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Home My WebLink AboutThe Times Advocate, 2004-02-18, Page 44 Exeter Times—Advocate Wednesday,February 18, 2004 zkxna =CNA Editorial Opinion n = MISIM TIMES ADVOCATE PUBLICATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER 07511 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing casts. Jim Beckett Publisher and Editor Deb Lord Production Manager &Published by Metroland Printing, rt Publishing & Distributing Ltd. Metroland 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850 Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 • (519) 235-1331 EDITORIALS Taxpayers deserve the truth That didn't last long, did it? The honeymoon peri- od for Prime Minister Paul Martin was broken in what may be record time last week when Auditor General Sheila Fraser revealed her report that discovered at least $100 million of public money went to Liberal -friendly advertising and public relations firms. The money was apparently used to promote the federalist cause in Quebec, although Fraser's report shows the money went to little or no good. Taxpayers who feel they were robbed by their govern- ment are justified in thinking so. This scandal is merely more evidence of the utter arrogance and cronyism of the federal Liberal party. Voters (and the incompetence of the opposition) have given the Liberals a free ride for more than a decade and the thanks they get for it is having their hard-earned money flushed down the toi- let. Depending on how you feel about Martin and his pre- decessor, Jean Chretien, will determine if you approve of Martin's reaction to the sponsorship scandal. The prime minister came out swinging in a press conference last week and, with guns blazing, deflected the blame towards the previous Liberal government. Martin went out of his way to say he believed Chretien is a man of "unquestionable integrity," but he also admitted for the first time publicly the two have a strained personal relationship. Of course, it's the worst -kept secret in Ottawa the two men can't stand each other. Martin has said anyone involved in the scandal will be held accountable: in short, heads will roll, including his own, and that's how it should be. It seems hard to believe Martin knew nothing about the misdirected funds when he was finance minister at the time and a prominent minister in Quebec, where the money ended up. But if he didn't know, why didn't he know? Why was our former finance minister so out of the loop that $100 million could just disappear without him know- ing? Obviously, there are more questions than answers at this point, but what is obvious is that this is a major blow to the Liberal party and their election hopes this spring. In fact, if the new Conservative Party can't defeat the Liberals under these circumstances, they probably never will. But while Martin and anyone else who had knowledge of the scandal should be held fully accountable and should be kicked off the public payroll, let's not forget Chretien's role. The Teflon prime minister who's greasi- er than an oil slick needs to justify his actions during the sponsorship scandal. If he orchestrated it, or knew of it, we need to ensure he doesn't slip out of the grip of the law. And politicians wonder why we don't trust them? INVESTIGATION FOUND WMP's. WEA?oNs OF MASS D5$TRUCTION? 2004 Distributed by Canadian Artists 5yndacate In[. The joys of speech time Often as I sit down to write my column, it takes a while to come up with a topic and this week was no exception. In my contemplations, I usually think back on what has happened in the past week for inspiration, sometimes looking to the assignments I've covered for inspiration. In the past couple of weeks, I've been out to a couple of elementary schools to take pictures of speech winners and it got me thinking of that time in my own life. I can't say I've ever won any of my classroom speech contests. I have been runner up, but I've never had the dis- tinction of being placed in front of a large crowd of people and a panel of judges to recite my speech. Going in front of a classroom of my peers was bad enough at times. I would call myself a pretty shy kid — I can still be pretty shy as a matter of fact — and speech time was never the best time of the school year, although it came ahead of certain portions of gym class, non -athletic type that I am. But that's a topic for another time. Back to speeches ... I remember the joys of try- ing to come up with a topic. They were never very profound. I remember a couple being about fami- ly pets and I think I relied on the general topics of cats and dogs as well. I became an aunt at the ripe old age of 12 and I seem to recall speaking about the adventures of babysitting my niece. All pretty safe topics and designed to get a laugh every now and then. The horror comes when the blank faces of your fellow classmates stare back at you, you deliver the joke and they don't get the punch line. The deafening silence can throw you right off. Thankfully, I can't remember any horrific happenings during any of the deliveries. The jitters usually left once I got to the front of the room and got started. What I can remember is the horrible time one of my classmates had. He had a speech problem and stuttered quite often. Being put in the spotlight like that only made the problem worse and I'm not sure he ever delivered a speech within the set time guidelines. It was almost painful to listen to him struggling through it. One good thing about it, though, is that I don't recall the other kids in the class making fun of him for the tough time he had. We were all pretty sympathetic and struggling in our own ways. Public speaking can be one of the most nerve- racking experiences people face and doing it well is an art unto itself, so I would like to personally congratulate all the kids who are facing this fear and reciting those speeches in front of their class- mates — even if they don't make it to the winners round. And for those who do, good job and good luck. MARY SIMMO PENNY FO THOUGHT NS R MY s About the Times -Advocate Address & Office Hours Times -Advocate, 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850, Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6. Our office is open Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Closed on Holidays. 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