HARPER AND PATRONAGE:

NEW ARTICLE FROM THE 'HARPER INDEX':

The Harper Conservatives rode to power, at least in part, by harping on the corruption of the previous Liberal government with its numerous slush funds. Have the Tories been any better in power, particularly with Stevie's well established preference for secrecy in all things ?

Apparently not, as a recent article in the Harper Index points out. Last week the Conservative government mysteriously found a "second round" of funding dollars for the Canada summer jobs program after they began to take public heat over the fact that many of last years applicants were refused this year. The student summer jobs program is a long standing source of pork and control as applications have to be approved by local MPs. True to its usual tactics the federal government refused to disclose both the grant amounts or the number of successful and unsuccessful applications.

This culture of secrecy is widespread as the announcement of a leaked April memo from Heritage Minister Bev Oda to Conservative MPs made plain. The memo says that there is an undisclosed $30 million fund and that the MPs are to make recommendations as to organizations they think "worthy" of receiving said monies.

Go on over to the Harper Index via the above link to read more about this little glimpse into Conservative hypocrisy.