Jaffer boasted to businesses: I can get government money easily

[Molly]

Ye-e-es...

I don't think that would make Dylan Thomas's toes twinkle.

[Argus]

I find it quite interesting that the party that tries to portray itself to the public as the most puritan is often the most corrupted and perverse.

Well, I'm sure you and other Liberals might like to believe that. The truth is there are plenty of people with problems on all sides of the political divide. In Canada's case, most of the corruption certainly seems to come from Liberals and there's been non evidence from the Conservatives of the kind of corruption we routinely saw from the Liberals.

[DrGreenthumb]

Well, I'm sure you and other Liberals might like to believe that. The truth is there are plenty of people with problems on all sides of the political divide. In Canada's case, most of the corruption certainly seems to come from Liberals and there's been non evidence from the Conservatives of the kind of corruption we routinely saw from the Liberals.

You are joking, right?

[Argus]

You are joking, right?

I'm not talking about the fairy tales and innuendo you and others take to heart but actual, real-life proven or even likely corruption.

[nicky10013]

I'm not talking about the fairy tales and innuendo you and others take to heart but actual, real-life proven or even likely corruption.

Depends on your definition of corruption.

[August1991]

I doubt ( I think) that Jaffer had any real access to the PMO, but which of his friends and contacts did, what if he hadn't been arrested and charged for speeding, driving under the influence and cocaine possesion? Why was he cut such a sweet deal? Is he rolling on Gillani? With such a sordid tale told, will Helena Guergis face scrutiny from the PMO because of this?

Jaffer Story

This is the money quote that I found most disturbing in that article:

Jaffer, as he often does, told businessmen that he and his company, Green Power Solutions, were experts in obtaining government money. “I can get it, no problem,” he said. His company’s promotional material boasts a “thorough knowledge of government policies and incentive programs.”

“I have access to a green fund,” Jaffer said at the table.

The story is not Jaffer but rather how green is the new gold. As soon as anyone slaps the word green to any government initiative, it suddenly becomes acceptable to open the spiggots.

Now then, if you add in a few activist politicians (and what politicians are not at heart activists) then you have the makings of a behemoth that will grow and grow.

[ToadBrother]

I'm not talking about the fairy tales and innuendo you and others take to heart but actual, real-life proven or even likely corruption.

I think violating the Constitution and denying Parliament is lawful and traditional right to see any and everything the Government does probably makes the Sponsorship Scandal shrink to a molehill in comparison.

[Argus]

I think violating the Constitution and denying Parliament is lawful and traditional right to see any and everything the Government does probably makes the Sponsorship Scandal shrink to a molehill in comparison.

And I think taking a bizarre interpretation of a perfectly legitimate and oft-repeated parliamentary tactic and shrilly proclaiming it as the final assault on the last vestiges of democracy is ludicrous. No laws were broken and nothing was done that was improper.

Maybe in your particular version of culture racketeering, kickbacks and theft is small change but most of us feel differently.

[nicky10013]

And I think taking a bizarre interpretation of a perfectly legitimate and oft-repeated parliamentary tactic and shrilly proclaiming it as the final assault on the last vestiges of democracy is ludicrous. No laws were broken and nothing was done that was improper.

Maybe in your particular version of culture racketeering, kickbacks and theft is small change but most of us feel differently.

Bahahahaha. "No rules were broken" doesn't mean that what was done is morally right. Wall Street Bankers technically did nothing wrong, either.

[Sir Bandelot]

Well, I'm sure you and other Liberals might like to believe that. The truth is there are plenty of people with problems on all sides of the political divide. In Canada's case, most of the corruption certainly seems to come from Liberals and there's been non evidence from the Conservatives of the kind of corruption we routinely saw from the Liberals.

You and any other wanna-be conservatives can pull the sheets over your heads on this one, but we real conservatives can only look upon this story, and the types such as Jaffer and people like you who make excuses for them, with great disdain.

[Wild Bill]

You and any other wanna-be conservatives can pull the sheets over your heads on this one, but we real conservatives can only look upon this story, and the types such as Jaffer and people like you who make excuses for them, with great disdain.

Well, I'm NOT a conservative yet I don't think it's as big a deal as you and some others seem to think!

Jaffer and his wife deserve each other. They've both blown it as far as ever having a future with the CPC ever again. These things happen over the years, with all parties. To pretend that our politicians are usually morally pure and perfect is naive in the extreme. They're POLITICIANS, for Pete's Sake!

