What lies in wait? (en francais)

Adscam is already winding down in the minds of many Canadians. The new Techology Partnerships "Technoscam" is just starting to warm up. With over $2.9 billion dollars given out to Canadian companies over the last 9 years, with little or no oversight from Parliament due to the programs secrecy, I thought I'd take a look at what might be waiting around the corner should the ruling Liberal regime ever be held to task.

The first thing that pops up are those numerous Foundations that our Auditor-General has been warning us about since 1997, shortly after their inception.

4.4 In 1997, the government introduced a new approach to achieving policy objectives by transferring public funds to foundations—non-profit corporations considered to be at arm's length from the government. In our sample, three foundations were established by direct legislation and the others were established under provisions such as the Canada Corporations Act. At 31 March 2004, more than $9 billion in grants had been paid to foundations.

4.5 In the Auditor General's observations on the government's summary financial statements in the Public Accounts of Canada, we have raised concerns about the governance and the accountability of and accounting for government transfers to foundations. These are up-front payments made many years in advance of need. Our performance audits in 1999 and 2002 found that accountability to Parliament was placed unnecessarily at risk—the government had failed to meet the essential requirements for accountability to Parliament, namely credible reporting of results, effective ministerial oversight, and adequate provision for external audit.

Wow! $9 billion of our tax dollars sitting in unaccountable foundations.

4.14 The government has recorded these payments as expenses, even though the foundations do not expect to use the funds for many years. At 31 March 2004, nearly $7.7 billion of these funds were still in the foundations' bank accounts and investments, earning interest. This accounting treatment has resulted in a reduction of the reported annual surplus when funds are transferred to foundations, rather than when funds are distributed to the ultimate intended recipients or used for the ultimate purposes that the government announced for this spending.

From a government that misplaced a billion or so dollars in the HRDC boondoggle, overspent the Gun Registry by 2 billion, squandered millions on Liberal friends during the Adscam fiasco and continues to abuse the Technology Partnerships Canada fund we are supposed to accept their word. "Trust us, only we have the best interests of Canadians at heart".

If this is how they treat those close to their hearts, I'd hate to see what they would do if they're pissed off.

For that you'll have to talk to Sheila.