CIVILIZED CORRUPTION IN CANADA

There is third world corruption such as in Syria, Saudia Arabia, Brazil and many other countries around the world. That style of corruption is accompanied by state sanctioned, whether tacit or explicit, murder, mayhem and torture. Then we have the U.S. and Canadian styles of corruption. By corruption I simply mean bending, breaking or circumventing of the rules of doing business or politics in a country. It is also includes in my opinion a fleecing of the millions of unempowered everyday citizens who are simply trying to make a legal living for themselves and their families. This fleecing can be via taxes, fraud or even legal means in which citizens are grossly overcharged for goods and or services.

SNC-Lavalin are in the news currently. They've been caught, not for the first time, allegedly handing out bribes to foreign governments in an attempt to sell their products. Somehow either through pure good luck or possibly as a direct result of political donations, they got Canadian law changed last year allowing "remediation agreements" in place of prosecution for some offences. Now they are trying to collect on this new law in order to avoid prosecution for alleged corruption offences that occurred in Libya. Wow!

But it gets much worse. It turns out that SNC-Lavalin have been lobbying both the federal government as well as opposition parties trying to get off the hook. This lobbying pressure has been passed down the line to the now departed Attorney General. She refused to play ball and next thing you know our Prime Minister fired and demoted her to Veterans Affairs Minister. The best description of that portfolio I've ever heard is that it is the department where political careers go to die. The point is that firing and demotion pretty much satisfies the definition of undue pressure. It indicates that our legal system is at the whim or mercy of politicians, rather than being independent. This is true Canadian corruption at its finest. Laws are only for the little people. Laws are there to serve the interests of the big people not to constrain their interests or behaviour. Shameful and hypocritical.