[Marxism] article on Cdn. political scandals

["Derrick O'Keefe" <sankara83@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Scandals on the good (sponsor)ship Martin.

from March 1 , 2004 SevenOaksMag.com
by Derrick O'Keefe

The Steamship Paul Martin is taking on water. The political machine that
seemed so unsinkable just last fall is now in a full-blown crisis, with
sections of Canada?s ruling elite already jumping ship, opting for the
captain-less and re-christened Conservative Party of Canada. The sponsorship
scandal, however, should be understood as only the tip of the
corporate-corruption iceberg in Canadian politics.

Paul Martin has been dubbed Canada?s CEO, and the label should stick like
crazy glue. Simply put, the man has an evangelical belief that the Canadian
state ought to be a state of the corporations, by the corporations, and for
the corporations. The new prime minister?s response to a couple of earlier
scandals-that-ought-to-have-been illustrates the point quite clearly.

In December, it was revealed that between 1995 and 2002, then finance
minister Martin had taken five trips abroad on private jets owned by some of
the country?s business elite.

The excursions were mostly for private vacations. For instance, in 2002, he
and billionaire buddy Wallace McCain -- of super fries fame and fortune --
jetted down to the Caribbean for some golf and some rays. When confronted
about the trips, a confident Martin flatly stated, ?I fully intend to take
holidays with my friends.? Indeed, conflict of interest guidelines provided
a loophole, as government ministers are not allowed to accept gifts of over
$200 value, unless they are from ?close personal friends.? Well, the
personal is indeed political, and it was these close friends that reaped the
benefits of Martin?s budget-slashing years as finance minister. No scandal
here, though, as the vacation revelations soon faded from the news.

Full: www.sevenoaksmag.com/commentary/02_martin.html

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