By Henry McRandall
WRISEUP.COM
It was a disgusting spectacle. There was former Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney “fighting back” crocodile tears as journalists laughed at his incredible self-serving testimony for the federal inquiry into his dealings with shady German-Canadian businessman Karlheinz Shreiber.
Still as arrogant and pathetic as ever, Mulroney was pleading with the inquiry – and with Canadians – to believe his tale that he – and his family – were all victims rather than he being a perpetrator of any malfeasance.
As for his long-suffering family, to whatever extent they may have benefited from Brian Mulroney’s ill-gotten gains, so too must they also share in his opprobrium.
As for Brian Mulroney, no one made him have three clandestine meetings in hotel rooms in at least two countries with the controversial Schreiber.
No one made Brian Mulroney accept – on three occasions cash-stuffed envelopes containing a total of as much as $300,000.
No one made Brian Mulroney conceal the payments – even from Revenue Canada – for six long years before finally ante-ing up only after Schreiber began speaking publicly about Mulroney’s “possible tax problem.”
No one made Brian Mulroney fudge the whole truth when he testified at an earlier inquiry about his dealings with Shreiber.
No one made Brian Mulroney accept $2.1 million from the Government of Canada to settle his libel claim when he knew he had withheld evidence before the government agreed to a settlement.
No one made Brian Mulroney chain the albatross of NAFTA around Canada’s neck, costing hundreds of thousands of high-quality, high-wage jobs only to replace them all with low-quality, low-wage McJobs.
No one made Brian Mulroney saddle Canadians with the GST in order to please his masters in the Reagan and Bush Sr. Regimes and in corporate America and Canada.
No one made Brian Mulroney grant tax cut after tax cut after tax cut to corporations and the wealthy even as his corrupt government was racking up records federal budget deficits and doubling Canada’s national debt.
No one made Brian Mulroney accept the lavish repayment he has received – in the form of corporate directorships, “consulting” contracts and legal work – since leaving office from corporations and individuals that benefited from his government’s legislation and/or largesse.
Why hasn’t Brian Mulroney been charged with tax evasion? Why hasn’t the federal government filed suit to regain the $2.1 million it paid him after he failed to tell the whole truth about his involvement with Schreiber?
No, Brian Mulroney will probably never go to prison. He will probably never repay his ill-gotten $2.1 million to the Government of Canada. And he will probably never be convicted or even charged with any crime. That’s how lax the laws are for Canadian politicians.
It was longtime Toronto Sun columnist Claire Hoy who first labelled Mulroney “Lyin’ Brian” while he was still prime minister. And he worked for a Conservative newspaper!
Sorry, Lyin’ Brian, your testimony rings incredible and your acting is not even very good. But your arrogance, self-aggrandizement and penchant for deception remain unchanged. But it’s you who must see that face in the mirror every morning.