Saturday, February 23, 2013

Mike, I have questions

Mike Duffy. You were an OK TV journalist, but you're not doing very well as a Senator.

After being found out for claiming benefits for living in PEI but working in Ottawa, but not spending a lot of time in the province you supposedly represent, you scrambled to get a health care card for that province. Once the questions started coming your way, you ran from the cameras like the politicians you used to critique on your TV show. Then the whining started. "Everyone is paying too much attention to this story instead of the important issues." Well Mike, if fraud isn't an important issue, then I don't know what is. The whole country knows you actually live in Ottawa. Nobody in PEI can vouch for the fact that you live there. You even admitted that you don't even live in the house you claim as your primary residence because you "have to live in a city to be close to medical services". So now that you're going to pay the money back, I have some questions for you.

You blame the claims forms for the mix-up. You say they're confusing. Yet when asked how much you'll be paying back, you indicated that this is something 'the accountants' will look into. So I wonder, if accountants dealt with the claim, did they find it confusing too? Do you habitually use accountants that are confused by standard government claims processes? Now that you're paying back the money, you're essentially admitting that you aren't entitled to it. I mean, if you are entitled to it, there should be no need to pay it back, even if it is 'distracting' people from the important issues. So if you're not entitled to claim the money, are you entitled to be the Senator for PEI? Maybe you should resign. Because we wouldn't want to be distracted anymore from those important issues.

P.S.: Pamela Wallin. You're next.

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