Happy Labour Day to all. Canadian accountability news today is thin. In one interesting story, however, it appears that the government of British Columbia is suing Transport Canada for failing to do its due diligence with a hot air balloon operator. This, the province argues, was directly linked to a 2007 crash that killed two and seriously injured others. The province, it appears, wants to recover heath care cost. I think this is a great development as it will force some accountability onto a department which has been shockingly negligent and unaccountable for years.
In Quebec, former Justice Minister Marc Bellemare is counter-suing the province’s Premier, Jean Charest. Charest is suing because of over Bellemare’s allegations of corrupt provincial judicial appointments.
In international news, one commentator out of Australia believes that Julian Assange of Wikileaks has set himself up for a fall. He’s done this, the argument goes, by embarrassing the U.S. government (and especially the Pentagon and the CIA) and by making himself a visible target. The suggestion is that the sexual assault charges Assange faces in Sweden are not legitimate and are just the start of a campaign against him. The underlying message is for whistleblowers and those who help them to stay as anonymous as possible.
In the U.S., the Pentagon’s audit branch is being accused of negligence and complicity with contractors. Apparently there was a backlog of audits about 20 years ago, which was resolved by rubber-stamping rather than increasing staffing. It’s a tried and true tactic, one used here in Canada too. The federal Information Commissioner, for example, has had her budget squeezed even as complaints and problems in the system increase. As for the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner, she’s done more harm than good – which, of course, is exactly what her bosses want.
See you Thursday.
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B.C. Suing Federal Transport Ministry over Crash
Quebec Judicial Appointments Scandal
U.S. Pentagon Audit Agency Accused of Negligence and Complicity
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B.C. Suing Federal Transport Ministry over Crash
B.C. Sues Transport Canada Over Crash
AVWeb, September 5, 2010
Summary: The provincial government of British Columbia is suing Transport Canada, among others, to recover the cost of medical treatment for passengers injured in an horrific balloon accident in 2007.
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Quebec Judicial Appointments Scandal
Bellemare countersues Charest for $900,000
The Gazette (Montreal), September 3, 2010
Summary: The personal hostilities between Marc Bellemare and Premier Jean Charest escalated yet again yesterday as Bellemare filed a counter lawsuit against Charest that seeks $900,000 in damages.
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Comments on Wikileaks
Wikileaks: that sinking feeling
Australian Broadcasting Corporation website, September 5, 2010
Summary: Reading a recent lengthy and detailed Sydney Morning Herald article detailing the latest charges against Wikileaks frontman Julian Assange, I can only nod my head knowingly. This was always going to be the way things worked out. From the time last year when we all became aware of Assange, I felt a twinge of fear, an inner voice saying Something isn’t right here.
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U.S. Pentagon Audit Agency Accused of Negligence and Complicity
Pentagon Watchdog Misses Billion Dollar Audit
AlterNet, September 1, 2010
Summary: Whistleblowers charge that instead of actively pursuing fraud, DCAA management was obsessed with signing off on as many audits as possible in the shortest period of time.
