Senator Lavigne guilty of fraud, breach of trust
11/03/2011 1:28:51 PM
CBC News
An Ontario Superior Court judge has found Senator Raymond Lavigne guilty of fraud related to false travel expenses and breach of trust for having his staff do work at his home.
An Ontario Superior Court judge has found Senator Raymond Lavigne guilty of fraud related to false travel expenses and breach of trust for having his staff do work at his home.
On the fraud charge, Judge Robert Smith found Lavigne guilty of defrauding the government of $10,120.50.
He determined that Lavigne "knowingly submitted false claims" for reimbursement of expenses for car travel between Ottawa and Montreal. Smith found that Lavigne made claims for costs he had not incurred.
He was overpaid in some reimbursement claims, "thereby affecting the government's pecuniary interest."
Since he was barred from the Senate in 2007, Lavigne has cost taxpayers more than $700,000.
Bev Oda et al
There's a case against the government for breach of privilege after it refused to hand over detailed cost estimates of its anti-crime agenda, and a minister may have misled MPs, House of Commons Speaker Peter Milliken said Wednesday in a ruling reasserting Parliament's authority.
Milliken ruled there was a "prima facie breach of privilege" -- in other words, enough evidence to send two separate motions back to MPs to decide the next step.
One motion complained the government is refusing to give financial information to the House and the other alleged International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda may have misled a Commons committee.
Milliken ruled there was a "prima facie breach of privilege" -- in other words, enough evidence to send two separate motions back to MPs to decide the next step.
One motion complained the government is refusing to give financial information to the House and the other alleged International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda may have misled a Commons committee.
For the first time dealmaker Karlheinz Schreiber sits down in front of television cameras to answer questions about his secretive past and about his relationship with former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Schreiber goes on the record to tell Linden MacIntyre about the $300,000 the former Prime Minister received from him, where that money came from and the fallout, both public and private, that ensued from it.
The program illustrates why their relationship was so controversial and why numerous questions about it have remained unanswered until now.
The program illustrates why their relationship was so controversial and why numerous questions about it have remained unanswered until now.
The sponsorship scandal tainted members of the Liberal Party and politics in Quebec. In its aftermath, there have been a few convictions and in Parliament, there came a call for the politicians to find ways to govern with accountability.
It all started with rumours and whispers about a fund that had been set up in the wake of the 1995 referendum on Quebec sovereignty to help promote federalism. The money was supposed to be used to raise Canada's profile in Quebec.
- DETAILS: Gomery Report's major findings
But it wasn't clear how the money was handed out: there were no application forms for this fund that was supposed to help pay the costs of social and cultural events and programs. There were rumours that the money was little more than a vehicle to reward loyal Liberal supporters.
By the early spring of 2002, then prime minister Jean Chrétien was forced to address the issue. The Globe and Mail – under the Access to Information Act – tried to find out why the government paid $550,000 to advertising firm Groupaction Marketing for a report that could not be found. No one at Public Works or the company could explain it.
Jim Walsh, a former Liberal cabinet minister in Newfoundland and Labrador, has been sentenced to 22 months in jail for his part in a spending scandal that rocked the province.
The other former politicians who have already been convicted of fraud-related charges in the spending scandal include:
- Wally Andersen, former Liberal, who received 15 months jail time.
- Randy Collins, former New Democrat, who will be sentenced Jan. 15.
- Ed Byrne, former Progressive Conservative, who was sentenced to two years, less a day.
Independent MLA Trevor Zinck and former members Richard Hurlburt, Russell MacKinnon and David Wilson all face charges of fraud over $5,000 and breach of trust.
Zinck also faces two counts of theft over $5,000.
British Columbia's premier was fined $913 US (about $1,350 Cdn) Monday after pleading no contest to a drunk driving charge in Hawaii.
Gordon Campbell was not in the court for the hearing. He was represented by a lawyer, who paid the penalty on his behalf.
"Mr. Campbell is sufficiently embarrassed and ashamed for what he did, as well he should be," said Maui District Judge Reinette Cooper.
The premier was also ordered to take part in a 14-hour substance abuse program, and undergo an assessment for alcoholism. His lawyer said Campbell has already completed both in Canada.
Maui police arrested Campbell Jan. 10 as he returned from the home of friends. They said he was speeding and swerving on the highway. Campbell's blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit, according to court records.
appointments handed out by the Conservative government over the past two years.
Liberal MPs Wayne Easter and Alexandra Mendes handed out "patronage awards" to various Conservative MPs, ministers and senators during a news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday.
