OFF THE WIRE
BY: Barry Wilson
montreal.ctv.ca
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Bikers and bandits.
Mobsters and bureaucrats with blindfolds.
Money flowing like rivers under tables of concrete.
Contractors with their little extras.
Really, were you surprised to learn of all the collusion and corruption in Quebec's road construction industry?
We had the smoking gun, and now we have proof. Just follow the money.
Former Montreal police Chief Jacques Duchesneau is a latter day Eliot Ness.
He's got the goods on an industry driven by greed, bribery and theft of taxpayer money.
Quebec is giving new meaning to the shady deal. Quebec sait faire.
No wonder everything is falling apart.
No wonder we take calculated risks whenever we get in a car in this province.
It really seems that the government has lost control.
Quebecers are finally united on something. English, French, federalist or sovereignist, everyone wants a full fledged government inquiry, Gomery-style.
Everyone except the premier.
The Whole Thing Stinks
Why? Look what happened to the federal Liberal party post-Gomery.
It may never recover.
The collusion report only devotes a page and a half to the slippery relationship between construction companies and political parties, but it leaves little doubt about where the money ends up.
An independent inquiry could spell disaster for the Quebec Liberal Party, but it would not be an easy ride for the PQ either.
The culture was the same when that gang was in power.
There's also that little tidbit about Pauline Marois' leadership race.
Two-thirds of the financing came from, you guessed it, engineering and construction firms.
The whole thing stinks.
We need an inquiry.
We need it to finally change a culture that is rotten to the core.
John F Kennedy said a nation afraid to let its people judge the truth is a nation afraid of its people.
Eliminate the Olympic Stadium
So, I got quite excited when I heard that the overlords who run the Big O were seeking public suggestions on what to do with that big elephant living on Pierre de Coubertin Ave.
Really, who doesn't have a few ideas about what to do with the concrete monument to ineptitude and corruption?
But alas, the only option not on the table is actually blowing it up.
And that should be at the top of the list.
We can't keep pouring money into something no one wants and hardly anyone uses.
The billion dollar stadium needs a new roof and that would cost about $300 million.
The people who make the decisions are in desperate need of adult supervision on this one.
There would be no shortage of people willing to push the button.
