Martin paid piper

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Albertans should resist overtures by man who financed Grit outrages By PAUL JACKSON -- Calgary Sun

I'm told Shipping Tycoon Paul Martin is casting his nets across our province hoping to haul in some 'star' candidates to run under his Liberal mast come the next federal election.

Reliable sources -- and we all know who they are -- say Martin wants Alberta candidates who have:

(A)Prestige

(B)Principle

(C) Perspicacity

Forgive me if I chuckle.

For, personally, I have never become acquainted with any Alberta Liberal who had perhaps even one of these characteristics, never mind all three.

But note the disclaimer -- personally acquainted.

As you might guess, I'm not exactly welcomed with open arms in Liberal circles.

Perhaps such rare fish do exist, if so, send me their names and SIN numbers, and I will immediately send you my RRSPs now on deposit down at the Royal Bank as acknowledgement.

One can't truly see any individuals except the self-serving running for Martin in this province.

For despite Martin's carefully-crafted scenario to distance himself from Jean Chretien's reign -- pretending he had nothing to do with it -- look closely at his baggage:

He is the man who, as finance minister, carved up a huge slab of our community's tradition, and gutted a sizable segment of our economy, when he closed down CFB Calgary.

Martin did this not for economic reasons -- or for military efficiency -- but simply to help Health Minister Anne McLellan maintain her Edmonton riding for his party.

That's where our soldiers, their wives and children, were unceremoniously shipped en masse.

Now, what respectable Calgarian can honour a man who did this to our city?

The dreadful state of our entire military today is largely of Martin's doing.

He had barely time to warm his rear-end on the finance minister's chair when he hacked the military budget down by 25% -- and its manpower by roughly the same percentage, too.

Can we trust the same man who so drastically downsized our military to rebuild it in these dangerous times?

He is also the individual who downsized health care spending and tossed the costs onto the provincial governments.

When the provinces, particularly Alberta, tried to cope with the loss of funds by reforming their health-care systems, the likes of Chretien, Martin, Rock and McLellan, cried foul.

What hypocrisy.

Martin, as I have often observed, has never walked away in disgust from any of the scandals in Jean Chretien's budget.

To this, some reply he wasn't part of those scandals.

Oh, no?

He provided the cash for those who cut the cheques for Human Resources Minister Jane Stewart's bogus $1 billion job-creation scheme.

He provided the cash for those who cut the cheques for Industry Minister Allan Rock's phoney $1 billion gun registry.

He provided the cash for those who cut the cheques for 101 other scandalous wastes of the taxpayers' money that have been revealed by former auditor-general Denis Desautels and current Auditor-General Sheila Fraser.

Recall the adage: He who pays the piper calls the tune.

If Martin had refused to provide the funds for all this endeavours the taxpayer would have been saved billions of dollars.

One can't deny Martin has substantial financial acumen -- his company, Canadian Steamship Lines is a true success story -- but he hasn't shown the same acumen in the guardianship of the taxpayers' money.

While on the topic of the auditor-general, the Liberals are now scurrying trying to prevent a new wide-ranging devastating report from Fraser being made public.

That report will not only further erode Chretien's credibility -- not that he has much credibility left -- but indirectly emphasize Martin's own lackadaisical attitude to his government's reckless spending.

One could go on and on exposing the PR ruse that Martin represents a new direction for Canada.

Truth is, he has spent the past decade happily setting its current direction as Chretien's most senior cabinet minister.

So, when some Liberal candidate in Alberta walks up to you and asks you for your vote, just walk straight on past.

You'll still be able to hold your head high that way.

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