If Justice Gomery is tabling the Gomery Report, I will call what the Fraser Institute released today the Fraser report. I haven't had a chance to read anything but the Executive Summary so more on this later. Here are some highlights from the Executive Summary.
- At least 565 organizations and individuals are involved in the Sponsorship Program
- Almost all of them have a financial link to the Liberals
- Donated 40x more to the Liberals that other political parties
- Donated $3.9 million and received $7.4 million back
- Conflicts of interest in relationships with RCMP, the Privy Council and the Federal Government's two largest advertising firms
You would think all of this would be enough for the Liberals to want avoid anything to do with Sponsorship Programs. Think again.
...Heritage Minister Liza Frulla wants to start a new federal program to help festivals across Canada. The sponsorship program was abolished by Prime Minister Paul Martin in December 2003 after reports of mismanagement. Frulla says she has asked Finance Minister Ralph Goodale to allocate funding for festivals and other events across Canada. A spokesperson for the Canadian Festival Coalition says the cancellation of the sponsorship program cost Quebec organizations between 5 and 6 million dollars in 2005.
That's between 5 and 6 million dollars saved. And just think about how much of that could have been funneled.
