It’s not related to economic development – or is it? I guess the Airbus affair was an economic development file – Mulroney says the secret bank account named ‘Breton’ was because the project was slated for Cape Breton.
Anyway I feel kind of bad for the former PM. Once again we walk away not knowing if he is innocent or guilty so for people like me his legacy is stuck in some form of limbo. Was he a corrupt politician that took bribes and illegally peddled influence? Or was he a decent, honourable man who was doing some legitimate consulting work (and getting paid, by his own admission, in cash)?
One of the ironies here is that Mulroney went on to become a very wealthy guy through his post politics business career. I remember a front page article – I think it was MacLeans – proclaiming him the most powerful man in Canada – not as a politician but as a business leader.
I think most of us don’t like to think there may be corruption in our politics because in a way it is a reflection of ourselves. But the sponsorship scandal and other lesser events have proven than politics and corruption are never really far apart.
I hope that somehow we get closure on the Mulroney affair.
Good post, David. Just to be fair to Mulroney, he didn’t take public money. Plus, in regards to the tax questions, thousands of Canadians make deals with Canada Revenue Agency to pay only a portion of the taxes due in a particular case, especially when it’s a case of self-disclosure. Although, he admit to the fact that it wasn’t the type of transaction a former Prime Minister should have engaged in (a lot better in my mind then the condescending golf ball display we got from Chretien over allegations of millions of lost taxpayers dollars).
Other then that, I can see why many taxpayers are howling at the fact that millions were spent in legal feed only to find that, once again, all these unfounded allegations lead to dead end.
Hopefully now that this 16 year CBC vendetta is over, they will set their sights on unearthing useless allegations regarding Chretien and ad scam. I won’t hold my breath though. 😉