Another Liberal scandal brewing
Is there another Liberal scandal starting to form on the horizon?
[Here's an update in which a government database still shows David Smith as president of Abotech]
Liberal MP David Smith, representing Pontiac-Gatineau-Labelle since June 28, 2004, was president of Abotech Inc., a computer consulting firm. After being elected, he cut ties:
Mr. Smith said in an interview yesterday that he severed his ties to Abotech when he became a member of Parliament in 2004 and filled out all the necessary paperwork with the office of the ethics commissioner. Before he was an MP, Mr. Smith also was a contract worker for Public Works Canada.
"I no longer have an interest in that company, so I don't know why you're calling me on this," said Mr. Smith, who represents the Pontiac riding on the Quebec side of the National Capital Region.
Of course, by Liberal standards, cutting ties means having a close family member run the company.
In this case, it's his wife, Anne Ethier, who is listed as the majority owner.
And two other Smiths as part owners, and they live at the same address as David Smith.
But he has no ties to the company. Right.
Sleeping with the president counts in my books.
Why does this matter?
The federal government has terminated two contracts with a consulting firm that used to be run by a Liberal MP following a forensic audit of the contracting practices at a federal agency, The Globe and Mail has learned.
Earlier this year, KPMG audited $15-million in contracts awarded to a large number of companies by Consulting and Audit Canada since 2001 and found irregularities in the handling of contracts. One of the concerns raised was that sole-sourced contracts were directed to the computer consulting firm Abotech Inc., of which Liberal MP David Smith used to be the president.
Mr. Smith confirmed that he was interviewed by KPMG about federal contracts to Abotech, but said he was unaware that two active contracts worth about $200,000 were terminated in September. About $150,000 of the contracts had already been expended.
But one of the terminated contracts happened under his watch:
One of the terminated contracts, worth $110,000, was awarded in 2003, before Mr. Smith was elected to Parliament.
And more money flowed into the company prior to the 2004 election:
The KPMG audit estimated Abotech received about $1-million in federal contracts over the past five years, but Mr. Smith said the figure seems high to him. Public Works Canada records show that Abotech received almost $500,000 in contracts from the federal government in 2003 alone.
Scamming the Canadian taxpayer before the election, scamming the Canadian taxpayer after the election -- elections are just an annoying interruption for the Liberals.
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Comments
All of the Lie-beral's are crooks! That's why they become Lie-beral's!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: at October 19, 2005 10:49 AM
Liberal's are no better than horse thieves, who should be twisting in the wind at the end of a rope!
Posted by: at October 19, 2005 10:51 AM
Excellent digging. Your next assignment, should you choose to take it. $450 Millions Provincial and Federal Government boost to Quebec's forestry industry. What's wrong here? How long before this Band-Aid for buggy whips meets the next crisis? Why do governments choose this moment to feed the US argument for 27% lumber tariffs? Why have Quebec tin-pot bosses not discovered R&D and industrial diversity for rural Quebec? Why does Quebec continue to milk Albert....Enough!
REQUIRED: Executive Director type to take over the following and make it fly for the benefit of all bloggers and Canada to boot.
BlogWorldCentral
Josh makes some very blunt and strong points. Points along the lines of get off the pot and do something real. Josh encourages us to do something positive or concrete.
In the blogworld, the most valuable things are usually ideas. An idea that captures a note of agreement among all bloggers who understand that idea and want to participate and be part of the whole concept.
One such idea may be a central parade ground where all or at least the vast majority of us could meet and lend our collective weight to the most current, worthy and immediately pressing national priority.
That central meeting powerhouse could be called something like blogworld Central or Blogcity Central or Blog Power Central.
This site could become known as the place where bloggers decide among several priority or urgent matters of National importance and urge Government to adopt the current, most important policy. The priority policy voted for and backed by thousands in the blogging world.
By bringing a huge body of blogworld members together behind the most urgent current cause, the Government would have no reasonable option but to consider our priority cause with extreme care and gravity. If they hope to be voted back into power, that is.
This is a potential and very real power we members of the blogworld could have but are not making use of because we do not as yet have our central clearing house of power set up. This central parade ground, where most bloggers check in daily to see how the current priority issue is advancing.
There could be a number of issues in a vertical list arranged in order with the most important at the top. This could look something like a thermometer, or vertical graph as is often used on television to show fund raising results.
This graphic would be attractive to bloggers who could drop by and instantly see how their favourite priority policy stands in relation to other important issues requiring government action.
There are a few websites that seem to be modeled somewhat along these lines. The Taxpayers Federation comes to mind. That site however has a single focus of tax related issues only. Very good.
We are looking for a massive central site that will rank many issues in priority order and bring pressure to bear upon government to have the top priority issue properly delt with.
73s TG http://My.Opera.com/T-G/ http://BendGovernment.blogspot.com
Posted by: TonyGuitar at October 19, 2005 11:23 AM
PS: Quebec's Forestry Industry to get boost
Canadian Press Monday Oct 17th 2005
Canada.com news
$450 million in aid over 3 years.. PM JeanCharest
$50 million over 4 years Federal government.
Support for 90,000 jobs in 200 rural Quebec communities. TG
Posted by: TonyGuitar at October 19, 2005 11:31 AM
Tony, I see what you are saying but outside of here no one else will.
I am still reeling this morning from the poll results just released showing the LIEberals gaining ground while the Conservatives are getting lower. I am at a total loss and just don't get it, have been hunting around this morning looking for a reasonable explanation but have yet to find one. I know, polls can be manipulated but how far? What are these results telling us?
I wish Mr. Coyne would put something somewhere, he always has a great take on a situation.
Posted by: Anne (mad in Ontario) at October 19, 2005 12:22 PM
Want more salt in your lashes/wounds, suckers? >>>>
It wasn't taxpayers' money: Dingwall
Canadian Press
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
CREDIT: Canadian Press
Former Royal Canadian Mint president David Dingwall says that he did not use taxpayers' money for expenses during his tenure.
David Dingwall will tell a Commons committee it wasn't taxpayer dollars that funded his six-figure office expenses at the Royal Canadian Mint.
The money belonged to the Crown corporation, which has a monopoly on minting Canada's currency and a thriving business serving foreign governments as well, Dingwall said in a statement Wednesday. >>>
national Post via nealenews.com
Posted by: maz2 at October 19, 2005 03:05 PM
 
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