Two ways in which the Conservative “fiscal responsibility” thing got a lot less credible this week

On Wednesday, the folks at iPolitics noted that “for a government ostensibly laying the groundwork for an austerity budget,” the Conservatives have been throwing an awful lot of public money around lately. What’s more, according to certain Liberals, they’ve been downright secretive about the details of their spending before the House of Commons.

But wait, there’s more. In yesterday’s Morning Brief, iPolitics alleged that Integrity Commissioner Christiane Ouimet “routinely swept aside allegations of spending abuse” among the 228 disclosures of “alleged wrongdoing” that she examined between 2007 and 2010.

“iPolitics has learned that more than 40 of the cases swept aside by Christiane Ouimet involved alleged misuse of taxpayer dollars and government assets,” they said, adding that “a closer look at the caseload suggests that some of the reports, had they been pursued, may have brought embarrassment to the government.”

Ouimet was the first Public Sector Integrity Commissioner in Canadian history. It should be noted, for what it’s worth, that she was appointed by the Harper government, with the approval of the House and Senate.

Meanwhile, in today’s Morning Brief, iPolitics shared the news that Elections Canada has charged the Conservative party and four of its senior officials over allegations that the party exceeded its spending limit in the 2006 election.

“Clearly not the headline the Conservatives were hoping for out of CEAP Day,” iPolitics notes, referring to today’s “70-MP, 52-announcement, one-quarter billion dollar day devoted to the Canada Economic Action Plan.”

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