Expense exploits: Inquiry needed...

... by James W. Moir Jr.
Thu. Feb 18 - 4:54 AM










Recent revelations of immoral, outrageous and arguably illegal behaviour by our provincial legislators could be likened to a band of looters after a riot, smashing the store windows (read your bank account and my bank account) and running off with anything they can carry - including TVs, cameras, video recorders, generators, computers, espresso machines and even an electric fireplace! With rare exception, those we elected to office are committing appalling acts of decadence indicative of an abandonment of all of the moral and ethical principles we try to instil in our children.

In the face of these despicable acts, I call upon other non-political leaders within our society to stand up and demand a full-blown legal inquiry, wherein every last one of our current MLAs and a good many of their predecessors are subject to subpoenas and testimony under oath.

Given the pervasiveness of these exploits across all party lines and knowing that certain of these individuals are members of the Nova Scotia Bar Association, such an inquest must be led by a highly respected legal scholar from outside of Atlantic Canada.

We are being informed of a widespread malaise going back many years. No wonder our young people don't vote! It is obvious their skepticism, based on broken promises and hypocritical practices, is well founded.

Apologies, veiled excuses and displays of self-pity are not acceptable. Our children have a right to expect and deserve leadership by example, not a cesspool of greed. Different parties appeal to all of us with pleas for support based on ideological tenets - but once they assume office in Nova Scotia, it's simply take what you can while you can, and damn the consequences.

I am a Nova Scotian who cares deeply about the future of our province and the type of society I want my offspring to inherit. And I have been shamed into action by my nine-year-old granddaughter who heard about this travesty and said, "I'd stop paying my taxes!" When I asked my 38-year-old son-in-law what he proposed, he replied: "I would call up the militia to throw them out."

My 68-year-old wife Jan then asked the following question: "Whom do we turn to when even the leader of the party in power is caught participating in these same rackets?" I was at a loss for words. But upon further reflecting on our premier's subsequent lack of distinctive action - pathetically turning all of these matters over to third parties for future advice as to what to do - I told her I was convinced that he lacks the decisive leadership characteristics required for this job and, therefore, he has no option but to resign.

Carpenters, lobstermen, truck drivers, plant workers, mothers and fathers, tens of thousands of us all across Nova Scotia know exactly what has to be done. Stop it immediately. Make heads roll. Seize all those ill-gotten goods as evidence of highway robbery and demand that every cent of the money is put back in the till. We do not need another consultant to define the meanings of "honesty" and "real leadership."

On Feb. 13, Darrell Dexter said, "There is no need for an inquiry into the questionable spending." Shocking? It is downright frightening! Two days later, because the heat had been turned up, he defensively told reporters, "I'm not the premier who presided over the set-up of the system, but I will be the premier who will end it." Where was he before? Why did he not do the principled thing when he became premier? Not only did he fail to do this, he was a participant.

And it was not Mr. Dexter who blew the lid off this tinderbox; it was the auditor general and then the media.

Any chief executive officer in the private sector caught acting in this fashion would have been dismissed immediately by his or her board of directors.

No one who turns a blind eye to such activities commands respect from those he pretends to lead and, in our case, serve. The premier should step down and allow one of the few MLAs who resisted these temptations to function as our interim leader - followed by an election after the inquiry.

MLAs have been described by many citizens as having violated their fiduciary duty to those who elected them; still more have characterized their activities as bordering on outright theft. As for these allegations, a court of law ought to be the judge, but I suspect one would be hard pressed to find a jury in Nova Scotia that hasn't convicted them in their minds already.

There are laws pertaining to the attainment of goods under false pretences and to prevent the falsifying of expense accounts. Tax evasion is forbidden. There are laws that deal with honouring "a duty of care," and the law is crystal clear when it comes to a "breach of trust." Those who are in a fiduciary position are strictly prohibited from using their position to reap a personal gain or engaging in self-dealing. In other words, using their position to confer a benefit on themselves is illegal, as this constitutes a breach of the fiduciary relationship.

Nor may a fiduciary confer a benefit on a relative, as appears to have happened at least two times during this recent scandal. It is our right to know if these laws have been broken, as determined by a strictly independent tribunal.

The individuals who have committed these acts have humiliated us on a national scale. Should we now bury our heads in the sand and allow such persons to decide their own fate, walk away with no consequences, and stay in their current positions, we might as well abandon all hope of building a culture of integrity or a society deserving the respect of our offspring, who now view us with contempt.

