The federal Conservative Party is in a heap of trouble over allegations of allocating partisan stimulus funding again after somebody looked at a month-old photograph of Nova Scotia MP Gerald Keddy handing out a big cheque, and noticed that it had a big Conservative logo on it. The facts look pretty open-and-shut here. Federal laws make it clear that the government has to distribute funding and make announcements in a nonpartisan way, which means the big logo is a big no-no.
Gerald Keddy says it was a mistake and that the sign wasn’t his idea:
“I didn’t order it, it wasn’t me. I’m not sure how that happened.”
First rule of leadership: it’s always your fault. Buck passing should only be encouraged in philanthropy and hunting.
But I digress. Let’s assume it was an honest mistake. It doesn’t make the allegations that have been levied at the government for quite some time that they’re playing favouritism and politics with the stimulus any better. It’s not going to erode the perception that the Conservatives are using the stimulus funds as an opportunity to increase the profile of their party and their elected representatives in office.
The “perception” of more money being spent in Conservative ridings isn’t necessarily a matter of perspective either. One would naturally assume that more money would be spent in Conservative ridings, as there are more ridings belonging to that party than any other. However, in Nova Scotia three Conservative ridings have received $162 million more than all eight other ridings put together, with Defence Minister Peter MacKay’s riding of Central Nova getting the most money.
There’s an argument that can be made that some ridings deserve the allocation of stimulus funds more than others, so it isn’t simply a matter of comparing these ridings and expecting equal portions distributed across Canada. The federal Equalization program is inherently unequal in this regard; more money goes to the province with the larger population. The federal Employment Insurance program, on the other hand, rates regional employment levels in order to hand out money. So there are times when it does matter where you live in Canada in order to receive money that, arguably, all Canadians need.
The National Conservative caucus chair and MP Guy Lauzon has dismissed the claims by Toronto MP Gerrard Kennedy, who says that Conservative ridings have received on average $3-4 million more under the communities component of the Building Canada Fund. Mr.Lauzon said that the Liberals are merely trying to create controversy where none exists, and that funding eligibility is dependent on municipal funding requests.
That may be so. But here’s a tip for the Conservative Party: try not to have any more giant Conservative logos on giant stimulus cheques if you want to maintain the faith that these figures are mere coincidences.
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