Paul Martin's speech

[Argus]

Again, the Liberals are relying on the public having a poor memory. Let's look back at the events which brought us to this point in time.

Questions start being asked about what's going on with the advertising and sponsorship program in Quebec. They are seen in Quebec newspapers, and being asked in the House. The Liberals ignore them.

Years pass.

There are still questions, still reports. Internal audits now find massive problems with the sponsorship program. They are ignored.

An access to information act request from the media gets hold of one of those audits which contains the famous triple billing for a report. The government shrugs it off. But the AGs office announces an investigation.

November, 2003

Paul Martin becomes PM. With a nervous eye towards the looming AG report, he closes down the Sponsorship program.

February, 2004

The AG report which damned the program for phoney invoices, ludicrously high payment for little work, payment for work not done, etc. etc. The scandal erupts all over the airwaves and in parliament. Martin fires Gagliano, and various party hacks at the Post Office, etc.

Announces the Public Accounts Committee will immediately begin looking into things, announces a commision.

At this point Martin is more or less in the clear, unless, of course, you believe that as the second most powerful (some would argue THE most powerful) man in the party he had to have known what was going on in his home province.

But when the commision is announced it is to start hearings only in September of 2004. A rather lengthy delay? Why?

The Public Accounts Committee becomes a farce, as Liberals on the committe, acting on Paul Martin's orders, throw every delay they can in front of hearings. They make long speaches, impliment procedural delays, and insist on calling people who are unlikely to shed any light on the affair - in some cases repeatedly. The AG is repeatedly attacked by Liberals, on the committee and off, with the suggestion she exaggerated. Many Liberals start saying there really is nothing to this, and that it was just a few civil servants acting up. Then in May, Martin orders the committee to shut down. Its report blames civil servants Guite and Gagliano.

So here we have the first cover-up by Martin. The committee, under the careful stage-manipulation of the Liberals, found nothing. It was time for a hurry-up election. The Liberals were almost sure to get a majority, according to the polls, and that would allow them to safely ride out whatever findings came from the Gomery Commision, not scheduled to begin hearings for many months.

Or... it could simply shut down the Gomery Commission, as it has others. We saw some hints of that earlier in the year, with Liberals hinting that the commision had found nothing we didn't already know, and that it was spending too much money. With a Liberal majority the commision could have been shut down before the big revelations of the last month or so, and everything turned over to the RCMP - an organization completely under the Prime Minister's thumb, with a commisioner who needs the PMO's permission to evacuate his bladder. If Martin had gotten his majority that's likely what would have happened.

So Martin portraying himself as the guy most responsible for setting in motion the operation to get to the bottom of things is sheer BS. The man can't be trusted any more than his party can be. Every single MP should be turfed from office. They are all guilty of corruption, or of knowingly being part of a corrupt organization.

[Big Blue Machine]

A Prime Minister on his hands and knees is not a pretty sight. He was like Nixon's "I am not like a crook".

Harper was right to point out that the scandal is a Liberal one, not a national.

[kimmy]

Now that Paul Martin has publicly and formally hitched his party's fate to the Gomery inquiry, he had better hope like hell that "Da Little Guy" isn't successful in his attempt to have the inquiry shut down.

I mean, what's he going to do-- go before the Canadian people and say "Well, I promised to call an election within 30 days of Judge Gomery's report, so that people will have all the facts. But since the inquiry has been cancelled, I guess that's not actually going to be necessary. Sorry; no election."

or how about

"Well, I promised to call an election within 30 days of Judge Gomery's report. However, since the inquiry has been shut down, I make a new pledge. Canadians need the facts, so I am going to appoint a new inquiry under Judge Smith. This should take another year to 18 months. I pledge that I will call an election within 30 days of Judge Smith's report. That should be somewhere around February 2007. Your patience is appreciated."

No, I don't think either of those will fly. I think that Chretien succeeding in having Gomery shut down would be pretty much a dream scenario for all 3 opposition parties, and a crushing blow to the Liberals.

Interestingly... if Chretien and his loyalists sincerely believe the Liberal party is the only party that can hold Canada together, and yet he continues to push to have Gomery shut down, a move that would undoubtably be devastating to the Liberals, what does that tell you? That his "legacy" is more important to him than the country? That his personal dislike for Paul Martin is more important to him than the country? (chee... and people were down on me for daring to suggest that Chretien might be a person of despicable character.)

-kimmy

[August1991]

For once I agree with BBM!

I listened to the speech on the radio while driving. I kept hearing Nixon's voice when he spoke on 30 April 1973 and 15 August 1973. (Martin 21 April 2005) There are similar terms "no stone unturned", "I take responsibility", "the guilty will be punished" and similar ideas "One year of Watergate is enough!". There was even the Nixonian fluorish at the end: "I grew up here in the House of Commons, beside my father... " (That last one made me cringe because PM PM was precisely avoiding Parliament and using a studio to speak to people.)

