The Income Trust Scandal: It's not up to Ralph Goodale
The RCMP have opened a formal criminal investigation into an alleged leak from Finance Minister Ralph Goodale's office in the hours before the formal announcement on income trust taxation.
The news tonight of that formal investigation has generated calls for Ralph Goodale's resignation.
Minister Goodale is refusing to step down:
The RCMP, said Goodale, "have said they are looking into this matter because of the seriousness of the allegation. They have, at the same time, said they have no information, no evidence of any wrongdoing on the part of anyone - most particularly on my part - and quite frankly if I were to resign under those circumstances I believe I would only feed allegations that are out there in the context of a very political situation."
By refusing to resign, Ralph Goodale is going to act as a beacon attracting a barrage from the Conservatives, the NDP, and the Bloc Quebecois, aimed squarely at the issue of Liberal corruption.
Even as we speak, Liberal Blackberries are alight. Many, I am certain, are carrying messages considering the consequences of cutting Ralph Goodale loose.
Cutting him from his privileges and responsibilites as Minister of Finance.
Maybe even cutting him out of the party altogether. Long odds for that one, I think.
But Ralph Goodale's future is not going to be determined by the RCMP, the OSC, or even by Ralph Goodale. It will be determined by Scott Reid, John Duffy, Cyrus Reporter, and others in the Liberal war room. These unelected lobbyists advising Paul Martin are interested in only one thing -- how to get the Liberals back in power and thus preserve their conduits to government influence and cash. If Ralph Goodale's troubles get in the way, he'll be out.
Skew my story on Skewz.com
Rate political news for their bias, read related stories, and leave your own skewed commentary
Search for more opinions from Canadian bloggers on these related keywords
Sphere presents related news articles and blog posts
Sphere It!
Comments
Angry,
On a related note:
Why are purchases/prices of Liberal Shares on the UBC Elections market still going up? I noticed that, with each revelation of bad news there was an upsurge in Liberal buys.
Manipulation? Kind of looks like it. Oh, and BTW, there's real money on the line there. In other words, that's a real market that may be being manipulated.
http://esm.ubc.ca/CA06/overview.php
Posted by: Biff at December 28, 2005 11:25 PM
Bingo. But then, this shouldn't come as a shock to anyone, should it?
Posted by: ALW at December 28, 2005 11:59 PM
Ironically, tonight the CBC bragged about being one of the first to put this story in print. Their article on the 28th of November was all they had. The bloggers of the world like Angry should be thanked by anyone who owns mutual funds in Canada.
The laymen had no clue what was going on here. Maybe now it will get the exposure it deserves in the mainstream media.
I agree that Goodale won't step down without being forced. Whether it is the Liberal party or his constituents who make that decision is yet to be determined.
Posted by: TrustOnlyMulder at December 29, 2005 12:04 AM
Great post, Angry. I love your blog, but I must take issue with one grammatical point. "Liberal Blackberry's are alight" does not not an apostrophe.
Posted by: Angela at December 29, 2005 12:43 AM
Thanks Angela. The sentence started as "so-and-so blackberry's screen" and then changed and changed again, and I missed the shift in the use of Blackberry. Oopsie.
Posted by: Angry in T.O. at December 29, 2005 01:08 AM
But of course, most of the CBC's telecast was not shown in Ralph's Riding, as you have or will read in the BT's. So it's up to us to make sure people find out. Check the newspapers in Saskatchewan tomorrow. See what's there. As for us, we've already made up our minds. Right? Let's see what the polls say in January. Stay tuned... Allan.
Toronto.
Posted by: Allan at December 29, 2005 01:37 AM
Allan, I recorded it on my PC-TV video card. I will have the interview and follow on story on my website within the hour for you and any others who want to see it.
Posted by: TrustOnlyMulder at December 29, 2005 06:23 AM
 
|
|