What DOES bother me is how so many seem to excuse the Liberals for almost anything up to and including Charles Manson while holding any Conservative caught jaywalking as the worst criminal in the Universe! Somehow Liberals always get forgiven. If they can't be forgiven then they are at least excused as simply "lone operatives". Conservatives of course, can never be "lone operatives".

There are still hundreds of millions of AdScam dollars unaccounted for. There's absolutely no way Chuck Guite could have done everything involved as a "lone operative". Yet he's the ONLY one of the Liberal crew who's been charged and convicted with any punishment time!

I don't care when politicians play their little games with each other. I expect that! That's what politicians do!

When they STEAL from me, while I'm scratching to keep my head above water and my children fed, THEN I get pissed indeed! You could catch Harper with 13 year old twins and it wouldn't bother me to anywhere near the same degree!

If anyone wants to believe that the "system" is not rigged and biased in favour of the left then I have the proverbial Florida swampland for them to buy.

[ToadBrother]

And I think taking a bizarre interpretation of a perfectly legitimate and oft-repeated parliamentary tactic and shrilly proclaiming it as the final assault on the last vestiges of democracy is ludicrous. No laws were broken and nothing was done that was improper.

This is a bizarre claim. Generally the Government is a majority, so essentially declining to provide documents does not raise constitutional questions. In this case, the Government is not, and the way Parliament has functioned since the Glorious Revolution is that Parliament can compel the Government in these matters. So could you please demonstrate how precisely your claim is true?

[Shakeyhands]

Well, I'm NOT a conservative yet I don't think it's as big a deal as you and some others seem to think!

.....

When they STEAL from me, while I'm scratching to keep my head above water and my children fed, THEN I get pissed indeed! You could catch Harper with 13 year old twins and it wouldn't bother me to anywhere near the same degree!

If anyone wants to believe that the "system" is not rigged and biased in favour of the left then I have the proverbial Florida swampland for them to buy.

You should be concerned friend. Who knows how much in grants and so forth have been granted because of Jaffers influence. We should probably keep an open mind until Soudas tells us it's all ok.. hmmmm'k?

No worries folks... carry on with your days...

Edited April 8, 2010 by Shakeyhands

[Wild Bill]

You should be concerned friend. Who knows how much in grants and so forth have been granted because of Jaffers influence. We should probably keep an open mind until Soudas tells us it's all ok.. hmmmm'k?

No worries folks... carry on with your days...

If you're going to imply that Jaffer was sanctioned by his party and even Harper for his influence then you'll have to do a lot better! It's far more likely that Jaffer had set up his own little network that got out of hand. Once exposed to the light of day he rapidly became persona non grata.

If your implication is true then we would also have to accept that Jean Chretien and his party must have been involved to the same degree with AdSCam, backing Chuck Guite to the hilt!

Actually, I do believe that! Simply because the factors involved are so much more complicated than that with Jaffer that Guite would have HAD to be sanctioned at the highest Liberal levels!

I would have no surprises that there was some major corruption in the Tory party. As I said, they're politicians too! However, so far they are pikers compared to AdSCam and the Liberals!

If and when the CPC is caught for the same level of money as the Liberal Party, i.e. hundreds of millions of dollars, then and only then will I hold them to the same level of contempt.

Again, I have no illusions that the Tories are somehow lily-white. I'm simply calling for some rational perspective instead of mere partisan BS.

[scribblet]

Jaffer was not sanctioned by his party, to suggest that is nothing but partisan crappola. The CPC have nothing to do with his actions, try as some might, it ain't working.

[Muddy]

Jaffer is not the Conservative Party. He is a loud mouth now who thinks he can bamboozel by saying things to impress business aquaintenances. He is separate from the government of the day.This kid has gone off the rails. But it is only him,not the government.

[Sir Bandelot]

it is only him,not the government.

He is an extreme hypocrite because while in government he took a very strong and public anti-drug reform stance. To his thinking, drug abusers are criminals who must be imprisoned for their addiction. Yet he made the plea bargain and no doubt his position of influence got him off the charge. The coke was only in his jacket, indeed.

And the fact that he was in possession while in a motor vehicle normally compounds the seriousness of the offense. He should have had a blood test for drugs in his system. Any Joe Average would have received a criminal record, and done a bit of time or community service. But apparently the rules do not apply in his case, for people like him. Are these the people Stephen Harper surrounds himself with?

[Muddy]

He is an extreme hypocrite because while in government he took a very strong and public anti-drug reform stance. To his thinking, drug abusers are criminals who must be imprisoned for their addiction. Yet he made the plea bargain and no doubt his position of influence got him off the charge. The coke was only in his jacket, indeed.

