I am quite perplexed with people's lack of concern over Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's alleged indiscretions.
Trudeau and his wife indulged themselves with a lavish gift of a holiday on a billionaire's private island.
What's more, his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, arranged a trip there in March 2016 with a friend of hers as well as their children.
Meanwhile, the Trudeau government gave a foundation headed by the Aga Khan $55 million of taxpayers' money. The foundation works to eradicate poverty, hunger, illiteracy and ill health in South and Central Asia, Eastern and Western Africa, and the Middle East.
Is going on that holiday on that island not accepting a bribe? Am I the only one that has a problem with this? If these allegations are correct, this would seem to be corruption at the highest level.
I wrote to the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commission and got a prompt response with the following conclusion:
"For your information, the Conflict of Interest Act does not provide for any sanctions for contraventions found following an examination. The only direct result of an examination report is shedding light on the activity examined.
"The only penalties provided for in the Act are administrative monetary penalties, which the commissioner may impose on reporting public office holders who fail to meet certain reporting requirements of the Act. However, those penalties are not relevant in this case."
It also included the following:
"While the commissioner may, under the conflict of interest code for members of the House of Commons, recommend an appropriate sanction, the commissioner determined that Mr. Trudeau did not contravene the members' code."
Conclusion? The Conflict and Ethics Commission's answer is: no problem here.
I found this on the Prime Minister's website:
"Many Canadians choose to offer gifts to the Prime Minister and his family. These are kind and generous gestures. However, the Trudeau family believes that this goodwill would be better directed towards community, charity and family."
"Additionally, security regulations and the Federal Accountability Act passed in 2006, prevent and preclude the Prime Minister and his family from accepting many gifts. All monetary gifts and gift certificates will be returned to the sender.
"Some items, such as perishable goods, cannot be accepted for security reasons. Other items may be severely damaged, due to security screening processes. We would be very disappointed to learn that any item of personal value was damaged as a result of these measures and ask that you refrain from sending those valuables."
Don't try and tell me Justin didn't know any better.
I am having a hard time finding the value in the office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commission.
To me, their response smells of corruption and political bias, right down to the timing of the release of the Trudeau report, when Parliament was not in session -- just before Christmas – how convenient.
In my view, this kind of conclusion by the commission will lead this country down the road to a socialist dictatorship with corruption to the highest degree.
Welcome to the USSR.
Jim Schulz
Olds