The MPs said Prime Minister Stephen Harper keeps appointing Tory insiders to plum positions despite his campaign pledge to end such practices.
"The message is clear: If you run for the Conservatives, work for the Conservatives and give to the Conservatives, they will reward you with paid gigs backed by taxpayer dollars," Easter said.
Easter cited 386 job appointments since 2008 that went to Tories, which he said represented about a fifth of federal appointments since the last election.
It's been a steady parade of Progressive Conservatives getting provincial government appointments since the Alward government took power last fall.
Don Desserud, a political scientist at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John, said the Tories should put a halt to all the patronage appointments.
"In terms of the public's expectations this is not exactly what they thought was going to happen and therefore there is going to be disappointment," Desserud said.
When the Tories were on the opposition benches, Alward and his senior MLAs hammered the Liberals for their patronage appointments.
But the Alward government has not backed away from the trend.
The Newfoundland and Labrador government is being accused of old-style patronage for naming an aide to ex-premier Danny Williams to the offshore oil and gas regulator.
Natural Resources Minister Shawn Skinner shrugged off the criticism Thursday, saying Elizabeth Matthews, former communications director for Williams, is a "great" choice for vice-chairperson of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board.
Opposition parties and environmental observers pounced on the fact Matthews has no obvious environmental or offshore qualifications.
Skinner didn´t deny that lack of experience. Instead, he stressed that Matthews is a communicator who understands the inner workings of government policy.
Natural Resources Minister Shawn Skinner shrugged off the criticism Thursday, saying Elizabeth Matthews, former communications director for Williams, is a "great" choice for vice-chairperson of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board.
Opposition parties and environmental observers pounced on the fact Matthews has no obvious environmental or offshore qualifications.
Skinner didn´t deny that lack of experience. Instead, he stressed that Matthews is a communicator who understands the inner workings of government policy.
A former Newfoundland and Labrador cabinet minister has vowed to repay tens of thousands of dollars used to pay for wine, art and other items.
Paul Dicks, a finance and justice minister in former Liberal governments, said in a statement Thursday he will voluntarily pay back sums cited last month in a scathing report by Auditor General John Noseworthy.
Noseworthy found that Dicks had claimed $59,753 in artwork during the 1998 and 2000 fiscal years, and had also claimed over a number of years alcohol purchases — including imported wine — totalling $34,145.
Dicks's alcohol purchases, none of which involved meals, were by far the largest charges of their kind in Noseworthy's review of 15 years of constituency allowance claims.
The audit found Dicks claimed jewelry, books and a Cartier pen through his allowance. Dicks was one of nine politicians found to have used constituency allowance funds on personal items.
May 31, 2005
Identifying the challenges and optimizing the opportunities in the business community are key to the future success of Newfoundland and Labrador, said Premier Danny Williams today as he announced the establishment of the Business Advisory Board. The board will provide advice to the Premier and government regarding matters of economic development and business in the province.
"The establishment of this board will complement the Department of Business and will perform the important function of advising government of the trends of today’s economy and the future possibilities for our economy," said Premier Williams. "I am very pleased that some of Newfoundland and Labrador’s most dynamic, experienced and successful business people have agreed to participate on the Business Advisory Board. Membership consists of a wide cross-section of regions and industries such as IT, tourism, communications and the service industry."
The newly established Business Advisory Board will report to the Department of Business and will meet throughout the year and provide advice and recommendations to government.
"The establishment of this board will complement the Department of Business and will perform the important function of advising government of the trends of today’s economy and the future possibilities for our economy," said Premier Williams. "I am very pleased that some of Newfoundland and Labrador’s most dynamic, experienced and successful business people have agreed to participate on the Business Advisory Board. Membership consists of a wide cross-section of regions and industries such as IT, tourism, communications and the service industry."
The newly established Business Advisory Board will report to the Department of Business and will meet throughout the year and provide advice and recommendations to government.
(one of the appointments)
Dean MacDonald
In August 2004, Mr. MacDonald became President and Chief Executive Officer of Persona Communications Corp., a privately-held company with national outlets in cablevision and Internet services. In the past, Mr. MacDonald has served in the capacity of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Rogers Cable Inc. and President of Cable Atlantic Inc., where he was a Director and minority shareholder for 18 years.