I no longer blame them. If this is to be the legacy we leave the next generation, I will join their ranks and "never vote again."

James W. Moir Jr. is a retired investment banker and business executive who lives in Lunenburg County. (Read about James W. Moir Jr. )

Scandal, Nova Scotia taxpayers ...

...being robbed with a briefcase, the get away car, is a political party




To some extent the people of Nova Scotia ARE responsible for this sorry state of affairs. The people of Nova Scotia are not too bright. In fact they continue to be gullible … trusting one political party after another to provide honesty and transparency in government when history indicates systemic addictions to a negative dynamic.

This latest go round in provincial politics is no exception ... when elements of the population made the great mistake of exchanging one group of thieves and liars for what they were given to believe would be a new deal from Darrell Dexter’s New Democrats.
If Darrell Dexter and his band of Merry Misfits are so concerned about changing things for the better in Nova Scotia finances, there are a number of things he can do, give us back what you picked out of our pockets.

Dexter should be forced out of the party, and the other elected light fingered Houdini’s should resign. The Auditor General has no other choice but to re-open this audit, and together with the RCMP criminal fraud division and at least two outside auditing firms. All documents related to their expense accounts and all other monies that were just handed over to these MLA’s which did not require receipts must be investigated. And I would suggest that Revenue Canada be called in, to see just how much of this free money was not claimed on “their” income tax.
Here we have children going hungry, seniors going without food, heat or medication because they cannot afford one or the other.

It is a safe bet, judging by the way they treat out taxes, they also treat many, many people who try to communicate or set up a meeting with them, I know how they have treated me and I will no-longer support a political system that is geared to ignore me and abuse me, just because I am not one who flies in their circles of high flying political friends or am a lawyer.

You know, we never heard one word out of the NSGEU or the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour about this, you know why? Because “they” helped their buddy Darrell win the NDP leadership race.

I hope that Nova Scotian’s take a lesson from this, I hope that they stay away from the ballot box on election day and please ignore those in the media whose only claim to fame is that “we must vote “, because that is our only way to correct the system. Really, then why are we all where we are today, if voting one crook out worked. It doesn’t, it never will as long as the candidate is controlled by the party. And please, the next time a candidate knocks on your door, ask what his profession is, and if he says he or she is a lawyer.... run, run away fast and hard, while keeping your hand on your wallet.

Cheers Wayne Coady and Happy Valentines

Nova Scotia Scandal ....

...understand now what is happening yet, within the internal economy board.

Nova Scotia Finance Minister, Graham Steal, said in a recent statement: “We of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party regret that some of our members (including Premier Darrell Dexter) have been caught buying stuff and using taxpayers’ hard earned dollars for our personal pleasure. We intend to work doubly hard to win back your trust and confidence as we sharpen our pencils in preparation for our first budget.”


For the first time, in a long time, we at Deep Throat Cove have been proven wrong. In various pieces we tacitly agreed that Nova Scotia’s New Democrats deserved a shot at governing the province because they could be no worse than the others and it would take them at least four years to learn to steal. These canny devils proved they are just as adept as the CONservatives and Liberals at stealing and lying … and, to think they accomplished this in less than one year.



AMAZING! But not surprising when you consider they have been understudying some of the more accomplished thieves and liars who have populated both of the parties that have been “government” in Nova Scotia in the past.

Premier Dexter, all flushed and contrite as he apologized to the people, has sort of alluded to some kind of “oversight board” thingy (didn’t he?) as he mentioned that Art Donahoe (another f****ing lawyer and ex-CONservative “government” member ) is looking into ways of making the system appear more transparent and open in the future and ensuring those who decide to steal are not so easily caught. Donahoe is the same parasite (objective third party) who championed the last round of big raises for MLA’s. How much are we expected to shell out to Art Donahoe for this latest job?

Why are WE paying the big salaries and allowances out to MLA’s if they are incapable of formatting proper rules and regulations? They are NOT doing the job. They are not LEADERS. They have proven to be no better than common criminals who flaunt laws and betray us all. Everyone of them should be up on charges ... as the rest of us would be.

This question came up in conversation recently with a few of the abused taxpayers of this province: “If governments/ governing political parties can have internal economy boards then, why can't the provinces or the nation? “

The answers that came up boiled down to this as we discussed some sort of oversight
committee that could ride herd on governments and their members who steal public monies and abuse the public trust … as has been the norm in Nova Scotia forever.

