Corruption exposed

Page 5

The ugly face of corruption has been exposed to the country, thanks to the Gomery commission, the inquiry into the sponsorship program run, ostensibly, to raise the profile of Canada in Quebec after the succession referendum of the mid-1990s. Reputations and legacies may soon lie in tatters. There's nothing right or honorable about what we've been hearing and the idea that so many of the principle players in the scandal call or once called themselves "right honorable" now has a bitterly ironic taste to it.

Testimony comes out each day showing clearly that the old boys' club in Ottawa has a sense of contempt for the taxpayers, whose money and efforts make this country function, that would not be out of place in the Palace of Versailles at the time of Marie Antoinette.

People in high places in our federal government have a sense of entitlement that is quite reminiscent of the class system that flourished at that time. They think they're royalty-better than the people who pay the bills. They think they have a right to use other people's money and never be questioned or held to account for their spending. That much is quite clear from the Gomery testimony.

The only positive that comes out of all this is that mainstream Canadians are finally being forced to look at the condescending, self-serving, attitudes that dominate the corridors of power in Ottawa. And Canadians are finally being forced to face the fact that they are, and have been, paying the price for allowing "our betters" to run the country as they see fit, making deals that enrich their friends and leave the poor and the poorly connected out in the cold.

As former political philosopher Adlai Stevenson once said, "You get the government you deserve."

First Nations people have been complaining for generations about the heavy-handed, smugly elitist and patently undemocratic attitudes that shape how decisions are made at the centre of our federal government.

As much as we believe the Liberals need to pay a heavy price for the anti-democratic abuses perpetrated under their watch these last dozen years, we must state that this is not a Liberal problem.

This is a Canadian problem.

Remember Glen Kealey? He sat outside the Parliament building for years screeching at then Progressive Conservative prime minster Brian Mulroney. Kealey refused to play the Ottawa game and grease a few wheels to gain advantage. He succeeded in getting a justice of the peace to accept his private information alleging that he had been asked to kick back money in exchange for a government contract, but then the establishment closed ranks and Kealey was ruined. And the Liberals certainly had nothing to do with the levers of power in Ottawa at that time.

Can this deeply entrenched Canadian problem be solved? Considering that most of the positions of power in this country are filled by people who were appointed by or recommended by one of the many influential people whose name has come up in the inquiry or one of their friends, it would be easy to despair and say "no."

Throwing out one gang of crooks only opens the door for another gang if there is no serious effort at reform.

We mentioned Marie Antoinette earlier. She met her demise under the blade of the guillotine, punished for her indifference to the suffering of the common people. At that moment, the monarchy in France ended and a republic was born under the banner of equality, brotherhood and liberty. We aren't prepared to recommend a people's revolution just yet. But the people's interest and respect for the rule of law has to be reintroduced into the Canadian system and that means true equality must prevail.

There has to be a risk attached to political corruption if things are to change for the better. Vigorously prosecute those who have ventured beyond the boundaries laid out by the Criminal Code. Aggressively explore the boundaries of breach of trust legislation in order to punish severely those who hve betrayed their public trust.

It's the only way faith can be restored.

No soft country club time for any convicted white-collar criminals, either. Why should the privileged escape the hells of maximum security that are suffered by the poor when they break the law? That will serve as a stern warning to those who seek to take their place in our political system, no matter what their political stripe.