Canada's Gun Registry- a new twist

[Kennedy 0]

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=f02216b4-20d0-44bc-9654-78ec9e39875b&k=9286

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Kathryn May, CanWest News Service; Ottawa Citizen
Published: Friday, June 09, 2006

OTTAWA -- Canada's former top accountant says the senior bureaucrat overseeing the controversial gun registry didn't want to ask Parliament for more money to cover cost overruns for fear it would affect the upcoming 2004 federal election.

Wiersema, the former acting comptroller-general, told the Commons public accounts committee Thursday that Margaret Bloodworth, the deputy minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness under the previous Liberal government, told a meeting of senior bureaucrats in February 2004 that she didn't relish revealing the firearms centre was over budget and asking Parliament for more money because of the "implications" for the election.

The highly respected Bloodworth, who has since been named by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper as deputy clerk of the Privy Council, denied she faced political pressure to find a way to avoid to going to Parliament for more money to cover the mounting development costs for the registry's computer system.

"I categorically deny that I or anyone else I was involved with had any intention of misleading Parliament," Bloodworth told the committee.

The committee, however, failed to ask Bloodworth if Wiersema's account of the meeting was true. She later refused to comment further when pressed by reporters after the meeting.

"I'm not going to answer anything further," she said. "I have said what I have to say."

The question of political interference is one of the issues at the centre of the committee's probe to determine who was responsible for the decision to conceal the true cost of the firearms registry from Parliament. It reopens many of the thorny accountability issues that bedeviled the Gomery inquiry, including whether senior bureaucrats make decisions based on what they think their political bosses want.

Wiersema, who is now the deputy auditor general, told the committee he believed $21.8 million in computer development costs should have been reported as part of the firearms centre's budget for fiscal 2003-2004.

He said his strong views were well known and were overturned by other senior bureaucrats who decided to use an accounting treatment that allowed them to put off booking the $21.8 million until the following fiscal year.

By doing that, the centre avoided the embarrassing and politically explosive situation of having to reveal the extra costs and go back to Parliament for more money.

Wiersema said the centre's decision is one of the reasons he decided to quit his job as comptroller-general and return to the auditor general's office. He recused himself from any involvement in Auditor General Sheila Fraser's damning audit of the firearms centre other than he was interviewed as part of the probe.

"I can almost quote the statement because it stands out in my mind," said Wiersema when pressed by MPs for his recollection of the meeting.

"I believe Madame Bloodworth made the comment that `I cannot recommend that to my minister because it will have implications for the upcoming election.' It was at that point that it became clear to me that my view was not going to carry the day."

Ottawa Citizen

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
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[JohnRich 4]

Yep, they wouldn't want the public to have the facts when they go to the voting booths - they might vote against the sitting incumbents in charge of the fiasco.

[kallend 2,150]

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Yep, they wouldn't want the public to have the facts when they go to the voting booths - they might vote against the sitting incumbents in charge of the fiasco.

Right. Reminds me of how the true cost of the prescription drug program was withheld from Congress by the White House until after they had voted to approve the program.

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The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[warpedskydiver 0]

But But ...Bush did this, and that, oh my!!!

hey John? I don't like a lying govermnment either, but not everything needs to be a Bush bashing event.

[kallend 2,150]

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But But ...Bush did this, and that, oh my!!!

hey John? I don't like a lying govermnment either, but not everything needs to be a Bush bashing event.

Who mentioned Bush?

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[JohnRich 4]

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Right. Reminds me of how the true cost of the prescription drug program was withheld from Congress by the White House until after they had voted to approve the program.

From the other thread - see what I mean about you always straying off-topic to bash America at every opportunity. You hate this country so much you just can't help yourself!

Focus, kalled, focus. This is about Canada's gun registry.

Start your own thread if you want to run up a string of your infamous America-bashings.

[Kennedy 0]

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But But ...Bush did this, and that, oh my!!!

hey John? I don't like a lying govermnment either, but not everything needs to be a Bush bashing event.

Who mentioned Bush?

John, you'retoo old to be cute and not very good at coy.

[high pitch whiny voice] "Oh dear, and who were you inferring withheld the'true costs' from congress? And who's responsible?"
[/voice]

But since you brought American and it's politics/politicians into this...

Now that we know the real costs, and complete uselessness of a complete gun registry, do you still support one being created by the feds here in the USA?

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
1*

[rehmwa 2]

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This is about Canada's gun registry.

It not his fault. As a typical American, he's so totally involved in the US, that a post about another country just seems inconceivable. Self centered Americans just don't realize that there are other lands and cultures beyond their borders - sometimes even beyond their cities.

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Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants