Tories under attack over bombshell G8 spending report (Canada)

[marmar]

from the Toronto Star:




OTTAWA—An explosive report suggesting the Conservative government misinformed Parliament about wasteful G8 summit spending has put leader Stephen Harper on the defensive as he heads into crucial election debates.

Just as the mid-campaign revelation of an RCMP investigation into leaks of income trust tax changes derailed the Liberals in 2006, the story has the potential to destabilize the Harper campaign.

The Conservatives awoke Monday to a story by The Canadian Press based on a reading of a draft report by Auditor General Sheila Fraser telling a tale of federal largesse and deception.

.....(snip).....

Now comes word that Fraser concluded the Harper government misinformed Parliament, and skirted legal guidelines to approve the flow of $50 million into the G8 Legacy Infrastructure Fund. That fund lavished money on dubious projects in a riding held by Conservative cabinet minister Tony Clement (Parry Sound—Muskoka). ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/972725--tories-under-attack-over-bombshell-g8-spending-report?bn=1

[Canuckistanian]

1. Bad news for Harper

But I couldn't be happier.

[Pab Sungenis]

2. I had a sneaking suspicion.

Ignatieff and Layton had been laying low for so long, giving the Tories a pass on budget after budget since the whole "coalition" nonsense that when they threw out the government over the whole "contempt" issue (especially while the polls were showing a Tory win if an election was called) that something was in the pipeline.

The question is: will this be enough to put the Liberals ahead of the Tories in seats for a Liberal minority government?