Aiding and abetting
Kevin Libin - Monday,12 December 2005
Western Standard
It's one thing for the federal Liberals to steal money from average working-class Canadians--we deserve it for electing them (four times). But stealing from native children? That takes a whole different level of loose standards. Sure, some of the kiddies may grow up to vote Liberal one day, but until they do, they are but innocents. But somebody did take $600,000 from the Keeseekoose Indian reserve' education fund in Saskatchewan between 1995 and 2001, and the feds are being awfully careful not to find out who.
The Ministry of Indian Affairs has known of the missing funds since 2002. But minister Andy Scott has refused to conduct an audit on why money appears to have been funnelled out of the fund and into the reserve's Junior B hockey club, the St. Philip's Rangers. Or why someone charged the account for purchases made at Zellers, Bata Shoes, Athletes World, Mark's Work Wearhouse and the Regina casino.
Who would have the power to plunder band funds so liberally? Good question. On reserves, it's usually the chief who has that kind of discretionary power. And it just happens that Ted Quewezance was not only chief of the 580-resident reserve from 1995 to 2002, he was also president of the Rangers club. You'd think he'd be the perfect guy to ask about the missing loot. So, why doesn't someone from Ottawa--which put up the money--ask him what happened to it? They surely know how to reach the guy. He was Prime Minister Paul Martin's hand-picked candidate for the riding of Yorkton-Melville in last year's election. What's more, we all know how seriously the Liberals take corruption in their ranks. During that campaign, Martin said he was declaring "all-out war against waste and mismanagement. We will put an end to cronyism."
But the Liberals' refusal to investigate what happened to the money that went missing under Quewezance's stewardship, demonstrates they're not prepared to declare war against their corrupt allies. When it comes to enemies, they're so eager to expose wrongdoing, they'll make stuff up if need be. Public Works Minister Scott Brison recently had to apologize to Stephen Harper after accusing him of illegally lobbying the government while he was leader of the National Citizens' Coalition. There was no evidence Harper had done any such thing (which is why, facing legal action, Brison recanted) but, then, Harper's not an influential Liberal, so none was required for a minister to accuse him of criminal behaviour. For a connected Grit like Quewezance, on the other hand, even the fact that the current chief alleges he's got evidence against the guy isn't enough to prompt the feds to investigate.
Now, we all know that connected people get special treatment--from winning business deals to getting good seats at the hockey game. And if some restauranteur decides he's going to give you a table ahead of me because you two go way back, that's his business, because, well, it's his business. But when a public servant uses the government or, in the case of our cover story, twists the rules of our financial markets, to help his pals, he's abusing the public trust for personal gain. That's crooked.
After all, investors and executives skirt regulatory rules because they think cheating will deliver them more profits than operating by the book. When regulators play along--as several insiders at the Alberta Securities Commission allege--they're aiding and abetting a fraud on the public. Meanwhile, the Alberta government has yet to show itself capable of cleaning up the double-dealing at the ASC--just as the federal Liberals have proven with the Keeseekoose situation that all their talk about cleaning up sleaze is meaningless. And unless and until politicians in Alberta and Ottawa are willing to investigate and, if necessary, prosecute their well-connected friends, they're accessories after the fact.
Kevin Libin - Monday,12 December 2005
Western Standard
It's one thing for the federal Liberals to steal money from average working-class Canadians--we deserve it for electing them (four times). But stealing from native children? That takes a whole different level of loose standards. Sure, some of the kiddies may grow up to vote Liberal one day, but until they do, they are but innocents. But somebody did take $600,000 from the Keeseekoose Indian reserve' education fund in Saskatchewan between 1995 and 2001, and the feds are being awfully careful not to find out who.
The Ministry of Indian Affairs has known of the missing funds since 2002. But minister Andy Scott has refused to conduct an audit on why money appears to have been funnelled out of the fund and into the reserve's Junior B hockey club, the St. Philip's Rangers. Or why someone charged the account for purchases made at Zellers, Bata Shoes, Athletes World, Mark's Work Wearhouse and the Regina casino.
Who would have the power to plunder band funds so liberally? Good question. On reserves, it's usually the chief who has that kind of discretionary power. And it just happens that Ted Quewezance was not only chief of the 580-resident reserve from 1995 to 2002, he was also president of the Rangers club. You'd think he'd be the perfect guy to ask about the missing loot. So, why doesn't someone from Ottawa--which put up the money--ask him what happened to it? They surely know how to reach the guy. He was Prime Minister Paul Martin's hand-picked candidate for the riding of Yorkton-Melville in last year's election. What's more, we all know how seriously the Liberals take corruption in their ranks. During that campaign, Martin said he was declaring "all-out war against waste and mismanagement. We will put an end to cronyism."
But the Liberals' refusal to investigate what happened to the money that went missing under Quewezance's stewardship, demonstrates they're not prepared to declare war against their corrupt allies. When it comes to enemies, they're so eager to expose wrongdoing, they'll make stuff up if need be. Public Works Minister Scott Brison recently had to apologize to Stephen Harper after accusing him of illegally lobbying the government while he was leader of the National Citizens' Coalition. There was no evidence Harper had done any such thing (which is why, facing legal action, Brison recanted) but, then, Harper's not an influential Liberal, so none was required for a minister to accuse him of criminal behaviour. For a connected Grit like Quewezance, on the other hand, even the fact that the current chief alleges he's got evidence against the guy isn't enough to prompt the feds to investigate.
Now, we all know that connected people get special treatment--from winning business deals to getting good seats at the hockey game. And if some restauranteur decides he's going to give you a table ahead of me because you two go way back, that's his business, because, well, it's his business. But when a public servant uses the government or, in the case of our cover story, twists the rules of our financial markets, to help his pals, he's abusing the public trust for personal gain. That's crooked.
After all, investors and executives skirt regulatory rules because they think cheating will deliver them more profits than operating by the book. When regulators play along--as several insiders at the Alberta Securities Commission allege--they're aiding and abetting a fraud on the public. Meanwhile, the Alberta government has yet to show itself capable of cleaning up the double-dealing at the ASC--just as the federal Liberals have proven with the Keeseekoose situation that all their talk about cleaning up sleaze is meaningless. And unless and until politicians in Alberta and Ottawa are willing to investigate and, if necessary, prosecute their well-connected friends, they're accessories after the fact.
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