percy

I don't see it as a big deal. Wasting billions of dollars and treating the Canadian public as pissants I see as a big deal, that courtesy of the Liberals. Also, where is the outrage at David Dingwalls severance that was kept under wraps, again by the Liberals. Possible majority if that would have surface during the final week of the elections some say. And before we compare the old boss with the new boss, let's hope the new boss has some honesty and integrity, something sorely lacking from the previous boss.


Tories claim Liberal deception in compensation award to Dingwall

By JIM BROWN

OTTAWA (CP) - The incoming Conservative government say they are powerless to stop a hefty settlement with ousted Mint boss David Dingwall announced in the final hours before Paul Martin was due to leave office.

The $417,780 award was based on the findings of an independent arbitrator who concluded that Dingwall, contrary to past claims by the Martin government, was forced out of his job and didn't leave voluntarily.

Neither PCO nor Dingwall's lawyers would elaborate on the reasons for that conclusion. The detailed ruling by arbitrator George Adams, a retire judge of Ontario Superior Court, was not made public.

Tory MP Jason Kenney insisted the Liberals knew about the compensation award on Jan. 20 - three days before election day - and sat on it to avoid political embarrassment.

"I believe that could have been the difference between a Conservative minority and a majority," Kenney said Sunday on CTV's Question Period.

"This was a cover-up that affected the result of the election - and I think in a way subverted democracy.,"

Jay Hill, another Conservative MP, suggested Dingwall or others might be called before a parliamentary committee to explain the situation.


"We can only be left to surmise what difference it would have made if they had been honest with Canadians and had this come out on the Friday before the Monday election," said Hill.

Bob Quinn, a spokesman for the Privy Council Office, said it's true that lawyers for the government and for Dingwall were notified of the arbitrator's ruling on Jan. 20.

But he said the decision was not passed along to Martin or his prime ministerial aides until after voting day.

"Mr Martin and his staff knew that discussions between the government lawyers and Mr. Dingwall's lawyers were ongoing," said Quinn.

"They didn't know anything about the outcome of the process prior to the election. They didn't even know it had gone to binding arbitration."

Martin and his Conservative successor, Stephen Harper, were finally notified of the ruling simultaneously after the campaign was over, said Quinn, although he couldn't name a precise date.

He said the decision to go to arbitration as made by Alex Himelfarb, the clerk of the Privy Council, on the advice of Justice Department lawyers after negotiations with Dingwall's legal team broke down.

The clerk did not consult Martin or his staff on the decision, said Quinn.

Dingwall resigned from his $277,000-a-year-job as mint president in September after a prolonged controversy about his six-figure office expense account.

A subsequent review by PricewaterhouseCoopers accounting firm concluded his spending was within the rules with minor discrepancies.

But Harper, in a statement issued Saturday, said the Liberals had misled MPs and the public about details of the affair.

"After months of evasive answers in the House of Commons, we have now learned that David Dingwall's departure from the Royal Canadian Mint was involuntary," said the prime minister-designate.

"This is contrary to the information given by the Liberal government. I am very disappointed that Parliament was misled on this matter."

William Stairs, Harper's director of communications, said it appears the incoming government will have to live with the compensation award.

"It's very unlikely there's anything we can do given that, as we understand it, this (decision) has the force of a court order," said Stairs.

He couldn't't say whether they new government would at least be able to make the full arbitration ruling public to shed light on the reasons for the award.

Dingwall was at the centre of controversy for weeks last fall after reports that his office had run up expenses of almost $748,000 in 2004.

There was particular outrage after reports that he had put in an expense claim for a pack of chewing gum. Opposition MPs alleged he had used taxpayers as his "personal ATM."

His defence of "I'm entitled to my entitlements" was picked up by the Tories and used in campaign ads to hammer Martin and the Grits with accusations of arrogance.

Then-revenue minister John McCallum insisted last fall that Dingwall - who had sided with Jean Chretien in his long-running Liberal leadership war with Martin - offered voluntarily to step down from the mint and wasn't fired by the Martin government.

McCallum also insisted that any compensation paid would be the minimum legally required.

In a statement Sunday, Dingwall's lawyers said he is satisfied with the arbitration ruling and "pleased that the government is complying with its legal obligations."
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2...426125-cp.html