| Left |
| Left |
| centre |
| Copyright © Graeme MacKay. Please check for MacKay's posting and publication rules by clicking here. |
| Wednesday February 1, 2006 |
| extremeright |
Paul Martin and Stephen Harper are bracing for yet another
round in the federal sponsorship saga, with the second
volume of Justice John Gomery's report on the scandal due
for release tomorrow.
For Martin and the Liberals, it will be another step in their
bitter farewell to government. For Harper and the
Conservatives, it will be a first test of their vow to do
better.
Gomery is to outline a series of bureaucratic and political
reforms designed to prevent a repetition of the sponsorship
fiasco that saw millions of taxpayer dollars flow to
Liberal-friendly ad agencies and other middlemen -- and
some of it flow back to the Liberal party in under-the-table
donations.
The judge long ago set Feb. 1 as the target date for his
recommendations. But that timetable was complicated by
the Jan. 23 election in which voters decreed a change of
government.
Despite the verdict of the electorate, Martin and his
lame-duck cabinet are still officially in power. Harper and
his new ministerial team won't be sworn in until Feb. 6.
That has raised problems for officials at the Privy Council
Office who are co-ordinating the transfer of power.
round in the federal sponsorship saga, with the second
volume of Justice John Gomery's report on the scandal due
for release tomorrow.
For Martin and the Liberals, it will be another step in their
bitter farewell to government. For Harper and the
Conservatives, it will be a first test of their vow to do
better.
Gomery is to outline a series of bureaucratic and political
reforms designed to prevent a repetition of the sponsorship
fiasco that saw millions of taxpayer dollars flow to
Liberal-friendly ad agencies and other middlemen -- and
some of it flow back to the Liberal party in under-the-table
donations.
The judge long ago set Feb. 1 as the target date for his
recommendations. But that timetable was complicated by
the Jan. 23 election in which voters decreed a change of
government.
Despite the verdict of the electorate, Martin and his
lame-duck cabinet are still officially in power. Harper and
his new ministerial team won't be sworn in until Feb. 6.
That has raised problems for officials at the Privy Council
Office who are co-ordinating the transfer of power.
| Second Gomery battle looms |
| Other cartoons of interest |
