Prime Minister criticized in report for failing to address alleged CRTC corruption
OTTAWA, Sept. 28, 2015 /CNW/ - Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been criticized in a report released today for his failure to address allegations of long-term systemic corruption at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in relation to a "highly unorthodox wealth redistribution scheme" which has resulted in private corporations being subsidized by millions of Canadians, without their knowledge, over two decades.
As documented in the One Media Law report available at www.onemedialaw.com, the original phase of the scheme served to unjustly enrich cable television companies controlled by some of Canada's richest businessmen.
The report's author Keith Mahar, who has previously worked in the broadcasting industry, has also penned an open letter to Prime Minister Harper. In his letter, Mahar reminds the Prime Minister of his former election promise to clean up government. He states: "One Media Law highlights that political accountability is sorely missing in Ottawa, a culture of entitlement and corruption still exists, and the federal government continues to be a tool to benefit the privileged few."
Less than 24 hours after Mahar addressed the wealth redistribution scheme at a CRTC public hearing on 7 February 2008, MP Libby Davies (Vancouver East, NDP) stated in the House of Commons that Canadians were owed more than $1.2 billion due to being overcharged by cable television companies. It is Mahar's assertion that the Hon. Jim Abbott misled Parliament about the issue at that time.
A number of documents relevant to the scheme are available at www.onemedialaw.com, including copies of documents formerly stored in CRTC file 121, which was destroyed after Mahar's lawyer noted the existence of the file in correspondence to politicians, including Harper, in 2006.
"A public inquiry into the CRTC scheme is warranted and long overdue," says Mahar. "This report provides an evidentiary basis for the establishment of such an inquiry."
SOURCE Public Interest Advocate
www.onemedialaw.com, Follow on Twitter @onemedialaw.com
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