By John Klein (aka Saskboy)
$3.1 Billion is missing, according to a damning audit of the Harper Government. Let’s see what the political pundits have had to say about recent audit revelations:
Federal government audit “severely critical”
– The Star:
“The independent audit […] speaks for itself, and we accept its conclusions and recommendations,” said Jan O’Driscoll, spokesperson for the Minister.
[The auditor] called the lack of records “inappropriate for any recipient of public funds.”
– Ian Lee of the Sprott School of Business:
“I cannot in my lifetime recall such a devastating audit. […] A stunning indictment.”
– Chuck Strahl:
“It just seems to be difficult to do the basics, and then that raises red flags […] for the government.”
The National Post‘s John Ibbitson said that the audit will be a smoking gun for those who criticize the [government] system, while The Globe and Mail‘s Rob Silver said that even if the audit was leaked to discredit [a politician], that doesn’t mean it’s not important, and that it reads like any other audit of a government bureaucracy gone wrong.
Embattled Senator Brazman has an opinion:
“Just because [an audit is published], it does not mean money is well spent,” said Sen. Patrick Brazeau, a controversial and outspoken critic […]. “Where does the money go? Is it being properly spent . . . and more importantly, is it going to [where there are] needs?” “Accountability is a two-way street.”
The perpetually petulant Ezra Levant even gets in on the audit pile-on action: “Audit nightmare: The RCMP […] should be meeting with [those involved].“
“If the people involved had Italian names and were from the Montreal construction industry, or French-Canadian names from Montreal ad agencies […] there would be resignations and criminal charges flying.”
But wait a moment, there’s a twist. The above quotes are all real, but they seem so unlikely, don’t they? Well, that’s because the critics are not talking about the Conservatives’ audit failure — they’re talking about another recent audit of which they were more critical, over much less unaccounted-for public money. They said these things about less than 3% of the unaccounted-for $3,100,000,000 Harper has frittered away without proper documentation.
Ottawapiskat lives on.
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