Justice John Gomery (left) is the newsmaker of the year — by a landslide — in the annual Canadian Press / Broadcast News poll of the country's editors and newsroom producers.
Gomery garnered more than half of the votes cast in the poll. Karla Homolka was a distant number two.
Now, you may have watched a lot of newscasts or read a lot of newspaper reports in the wake of the release of the first phase of his two-part report. What he had to say is one of the big reasons we're in the midst of a federal election.
And, as all the politicians get set for the final push to January 23, I encourage anyone considering voting in that election to take a minute this holiday to take their own look at what Gomery had to say, to assess for themselves his words about the culpability of the current government. Don't just rely on the summary your favourite TV reporter might have provided; read the words for yourself. If you're pressed for time, at least take a look at the summary. A quick reader will get through that in just over an hour and it's definitely a good read and it ought to get your blood moving a little quicker which will, of course, help with the digestion of that Christmas turkey.
Gomery's words are sure to be a significant part of the final three weeks of this campaign.
The current government is sure to highlight the fact that it was the Prime Minister who called this inquiry in the first place and they will seize upon the following passage (p. 77 of the summary):
“There is no basis for attributing blame or responsibility to any other Minister of the Chretien cabinet, since they, like all members of Parliament, were not informed of the initiatives being authorized by (Chretien's chief of staff Jean) Pelletier. (Prime Minister Paul) Martin, whose role as finance minister did not involve him in the supervision of spending by the (Prime Minister's Office or Public Works), is entitled, like other ministers in the Quebec caucus, to be exonerated from any blame for carelessness or misconduct.”
But the government's political opponents prefer to emphasize this passage (p. 78-79 of Summary)
The [Liberal Party of Canada – Quebec] as an institution cannot escape responsibility for the misconduct of its officers and representatives. Two successive Executive Directors were directly involved in illegal campaign financing, many of its workers accepted cash payments for their services when they should have known that such payments were in violation of the Canada Elections Act.