Auditor General Reports, Gomery Inquiry: Ban "mostly lifted", Jean Chretien & Rot, Intelligence Gathering, Bre-X No Fraud Class Action Suit

Auditor General Reports April 2005

April

A Message from the Auditor General of Canada
Chapter 1 — Natural Resources Canada—Governance and Strategic Management
Chapter 2 — National Security in Canada—The 2001 Anti-Terrorism Initiative: Air Transportation Security, Marine Security, and Emergency Preparedness
Chapter 3 — Passport Office—Passport Services
Chapter 4 — National Defence—C4ISR Initiative in Support of Command and Control
Chapter 5 — Rating Selected Departmental Performance Reports
Chapter 6 — Indian and Northern Affairs Canada—Development of Non-Renewable Resources in the Northwest Territories

2005 Status Report

A Message from the Auditor General of Canada
Chapter 1 — Information Technology Security
Chapter 2 — Transport Canada—Overseeing the National Airports System
Chapter 3 — Modernization of Human Resources Management: Managing the Reforms
Chapter 4 — Accountability of Foundations
Chapter 5 — Canadian International Development Agency—Financial Compliance Audits and Managing Contracts and Contributions
Chapter 6 — Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission—Power Reactor Regulation
Chapter 7 — Governance of Crown Corporations
Chapter 8 — Managing Government: Financial Information

Each has a link so you may read the conclusions, at least, or download the .pdf files.




Gomery Inquiry: Ban "mostly" lifted -- whatever that means

CBC will begin the whitewash now? Listen for it; I heard that the Liberal Party took a "small percentage" -- not much in the scheme of things really. Perhaps I misread the tone. Check for more.

Adscam: It's Not Just For Liberals Any More April 06, 2005

The Toronto Sun has developed its own independent sources into the Sponsorship Program scandal, uncovering . . . .

Gomery - Jean Chretien

Government lawyers seek expedited hearing of bias charges made by Chretien Glen McGregor, CanWest News Service, April 05, 2005

Government lawyers will appear in Federal Court this morning to request an expedited hearing of bias charges made by former prime minister Jean Chretien against the judge heading the inquiry into the sponsorship scandal. Under the timetable to be proposed today, the court would hear the allegations against Judge John Gomery in June, before he can write his report [. . . . ]

Before the truth comes out -- of course.



Editorial: The rot runs deep National Post, April 05, 2005

[. . . . ] It is looking more and more as if Adscam was in large part a scheme to funnel money from the federal fisc to elements within the Quebec branch of the Liberal Party. It will be months before we know the size of the payoffs and the identities of all the wrongdoers. Still, it appears that the scheme was of such a magnitude that it necesarily involved dozens of players. As such, it betrays a deep rot that must be purged from our governing party. [. . . . ]

Intelligence Gathering

Proposed panel to oversee intelligence gathering James Gordon, CanWest News Service, April 05, 2005

OTTAWA - The federal government is moving ahead with plans to create a joint parliamentary committee to oversee Canada's intelligence gathering and analysis agencies. Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan tabled a proposal in the House of Commons yesterday that calls for unprecedented oversight by members of Parliament and senators. The proposed nine-member panel, composed of Liberal and opposition parliamentarians, would take an oath of secrecy to protect sensitive information and in turn be given unfettered access to intelligence information. Agencies under scrutiny would include the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), the RCMP, Communications Security Establishment (CSE) and Canada Border Services Agency. Legislation is being developed to implement the complicated project, and a spokesman for Ms. McLellan said there is no set timetable for its completion. [. . . . ]

Don't forget there is no adequate Whistleblowing Legislation in Canada. What if something is discovered and those responsible want to keep it under wraps? This proposal might be positive but, given what we are learning about how this government operates, I am leery. Will it be gerrymandered so as to hide government incompetence and overweaning contempt for Parliament? Remember how it stacks and thwarts Parliamentary committees? Can this government be trusted?



Bre-X fraud

U.S. court again denies Bre-X fraud class action -- 'This should finally be the end of it' Sandra Rubin, Senior Business Writer, Financial Post, April 7, 2005

Note the last paragraph. US or Canada -- it makes a difference.

A U.S. Federal Court judge has again declined to certify the Bre-X Minerals Ltd. fraud as a class action, all but ending the seven-year quest to put the giant Canadian mining scandal before a Texas jury.

The lawsuit naming company insiders as well as BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., Barrick Gold Corp., SNC Lavalin and J.P. Morgan & Co. Inc. was filed in Texarkana, Tex., in 1998.

[. . . . ] He said class definition remained a stumbling block because the U.S. lawyers leading the suit did not show how they intend to prove where U.S. shareholders had bought their stock. The lawyers were asking the court to assume the stock was purchased on NASDAQ for certification purposes, even though many more shares of Bre-X were actually traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The decision does not seem right for those who lost so much. To pursue this as individuals is prohibitively expensive. Money triumphs again.