Political corruption, private sector and organized crime

[jacee]

YOur forgetting, there are no Tories in Quebec.... The buck starts with the NDP fueled Unions and ENDS with the Quebec Liberals. Its nice to be sitting on the outside and watch these leftist parties consume themselves...

Companies got federal contracts after attending far-flung Tory fundraisers

Members of the construction and real-estate industries travelled far and wide to participate in fundraisers with the Conservative Party's Quebec lieutenant, Christian Paradis.

The Harper government insists that donations of up to $1,100 have no bearing whatsoever on government business, including the awarding of contracts. But the opposition is mounting a co-ordinated attack against Mr. Paradis, the current Minister of Natural Resources who was lobbied by various companies as minister of Public Works in 2008 and 2009.

…

Both events were attended by officials from companies outside of Montreal that had received or wanted to receive contracts from Public Works Canada, Elections Canada records show.

During Question Period, Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe said there was increasing evidence that "a donation to the [Conservative]Party is an excellent investment for businesspeople."

Elections Canada records show that in 2009, the riding association in Megantic-L'Erable received donations of $1,000 from two officials at real-estate firm Multivesco. The company in Gatineau, Que., later received a $300-million contract from Public Works for a large federal office building. The company's offices are more than a four-hour drive away from Mr. Paradis' riding.

Other people at the fundraiser included officials from large Quebec firms in the aerospace industry with close ties to the federal government ...

Hmmm ... still trying to distract attention from the fed Tories?

You must know quite a bit about the corruption, Fletch.

Edited October 26, 2012 by jacee

[WWWTT]

Then again, maybe government is not such a good idea.

Jacee, this Quebec example shows that the concentration of power leads generally to corruption.

This is a very commonly accepted.

However I find it odd that this stereo type does not extend to corporations and organised crime where corruption is found in a stonger intensity.

WWWTT

[WWWTT]

The lesson in Quebec is the abuse of State power. If I don't like Walmart, I can walk down the street and give my money to a Canadian Tire. But I have no such choice when I pay my property taxes.

This is a false statement.

Large corporations are natorious for eliminating their competition to create a monopoly.Or co operating between them to fix prices.

I wouldn't be so quick to put the publics best interests in the hands of corporations.

WWWTT

Edited October 26, 2012 by WWWTT

[jacee]

Fugitive businessman with Tory ties arrested in Toronto

Fugitive Nathan Jacobson, whose ties to the federal Conservatives made him the subject of recent Question Period queries from opposition benches, was arrested at his home in Toronto Thursday afternoon.

...

The 58-year-old was originally charged with several counts of fraud, money laundering and the distribution and dispensing of controlled substances, but he co-operated with authorities and pleaded guilty in 2008 to laundering $46 million in drug payments.

He was expected to serve a four-year sentence, but failed to show up at pre-sentencing.

...

In recent years, Jacobson had spent much time in the corridors of power, both in Israel and Canada, and in March a smiling Jacobson was photographed between both Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu at a reception in Ottawa. Jacobson claimed to have worked on the 2008 campaign for the Tories and was also considered a friend of cabinet ministers Jason Kenney and John Baird.

I will say that I don't think Harper is a common crook, but I have serious concerns about his judgement about people as he seems surrounded by crooks.

Flashing a bit of cash at the Tory party gets you into the halls of power it seems, without any questions about where the money comes from.

Edited October 27, 2012 by jacee

[bleeding heart]

But "private" power is decentralized. The power of the State is a monopoly.

Between private and State power, "unelected, unrepresentative, unaccountable" are not the key distinctions.

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The lesson in Quebec is the abuse of State power. If I don't like Walmart, I can walk down the street and give my money to a Canadian Tire. But I have no such choice when I pay my property taxes.

I'm not talking about private power as it exists, now, in our society (though it's a lot more politically potent than you seem to think).

I'm talking about power rising to fill a vacuum.

For example, one of the great weaknesses of libertarianism--and exponentially worse in the offshoot known as "anarcho-capitalism"--is that private entities and wealthy individuals would become the de facto government; they'd own the police and prosecutors, they'd be responsible for infrastructure. And they'd also be unelected and unrepresentative.