Geoff Robins/AFP/Getty Images: Brian Mulroney’s performance before the Commons ethics committee may have been masterful but the truth is still out there.
OTTAWA — Libeled, blackmailed, the subject of journalistic vendettas and attempted extortion, Brian Mulroney wanted to market himself as a victim who suffered his own “near-death experience” from perennial Airbus allegations. But he knew it wouldn’t wash in a country where Mulroney polls as Canada’s most untrustworthy former prime minister. So he went contrite for four hours as a humble witness on the Parliament Hill he ruled as prime minister for nine years.
Source: National Post
We have been following the Brian Mulroney Affair with great interest. We know that Adrian H has been as well because he emailed us this interesting article a few weeks ago. For those of you who are in the dark on the issue, here is the deal in a nutshell. Former Prime Minister of Canada is being accused of accepting about $300,000 dollars in 1994 from German arms dealer Mr. Karlheinz Schreiber, who has a very murky reputation. The money was given to him in cash in an envelope which Mulroney is reported to have deposited in safety deposit boxes. The money was paid to Mulroney with the expectation from the arms dealer that he would have used his relationships with world leaders to encourage them to buy light armour vehicles from his company. Where the issue has raised questions about former Prime Minister Mulroney’s ethical behaviour stems from the fact that he declared the $300, 000 on his tax returns six years after receiving the money. Why is the six year period important? It coincided with the arrest of the arms dealer Mr. Karlheinz Schreiber in 1999.
Why is this story relevant?
What is the parallel we can make to what is happening in Barbados?
Successive Barbados governments have used the information dished out by international rating agencies which have historically describe Barbados as one of the least corrupt countries in the world. We have no problem with successive governments deriving comfort from such a situation. Like Barbados, Canada has also enjoyed a similar reputation:
According to Transparency International, an anti-corruption activist group, Canada is seen as one of the least venal countries on the planet, ranked ninth cleanest alongside Norway. Yet its politicians have seen accusations of skulduggery.
Source: Economist
It is interesting to note that the Ethics Committee charged with investigating the Mulroney Affair is being taken very seriously by all parties concerned in Canada. When juxtaposed to how our system of government is handling the Hardwood/Mascoll Affair and others, there is an obvious gap. No doubt politics will always play a part in issues of this nature, but the governance structures in place should seek to separate the fact from fiction. Although it is early days into the investigation of the Mulroney Affair it already appears to Canadians that Mulroney made a bad decision which will besmirch his legacy. Why you may ask? The media in Canada is all over the story and even if the verdict of the Ethics Committee finds that Mulroney did nothing wrong there is the weight of court of public opinion which Mulroney will have to deal with when the dust has settled.
Barbadians, ordinary citizens and policymakers alike should take note of how the Mulroney Affair develops. There are important lessons to be learned here.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.