Legally bound, Dan. Morally bound at the moment IMO, but that could change if [1] Parliament dissolves or [2] the trials are moved to September without lifting the ban or [3] it becomes clear that the ban is being misused by the Liberal Party.

Thanks for the updates.

With the help of Americans, we are now getting to the truth. (No thanks to Canadian justice) There is no doubt of the liberal party of Canada's guilt anymore. So now, the liberal party is sending it’s cronies out saying that every other party was doing the same thing. These liberals are now accusing everybody and everybody's cat of getting checks. But if there is one thing we should conclude from all of this is that you can't believe nor trust a Canadian liberal.

"banana republic" is the goal of most Quebec separatists; that's exactly what they're pushing to become. There's no doubt that's exactly what they'd achieve if given power.

_it also went to the separatists that the government wanted to rebut.

How's that for irony?_

That is not irony. That is how you do it. You make so the "separatists" only say that they want independants but will never act on it.

This whole sorry mess is starting to read like a Mafia exposing book. Way to much money and way to many people. In the past the F B I have been known to creat Flow charts to map Mafia people and movements I would like to see someone in the know do the same about adscam starting perhaps with the brith of Arch Nazi P E T.
Jeff Marsh
Milton Ontario

As an American residing in Canada for lo these eight years now, I relate to some activities we hear about as if I were in Chicago...and all the Americans know what Chicago politics are like.

My only complaint is for all the kickbacks we're hearing about, we didn't even get a road, or at least a sewer!

DC,

Oh, we got a sewer, all right....

And frankly, the less I hear about Trudeau's brith, the better.

There is aboslutely no evidence that the separatist movement knew the origin of the money they received. It's illegal for provincial political party in Quebec to accept money donations from companies. The only way that lobbysts have found is to give money to their employees and make sure that they contribute to the party for the company. Let me remind you that Mr. Renaud (ex-employe of M. Brault) said that they gave money to the Parti Quebecois to keep a contract in 1998 with the government. THEY LOST THAT CONTRACT. So what kind of corruptions are we talking about.

Pierre Trudeau was not a nazi, he was a highly respectable man. Let's end the name-calling and keep this discussion on a high level, ok? Ban-breaking Canadians are refugees, guests, on U.S. blogs and websites such as this, and the scandal has made us look bad enough already in the United States and other countries. When the ban ends, maybe as early as today, we can take it back home.

The thing that I dislike most about the publication ban is that we are not getting any real commentary on the actual substance of Adscam from the likes of Rex Murphy, Chantal Hebert, or the other national columnists and tv personalities.

On that note, I have written an article myself. I hope you all like it.

I just finished reading the book 'Hot Money' by R.T. Naylor. This highly informative and detailed book explains how tax revenues are systematically looted by government officials, their business cronies, and banks in Latin America, Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, the United States, and Africa. Canada is barely mentioned in the book, but perhaps in the next edition, it should be. What I read on the Captain's Quarters blog was shocking. You expect this sort of thing from municipal politicians and corporate executives, but not from the federal government.

The media ban is somewhat unfortunate, because it is the media's job to gather raw information and distill it into forms that most people can understand quickly. However, the Canadian public is left without the guidance of the media in this, possibly the biggest scandal to hit the country since Sir John A. MacDonald was thrown out of office due to corruption back in the 1870s. Since the media is muzzled, we will have to come to our own conclusions, without the dubious benefit of being told how we should react by newspaper columnists, screaming headlines, or talking heads.

The way I understand Mr. Breault's testimony, the Liberal Party was embezzling government funds allocated to the Ministry of Public Works with the full knowledge and winking consent of its then Minister, the now-discredited Alfonso Gagliano. These funds were embezzled by being 'spent' on contracts doled out to faithful Liberal-friendly advertising firms in Montreal. Little or no work was completed for these payments, but no matter, none was expected. The true reason the Liberals were handing out these contracts was so that the advertising firms would then recycle the money back into the Liberal Party of Canada in the form of political donations. Some of the money was siphoned off and never actually reached the outstretched arms of the Liberal Party, it went into the pockets of people who were working for the Liberals in Quebec, in order to purchase their loyalty. People were put on the payroll of these firms and never showed up to work, but were still paid, a la Mr. Blonde in Reservoir Dogs. The available testimony on the CQ blog just gives us the basics, so we don't know if these individuals then turned around and donated the money they received back to the Liberal Party; ie. they were just another buffer to throw off the scent of the money for government of Canada accountants who might be trying to follow the trail.

