On the record
There are a lot of nasty things one could say about Canada's new PM, Paul Martin - and probably just as many nice things too. But whether you support him or not, you have to admit he's got major cojones.
His Liberal government is currently neck deep in a deeply disturbing scandal around the misuse of hundreds of millions of taxpayers' money.
It's a story that has been around for a long time, but burst back onto the front pages last week when Canada's fearless Auditor General published a report into the government's sponsorship program citing "widespread non-compliance with contracting rules", "highly questionable methods", and "little evidence of value received for the money spent".
If something like this boiled up in the U.S., one can imagine Dubya maybe, just maybe agreeing to a carefully controlled and edited press conference with a hand-picked group of media.
If the same thing were to happen in the U.K., you'd expect to see Blur facing some tough interrogation in Question Time, and trotting out a few polished platitudes to the reporters in front of No. 10.
Well, for the record: I'm no great fan of Paul Martin. But for the guy to agree to appear on a national radio phone-in show yesterday showed genuine integrity and guts, IMHO.
Two straight hours of direct, unfiltered questioning from ordinary Canadians right across the country - live on national CBC radio's Cross Country Checkup and simulcast on CBC Newsworld TV.
A lot of spinning, a lot of "on message" righteous indignation - but an impressive thing to do all the same.
Particularly considering he agreed to go through with it even after this piece appeared from the show's host, Rex Murphy, a couple of days prior to the scheduled appearance.
His Liberal government is currently neck deep in a deeply disturbing scandal around the misuse of hundreds of millions of taxpayers' money.
It's a story that has been around for a long time, but burst back onto the front pages last week when Canada's fearless Auditor General published a report into the government's sponsorship program citing "widespread non-compliance with contracting rules", "highly questionable methods", and "little evidence of value received for the money spent".
If something like this boiled up in the U.S., one can imagine Dubya maybe, just maybe agreeing to a carefully controlled and edited press conference with a hand-picked group of media.
If the same thing were to happen in the U.K., you'd expect to see Blur facing some tough interrogation in Question Time, and trotting out a few polished platitudes to the reporters in front of No. 10.
Well, for the record: I'm no great fan of Paul Martin. But for the guy to agree to appear on a national radio phone-in show yesterday showed genuine integrity and guts, IMHO.
Two straight hours of direct, unfiltered questioning from ordinary Canadians right across the country - live on national CBC radio's Cross Country Checkup and simulcast on CBC Newsworld TV.
A lot of spinning, a lot of "on message" righteous indignation - but an impressive thing to do all the same.
Particularly considering he agreed to go through with it even after this piece appeared from the show's host, Rex Murphy, a couple of days prior to the scheduled appearance.
