John Manley uses the F-word

Mississauga Matt · Post by **Mississauga Matt** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 5:49 pm

Interesting story in my daily perusal of The National Post. There's some suspicion that John Manley has doltishly taken an all-expenses paid vacation courtesy of a special interest, this one being Big Beer (cue sinister sounds now). And in the fine fuddle-duddle traditional of PET, he apparently uttered the dreaded F-word when questioned about it.

Here’s an exerpt:

Then Yvan Loubier, Bloc MP for Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot, rose and asked Manley about a sailing trip he took with Sandy Morrison of the Brewers Association of Canada.

''Last week, the Minister stated that he paid for a sailing trip in the Caribbean with Sandy Morrison of the Brewers Association, whom he favoured in his budget to the detriment of microbreweries. He said he paid for the plane tickets. Can the Minister of Finance tell us how much he paid for this trip on a deluxe boat with his family?''

Manley looked like he'd been accused of verbal diarrhea. ''It's not his business. I can do whatever I want,'' he snapped petulantly. ''I can go on holidays with whoever I want.''

As he sat down, Opposition MPs allege he then mouthed the profanity. Speaker Peter Milliken professed not to have seen or heard anything amiss and somehow deemed that the issue did not concern the business of government.

Quite why Manley got so upset remains unclear. There is some history with Loubier over this issue and perhaps the Minister was simply fed up being grilled on a subject he thought he'd put to bed. The Bloc MP has in the past used Question Period as a platform to ask the Finance Minister why he did not reduce the excise tax on microbreweries, suggesting that the sailboat trip with Morrison was a reward for a decision that benefited the big brewers.

Manley claims Morrison is just a friend and that he paid his own way. But he has refused to reveal how much he paid and issued a bald ''no'' when asked by Tory MP Joe Clark whether he had submitted the record of payment with the ethics commissioner.

Even if he didn't mouth the offending phrase, Manley's transformation from hubris to humility was so stark that the Opposition's scandal radar will be blipping loudly. I doubt we have heard the last of this one.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Mississauga Matt on 2003-11-04 17:50 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Mississauga Matt on 2003-11-04 17:50 ]</font>

joey_capps · Post by **joey_capps** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 7:07 pm

One of our local Liberal MPs, Tony Valerie, who sits on the Commons Committee that oversees the brewering industry in Canada, accepted an all expense paid trip to the Super Bowl (not sure exactly which one) compliments of Labatts. Conflict of interest? Hmmmmmmm?

Joe

Rob Creighton · Post by **Rob Creighton** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 11:19 pm

Is it just my ridiculously simple beliefs or, if you are assigned the task of 'monitoring' an industry by the taxpayer, to accept any gratuity of any form is an immediate guilty plea to influence peddling and conflict of interest? There are no extenuating circumstances. It is corruption plain and simple and I'm sure the expensive education these morons received allow them to realize it.
I can see trade missions and industry tours but that is it.

JerCraigs · Post by **JerCraigs** » Wed Nov 05, 2003 8:43 am

I was reading Michael Moores book "Stupid White Men" a while back. In the states, damn near everyone in their cabinet (?) or a position of importance had a conflict of interest where they had strong ties in the industry, and in many cases still had stock in companies the were overseeing.

PRMason · Post by **PRMason** » Wed Nov 05, 2003 9:26 am

All governments become somewhat corrupt over time. Its simple inertia. When you've been in power for 10+ years ( with no visable end in sight) you naturally begin to loosen your belt and unbutton the top button of your pants so as to better drink from the trough. These latest outrages, as embarassing as they are, are not unexpected and will continue. Its just hubris.
As for me, I'm thinking of changing my brewery name to Bombardier in order to GUARANTEE a huge tax free loan (again), government aid in selling my products (again) and so I can get sued by Wells Brewery in England and have the Feds pay for my defense. If you can't beat 'em...

Andicus · Post by **Andicus** » Wed Nov 05, 2003 9:56 am

On 2003-11-05 09:26, PRMason wrote:

As for me, I'm thinking of changing my brewery name to Bombardier in order to GUARANTEE a huge tax free loan (again), government aid in selling my products (again) and so I can get sued by Wells Brewery in England and have the Feds pay for my defense. If you can't beat 'em...

Nice one Perry!

Rob Creighton · Post by **Rob Creighton** » Wed Nov 05, 2003 11:48 am

Perry, If your looking for a consultant to drive out any possibility of profit, I'm available.

PRMason · Post by **PRMason** » Wed Nov 05, 2003 9:36 pm

Thanks for the offer Rob, but I seem to be doing a great job at that myself.