Not one occupant of the Chateau by the Rideau ….. and a brief message to Toronto Mayor Ford

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Here’s the bottom line on the parliamentary expense spending issue. While the word “scandal” has been tossed about in media and among Canadians concerning the expense spending mess, questions, audit, gifts, add your own description, there are two real scandals in play. One is the rule which permits MPs and senators to bill taxpayers for their expenses without being fully and publicly accountable. The other, and this one screams for attention, is that not one member of parliament or occupant of the senate feels sufficiently embarrassed over the current mess to publicly state it is time to change the rules on reporting of expense money spending. Not one elected or unelected occupant of the Chateau by the Rideau feels a real sense of obligation to the people of Canada. Otherwise the call for a full public accountability of where each expense dollar is directed would be coming from within the ranks of MPs and senators.

Have you heard such a call? Have you heard a demand that you, I or any other Canadian should have the instant opportunity to online review all expense spending by each member of parliament and the senate? What does that suggest to you? I’ll share with you what it suggests to me. They do not believe the funders of these expense accounts, the taxpayers of Canada have any business knowing where each of them directs their spending.

Last weekend on the show a British MP, Tom Harris, spoke at length about the MP and House of Lords expense spending revelations in the U.K. in 2009. In that instance several MPs and at least one member of the HOL were imprisoned. Others were required to pay back significant amounts of money.

My friend Linda Leatherdale on air calls them “the fools on the hill.” I’m going to suggest that unless Canadians demand full and public accountability as far as expense spending by federal politicians is concerned, the fools will be the rest of us.

As far as Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is concerned, Mr. Mayor, you must break your silence. Not should break your silence, but must break it. “Ridiculous” and suggesting a Toronto Star driven agenda is behind your current challenge and the video which purports to show you smoking crack cocaine might have been understandable in the first day or two since Gawker broke this story. Now, a week later, you must be clear and speak to your constituents. You asked for their support in your campaign for Mayor. You owe them and all Torontonians a clear and unequivocal accounting.

PM’s Chief of Staff resigns, What happens to Duffy now, why is Gawker having difficulty raising $200k and what’s on today’s show

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For this Sunday, the big story is the resignation of Nigel Wright, Chief of Staff at the PMO. That was always going to happen, given the headlines surrounding Mr. Wright’s gift of $90,000+ to Mike Duffy. You can bet Duffy now has zero chance of re-entering the Conservative caucus and pressure will be huge on him to resign from the senate. Possibly ditto Pamela Wallin and I suspect Patrick Brazeau. The Liberals have their own issues with Mac Harb.
We’ll cover out of the gate with NDP ethics critic and member of parliament Charlie Angus and Michelle Simson who returns to the show. Michelle is the one who had the ethics to post all her expense spending online and you know from what she’s told us that she was punished by the Liberal Party and shunned by many (most/all) other MPs for informing Canadians openly of her expense spending.

There’s only one way for the Conservatives, or for that matter other parties to reassure Canadians this expense spending mess will be properly addressed and that is to introduce and pass legislation which makes it mandatory all expense spending is available online. MPs and Senators. Works for the Alberta government Gregory Thomas of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation told us on air yesterday.

interest continues of course in the Rob Ford story. His brother and Toronto city councillor Doug Ford told us yesterday that he will be speaking to the Mayor’s issue on Tuesday and informed us he has never seen his brother around cocaine.
Now as far as Gawker trying to raise $200,000 by crowdfunding online is concerned, many media are reporting what they seem to suggest is succes by Gawker to be up to $55,000 or so. I would consider that to be a failure. If you’ve been trying to raise that $200,000 for two days and with huge international coverage and you only manage a quarter of that, it speaks to something. Maybe young parents with worries about their kids being exposed to drugs can’t see themselves directing money which would go into the pockets of illegal drug dealers in order to obtain a video reported to be of Mayor Ford maybe smoking crack cocaine. Anyway, $55,000 or so after two days online with huge coverage is not a success story for Gawker.

1.8 million views…and 640,000 in one day! That’s the tally for Texas high school student Jeff Bliss’ video of his verbal challenge of his high school teacher and the education system. Last Sunday we played the clip of Jeff Bliss’ rant in-class and heard your reaction. It was mixed. Later in the show we caught up with Jeff and I spoke to him about what he did and why. To me Jeff came across as a very intelligent, well spoken, passionate about education young man. I liked him and I liked that he cared about not only he, but also his generation receiving a proper education. Much of what he said also applies to what we’ve talked about on air re Canadian public school education. So, today I’ll play back the interview with Jeff Bliss, talk to Manitoba high school teacher Michael Zwaagstra (MichaelZwaagstra.com) who heard the original interview and take your calls.

Barack Obama is facing scandals in Washington, but it’s not affecting his poll numbers it appears, although Bob Woodward says the scandals are “not yet” Obama’s Watergate moment, but could they become that? Jonathan Easley of The Hill in Washington joins us.

Domestic violence. Today though it’s domestic violence involving women being violent toward their male partners or husbands. Barbara Kay of the National Post joins us, as will Hamilton criminal lawyer Jeff Manishen. Do police and does Canada’s justice system treat men who are victims of domestic violence from their female partners indifferently? A few weeks ago Earl Silverman who ran Canada’s only shelter for male victims of domestic violence committed suicide. He had never received any funding for his shelter (his own home) and in his suicide note Earl Silverman lamented the indifference he felt he encountered from the justice system.

And finally, it’s going to be movie reviews with Chris Bumbray (Joblo.com). Today Chris shares his thoughts on Star Trek Into Darkness and The Great Gatsby.

Follow me on Twitter @theroygreenshow

What a week in Canadian politics and what’s on today’s show. May 19

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What a week in Canadian politics and what a week for taxpayer dollar spending accountibility. Senators Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin quit the Conservative Party caucus over expense claims issues, although Duffy’s situation is clearly more complex, given the involvement of the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff. We can only imagine how animated things were at the PMO this week.

Is there now any acceptable reason for members of parliament and senators to continue to refuse to fully and publicly disclose their expense speending? Former Liberal MP Michelle Simson is seething over the issue and she joins the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayer’s Federation Gregory Thomas. Michelle Simson, as many know, was punished by the Liberal party and became something of a parian in parliament because she posted all her expense spending on her website. Shouldn’t they all be required to do so now? Isn’t that the quickest way for MPs and senators to come out from under a cloud of national public suspicion? We’ll certainly be including your calls.

In the U.K. several MPs went to prison following fraudulent expense spending revelations in ’08 and ’09. This week British member of parliament Tom Harris lashed out in a column in the London Telegraph, the newspaper which broke the British political spending scandal. Mr. Harris’ column is titled “Corrupt? No. So why are we MPs victims of such outrageous public abuse?” Mr. Harris will join us from Britain and I’ll take your calls.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s latest challenge is the reported (and viewed by Toronto Star reporters) video supposedly filmed by drug dealers showing the Mayor doing what appears to be smoking crack cocaine. I spoke yesterday with Ford ally and deputy Mayor of Toronto Doug Holyday. We’ll play back the interview and hear what the deputy Mayor has to say to Mayor Ford and his attackers. We’ll open the lines here too.

And all of the above, as well as being pursued unfairly by a collection agency in our Beauties and the Beast hour with Linda Leatherdale, independent business journalist (lindaleatherdale.com), Catherine Swift, Chair, Canadian Federation of Independent Business (cfib.ca) and me. Linda has a current story to relate about unfounded collection agency pursuit of her husband. Has to do with their former insurance company.

Follow me on Twitter @theroygreenshow