The Gang That Couldn't Spend Straight
 

Winston Churchill is reported to have said, "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others." Well, it seems Canadians must be "blessed" with one of the most functional democracies in the world as we are now going into our second election in 18 months since the failure of Paul Martin's Liberals to maintain the confidence of parliament with a minority of votes.

I don't know if it's a product of being a democracy or just the inevitable outcome of being Canadian, but we sure don't seem to have a crop of winners to choose from. Just take for example the (G)liberals (please, take them). Labelled the "Natural Governing Party" by no less a wit than "Dr. Foth," Allan Fotheringham, they are our version of Mexico's PRI. Like a bad cough, we just can't seem to shake these guys.

Since 1991 we've had the seemingly incompatible phenomena of rampant misappropriation of taxpayers dollars, while at the same time experiencing a dramatic turnaround in our nations finances. After the downfall of the corruption-tinged Conservative Government of Brian Mulroney (does anyone remember the Sinclair Stevens affair?), we witnessed the resurrection of yet another crony from the bygone Trudeau era who just happened to have the initials J.C. Not to be confused with the genuine article, Jean Chretien's misguided attempts at being Canada's savior landed us in one of the biggest scandals in our maple-leafed history. Ironically, J.C. acheived in completely unintended fashion that which he purported to be trying to accomplish in the first place with his notorious ad campaign: he has managed to unify every part of the country with disgust.

It certainly wasn't just his manglished malapropisms that kept Chretien in the headlines either. Every time he brandished his ill-informed understanding of world affairs, he really made us wonder if he'd lost his all of his marbles. Then there was the way he clung to power with a maniacal intensity that would have done Napoleon proud.

Throughout all this, the man who was hired to keep his eye on taxpayer's dollars, the dithering Paul Martin, kept a steady gaze on the sidelines as we witnessed one major fiasco after another:

1. The HRDC Affair - a.k.a. Jane Stewarts 2.0 billion dollar shopping spree.

2. The Gun Registry Disaster - a simple database project that was only supposed to cost $1 million ended up costing over a thousand times that.

3. The Ad Scandal - only a few hundred million vacuumed from taxpayers pockets in the name of national unity.

How much of this latest heist actually ended up in Liberal coffers we may never know. One thing for sure is, they have no intention of giving the money back.

So, how could one of the world's greatest democracies have ended up with such a milieu of mediocrity when we have arguably one of the worlds best-educated and affluent populations? Well, apathy is probably as good an explanation as any. When you can only get a little over a third of your people out to vote, it kind of says something, doesn't it?

The other thing driving this country to the dogs is the sense of entitlement that the centrally cloistered ruling elites use to accentuate their grip on power. This arrogance of the Liberal party's assumption that they have a monopoly on "being true Canadians" is not only hypocritical, but also infused with a conceit that is, by it's very assumption, a totally "un-Canadian" value.

Beyond the organization itself, all you have to do is look at the leadership to see how they have managed to become disconnected with the working class in this country. Here we have the leader of the Liberal party born into a life of class and privilege, the son of another senior Liberal cabinet minister from bygone years and the owner of the world's largest fleet of self-unloading bulk ships. Actually, I guess that last detail needs a little clarification. Mr. Martin doesn't actually "own" Canada Steamship Lines. He passed that off to his son in a not-too-subtle attempt at keeping the assets within his family while meeting the technical legalities for holding the highest public office in the land. And, as for being Canadian, a substantial portion of CSL's assets are registered in tax-friendly nations where they don't gouge you quite so badly as they do here in Canuckistan.

Yes, Canada is one of the world's great democracies. And to prove it, we've consistently elected and experienced the government we deserve. I just keep wondering what we did wrong to deserve so much of it.