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| Martin must put an end to Ottawa's mindless spendi - Friday, October 31, 2003 at 13:35 |
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Martin must put an end to Ottawa's mindless spending
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Incoming prime minister Paul Martin's pledge to move quickly to cut spending in all federal departments is the first recognition by Ottawa in a long time of the urgency for fiscal accountability. And it's none too soon. The last few years have been marked by appalling extravagances and reckless spending by Prime Minister Jean Chretien's Liberal government. For starters, the missing millions from Human Resources Development Canada, the billion dollars of public funds wasted on a useless federal gun registry, the abuse of $40 million from the sponsorship program, including $1.6 million to a marketing firm for reports that were either non existent or incomplete, and the millions of dollars in contracts, fake and inflated invoices currently under RCMP investigation. Moving along, there is the profligacy of officials and dignitaries appointed by Chretien; former privacy commissioner George Radwanski, Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson and Charles Boyer, former aide to Canadian Heritage Minister Sheila Copps. The federal government's squandering makes a mockery of Canadians' efforts to tailor a stable and comfortable future for themselves and their families. Nor does it end there. Now Auditor General Sheila Fraser has promised another blockbuster report -- more examples of Chretien's disregard for the hard work of the nation's citizens; his $100 million purchase of two fancy Bombardier jets in the face of strong opposition from the Department of National Defence and Public Works Canada. All this at a time when our military equipment and vehicles are outdated and falling apart (as is the search and rescue equipment on the West Coast), the provinces are pushing for $2 billion more in health care expenditures and the nation's transportation infrastructure is in dire need of an estimated $17 billion in improvements and upgrades. Given the litany of waste that taxpayers have been subjected to, Martin's promise to cut federal budgets is a breath of fresh air. But will he deliver on his vow to lead a tight-fisted government that lowers taxes and reduces debt? Clearly, if the Liberal's new leader and the country's next prime minister is genuinely serious about strengthening the West's participation in Ottawa, and about gathering the support and loyalty of Western Canada's leaders and voters he's got to convince us that he has every intention of doing exactly that. |