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"It's
not $100M" minister contends
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 (PoliticsWatch posted
February 20, 2004) OTTAWA
- Saying he wants everyone to "understand the truth," Treasury Board
President Reg Alcock is questioning the widely held contention that $100 million in sponsorship program funds were misappropriated to Quebec ad agencies in fees and commissions.
"It is not $100 million. It is some figure quite a bit less than that. The Auditor General herself is having difficulty figuring it out," said Alcock during question period.
Speaking later to reporters, Alcock denied that he was minimizing the size of the scandal and said it was still "damn serious."
But he said that the Auditor-General herself does not know how much of that $100 million was actually misspent.
In her report released last week, Auditor-General Sheila Fraser concluded that "over" $100
million of the $250 million sponsorship program went to "communication agencies as fees and commissions." She also said, "Public servants broke the rules in selecting communications agencies for the government's advertising activities."
"Most agencies were selected in a manner that did not meet the requirements of the government's contracting policy. In some cases, we could find no evidence that a selection process was conducted at all."
However, Alcock said that Fraser's findings are not conclusive that $100 million was misappropriated.
"There is some number between zero and $100 million that is at question here," he said.
Alcock likened the $100 million figure being used in this scandal to the HRDC "billion-dollar boondoggle" that was unearthed in 2000. Alcock cited a study by Queen's University that concluded that it was only $6,500 that was misspent.
"It sticks as the billion dollar boondoggle," Alcock noted.
Alcock's reference to the Queen's study was the second time in as many days that a Liberal MP made the connection. Yesterday, while Fraser appeared before the Common's Public Accounts Committee, Liberal MP Joe Jordan suggested the criticism of the program
has been blown out of "perspective" and cited the same Queen's study.
At times today, Alcock chastised some reporters for making reference to the $100 million figure and other reporting about the Auditor General's findings.
"I know it's complex. You should understand it so that when you're reporting things, you're reporting things accurately," he said.
He also told a veteran CBC News reporter to "Do me a little favour on the weekend: Read (Fraser's) report."
The Opposition accused Alcock of blatantly trying to minimize the extent of the scandal, which has caused the Liberal Party to fall 14 points in the polls in a matter of weeks.
"It's the Auditor-General who's said that $100 million of the $250 million program was fettered away in commissions and we know that there was no production value added for those commissions," said MP Jason Kenney.
"Now we hear Reg Alcock trying to deny the $100 million expense. I think it looks pretty pathetic.
"Paul Martin has come out and said that there was theft involved here, that it was shocking, it was unacceptable; and now they're changing their story and saying that it wasn't as bad as it looks."
Alcock also said the public anger over the scandal has peaked.
"All of sudden it's 'Yeah, you know it's bad, but Martin is taking the right track.' And all of a sudden the positives are coming out."
He said that the public is still angry about the scandal, but "they're not half as angry as I am."
And Alcock denied that the prime minister or members of the Liberal caucus were using spin in their handling of the crisis that has hit the government.
"If you're saying there's some sort of strategy, I don't quite know what you're talking about," he told one reporter. "I'm telling you I don't have this sense of strategy."
He described the prime minister as a different kind of no-spin politician who reporters were not used to covering.
"You guys are all used to dealing with old politicians. You're looking inside this for spin," he said. "You've never seen a politician or prime minister stand up as openly as this one does. So he's being criticized for not being an old-fashioned politician and spinning you."
Tory MP Peter MacKay scoffed at Alcock's argument that the spin machine wasn't in full operation on the Liberal side.
"Reg Alcock is like the Maytag repairman," he said. "This thing is spinning out of control is what's going on right now.
"He's come out and contradicted the Auditor-General herself saying the figure of $100 million itself might not be correct. So he's low-balling that figure, contradicting the Auditor-General who did an extensive investigation.
"We're just quoting accurately what she has said. And she has had scathing things to say about this particular program and the way in which this money was not accounted for."
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