Sympatico / MSN : News : CTV.ca: "Martin says scandal has been hard on politicians "

It probably has been hard on the politicians, but consider this; it was the government that he was a part of that brought this scandel into being. If PM Martin believes that the civil service is composed of individuals of the highest calibre of integrity then he should do all in his power to ensure this never happens again. There needs to be checks and balances into the power of the PMO ( Prime Minister's Office) and the Privy Council. That would be a start. There needs to be fiscal transparency in all items of the budget so this cannot be hidden.

Found it interesting that the first fellow found guilty of defrauding the taxpayers is not going to jail. On one hand he has repaid 2/3rd of the outstanding money and it has cost him personally. However this is still fraud. I suspect his sentence is very lenient compared to what it should be. I mean he has to go to schools and talk about his experience. Not even a little bracelet? No house arrest? Just a curfew?? What about weekends, why is he allowed to stay up late on Saturday and Sunday nights?

Come on, this is ridiculous. If governments want this sort of thing to stop, then put some teeth into the law. I mean the old saying is supposed to be if you can't do the time, don't do the crime. Sadly in Canada, you can do the crime and not worry about the time, especially if you have connections and are wealthy.