Predatory practices and corruption in/from Canada

[jacee]

Canada ranked worst of G7 nations in fighting bribery, corruption

Globe and Mail Aug 2011

Is Canada 'nice', or do Canadians just see-no-evil--hear-no-evil--speak-no-evil while corporations, banks and government collude to violate the human rights of people everywhere Canadian corporations operate at home and around the world, and take money from the middle class and give it to the wealthiEST ?

Canada has again been scolded on the nternational stage for its “lack of progress” in fighting bribery and corruption by a watchdog agency that ranks it among the worst of nearly 40 countries. Transparency International, a group that monitors global corruption, put Canada in the lowest category of countries with “little or no enforcement” when it comes to applying bribery standards set out by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

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See also

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OECD slams Canada’s lack of prosecution of bribery offences. Globe and Mail May 2011

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In a report to be released Tuesday, the group singled out Canada as the only G7 country that has been stuck at the bottom of bribery-fighting rankings since TI began issuing its reports in 2005.

“Unless there is strong political will to take this on as an important issue, Canada and other countries that are laggards will remain behind,” said Huguette Labelle, the chair of Transparency International and a Canadian who served as a deputy minister in Ottawa for 19 years.

“It is mportant for Canada’s reputation. We need to move from where we are now.”

The poor rating places Canada in the embarrassing company of countries like Greece, Hungary, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia – although New Zealand and Australia are also among the 2 countries in the bottom rung.

...

Since the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act became law 13 years ago in Canada, a small fine against an Alberta company in 2005 has been the only conviction ever recorded. A trial set to start this August against an Ottawa man accused of bribery in India would be only the second time a charge has been laid under the act. bribery in India would be only the second time a charge has been laid under the act

By contrast, the United States has prosecuted more than 200 companies and individuals, many of them “a veritable who’s who of the corporate world,” according to Peter Dent, a partner at Deloitte and Touche, LLP who also sits on the board of Transparency International

“It is naive to think that you cross that 49th paralle and somehow we’re pure as the driven snow,” he said. “Canada does not have a great reputation when it comes to the enforcement of white-collar crime. If it’s not taken seriously by government, it won’t be taken seriously by the corporate sector.”

...

Charities are not covered by the law,

(EG CHURCHES THAT LAUNDER MONEY FOR ORGANIZED CRIME, AND FACILITATE CHILD TRAFFICKING FOR THE PEDOPHILE SEX AND SNUFF FILM INDUSTRY ... "The white kids go to Asia."

which only focuses on bribery “for profit,” and there are no strict rules for maintenance of “accurate books and records” – a key tool the Americans have used to nail corporate corruption

(Children's Aid Society and Catholic Children's Aid Society do not report on missing children 'in care', and seldom even report on or investigate deaths 'in care'.)

Canada is also one of a handful of nine countries that explicitly permits so-called “facilitation payments” to foreign officials for acts of a “routine nature” that may be part of their jobs.

When it comes to enforcement, Transparency International warned there was an “inadequacy of resources” at the RCMP’s Anti-Corruption Unit because officers were periodically re-assigned to other duties.

(BY WHOM? WHY?)

Todd Shean, the RCMP’s chief superintendent in charge of financial crime, said the unit has 14 nvestigators in Ottawa and Calgary currently handling about 23 cases of alleged foreign bribery

“My hope is they stay on task and you won’t see a great ebb and flow,” he said. But Mr. Dent suggested that was not sufficient.

“These are extremely complex investigations and resource-intensive to prosecute,” he said. “Is there enough political commitment to raise the profile of this issue and have the resources devoted to it?”

Stephen Harper is/claims to be an honourable man. His majority 'reign' is the perfect time to address corruption in business, government and 'charity'.

Edited October 19, 2011 by jacee

[Topaz]

Harper's government has one rule, do as I SAY, not as I do.

[olp1fan]

and yet we were ranked 6th in the world for least corruption in 2010

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index

We have our share of corruption as every country does but it is far less than most nations in the world

Quebec, P.E.I provincial governments mired in major scandals

Every Canadian government has been corrupt so just singling out Harper is not fair, he is just the flavour of the week

his government will eventually fall like Paul Martins and the cons won't be elected for another decade

That is how we roll

[jacee]

and yet we were ranked 6th in the world for least corruption in 2010

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index

We have our share of corruption as every country does but it is far less than most nations in the world

Quebec, P.E.I provincial governments mired in major scandals

Every Canadian government has been corrupt so just singling out Harper is not fair, he is just the flavour of the week

his government will eventually fall like Paul Martins and the cons won't be elected for another decade

That is how we roll

Thanks for reminding me ... I meant to say that I put this in 'Federal Politics' but corruption is relevant to provincial, local and international levels.

I'm not centring out Harper as 'corrupt' though he's as likely as anyone else. However the failure to implement 2005 OECD bribery standards lies in his area of responsibility. A national initiative to clean up corruption would have to come from the PMO/PCO.

[Smallc]

There isn't really a great deal of government corruption in Canada. Business corruption? I have no idea.

[olp1fan]

A national initiative to clean up corruption would have to come from the PMO/PCO.