And the fact that he was in possession while in a motor vehicle normally compounds the seriousness of the offense. He should have had a blood test for drugs in his system. Any Joe Average would have received a criminal record, and done a bit of time or community service. But apparently the rules do not apply in his case, for people like him. Are these the people Stephen Harper surrounds himself with?

Your arguement is with the Liberal Government in Ontario and Crown . Was he in McGuintys pocket too? I knew this kid back in the Reform days and he was a pretty solid guy. I think he has gone off the rails myself ,but I would not blame his behaviour on Harper and any deal with the Ontario Crown and court system.

[Shakeyhands]

Did the main street media ask for Trudeau's head on a stick when Margaret was snorting and cavorting with the Rolling Stones?

If not why not?

What has changed for media's standards, integrity and principles?

apples and oranges. And for the record, her activities raised eyebrows as well. Not sure anyone is asking for anyone elses head on a stick btw....

[Shakeyhands]

Your arguement is with the Liberal Government in Ontario and Crown . Was he in McGuintys pocket too? I knew this kid back in the Reform days and he was a pretty solid guy. I think he has gone off the rails myself ,but I would not blame his behaviour on Harper and any deal with the Ontario Crown and court system.

Who is blaming Harper??? No doubt, his affiliatons, and I mean his wife's position here, and his own past played in to it. If I was charged with the smae thing I can guarentee that I wouldn't get the same deal, nor would you. And it has nothing to do with the Provinial Liberals either.

[DrGreenthumb]

When they STEAL from me, while I'm scratching to keep my head above water and my children fed, THEN I get pissed indeed! You could catch Harper with 13 year old twins and it wouldn't bother me to anywhere near the same degree!

If anyone wants to believe that the "system" is not rigged and biased in favour of the left then I have the proverbial Florida swampland for them to buy.

That's pretty pathetic. Money is more important to you than the lives of children? That's the problem with Conservatives, so consumed by greed that nothing, not even the lives of children are as important to them as their precious money.

Keep your swampland, the system is rigged alright, in favour of rich assholes like Jaffer, who just so happen to be mostly Conservative.

[DrGreenthumb]

Who is blaming Harper??? No doubt, his affiliatons, and I mean his wife's position here, and his own past played in to it. If I was charged with the smae thing I can guarentee that I wouldn't get the same deal, nor would you. And it has nothing to do with the Provinial Liberals either.

Possession of Cocaine is a federal charge under CDSA. The federal crown would have had to sign off on dropping that charge.

[Sir Bandelot]

the system is rigged alright, in favour of rich assholes like Jaffer, who just so happen to be mostly Conservative.

Agreed that it is not an illness specific to the CPC per se, but indicative of widespread disease of the rich and power hungry, or just the "me first" attitude that prevails, even amongst the not so rich.

I doubt that any political party came to Jaffers assistance, but more likely he has some powerful family and friends that came to his aid, and the court system shows its own corrupt nature through stories like this. Joe average would have been quickly pressed through the meatgrinder, ironically with Jaffers own approval as an MP.

If they want to live by the sword, let them also die by it. But there is no justice, only power.

Edited April 9, 2010 by Sir Bandelot

[Wild Bill]

That's pretty pathetic. Money is more important to you than the lives of children? That's the problem with Conservatives, so consumed by greed that nothing, not even the lives of children are as important to them as their precious money.

Keep your swampland, the system is rigged alright, in favour of rich assholes like Jaffer, who just so happen to be mostly Conservative.

And you're not callous? Every dollar wasted in taxes is a dollar less that could have helped feed children!

You think it grows on hemp bushes? What do you think children live on, air?

[madmax]

Techy today aren't we...

He was not an MP, and would not have been as he was actually shut out of the nomination process because the party didn't want him to run.

No, I just don't happen to be a full of it, in denial Conservative trying to distance myself from a bad stink.

I said, he lost by a few hundred votes or he would have been the MP with Cocaine, Drunk and Speeding.

Instead, he just Pretended to be one.

Party Candidate Votes

New Democrat Linda Duncan 20,103

Conservative (x)Rahim Jaffer 19,640

He lost by under 500 votes. He would have been sitting in the house or hiding in the house...instead of his own house.

So don't try pinning this onto the CPC, they have nothing to do with it, nor him. He, and he alone is responsible for his reported behaviour.

Bull, don't go running away from the CPC tough on crime and SILENCE when it comes to one of their own.

You are a CPC apolagist.

I don't hear your party speaking out against Jaffer... And he did have access to that "Green Fund"... LOL.

Smells don't it.