Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Thursday, June 09, 2011

Auditor blasts lack of transparency in doling out generous G8 funds

The Conservatives hid their true intentions from Parliament when they funneled $50-million in discretionary spending in the riding of Treasury Board President Tony Clement and shielded the spending from normal checks and balances.

In her final report to Parliament, Auditor-General Sheila Fraser comes down hard on the so-called G8 Legacy Infrastructure Fund, saying the “government was not being transparent about its purpose” as its obtained approval for the funding.

The controversial program was 10 times more generous than similar initiatives tied to previous summits of world leaders in Alberta and Quebec. While $50-million in federal funds were disbursed in Mr. Clement’s riding and surrounding areas, there was not a single civil servant involved in approving the 32 projects. As such, normal rules applying to such federal spending, designed to guarantee transparency and accountability, were not followed.

Full Article
Source: Globe & Mail 

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