Doing what is right

As the Gomery Inquiry uncovers layer after layer of Liberal dirt and it becomes clearer to every Canadian that the word corruption is synonymous with the name of the "Natural Ruling Party," we need to understand there are a couple of other areas of abuse at play in our country also worthy of our attention.

Not the least of which is taking place in Calgary as the Police Chief, Jack Beaton has outdone old Uncle Joe in ensuring voices of criticism are muted. The story from the Calgary Herald on Saturday, featured on the front page of Prime Time Crime, tells how the chief dusted off a seldom used civil court ploy, called an Anton Piller order, to search the private home of the woman believed to be behind two websites critical of him and his administration.

(I will be writing on this subject in a column to be published tomorrow.)

Beaton is doing everything in his power to not only mute the criticism, but, in my view is embarking on a witch hunt to ferret out those members of the Calgary Police who dared cooperate with the webmistress or indeed, ever had any email communication with her or the site.

Rank and file members of the Police Service in that city have long been critical of things like the favoritism shown "certain" members, or the shading of incidents like a police car being fire-bombed by a jealous ex-lover of the officer's mistress, a Sergeant pointing a service weapon at a junior constable as a "joke" and a myriad of other embarrassing events. But more to the point, there were allegations of cover-up involving a substantial fraud perpetrated on members of the service by another, senior officer. (See Police Held to a Higher Standard)

The RCMP were called in to investigate after an internal investigation failed to turn up enough evidence for a criminal charge which has since been filed.

The court order in the website case has been sealed and the webmistress gagged by order on application by Beaton. This ensures no scrutiny is placed upon the Chief's office in this sordid mess. And that is very wrong.

On April 18th in Ottawa, the Federal Court will hear the case of former RCMP Cpl. Robert Read in his latest effort at clearing his name after he was fired by the RCMP for 'Disgraceful Conduct.' His sin? He went to the media to raise allegations of corruption at the High Commission in Hong Kong after the senior members of the RCMP refused to listen to him and, as well did officials in the Department of Justice.

For those who have been following the Gomery Inquiry, it will come as no surprise that the allegations of corruption involved the government of Jean Chretien.

Read was ordered reinstated by the External Review Committee of the RCMP. The Force for its part, refused. Read will take his appeal of the decision not to reinstate him to the Federal Court.

Leo Knight