In August 2004, Mr. MacDonald became President and Chief Executive Officer of Persona Communications Corp., a privately-held company with national outlets in cablevision and Internet services. In the past, Mr. MacDonald has served in the capacity of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Rogers Cable Inc. and President of Cable Atlantic Inc., where he was a Director and minority shareholder for 18 years.
So then what happened - well there was the fibre-optic cash - that the Auditor General just questioned. That was after the two, Dean and Danny under Cable Atlantic benefitted from another government contract when Brian Tobin was in office.
After both contracts the companies were sold/merged with mainland firms.
Then there are the lies and lies - broken promises etc.
Harper - equalization
Williams - paper mills
Harper - Income Trusts
Williams - redress the Upper Churchill
Harper - elected senate
Williams - openness and accountability resource developments
Harper - no more patronage
Williams - transparency
6 comments:
i don't know who that list is more embarassing for, the voting public or for the crooked politicians. the misuse of our taxpaying dollars as if it was just a money tree with nobody asking questions or wondering whats going on within our governments makes me sick, no wonder why the majority of people think to be a good politician you gotta be a good lyer.
When we let money and economics trump every other priority in our lives and society this is the kind of government we get. In Canada the corruption and cronyism is instutional and wide spread. We just sit back and take it.
Marking a "X" on a piece of paper every few years doesn't mean we live in a healthly democracy. I believe we have serious problems in our governments of all strips on the provincial and federal levels.
After the beatings, humiliation and mass arrests of peaceful protesters in Toronto for the G20 most people still ignore or are indifferent to the clear erosion of Canadian democracy and the growing restrictions of our freedoms.
As citizens it is the responsiblity of us all to guard our democracy. Sadly, from what I can see, we have failed miserably. And whats worst is that most people don't seem to care. When someone is concerned enough to try to speak out they are likely to have their reputations smeared or are mocked. Most people don't want to hear about politics and would rather talk about hockey or reality TV. What will it take to shake our complacency?
With everything you have detailed in your post Sue, there is no doubt about it we are now being ruled by a Kleptocracy form of government(s). How much longer will it be before the Auditor General(s) step in and advise the Government(s) that they have gone over the edge of being a Democracy into the abyss of a Kleptocracy and that outside auditing entities need to be brought in to oversee the system back to a Democracy? Below is a definition of a Kleptocracy style of government. There is no doubt that it is what we have been experiencing in this country and our province for past 62 years.
Kleptocracy, alternatively cleptocracy or kleptarchy, from Ancient Greece: κλέπτης (thief) and κράτος (rule), is a term applied to a government subject to control fraud that takes advantage of governmental corruption to extend the personal wealth and political power of government officials and the ruling class (collectively, kleptocrats), via the embezzlement of state funds at the expense of the wider population, sometimes without even the pretense of honest service. The term means "rule by thieves". Not an "official" form of government (such as democracy, republic, monarchy, theocracy) the term is a pejorative for governments perceived to have a particularly severe and systemic problem with the selfish misappropriation of public funds by those in power.
Minister Skinner was high on his "Broadband Strategy". Well, that plan to hook up rural NL to modern communication is up in smoke. $15 MILLION of taxpayer money got dumbed into one private company for a fibre optic line, PERSONA with appearently no obligation in the contract for PERSONA to actually provide the internet service to any rural areas. PERSONA got bought up by the larger EastLink shortly after and some people made a lot of money. This $15 MILLION giveaway went to a company with a CEO, Dean Macdonald, that has tight connections to the PC party and the priemer at the time.
How can any government give a private company 15 MILLION DOLLARS to provide a service to rural areas but not have the delivery of that service guaranteed as a term of contract even if the ownership changes?
Are the people in our government fools or theives? Are we fools for allowing it? Are the media fools for not making it a bigger story?
We are being setup for another one now when EMERA, which looks to get 35 years worth of Muskrat power at lower rates than NL'rs will pay, is flipped or bought out. Who will be laughing at us this time as they laugh all the way to the bank leaving taxpayers of NL holding the bag.
Skinner is in a portfolio now that is overseeing the Muskrat Falls deal and that should scare the hell out of every NL'r. We are about to be Skinner'd again, PERSONA style!
Check those pesky facts Sue. Are you sure Dicks has not paid back the money?
check those pesky facts?
They are copies of news articles from various periods of times - click the links on the post and you will see that.
Further - who cares if he paid it back the story is about the actions of politicians - it does not change what he did.
Why don't you do a blog giving us updates on the stories - like this one has already served their time and they got released for good behavior. You think that will change the public view on politicians?
Post a Comment