Your Time is Up, Mr. Martin

TORONTO SUN
Editorial
Friday April 22,2005

Copyright 2005


Prime Minister Paul Martin spoke directly to Canadians last night. So now we're going to speak directly to him.

Mr. Martin, you and your corrupt Liberal party no longer get to tell us when the next federal election will be.

You and your corrupt Liberal party no longer get to portray your crisis as Canada's crisis.

You and your corrupt Liberal party no longer get to dictate to Canadians what issues they should care about.

So do us all a favour. Stop grovelling, stop apologizing and stop trying to tell us that your latest attempt to save your own political hide has anything to do with statesmanship.

Now you're promising that you won't call an election until a month after Judge John Gomery issues his final report on AdScam in December? Now it's important that Canadians know all the facts about AdScam before they go to the polls?

What about last year's election, Mr. Martin? You called that election three months before the Gomery inquiry held its first public hearing, over the objections of the opposition parties.

You did that after you shut down the public accounts committee on which your Liberal MPs at first tried to pin the blame for AdScam not where it belonged -- on your corrupt Liberal party -- but on Auditor General Sheila Fraser. They said she'd blown it all out of proportion. Why didn't you stop them then?

As for your argument that you created the Gomery inquiry, your own aides told the media at the time you didn't have a choice. It was either that or head into an election looking like you were trying to duck the issue -- political suicide.

Last night you called AdScam "an unjustifiable mess."

AdScam isn't a "mess," Mr. Martin. What it's looking like, more and more, is a criminal conspiracy by your corrupt Liberal party to launder public money for the private benefit of the Liberal party and its friends.

You say you didn't know what was going on, and now, finally, that you should have known. We agree. Another thing we no doubt agree on is that, even more than you, it should be Jean Chretien offering an apology today to the Canadian people.

You inherited the corrupt Liberal party you now lead.

He was the one in charge as that corruption spread.



He tried to justify AdScam by arguing that while millions of dollars might have been stolen, it was worth it in the struggle to keep Canada together. He is the one who will bear the ultimate responsibility if the sponsorship program, far from helping to keep Quebec in Confederation, ends up driving it away.

But since we are no doubt in agreement about Mr. Chretien, Mr. Martin, answer this: Why, on the day after his appearance before the Gomery inquiry, where he displayed such open contempt for the proceedings, did you lead the cheering and a standing ovation for him inside the Liberal caucus room?

And why should we believe that your party, if it wins a majority government in the next election, will implement Judge Gomery's recommendations? Canadians know from the Somalia inquiry, Mr. Martin, that that's not how Liberals work.