December 16, 2002
It has only been 50 years since Harry Truman ended his presidency but it seems like an eternity. Other than nuking Japan, Harry is remembered for the sign that he had on his Oval Office desk--"The buck stops here". No one today would ever think of using that thought as a motto. If telling the truth ever became mandatory, politicians would be required to have signs on their desks that read "The buck never stops". That’s a suggestion for anyone who doesn’t know what to get their favourite federal Minister of Industry for Christmas (oops, that should be holidays).
In just one section of one edition of the National Post, (front section, December 8) there was a plethora of articles about the failure of people, many but not all, people in power, who refuse to take any responsibility for anything that they do or are in charge of. An article on page one was about the hundreds of millions of dollars that the federal government has lost since 1995 as a result of GST fraud. Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) was accused of hiding fraud losses from Parliament and the public by not complying with the Financial Administration Act. That act requires that all losses from fraud and theft be publicly reported by government departments. Did anyone at CCRA take responsibility? Their answer was basically, fraud, what fraud? As soon as they became aware that they had been defrauded they sent the fraudster a bill to collect the money back. According to a CCRA spokeswoman, the transaction was not a fraud--it was a receivable. No need to report them. The agency should get at least some credit--they at least found a way to reduce crime. And a way for the department to avoid responsibility for setting up a system that cried out,"defraud us".
Also in the same section of the paper was an article, one of many in the media today, about Canada’s gun registration legislation. Announced in 1995 with much fanfare by then Justice Minister Alan Rock, the program was estimated at a cost of $2 million. It’s now a billion dollars later and what did the Rockster have to say about the itty bitty 500% and counting cost increase? That he made a mistake in the original estimates? Of course not. After others blamed the gun lobby; those right wing Alliance voting racists, bigots and holocaust deniers, for the increase in costs, Rock’s spokespeople blamed his leadership rivals for trying to discredit him. Alan Rock should count himself lucky (even though he has difficulty counting) that he belongs to a party that is in the midst of a perpetual leadership race. This is not the only time Rock’s wisdom has cost big bucks. He was responsible for Brian Mulroney’s lawsuit against the government as well as blowing $17 million to sue an American tobacco company in the U.S. courts for smuggling--a case that was thrown out as an attempt by a foreign country to litigate its tax laws in the United States. Alan Rock takes no responsibility for any of his costly mistakes.
Further along in the paper was an article about the current judicial inquiry being held in Toronto concerning computer leases that were entered into with the city of Toronto. The leasing contract set out a cost of $43 million which then, in Rock-like fashion, ballooned to $101.8 million. Although the former CAO of the city, Michael Garrett, acknowledged that he was responsible for what happened on his watch, Toronto’s mayor, Mel Lastman spent three days on the stand basically stating, "I saw nothing--I know nothing". TIM (the Tiny Imperfect Mayor) absolutely and unequivocally refused to take any responsibility for any financial dealings between the city and the leasing company while he was chief magistrate. Mel wants us to believe that he is just a simple man with a wife and two or three or four kids. His behaviour at the inquiry was shameful.
If those articles weren’t enough, the same edition ran a column by Robert Fulford entitled "Save me from myself or I’ll sue". The article was about one Constanin Digalakis who has a gambling problem. He signed an agreement with the Ontario Lottery Corporation to allow them to bar him from casinos. He somehow managed to get in anyway, lost big bucks, and he’s now suing OLC for $7 million saying that it is their fault he wasn’t kept away. What the OLC should do in this case is offer to settle for $50,000 and then ask him if he wants to go double or nothing, but I digress. The article made reference to Cesar Barber, the New York resident who ate at fast food restaurants four or five days a week for years, had a couple of heart attacks and now is suing several franchises for advertising that their food was "healthy". None of his medical problems were of course his fault.
We live in an age where no one, including people in positions of power are responsible for anything. The notion that "The buck stops here", is as dead as Harry Truman is.
Arthur Weinreb is a lawyer and author and Associate Editor of Canadafreepress.com, he can be reached at: aweinreb@interlog.com
Pursuant to Title 17 U.S.C. 107, other copyrighted work is provided for educational purposes, research, critical comment, or debate without profit or payment. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for your own purposes beyond the 'fair use' exception, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Views are those of authors and not necessarily those of Canada Free Press. Content is Copyright 1997-2018 the individual authors. Site Copyright 1997-2018 Canada Free Press.Com Privacy Statement