If it was one of Chretien's lackeys caught doing this BS on the public dime, I doubt very much that any one of us would cut them any slack for it, so why should we do so when it happens to be someone that we voted for? The overwhelming reason that most of us voted for Harper was because we expect him to be responsible with the public purse, and everytime that nonsense like this comes to light, the more it reinforces the perception that the only difference between political parties is the colour of the posters they stand in front of when they lie to us.
SDC
Mind you, the more often expressed view among CPoC supporters is that MacKay is entitled to his entitlements:
As a Minister of the Crown, private or commercial transportation should be used whenever reasonable to do so. That being said, MacKay's record as a Minister has earned him the right for us to cut him a little slack on this one even if it may have been inappropriate.
I really don't understand how anyone can in good faith defend Mackay on this.
ReplyDeleteI for one actually _don't_ get upset when the Government of Canada uses what amounts to private jets to send government officials on official buisness -- Canada's a big country, governing it properly involves a lot of travel on short notice, and having officials have decent work space during their travel seems like a good investment.
But this was a frickin' *search and rescue* helicopter _and_ _crew_. Diverted so that our esteemed minister could go from a private fishing villa to a PR opportunity.
This should be so clearly beyond the pale as to demand a resignation. If it were a Lib or NDP minister, I would be leading the charge to have them resign.
Once again - even after all these years - the tribalism of partisan politics manages to surprise and disappoint me.
Don't people find it ironic that this comes up on the same week that the Conservative use their typical marginalization technique on the Native community by telling us how badly their money has been mismanaged.
ReplyDeleteI must agree with Jon Dursi.
ReplyDeletePulling a SAR helicopter to save a hour or two travel when it's not urgent--planning in advance for the ride means it was not an emergenc-- and then plainly lying about it being a SAR exercise is pretty much beyond the Pale.