Now I understand the Quebec Sponsorship Program; before, it never really made sense to me. For example, since the referendum was held in 1995, why was the Sponsorship Program only shut down seven years later? The standard Liberal explanation for the Sponsorship Program was that the Canadian government was trying to increase the profile of Canada and its institutions in the Province of Quebec, in order to lessen the risks of Quebec leaving Confederation. But even back before the Sponsorship program got underway, the independence movement in Quebec was already fading away. Parti Quebecois Premiers such as Bouchard and Landry were having a tough time staying in power due to their fiscal cutbacks and perceived slight shift towards the neo-conservatism which had already swept across the United States, English Canada, and many parts of Europe and Latin America. This angered the voters and made them elect Jean Charest's Parti Liberal in Quebec in 2002. Federally, the Bloc Quebecois was doing a fine job of defending Quebec's interests without even bothering to talk about independence. They even stopped mentioning sovereignty-association several years ago. So why was the Sponsorship Program still going on?

The entire rationale for the Sponsorship Program seemed suspect. No Liberal official was ever able to adequately explain exactly how slapping up a bunch of Canadian flags all over Quebec was supposed to make Quebec separatists feel more like staying part of Canada. Were I a separatist, waking up and seeing Canadian flags waving out the window would definitely make me see red. If anything, I would be insulted and feel more like working to make Quebec independent. Think about it. All Canadians know that we are experiencing a great deal of friction with the United States right now. If you, as a Canadian, woke up one morning to see U.S. flags all over the place, wouldn't you feel a bit alarmed? Maybe even angry? Sure, some conservatives out west would celebrate by throwing their cowboy hats in the air and roasting a steer... but you get my point.

Back to the scandal, Mr. Breault apparently broke down crying while recounting that on one occasion in which he was being extorted by Gagliano's lieutenants, he feared for his life. He seems to have realized that he was in over his head. I find it ironic that Breault was being extorted over a government contract to provide advertising for Via Rail, which is the direct descendant of the passenger train services of the CPR, which also figured prominently in the previous worst-ever scandal in Canadian history, the Pacific Scandal, which forced Conservative Prime Minister Sir John A. MacDonald from office in 1873. Breault will probably make an ideal candidate for the witness protection program after this trial is over. This sad tale illustrates the severity of the scandal. Whether or not the Liberal Party was in cahoots with the Mafia will be difficult to prove. Gagliano himself, after returning from exile in Denmark, vehemently denied ever being part of any 'family' or 'organization' of that sort. However, it is well-known that a former hitman turned FBI informant, Frank Lino, fingered Gagliano as being a made man in the Bonnano 'famiglia' of New York. If in fact the Liberal Party is not working with, and has never had friendly relations with the Mafia, they certainly are well-versed in the art of laundering money, Mafia-style. Everything I read of Jean Breault's testimony is almost identical to some of the scams I have read about which have taken place over the years in places such as the Phillippines, Argentina, and Mexico. The only difference is that the Liberals were not actually funneling money into offshore accounts in Switzerland and Panama - although they may have been, that just hasn't come out in the testimony so far.

The Quebec Sponsorhip Program was not designed to 'Increase the Visibility of Canadian Federal Institutions in Quebec', it was designed to be a cash cow. Its true purpose was Mafia-style money laundering, conceived, designed, approved, and implemented from the very top. It's entirely possible that Jean Chretien knew nothing about the scam, although the onus is on him to prove it. After all, his brother Gabriel is a central figure in the scandal, as is his designated point man in Quebec, Alfonso (Big Spender) Gagliano. Guilty or not, Chretien will deny everything and get off; he's a lawyer with some of the best connections money can buy, but some heads are going to roll for this, whether an election is forced over the next month or two, or not. Realizing what had been going on in the back rooms and dimly lit restaurants of Ottawa under Chretien's tenure, it seems a wholly good thing that Chretien was overthrown by Paul Martin, or else the scam might have been going on still, today. However, whether you're a Conservative, a Liberal, a supporter of the NDP or even a separatist, you have to kind of feel sorry for Martin because even though he requested the public inquiry, he's going to go down in flames when this government falls.

Unless I see unequivocal evidence, solid proof, that Paul Martin had absolutely nothing to do with the Sponsorship Program, other than closing it down, I cannot see myself voting for the Liberal Party in the looming election, or even the one after that. Only if an airtight case is made that all the corrosive elements in the Liberal Party have been completely purged, would I even remotely consider it. Even then, I probably wouldn't vote Liberal because I have several other problems with them. I live in downtown Toronto, which is supposedly the centre of Liberal power. When you live and work here, though, it really doesn't feel like the Liberals are paying attention to the concerns of this city at all. Maybe if you live in Medicine Hat or Fredericton you might assume that everyone in Toronto and Southern Ontario is happy with our friends the Liberals, but that is absolutely not the case. They just take our money and shovel it all over the country. If we ask for some of it back, even Liberal MPs whose ridings are in Toronto tell us to shut up and stop being selfish. Once they get elected, they move to Ottawa and become trained seals. People from all over the country come here with little or no skills expecting to find a job waiting for them. When they don't find one, they end up smoking crack and living on the streets and Toronto has to pay to take care of them. Meanwhile, foreign immigrants with doctorates in engineering and medicine are driving taxis or delivering pizzas. The Toronto Star recently printed an article stating that Chinese immigrants are leaving the country in droves, because there aren't enough opportunities here. Where are they moving to? China! When a communist country can provide more opportunities than Canada, we have a serious problem which needs to be looked at urgently. As a matter of fact, one of my oldest friends moved to Shanghai last month to work as an architect. He doesn't even have any Chinese background. There was nothing for him here. How does Paul Martin respond to Ontario's budget deficit? What does he do when Toronto tells him it can no longer afford to fully maintain basic services like transit and sewers? He sends a cheque... to Newfoundland, allowing them to keep their oil and gas revenues while collecting still more of Toronto's and Ontario's taxes. My friends and I used to laugh about what the government does with our taxes. We would joke that they stuff airplanes with bags of money and dump them over Quebec. That's what makes the Sponsorship Scandal so disturbing - the Liberals were actually doing that for at least five years, and it's just not funny anymore.

