical explanation for this.

He's Just Another Politician

Despite the ongoing and very critical coverage of Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair and his myriad leadership failures at the 2010 G20 Summit in Toronto, the truculent top cop refuses to both apologize and resign.

The most withering criticism I can think to make is that Blair is just another politician.

You know, a politician in the mode of incompetent and unethical public 'servants' like Bev Oda, Peter MacKay, Christian Paradis, and Tony Clement, all 'Honourable' in parliamentary title only, all betrayers of the public trust in many ways, none possessesing the personal integrity necessary to take responsibility for their misdeeds and resign.

Chief Blair has some wonderful models to inspire him.

A Short But Not So Sweet Letter

Here is a copy of the letter that I just fired off to my Conservative Member of Parliament, David Sweet:

Dear Mr. Sweet,

Although I am sure you are only too aware of the hypocrisy involved, it seems more than passing strange that your government should suddenly cancel the Katimavik program, leaving in the lurch young people who had opted for the program over university next fall (http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1166033--young-canadians-in-limbo-after-conservatives-cancel-katimavik ), ostensibly in the name of austerity, while your International Development Minister, Bev Oda, has no compunction about profligately spending the taxpayers’ money for her own comfort (http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/04/23/bev-oda-savoy-hotel_n_1444818.html?ref=canada).

Any thoughts on the matter, or should I just rely on the usual spin your government puts on all of its embarrassments?

Sincerely,

Lorne Warwick

The Dark Shadow of Stephen Harper

The dark presence of Stephen Harper loomed heavily today during the Parliamentary Committee hearing into whether International Cooperation Minister Bev Oda should be held in contempt of Parliament for her earlier misleading and evasive answers regarding her department's defunding of KAIROS.

While the evaluation of her testimony will undoubtedly split along party lines, her 'answers' to the Committee's questions, in which she frequently simply proclaimed her probity, had all of the earmarks of a carefully scripted and carefully rehearsed performance, doubtlessly orchestrated by the Prime Minister's minions (a.k.a. The PMO). Her inability or unwillingness to answer questions with either a 'yes' or a 'no' without very animated prompting by M.P. Pat Martin bespoke the evasiveness of someone with something to hide. While watching this performance, I was reminded of all the evidence Lawrence Martin brings forth in Harperland that nothing happens in the Harper Regime without the explicit approval of Mr. Harper or his operatives.

Let the spin begin.

The Bizzaro World of Stephen Harper

When I was a child, I was an avid reader of Superman comics, fascinating to me since that universe contained such an amazing array of heroes and villains. One of my favorite parts of that universe was the Bizzaro world, a planet peopled by beings whose actions and values were the complete opposite of their earthly counterparts. For example, the slowest participant was the winner of the race, clocks moved backwards, beauty was considered ugly, and the highest virtue was not truth, but lies.

Reading Thomas Walkom's column in today's Star entitled, Oda's attempt to mislead is part of Tory strategy, reminded me of that world, discussing, as it does, the Harperite propensity for making up things, i.e. lying, when the truth becomes inconvenient or gets in the way of their ideology. As Mr Walkom reports, the recent disgraceful behaviour of International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda is just one small aspect of a pattern long ago established by the secretive, paranoid, anti-democratic and ideologically-driven Conservative Party of Canada.

More About the KAIROS Defunding

I wrote a post the other day about the decision, mired in controversy and obfuscation, by CIDA Minister Bev Oda to cut off the funding to KAIROS, a church-based coalition that promotes social justice issues. Despite the fact that CIDA staff had recommended a continuation of funding, Oda overruled them for reasons that have been speculated upon, including the allegation by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney of anti-semitism which, in the Harper Government, seems to include any criticism of Israel or its policies.

In a story from The Embassy, the tale gets even murkier, reflected in the report of Ms. Oda's testimony before the Common's Foreign policy committee:

After soliciting feedback from CIDA sections and embassies in the relevant countries, a number of memos and background documents were prepared for Ms. Oda in advance of approving the $7.1-million KAIROS proposal.

However, while the entire memo recommends the project, a hand-written notation has added "NOT" into the final sentence, which as a result reads: "RECOMMENDATION — That you sign below to indicate you NOT approve the contribution of $7,098,758."

"You were the one who wrote the 'not,'" Liberal committee member John McKay said at one point.
"I did not say I was the one who wrote the 'not,'" Ms. Oda replied.
"Who did then?" Mr. McKay asked.
"I do not know," Ms. Oda replied.
That evoked a stunned silence in the West Block committee room before Mr. McKay said: "That's a remarkable statement."

Near the end of the hearing, Liberal Foreign Affairs critic Bob Rae asked Ms. Oda whether the "NOT" was on the document when she signed it.

"I did not put the 'not' in," the minister said, before adding: "I did not sign the document."

Confused, Mr. Rae noted that Ms. Oda's signature was on the memo, to which the minister said it may have been signed by a machine known as an automatic pen.

"I, personally, did not sign that document," she said. "It's my signature, which is either a pen-signed or a personal-signed. I do not sign, as any minister does not sign, every document required to be signed."

"I would say that CIDA staff in the department certainly did its job," Ms. Oda said. However, "the ultimate decision is made by the minister, and the minister does have that responsibility, not only just to endorse recommendations coming out of any department, but also has to use their own judgment in every case."

When asked what was wrong with the KAIROS proposal, however, Ms. Oda would only say that "it's not the minister's responsibility necessarily to find what's wrong, it's to find the best projects for the utilization of the public funds."

I could make predictable observations about government incompetence here, but to me the more disturbing aspect of Oda's testimony is that she, and by extension, her government, care not a whit what anyone else may think of the high-handed manner with which KAIROS was treated.

Yet one more reason one can only hope that the Harperites never get that majority they so deeply crave.

The Truth About KAIROS Defunding?

NGO KAIROS, a social justice church-based coalition, finally has learned part of the truth about its loss of CIDA funding about a year ago. At the time, CIDA Minister Bev Oda said the organization was cut as an aid partner because its project proposal did not meet the government's new aid priorities.

That decision was met by much suspicion at the time, with KAIROS insiders believing that "its involvement in corporate social responsibility work related to mining in developing countries and oil sands awareness in Canada was a factor. In addition, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney linked the decision with KAIROS's supposed role in leading a boycott, divestment and sanction campaign against Israel in December."

According to a story in today's Toronto Star, CIDA in fact had recommended the continuation of funding, but was overruled by Bev Oda, who now admits "it was her decision alone to discontinue funding arrangements with KAIROS, in spite of the advice she was given."

In the old days, such blatant lying by a cabinet minister would have created a real furor. Today, I suspect, such a revelation will create nary a ripple.