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Editorial: A credible appeal to delay judgment [Canada]
The Globe and Mail ^ | 4/22/05 | From Friday's Globe and Mail Editorial

Posted on 04/22/2005 5:28:28 AM PDT by doc30

Prime Minister Paul Martin made a strong case last night for delaying a federal election, even if he doesn't succeed in fending one off.

Canadians are angry, and rightly so, over the dramatic allegations about the sponsorship scandal that are emerging from the Gomery inquiry. But we won't know the full picture until Mr. JusticeJohn Gomery submits his final report later this year. At that time, Mr. Martin has promised to go to the people and face their judgment in a general election — an extraordinary pledge for a Canadian prime minister. “Let the facts come out,” he said. “And then the people of Canada will have their say.” That seems a fair bargain.

No one can claim now that the Liberals are refusing to face the music. They will face it by early next year at the latest. If the public decides then that Mr. Martin's government should be held responsible for the scandal, so be it. As the opposition keeps saying, this was after all a Liberal scandal, and voters may well decide that Liberals should pay for it, even if the events took place under another prime minister.

But, despite the opposition's attempts to tar Mr. Martin with the sponsorship brush, there is nothing so far to suggest that he himself did anything wrong — apart, that is, from failing to detect and stop what was going on, a failure that he apologized for in his address. Nor can the opposition fairly argue that Mr. Martin has failed to respond vigorously enough to the scandal. In sharp contrast to Jean Chrétien, who pushed the whole thing aside, Mr. Martin has bent over backwards to get to the bottom of it. As he recounted last night, he cancelled the sponsorship program on his first day in office, fired the minister in charge, set up the Gomery inquiry, directed his government to suepeople and companies to recover lost sponsorship money, called in the RCMP and asked auditors to examine Liberal books.

What more would the opposition have him do? He has apologized repeatedly for what happened. He has marshalled all the resources of government to investigate it. He admitted last night that he, personally, should have been more vigilant when he was finance minister. Say what you like about Mr. Martin's lack of focus, his wavering leadership as prime minister and his other obvious failings, but there is no doubt that he has responded honourably and well to the sponsorship issue. That came through in his sincere and solid performance last night.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, by contrast, was shrill and excessive. His thirst to harness the anger over sponsorship to bring down Mr. Martin is understandable. Opposition parties seldom get a gift as rich as this scandal, and Mr. Harper may yet decide to defeat the government over it, as is his perfect right in a minority Parliament. But to call Mr. Martin's speech a “sad spectacle” performed by a man “begging” for another chance was a bit much. He accused Mr. Martin of turning a “blind eye” when he was minister of finance, suggesting he knew about but deliberately ignored what was going on. There is no evidence of that. He said Mr. Martin chose to hold an election last year “before any of the facts of the sponsorship scandal were known.” That was rich coming from a fellow who is thinking about triggering an election before the results of the inquiry are known. He suggested that Mr. Martin would have shut down the Gomery inquiry if he had won a majority last June. Highly unlikely. Mr. Martin could not have justified doing that even if he had wanted to.

“Do Canadians really believe that the number-two man in a government now under a cloud of corruption is the person to clean up that mess today?” Mr. Harper asked. Well, perhaps he is. A straight arrow if there ever was one, Mr. Martin may be just the man for the job. To pull him down over the sponsorship mess now, only a year after the last election and months before the inquiry report, would be an act of the purest opportunism — especially given his promise to hold a vote after the report regardless of what it says. (Just try to imagine Mr. Chrétien promising something like that.)

Let all the facts emerge. Let JudgeGomery weigh them. Then let the voters decide whether Mr. Martin should lose his job.


TOPICS: Canada; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: canada; corruption; election; martin; mediabias; sponsorshipscandal
This editorial shows the blatant Liberal bias of the Globe and Mail. This is the biggest example:

"But, despite the opposition's attempts to tar Mr. Martin with the sponsorship brush, there is nothing so far to suggest that he himself did anything wrong — apart, that is, from failing to detect and stop what was going on, a failure that he apologized for in his address."