Jean, here's an excerpt I've taken from The Toronto Star today (Greg Weston's column):

As we reported yesterday, Alain Renaud, a senior executive who worked for the ad firm Groupaction during the Adscam years, claims that while the company was getting $43 million in sponsorship funds, it was slipping thousands of dollars to the PQ.

In one deal, Renaud says, Groupaction paid about $90,000 to the PQ in return for a $4.5-million advertising contract with the Quebec liquor board, the SAQ.

The PQ, of course, went berserk over the story, denying it with separatist vigour. Groupaction had actually lost the bid for the liquor board contract in late 1998, the party insisted. Too bad Renaud was talking about Groupaction's contract from 1996-97. (hat tip: CQ)

$%##$ ... I forgot to use the tage for that link and screwed up the front page columns. Sorry, everyone -- only Joe or Marc can fix this.

Sigh.

Fixed.

Ugh what a mess, what I have feared has indeed come to pass; Canada is Officially a Banana Republic. Maybe we can get lucky and the US will annex the parts it wants.

Hmmm .... I tried to trackback to this post from RP .... guess trackback isn't working in my WordPress setup.

Arnie, afraid that would only help if you live in Alberta. Sorry.

Robin, try altering the setting that lengthens the Trackback ping wait time. The help manual should have information.

"If you, as a Canadian, woke up one morning to see U.S. flags all over the place, wouldn't you feel a bit alarmed? Maybe even angry? Sure, some conservatives out west would celebrate by throwing their cowboy hats in the air and roasting a steer..."

Good article Richard. I would change the above to read "many conservatives" not "some conservatives." Does that not tell you that perhaps out here we have more in common with our southerly neighbours than we do our eastern compatriots?

As an American living in relatively "liberal" Edmonton, I would only amend MikeP's emendation to read "most conservatives" and add "some liberals". Real conservatives get treated like manure in Ottawa; right now they get to run a real-live grown-up country (with a real-live grown-up military and a real-live grown-up postal service, among other things) in Washington. Of course, you'd have to be "arrogant" Americans, but I actually think that easterners couldn't hate you more than they do now for being (pause) "Albertans!" Plus, we'd probably take B.C. and Newfoundland, and maybe Saskatchewan and Manitoba, too (two states for the Dems), if they wanted.

I really like Canadians the more I get to know them, but the peculiar brand of federalism and parliamentary government that you all practice makes me wonder if I should feel sorry for you for the current state of things, or blame you for them. At least in the U.S., if things are screwed up, we know who to blame. Up here, who knows? The PM? The judiciary? Party leaders? Real-live actual voters? Should we reapportion seats, votes, or what? Oh, well. "Da asymmetrical fed'ralisme is da asymmetrical fed'ralisme," as the late PM might put it.

Personally, I'm quite pessimistic that Adscam will change that much in the political culture here (Canada). You could have a picture of Paul Martin personally putting a cheque into Jean Breault's hand, a memo in longhand by Chuck Guite detailing the plan, Jean Chretien breaking down on Newsworld and telling the whole world exactly what happened, and at least a third of the voters in the GTA would say, "Yes, but Stephen Harper wants to implement a theocracy and criminalize abortion! Just like Margaret Atwood's novel! Oh, and kill all the gays, too." That seems to be the level of political debate up here. Talk about your natural governing parties.

Well said Annie. Canada is in a sorry state. We are a toxic mix of Socialism and Crony Capitalism. The future is bleak unless Canadians decide to start acting like grown ups and learn to take responsibilty for their actions and ultimate destiny.

Excuse the pedantry, but it's Brault without an e. Richard Gwyn's spelling skills are on a par with his knowledge of life outside the downtown Toronto cocoon. BTW, poster Annie has got it right. The Libranos could barbecue and eat babies on the Peace Tower lawn and half the voters in T.O. would tell you that the real danger is that the Conservative Party would make the trains run on time to the concentration camps for homosexuals that they would open up on Washington's orders ...