By: Bruce Campbell

  I feel sorry for Jane Stewart. I sympathize too with the harried, downsized and demoralized bureaucracy struggling to resist politicians who flout the rules for a share of the spoils.
  But I feel even more sorry for those of us who put forward alternative budgets.

Ally McStewart, MP In this week's episode Ally is on the hotseat. Where can she turn for help? Click here and find out. Requires Shockwave® Download Shockwave/Flash Player

  The so-called billion-dollar jobs boondoggle couldn't have surfaced at a worse time. The Finance Minister is about to reveal his plans for the fiscal surplus. Some of us have been fighting hard to keep our public reinvestment message from being drowned out by the powerful tax cut lobby. And then along comes revelations of serious irregularities in the government's job creation programs. It's a tough blow.
  I regret that all the projects under scrutiny - and there are undoubtedly many good projects among them - have been tarred with the same brush.
  But as someone who believes in pro-active government; as someone who wants to see the fiscal surplus invested wisely to reverse the public sector decay of recent years, I'm angry with this government for degrading our politics and public administration.
  What makes matters even worse in my view is that this is money that was squeezed out of the unemployment insurance fund by disqualifying hundreds of thousands of unemployed workers.
  This is what gives government a bad name. It reinforces a perception created by those who would have us believe that government can't be trusted to do much of anything right. The tax-cutters and the market privateers are having a field day. Their own tax subsidies are not under fire. In fact more may be on the way come budget day.
  And people like me are feeling more than a little frustrated having to make our case against a backdrop of government mismanagement.
  Public investment programs should rightfully be a vital component of an overall strategy of job creation and economic renewal, especially in areas of the country where private investment has failed miserably.
  There is nothing to suggest that private profit-driven investment is inherently superior to publicly funded and managed investment. Neither is immune from failure. Each can reinforce the other.
  The responsibility for this fiasco rests squarely with the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. They failed to ensure that these programs were well designed, well managed and patronage-free. They failed to ensure arms-length administration.
  Any boondoggle is unconscionable and should not be tolerated. But neither should it be used as a pretext to discredit and dismantle government.
  It is essential to separate the current scandal from the vital role that responsible public investment can and should play in fostering job creation and economic well being in our communities.