A small detail that has escaped notice. PM PM recorded his speeches in advance and the French and English versions were broadcast simultaneously. IOW, this was not an original speech. His advisors chose "the take", Hollywood style, they preferred.

----

Martin, like Nixon, is a politician managing a crisis. Nixon was a master. Many people believed him and I have no doubt many English Canadians will believe Martin too.

----

Chantal Hebert has made the point that the "30 day election gambit" is pure show. In fact, the speech itself is mere show.

The Liberals know there will be an election in June (and may even prefer it). In this sense, the speech was designed to make Harper appear to be opportunistic, power-hungry and unreasonable. The speech was the opening salvo in the election campaign.

[Argus]

Martin, like Nixon, is a politician managing a crisis.  Nixon was a master.  Many people believed him and I have no doubt many English Canadians will believe Martin too.

You keep referring to "English Canadians". Remember that Chretien was etremely unpopular throughout the West for years before this, and basically only survived because of Ontario, which the Liberals scared into submission with the Alliance/Reform/Tory boogeyman, and Atlantic Canada, which is afraid the penny pinching Tories will shut off their pogey. Chretien is not and has not been particularly popular in English Canada for a long time.

As for Martin, who made no progress in the West, there was some great hope that, after years of Chretien, he would prove to be a breath of fresh air. But I think that died many months ago, not so much due to the Gomery Commision as his innaction and lack of vision. The description of him as "Mr. Dithers" might have come from an outside source, but it was one which resonated throughout English Canada. I would say that hopes of him being the great new leader we yearned for probably were shattered around the time he pronounced health care fixed for a generation, simply by slapping a temporary bandaid on it.

[August1991]

You keep referring to "English Canadians". Remember that Chretien was etremely unpopular throughout the West for years ...

"English Canadians", for want of a better term. The Liberals have received significant support in urban centres in Western Canada, primarily around Vancouver. Chretien was tyhe first PM to get Liberal MPs from Alberta since the 1960s.

But I think my real point was to compare the reaction of Quebecers and everyone else.

Perhaps it is because we have heard the actual words of Corbeil (among others) in interview.

Curiously, PM PM never used the word "Quebec" in his speech.

[Slavik44]

Obviously Paul Martin didn;t get the memo...

A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to

the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, but I haven't got the

energy."

"Well, why don't you nibble on my droppings?" replied the bull.

"They're packed with nutrients."

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it gave him enough

strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after

eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a

fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree.

Soon he was spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

Moral of the story: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won't

keep you there.

[Bakunin]

I hope the ppl in ontario will wake up and choose an alterative to the liberal... I know there aren't many choice but if the liberal can win with such a big scandal then we should consider getting rid of democracy and elections... it would be a waste of time and money....

[Newfie Canadian]

and Atlantic Canada, which is afraid the penny pinching Tories will shut off their pogey.

How unabashedly stereotypical of you Argus.

My problem with the Reform/Alliance/CPC was the possibility of Atlantic Canada being forgotten by a west dominated party, much like some westerners are feeling now (I guess). Add to that the dysfunctionality of some the party's candidates, like Gallant, Reid and White, who just said and did stupid things that make you question the party.

I do agree with you about Chrétien though.

At this point in time however, as an Atlantic Canadian, I am willing to give the CPC a shot. Not necessarily because they've cleaned up their act, they have to a certain extent, but because the Liberals have severley blown it.

As for the speech itself, I wasn't impressed.

[PocketRocket]

Unimpressed.

The speech was flat and predictable.

The replies from the other party leaders were equally flat and predictable.

We have a sad slate of candidates for our next election.

As a side note, I've been reflecting on the state of affairs in the past few years.

I think this whole scandal is going to turn out to be a good thing for Canada in the long term.

The Liberals needed to have a bit of the steam knocked out of them.

Ever since Mulrony left the PC's in shambles, it's been virtually a one-party country.

This episode will probably go a long way toward levelling the playing field.

We're going to see a significant change in the entire political landscape over the next several months.

It's a shaking-up that the country, IMHO, has needed for a long time.

[theloniusfleabag]

Dear PocketRocket,

We're going to see a significant change in the entire political landscape over the next several months.

It's a shaking-up that the country, IMHO, has needed for a long time.

As much as I would love to see that, and as much as it is needed, I haven't got high hopes for any significant change.

Dear Argus,

So Martin portraying himself as the guy most responsible for setting in motion the operation to get to the bottom of things is sheer BS. The man can't be trusted any more than his party can be. Every single MP should be turfed from office. They are all guilty of corruption, or of knowingly being part of a corrupt organization.

Too bad for Chretien that Canada isn't more like the States, where every outgoing President automatically gets a full pardon for 'anything they did or might have done'. A clean slate, like you suggest, might be refreshing. It might be interesting to see a Conservative minority tempered by the NDP.

[Capnkirk]

While were [looking back] lets not forget the 9 years of Mulroney.The Conservative leader left power as the most hated prime minister ever and the party itself eventually merged with Alliance Party in a bid to form the official opposition. Leaving many thoroughly disappointed Progressive Conservatives in its wake.