The conclusion is a frightening prospect, but might become necessary when those we elect resort to tyranny in the form of dictatorial rule.

There's no reason why they couldn't. That said, how would you define such a board, what would be their mandate ... and most important, what power would they have?

Ideally, such an organization would be composed of interested citizens ... with the power to arrest politicians and bureaucrats who commit theft or breach of trust and abuse power. They would be picked at random (like a jury)to serve a defined term of two years.

At present, in Nova Scotia, those roles are performed, to some (selective) degree by The Speaker of the House ( basically, another of the "old boys") or the Inspector General ( again, one of the boys, or certainly a friend sympathetic to the government in power that names him. This method of doing things has been one of the (traditional) weak links in a system that allows and contributes to the resultant problems we are witnessing today.

And, let's say those thieving politicians were charged with common theft under the Federal Criminal Code ... what are the odds that a protracted trial will yield a conviction? ... when you consider that judges, at all levels in this country, come out of the same milieu as all political appointments within the various levels of government.

The same good old boys and elitist's club that have provided and controlled who we get to vote for since forever.

Those judges, of course, come out of the pool of practicing lawyers, who, in the majority of cases form the cadre of “movers and shakers” within all political parties.

This is why, you will find upon close examination, it is damned near impossible to break these bastards and bring them to account.

The only way to effect real transparency, when politicians and bureaucrats simply cover up and deny taxpayers details of what THEY are doing, then, becomes revolt, insurrection ... a clash of one force against the other.

The problem here then becomes a question of who is right. Those in power ( government) can say the insurrectionists have broken the law(s) (THEY wrote) because they are forcibly demanding answers that have been denied ... even though their fight may be moral and righteous ... while the people in power will surely back up their position with a selective interpretation of those laws that favor their position, right or wrongly ... and all enforced with police, armies and courts that can eviscerate you and your arguments ... all nice and legal. Always legal.

To me, it's coming down to the law of the jungle ... if I have no food and you do (I'm bigger than you, or I have a gun ... or hired guns like the government) I will take your food and kill you if you try to stop me. That's how Royalty evolved.

All of the other niceties are now just bullshit that was conjured up over the years to make the masses feel they were participants and had a voice in determining how they were governed (voting) ... after all, you cannot complain about something "your" government has done to you if it was you who put them in their position of power ....right?

At last, it has finally come to pass, that when you VOTE ... you will literally " go f**k yourself " That’s the power in your vote. YOU get to Pick the DICtator you prefer for the next four years.

That’s exactly all you are doing … because your lousy little vote is worth nothing more.
Those who populate governments and engineer the elections that allow politicians to steal from you only want your vote to validate the system that THEY have set up to screw you.
Joseph Stalin did it. Idi Amin did it. Robert Mugabe is still doing it. There are others you can name, I'm sure.

There is no reason to BELIEVE or TRUST anymore … in organized religions, governments and politicians, police (RCMP for sure) as our civilization slips back into a scenario straight out of the Middle Ages.


What if they held an election and NOBODY came?

Audit finds inappropriate MLA spending...

...SO, WHAT ELSE IS NEW?


Here is a video whereby the citizen took control and started on cleaning up "their" dirty system...maybe a lesson we should consider.




But , of course, this was all a mistake. The politicians you elected apparently don't know their respective arses from a blank cheque. The only faux pas is they were caught ... by a reluctant Auditor General who really doesn't want to cast aspersions on his friends.

Regardless of party, these guys all cover each other's asses. "Cosa Nostra", translates into "our thing" ... and that is precisely what a collection of elites have going down on Hollis Street.

They got caught ... this time. So, when the next election comes around, YOU won't have to support any of the political parties with your dollars or your time ... they have been helping themselves.

HAVE YOU LEARNED ANYTHING YET, NOVA SCOTIA?

POLITICS ... IT'S OUR BIGGEST GROWTH INDUSTRY!


Nova Scotia's auditor general slammed the province's expense system Wednesday and said several politicians had filed "excessive and unreasonable" claims, in part because of inadequate spending controls.

In his 142-page report, Jacques Lapointe concluded inappropriate claims were made by some politicians for personal items, including almost $8,000 spent on a generator that was installed in a politician's home.