Posted on 10/17/2005 2:55:51 PM PDT by Clive
OTTAWA (CP) - A spending scandal in the federal Fisheries Department has claimed two casualties.
Two civil servants have been fired, and others face disciplinary action for inappropriate activities, a spokesman for Fisheries Minister Geoff Regan said Tuesday. The minister declined to provide more details, citing privacy laws. "You should know that over the past year and a half there have been disciplinary actions taken, and in fact there have been cases where people have been fired for inappropriate expenses," he said.
A new audit at the department, first reported by The Canadian Press, found a litany of problems in hospitality and travel expenses, including exorbitant prices for airfare and travel claims with no evidence of any work having been done.
One staffer charged $6,000 in hotel bills and meals so he could be with his spouse for a birth.
Regan said the findings result from audits that were part of Prime Minister Paul Martin's overhaul of spending, and that improvements have been made.
"We are examining in detail the report that's been done and have tasked my officials to come back within a week," he said.
"Where appropriate, monies will be recovered and disciplinary will be taken but in fact this audit did not in fact indicate that any actions were fraudulently taken."
All expenses over $1,000 now are being examined, and there are spot checks of claims under $1,000, he said.
The problems at the Fisheries Department were the subject of fresh attacks in the Commons over spending and contracting irregularities.
Tory Leader Stephen Harper cited problems at Indian Affairs, where a contract this year stipulated that a consultant was to leave no paper trail.
"Why, nearly two years after the auditor general condemned this practice in the sponsorship scandal, does the government still award contracts with no proper audit paper trail?" he asked
"...and, buttermilk biscuits and black pepper.
Kiss mine!
...because they're Cornadians.
This GRIT loves her grits with butter and salt. Can't even imagine putting sugar on them....yuck! Yes, red-eye gravy is fabulous, but unfortunately, I haven't had that since I was a child and my mama used to make it.
Big plate of grits with fried eggs chopped up and all oozing in the grits, with crunchy bacon crumbled up and mixed in. Salt and pepper, and some butter.
Yeah baby!!
I like my grits with lots of extra sharp cheddar cheese, butter, salt and pepper. A finer breakfast one cannot find.
I had that with sausage for breakfast this past Saturday. mmm.....
Well, you asked so here it is: Canadian Minister is talking about pork; What can you get from pork? bacon. What goes with bacon? eggs. Whats served with eggs? Grits.
Whats = What's
NOT this Canadian. I DESPISE Socialism. I'm a Conservative through and through. What needs to happen is that the Conservatives in Ontario need to leave that sea of Liberals and come West. We in the West should SEPARATE from the rest of Canada. We have ALL of the resources necessary to function WITHOUT Ontario and Quebec. Since there will NEVER be proportional representation in this country we in the West will NEVER have a fair voting system. Central Canada including Quebec can rot.!!
Because they're not Whigs... Duhhhh! ;)
Yum! I'll be right over.
I think you mean "Swirled Peas and Hominy"
With Vancouver Sam you have East Vancouver which is an NDP stronghold. Then you have West Vancouver which is mostly Liberal. Then the outlying areas are Conservative. Victoria is also a mix. I live in Kelowna and it's a DEFINITE Conservative area. The thing that is happening to B.C. that burns my butt is the continual influx of retirees from the East. They bring their bloody liberal attitudes with them and they are diluting what used to be a Social Credit Province. All during the social credit years our business was by far the most lucrative. The govt. we have in B.c. right now is a real mixture. It's got Liberals, former Reformers, former Socreds, and Conservatives. Unfortunately, I have no use for Gordon Campbell. I wish they had ditched him after his Hawaii caper.
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