A tale of two Sheila's

With her words ringing in the ears of MP's, bureaucrats and taxpayers, Sheila Fraser is finding her new found status as defender of the weary taxpayer has it's detractors. Some MP's and officials are privately grumbling about the Auditor General's showmanship. Her use of the words outrageous and appalling, apparently not sitting well with some. The detailed analysis of financial skullduggery, considered an unwanted intrusion by some. Bureaucrats live in fear of her auditors entering their domains, poking and prodding at the books. One government official, stated, "she describes things like they were the biggest thing since the big bang." She's also coming under fire by an academic in Ontario, who claims that the Auditor General's office is leaving the realm of facts and figures and entering that of public commentary. Which may have a grain of truth to it, but in an era where it seems everyone is trying to cover things up, it's refreshing to have a blunt voice to tell it like it is.

If Fraser is perceived as the last trustworthy person, so be it. If she alone can shine a light on those dark corners of financial misdeeds, get her a brighter spotlight. It would be an unwise government that took the approach of shooting the messenger.

Another Sheila focusing in on the growing financial scandal is Sheila Copps, I kid you not. Ms. Copps, expressing outrage, has launched a broadside at Prime Minister Martin, the first Liberal thus far to blame the boss. Pointing her finger directly at his stewardship of Finance during this period, she suggests that he must have know of the financial manipulations taking place in Quebec, how all trails led through his office. And how he should have acted sooner, before it became a national disgrace.

Now I'm not one to point fingers, but, was not Ms. Copps a former Deputy Prime Minister, a confidant to Prime Minister Chretien during this period of suspicion. Was she not a senior cabinet minister during the Chretien years, sitting around that same table, overseeing government policy and direction? Hmmm, wouldn't she too have had some inkling that something was amiss?

And while were here, since Sheila brought us into the debate, is not her past portfolio of Heritage a rather bloated agency, which has been a bastion of wasted monies for years. Somehow, you get the feeling that her vision is rather selective. Frank magazine has made a sport out of spotting Sheila's spending. The way things have been going down in Ottawa these days, you might have more faith in their memories over the governments. Oh, Sheila don't go tossing rocks at windows, if you too live in a glass house.

Sheila of course is involved in that nasty nomination fight with Tony Valeri in Hamilton, Valeri a Martinite is hoping to claim the nomination in what is currently Ms. Copps riding. Perhaps she feels her chances to take the nomination are strengthened by becoming a born again whistle blower. But I don't think the rest of the country will sign on with her conversion.

So far the calls for justice, are just for the sponsorship program run amok. We suspect that the rot goes much deeper, but do we really want to know the truth, could we handle the truth! (Where's Jack Nicholson to deliver that line for me).

What would happen if the public demanded a complete overview of all government spending, in every department. If Sheila Fraser were tasked with opening every book, interviewing every bureaucrat, tracking every dollar. Examining every program past and present, what horrors would we learn of. Would the other Sheila come out unscathed, it would be interesting to see.

A tale of two Sheila's. Which one do you think has the public's ear today? Which one would the public have the most respect for?