Martin was the Finance Minister, the accountant in charge of the books, and most of the Candian media thinks Martin didn't do anything wrong and should not have to face an election. Come on, Canada, wake up! This is the guy who wrote the cheques! The whole Liberal party is corrupt as hell and the Canadian media is so in love with these crooks they will defend him, no matter how absurd it makes them look. I wish Fox News would carry a story on this so Canadians won't have to wade through this bird cage liner material. The whole editorial praises Martin for his political stance, but is giving him a free ride on the heart of the matter: the total corruption of the Liberals. And then the Conservative leader is a "shrill" complainer. Disgusting.

1 posted on 04/22/2005 5:28:28 AM PDT by doc30
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To: GMMAC

THings are getting desperate for the Libs. Ping time, please.


2 posted on 04/22/2005 5:28:57 AM PDT by doc30 (Democrats are to morals what and Etch-A-Sketch is to Art.)
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To: doc30

How about another editorial to clean the bad taste that one leaves in the mouth:

http://www.torontosun.com/Comment/Commentary/2005/04/22/1007775.html

Quote: "Mr. Martin, you and your corrupt Liberal party no longer get to tell us when the next federal election will be.

You and your corrupt Liberal party no longer get to portray your crisis as Canada's crisis.

You and your corrupt Liberal party no longer get to dictate to Canadians what issues they should care about."

Not all Ontario newspapers are liberal tools.


3 posted on 04/22/2005 5:41:28 AM PDT by swissarmyknife
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To: doc30
"I just need time!

... to get the crooks involved re-elected,
bring in more 3rd world Liberal voters
and to get same-sex "marriage" passed ...
oh please - sniff, sniff."

4 posted on 04/22/2005 6:04:34 AM PDT by GMMAC (lots of terror cells in Canada - I'll be waving my US flag when the Marines arrive!)
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To: Pikamax; Former Proud Canadian; Great Dane; Alberta's Child; headsonpikes; coteblanche; Ryle; ...
"Thanks Kofi,

your firm support
means a lot to me."

5 posted on 04/22/2005 6:14:54 AM PDT by GMMAC (lots of terror cells in Canada - I'll be waving my US flag when the Marines arrive!)
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To: doc30

Any delay gives the Liberals more time to hand out pre-election goodies, like this week's immigration announcement. A delay also increases the chance that the voters will forget the scandal. The wound is fresh now. Pull the plug.


6 posted on 04/22/2005 6:48:03 AM PDT by In The Crease (Canada---no leftists need apply.)
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To: GMMAC; conniew; JudyinCanada; -YYZ-; backhoe; Grig; headsonpikes; West Coast Conservative; ...
PING

Please let me know if you want on/off the Adscam ping list.

7 posted on 04/22/2005 7:14:32 AM PDT by fanfan (" The liberal party is not corrupt " Prime Minister Paul Martin)
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To: doc30

Too bad this POS author was not brave enough to give us his name. Probably because he/she would be the centre of ridicule.


8 posted on 04/22/2005 7:33:02 AM PDT by youngtory (Liberals in Conservative clothing are bigger liars than the liberals themselves.)
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To: doc30
" But we won't know the full picture until Mr. JusticeJohn Gomery submits his final report later this year. . At that time,, Mr. Martin has promised to go to the people and face their judgment in a general election "

That's not what he said at all....What Paul Martin said was..."For that reason, I commit to you tonight that I will call a general election within 30 days of the publication of the commission's final report and recommendations."

The report will not be tabled by Gomery until Nov. or Dec., at which time he hands it to......

Wait for it....

Paul Martin and the Liberals.

What if they then decide not to release the report to the public right away?

9 posted on 04/22/2005 8:32:08 AM PDT by fanfan (" The liberal party is not corrupt " Prime Minister Paul Martin)
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To: swissarmyknife

The Sun Media chain tends to be quite conservative.


10 posted on 04/22/2005 9:06:35 AM PDT by Heartofsong83
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