“Mr. Speaker, in the Senate, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Senator Pamela Wallin claimed more than $300,000 in travel expenses in the past three years alone. Less than 10% of these expenses were for travel in Saskatchewan, the province she is supposed to represent. Senator Wallin is using taxpayers’ money to travel around the country and to star in the Conservative Party’s fundraising activities.
“Does the Prime Minister believe it is acceptable for taxpayers’ money to be used to raise money for his political party?”
Right Hon. Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, CPC):
“Mr. Speaker, I reject that characterization.
“In terms of Senator Wallin, I have looked at the numbers. Her travel costs are comparable to any parliamentarian travelling from that particular area of the country over that period of time. For instance, last year Senator Wallin spent almost half of her time in the province she represents in the Senate. The costs are to travel to and from that province, as any similar parliamentarian would do.”
From the August 13 report of The Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration:
“Deloitte ascertained that over the 1,369 days of the review period, Senator Wallin had spent 22 percent of her time in Ottawa on Senate business; 27 percent of her time in Saskatchewan; and 35 percent of her time in Toronto…”
Categories: Harper Government
IN-SIGHTS 
How is that working for you today Mr. Harper?
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Me thinks the conservatives are now facing the same sort of moral decay and corruption with Harper that the Liberals found under Cretain.
The losers, of course is the Canadian public, who have seen the democratic process erode a little more each time we vote in a new parliament.
Canadian politicians are like organized crime, con artists and gangsters all on the take.
When was the last time Parliament worked for the public good? Compare that with the last time Parliament worked for big business and international corporations.
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Now, now, let's not let facts get in the way.
As we have seen just this week in the Senate fiasco, the politicians are not interested in the truth, they are interested in their own agendas, their hold on power and the contents of their pockets. The Prime Minister is the best thing since sliced bread, the person who puts the interests of Canadians above all else and I'll walk to the ends of the earth for him, until he pees in my cornflakes.
It's the same as the legal system. It has nothing to do with upholding justice, it has to do with manipulation, intimidation and winning. The truth be damned.
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Of course Harper annointed them to fund raise. He knew they had drawing power and they all figured they could save a little money by putting it through the senate budget. They just got caught. Now harper wants to get rid of the problem, but he forgot who he had annointed. Getting to where Wallin and Duffy did with their news careers, wasn't for the faint of heart. They fought and clawed their way. They won't go easy.
Looks good on harper. Hope Mulcair continues to grill him every day for the rest of this session. Best t.v. we've had in years.
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Mulcair has displayed a mastery of question period although Conservatives certainly presented him with a gold-plated opportunity. Is it too soon to prorogue the current session?
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