People (by miraculous coincidence, all of them liberals) tell me to stop calling everything a “division of the Liberal Party” which of course I will as soon as things (including them personally) stop being exactly that—divisions of the Liberal Party—but in the meantime, I believe we should call a spade a spade so I’m going to go ahead and do that. So buck up, liberals.
How could I NOT call the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) a division of the Liberal Party? How could I NOT?
PM accused of buying votes with $100M in tax dollars
OTTAWA—The federal government’s regional development arm in Atlantic Canada went into overdrive in April, pumping out announcements totalling more than $100 million as the Liberal government teetered over allegations coming out of the Gomery inquiry.
The surge in announcements, which dissipated after the government barely survived a crucial May 19 confidence vote, lends further proof to the argument that the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) is used as a political tool to buy votes with tax dollars, critics say.
[…] The federal government also ramped up regional development spending by agencies in Atlantic Canada, Quebec, northern Ontario, and Western Canada in the months leading up to the June 2004 election.
That 2005 surge in announcements happened in April, which by shear miraculous coincidence was when the Liberals were facing a barrage of bad public relations from the annoying Gomery Inquiry into their Liberal Party corruption, and an impending challenge in the House for their survival.
And the good folks at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation have even stronger words—words which puts them in contention for the Quote Of The Week Award in fact—and here it is only Monday:
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation calculates that Prime Minister Paul Martin’s government made more than 250 announcements, totalling at least $17 billion, from the height of the April political crisis to the Liberals’ dramatic survival in the May 19 vote.
CTF federal director John Williamson said Canadians should brace for another spending flood prior to an election expected no later than early April of 2006.
“Paul Martin has proven he is shameless when it comes to try to bribe voters with tax dollars. He remains a desperate man who has access to billions of tax dollars to spend.”
Should they stop saying that? No, I don’t think so. I think more people should say more things like that because it’s all true, and yet most Canadians still don’t seem to appreciate the ramifications of it yet. This is a signal to say it more and louder, not to soften it up. But thanks for the tips, liberals!
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
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