26 July 2007

32 million dollars doesn't go as far...

As it used to... but Dalton McGuinty takes a page out of the "Ferdinand Marcos Guide to Savvy Political Spending"... to get maximum bang for OUR TAXPAYER bucks...
Auditor-General Jim McCarter said in a report released today that the process used to hand out $32-million in grants in the past two years was "not open, transparent or accountable."

“In essence, the decisions behind ‘who got what' were often based on conversations, not applications,” Mr. McCarter said at a news conference today following the release of his 27-page report.
It can't possibly be that bad, I'm sure there was a careful vetting process...
In one example, the Ontario Cricket Assoc. applied for a grant of $150,000, but the very next day received a cheque for $1-million, Mr. McCarter said.
Surely though, there was careful thought given to ensuring maximum benefit for ALL Ontario taxpayers...
Mr. McGuinty apologized to all Ontarians and vowed on Thursday to put an end to the practice of using year-end money from the ministry to make grants to ethno-cultural groups.

A total of $32.4-million was rushed out at the end of the past two fiscal years to multicultural groups with ties to the Liberal Party.
Wow... how did that bastion of honesty and accountability, Honest Dalt, react to all this? He must have been some pissed, huh?
Mr. McGuinty called in the auditor in May following concerted efforts by his government to block attempts by opposition members for an investigation into the alleged multimillion-dollar slush fund.
Ok... I give up.

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RELATED: The old quid pro quo
The Epoch Times has learned that CPAC board members figured prominently in a fundraiser for Ontario Citizenship and Immigration Minister Mike Colle six weeks before Colle's office issued the first of two unadvertised grants to CPAC.

The grants totalled $275,000.

Workers with other immigrant service providers declined to be interviewed for this story, citing concerns that publicly criticizing the government over its relationship with CPAC might hurt their own efforts to win grants.

However, one said of CPAC: "To be honest, it is not that they have been doing this the longest or that they have the best track record. Somehow they have managed to get the most attention from the minister."

"That's the difference."
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LAST WORD:
Same old, same old.

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