The book “On the Take” by Stevie Cameron goes into great detail on how the Conservative Party had essentially put the country up for sale. The book disclosed nine years of bid rigging on government contracts, misappropriation of parliamentary budgets, favors to corporate supporters of the party and an unprecedented orgy of patronage appointments that didn’t end until the day Mulroney left office.

That is not to say that this latest misappropriation of funds is justified. On the contrary. The prime minister has taken responsibility, and will see that the people involved in this investigation will be punished and dismissed. While this is truly a black mark on the Liberal party I believe that the Prime Minister will do everything in his power to remove this abusive faction from the party and ensure that this type of thing can not happen again.

The Prime Minister has an impressive list of accomplishments and leadership in the past but also new policy and innovation for the future. Canada recorded five consecutive budget surpluses, erased a $42-billion deficit, paid down more than $36-billion in debt, invested in health care and other key areas and enacted the largest tax cuts in Canadian history

[fracan]

First of all, calling the CPC the "Reform/Alliance/Conservatives" is just pretty lame and reminds me of the typical Liberal scare tactics. Referring to Mulroney's PC Party as the Conservatives is also incorrect, since there's very little in common between the new Conservative Party and the old early-90s PCs. Let's keep the discussion above the belt and accurate.

Investing in health care, by a Federal government, is not an accomplishment, but an encroachment on constitutionally-granted provincial jurisdiction. Running surpluses while the provinces struggle with deficits is also no great accomplishment, just means they should've lowered the federal taxes so the provinces could have the ability to raise theirs.

The responses of the three other party leaders to Martin's "I am not a crook" speech was, in my opinion, hardly flat and predictable. Harper did a wonderful job of pointing out the contradictions inherent in Martin's plea. Duceppe continues to impress me with his leadership, even if he does seek an independent Quebec. Layton, while a pinko crackpot who failed economics, did a good job of appealing to any left-of-centre Canadians who might think they have another option in a federal party.

I really hope the people of Ontario do not vote in another Liberal minority. If they think that's the key to keeping Canada together, good luck. If Ontarians return the Libs to power, count on Quebec leaving and possibly Alberta's separatist movement to gain momentum too, and I don't blame them. The worst thing for the unity of this country would be putting the Liberals back in power. The best thing would probably be a Conservative majority, or a Conservative minority with the Bloc. Both parties are ardent provincial rights supporters, which is really what we need to quash both separatist movements in this country.

[Capnkirk]

First of all, calling the CPC the "Reform/Alliance/Conservatives" is just pretty lame and reminds me of the typical Liberal scare tactics.  Referring to Mulroney's PC Party as the Conservatives is also incorrect, since there's very little in common between the new Conservative Party and the old early-90s PCs.  Let's keep the discussion above the belt and accurate.

Investing in health care, by a Federal government, is not an accomplishment, but an encroachment on constitutionally-granted provincial jurisdiction.  Running surpluses while the provinces struggle with deficits is also no great accomplishment, just means they should've lowered the federal taxes so the provinces could have the ability to raise theirs.

The responses of the three other party leaders to Martin's "I am not a crook" speech was, in my opinion, hardly flat and predictable.  Harper did a wonderful job of pointing out the contradictions inherent in Martin's plea.  Duceppe continues to impress me with his leadership, even if he does seek an independent Quebec.  Layton, while a pinko crackpot who failed economics, did a good job of appealing to any left-of-centre Canadians who might think they have another option in a federal party.

I really hope the people of Ontario do not vote in another Liberal minority.  If they think that's the key to keeping Canada together, good luck.  If Ontarians return the Libs to power, count on Quebec leaving and possibly Alberta's separatist movement to gain momentum too, and I don't blame them.  The worst thing for the unity of this country would be putting the Liberals back in power.  The best thing would probably be a Conservative majority, or a Conservative minority with the Bloc.  Both parties are ardent provincial rights supporters, which is really what we need to quash both separatist movements in this country.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

"since there's very little in common between the new Conservative Party and the old early-90s PCs"

Don't tell Peter MacKay that! He thinks he's still a Progressive Conservative.

Even he got suckered by your King Harper.

[fracan]

And the level of discourse in this topic plunges...

The only leaders in this country acting like they have a mandate from god (ie. King) are (were) Chretien and Martin. Martin acts like the job of PM is his birthright, and Chretien plundered the public purse for his and his friends' benefit.

And I happen to believe MacKay is still a small-P progressive Conservative. So is Belinda... They aren't all Gallants, Whites and Reids. And two of those three have already said they won't run in the next election, so who will Liberals point to and scream "Scary!"?

[August1991]

Check this out (it's in French but watch what happens after about a minute or so):

Paul Martin Video

It's one of the takes of PM PM's French speech. He obviously did several and then chose the best one. Sincere or what?

[kimmy]

In fairness, Martin may have had multiple takes to get the right one, but the other leaders were reading prepared speeches from teleprompters, so it's not like they were trying to respond off the cuff or anything.

-k