Would not expect him to clean up anything... he watched Paul Martins Liberals go down in flames

he would be a fool to do the same

as much as I don't like Harper the man is pretty smart when it comes to political strategy

Edited October 19, 2011 by olp1fan

[jacee]

and yet we were ranked 6th in the world for least corruption in 2010

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index

We have our share of corruption as every country does but it is far less than most nations in the world

Quebec, P.E.I provincial governments mired in major scandals

Every Canadian government has been corrupt so just singling out Harper is not fair, he is just the flavour of the week

his government will eventually fall like Paul Martins and the cons won't be elected for another decade

That is how we roll

From your link:

The Corruption Perceptions Index has drawn ncreasing criticism in the decade since its launch eading to calls for the index to be[ 10][ 11][ 12] abandoned.[ 10][ 11][ 12] This criticism has been abandoned This criticism has been directed at the quality of the Index itself, and the ack of actionable insights created from a simple[ 13][ 14] country ranking.[ 13][ 14] Because corruption is country ranking Because corruption is willfully hidden, it is impossible to measure directly nstead proxies for corruption are used.

I don't dismiss opinion surveys of people's PERCEPTIONS (as I am experienced in the methodology), but if they can't do year to year comparisons, there is something wrong with their survey questions, sampling, or both.

So people in other parts of the world and at home think Canada is "pure as the driven snow".

Doesn't necessarily mean it's true.

[cybercoma]

Canada has been corrupt since day 1. Just look at the conflict of interest with our government at the time of Confederation and railroad interests. It's so blatant it's almost comical.

[olp1fan]

So people in other parts of the world and at home think Canada is "pure as the driven snow".

Doesn't necessarily mean it's true.

I guess that is true, they probably didn't know about the Liberals siphoning tax payers money for years before they were caught

just like they don't know about the current corrupt Canadian government

[olp1fan]

Nevermind, same index

Edited October 19, 2011 by olp1fan

[jacee]

There isn't really a great deal of government corruption in Canada. Business corruption? I have no idea.

It's nice that you feel comfortable about that, smallc. However we've just come through two major scandals - sponsorship (libs) and Mulroney (cons) - so it might be naive: Chretien sloughed it off as normal practice. Mulroney obfuscated the truth, and narrowly avoided a much larger scandal - Airbus.

Why hasn't Harper implemented the OECD bribery standards?

Points to ponder ...

[Smallc]

Canada has been corrupt since day 1. Just look at the conflict of interest with our government at the time of Confederation and railroad interests. It's so blatant it's almost comical.

Because nothing has changed since then.

Seriously, how many people actually have seen corruption that is a large problem in this country in the last decade, or even before that? Especially when you compare this country to much of Europe and the United States.

[cybercoma]

Because nothing has changed since then.

Seriously, how many people actually have seen corruption that is a large problem in this country in the last decade, or even before that? Especially when you compare this country to much of Europe and the United States.

In the last decade? How about the last 6 months with Tony Clement.

[Smallc]

It's nice that you feel comfortable about that, smallc. However we've just come through two major scandals - sponsorship (libs) and Mulroney (cons) -

Ummm, those things are over 15 years old. Even those pale in comparison to many other countries that are supposedly ahead of us. Italy? The UK? France? The US? Really? I take this study with a grain of salt, even though, from what I remember when I read it originally, it's mostly aimed at business, where there may very well be a problem.

[cybercoma]

In the last decade? How about the last 6 months with Tony Clement.

or Jason Kenney using government staff and resources for campaign fundraising....

or Bernier leaving NATO documents lying around so they could "accidentally" get into the hands of the Hell's Angels.

or the "In and Out" scandal.

[jacee]

Harper's government has one rule, do as I SAY, not as I do.

I've said it before here, and I do believe that Harper is not likely to be personally corrupted by money: His addiction is power, and capable of misusing public funds for personal power.

EG, Bruce Carson who was paid from public funds but working only for the oil lobby, then getting MILLION$ in public funds, purportedly for research into green technologies for oil extraction, BUT spending it solely on advertising and promoting the oil sands.(Don't tell me Harper didn't know. Harper controls everything, and proved himself capable of lying in the House when he said he "didn't know" about Carson's full criminal record.)

I think Carson's activities amount to Harper bribing/paying off the oil lobby for their support.

Another EG - Tony Clement's reelection bribes to Muskoka mayors: $50m gazebos. (Harper likes having his gofer Tony around.)

Edited October 19, 2011 by jacee

[cybercoma]

or spending billions on fighter jets without open tenders.

[Smallc]

or spending billions on fighter jets without open tenders.

That isn't necessarily corruption. I wasn't sold at first, but there truly is only one 5th generation fighter available to Canada, and that, is the F-35.

[jacee]

That isn't necessarily corruption. I wasn't sold at first, but there truly is only one 5th generation fighter available to Canada, and that, is the F-35.

Are we getting the engines too?

[Smallc]

Are we getting the engines too?

Yes, we are, but not from the same place. That's quite usual.

[cybercoma]

This isn't really the thread to debate the specifics. Suffice it to say that those are the things that hit the news and the real dirt is probably much more covered up. Hell, the entire process of putting party hacks into the Senate ought to be considered corrupt.

[jacee]

Yes, we are, but not from the same place. That's quite usual.

But they're not included in the price we've been quoted. Edited October 19, 2011 by jacee

[Smallc]

But they're not included in the price we've been quoted.

That depends on who you ask, but again, that's quite normal, and that is in fact included in the $9B price tag, along with the weapons and initial support.

[olp1fan]

or Jason Kenney using government staff and resources for campaign fundraising....

or Bernier leaving NATO documents lying around so they could "accidentally" get into the hands of the Hell's Angels.

or the "In and Out" scandal.

Those are scandals but not MAJOR scandals

[olp1fan]

ATF Fast and Furious is a MAJOR scandal