Sponsorship Scandal in Canada Essay Example

led to the report: Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities. The main sections of the report indicated that $2 million was released without standard bidding problems, $250000 was released on the basis of additional work that was never done, $1.5 million was actually documented falsely showing that corresponding work was done and lastly $1.14 million was actually duplicated in the invoices. Overall, the cost of operation amounted to $14 million. All these activities were found to be in contrary to the Financial Administration Act of the country (Baxter, 2015). Consequently, the revelation led to great loss of votes for the party where they were defeated after about twelve years in power. Therefore, in 2006, the people elected another government that consisted of officials that could be trusted. This means that Canadians did not like the corruption cases that surrounded their president. The sponsorship program therefore faced closure the audit.

It is important the Canadian citizens know about the budget of the government and how the public funds are utilized. The sponsorship program for example used a lot of public funds that would have been otherwise used in other productive projects. Therefore, every citizen has the right to inquire and question the actions of the government. They actually express their feelings and takes during federal elections. If it doesn’t involve those that hold elective positions, then they have all the rights to demand their removal from office.

Conclusion

In conclusion, several scandals occur within and outside the government. They actually lower the trust that citizens have for their government. It is for this reason that some officials fail to be elected a second time. The

sponsorship scandal is a clear indication of how public funds can sometimes be misused instead of funding beneficial projects that would ensure an increase in welfare or rather per capita income.

References

• Ruderman, N., & Nevitte, N. (2015). Assessing the Impact of Political Scandals on Attitudes toward Democracy: Evidence from Canada's Sponsorship Scandal. Canadian Journal of Political Science, 48(04), 885-904.
• Todd, R. (2016). Towards Constructive Change in Aboriginal Communities: A Social Psychology Perspective by Donald M. Taylor and Roxane de la Sablonnière (review). British Journal of Canadian Studies, 29(2), 289-290.
• Baxter, J. (2015). From Integrity Agency to Accountability Network: The Political Economy of Public Sector Oversight in Canada. Ottawa Law Review, 46(2).