Political Appointees Who Live High On The Hog

David Dingwall was first elected as a federal Member of Parliament in 1980 in a Nova Scotia riding. In 1993, he was made a Cabinet Minister in the Chretien government.

In 1997, he lost his Nova Scotia seat, and went from being in the government, to sitting on various corporate boards.

He also became an “unregistered” paid lobbyist, which is illegal in Canada. Lobbyists must be registered. Especially former Ministers.

In 2003, Dingwall was handed a plum job as President and CEO of the Canadian Mint. This was the thank-you he received for his Party loyalty.

It doesn’t seem that either experience or competence are necessary criteria to be awarded an important position in a Canadian government owned (Crown) Corporation.

All you have to have on your resume is loyal service to the political Party you served. Based on this requirement, Dingwall fit the bill to a “T”.

Canada’s Crown Corporations are rife with political has-beens, as well as their friends and families who receive pay-back for whatever services and loyalty they’ve provided to the Party, especially if that service goes directly to the Party leader.

Getting a Crown Corporation gig, especially at the top, such as Dingwall enjoyed, is also reserved for people who know too much. And whose silence is best guaranteed.

Because of this obscenity, Canada has been served by some of the biggest incompetents and rogues this nation could possibly produce.

And in addition to this political profanity which we benignly call patronage, Canada wastes what could amount to BILLIONS of tax dollars every year.

It has just been discovered that David Dingwall was living pretty high on the public purse. Forget the fact that his salary was more than a quarter of a million dollars per year. And all he had to do to receive it was show up.

It turns out that Dingwall was also living on close to a million dollars per year on expenses. Not bad for someone whose job is more or less watching other people manage the Mint.

The real tragedy of this, is that it goes on all the time.

Dingwall was outed. But what about all the other (thousands) political patronage appointees who take money out of our pockets everyday?

I just don’t know how a family of four, earning up to $40 or $50 thousand dollars per year (before taxes) can get by, when considering the cost of energy, taxes (personal, GST, PST), housing and food. Forget about entertainment and vacations.

You know that things are totally out of whack when the government takes money from the working poor, only to give it to the indolent (politically) rich. In this case, to the pork-trough feeders like Dingwall.

Dingwall was caught. And as a result he resigned. But now we’re told, that for him, there still continues to be a rainbow. And at the end of this rainbow will probably be a severance cheque in the amount of $500,000.

Picture Dingwall and all the other Dingwalls living high on the hog, while it is estimated that as many as, and maybe more than 1,000,000 Canadian children go to bed hungry every night.

It’s very sad indeed.

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This Broadcast Is Approximately 11 Minutes.