[VioletlightHeron]

Well, Judy Sgro seems to be going for the food-sex-power trifecta as a former Immigration Minister. This thing keeps on getting weirder and weirder.

Immigration Minister Quits in Pizza Scandal

Fri Jan 14, 2:19 PM ET Oddly Enough - Reuters

By David Ljunggren

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Immigration Minister Judy Sgro, already embroiled in a scandal over favors given to a Romanian stripper, resigned on Friday after a pizza shop owner said she had reneged on a promise to help him avoid deportation in exchange for free pizza.

The affair is yet another political embarrassment for Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin, who lost his parliamentary majority in a June 2004 election amid anger over a government sponsorship scandal.

"It's obviously with great regret that I accepted Judy Sgro's resignation but I understand why she wanted to do it. She wants to have a completely free hand to defend herself against these allegations," Martin told reporters.

Sgro left after pizza shop owner Harjit Singh filed an affidavit in Federal Court accusing her of offering to help him stay in Canada in return for pizza deliveries and assistance with her election campaign.

Sgro issued a statement condemning what she called "outrageous fabrications," which she said she would fight "vigorously with every measure at my disposal."

Singh, who is facing imminent deportation after he was accused of using someone else's passport, said in his affidavit that he had approached Sgro to ask for help.

"She assured me that if I helped out in her election campaign she would get me immigration in Canada," he said.

"Judy said she wanted me to deliver pizza, garlic bread etc. to her campaign office ... I did this. She also said that she needed 15-16 people to help work in her campaign. I organized this for her as well," he said in the affidavit, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.

Once news of the arrangement leaked out, Sgro reneged on the deal, he added. Singh, who emigrated from India in 1988, was arrested in late December.

"I believe now that to save her job Judy Sgro is using her power to remove me from Canada," he said in the affidavit, which was filed on Jan. 5.

Sgro is the first minister to quit since Martin came to power in December 2003. Her duties will be carried out by Human Resources Minister Joe Volpe.

The job of immigration minister is a sensitive one in Canada, which is one of the few Western nations still actively seeking immigrants. The Liberals have traditionally drawn widespread support from immigrant communities.

Sgro is already under investigation by Parliament's ethics commissioner for giving a temporary residency permit to a Romanian stripper who had worked on her election campaign. She also extended the woman's expired work permit.

Stephen Harper, leader of the Conservatives, said Sgro should have been fired months ago and said there were big problems at the immigration ministry.

"I think we have to get to the bottom of what was going on here. There are a lot of serious allegations. This was not just a case of one or two people being given favors," he said.

Sgro triggered headlines almost from the day she was appointed in December 2003, first by opposing the tradition of churches sheltering asylum seekers and then by saying that Canada's refugee system was being abused.

[j-monster]

People from Toronto aren't surprised by this... she was a city councillor there. Sadly, she was just as inept at that level as she is in federal politics.

Harper was right, she should have been dumped a long time ago. Not only that, but the entire Liberal party should be dumped... they have long been arrogant and inept in running our country. Unfortunately, somehow they manage to fool enough people to keep getting re-elected. Not much longer, however, if stuff like this keeps up.

[Roy-at-tth]

long ago the liberal party should have been dumped due to some ministers who have found themselves in less fortunate situations.?Nevermind the inherent bias in that article and the ignorance of your statements about how "inept" the liberals are, it seems as though this minister did the correct this by reisgnning immediately to fight off the changes. we are, after all, innocent until proven guilty.

But lets go for a conservative format, since they're "always right". Want proof of how "right" they are? They would have made us go to war in iraq. They would oppose gay unions. In fact, lets put a man from alberta in power, who has documentedly spoken down about the economics of the east, and would rather take apart what canada prides itself on in hopes to become a more capatalist society than stant up for the canadian identity; An identity of peace and tolerance, whcih in the end protects from the tyranny of the majority.

The liberals are not inept. They've made a constitution, they made nafta work, they've paid down canada's debt, made amazing relations with other countries, taken our state's laws to new levels of civil liberties, had our economic status praised by the g-7 leaders, and formed what is the Canadian identity that we pride ourselves in.

Scandals are completely unacceptable, but the conservative view of minimizing human rights is more appropriate?

AND DOn't get me started on stephen harper's haircut!

[prz]

long ago the liberal party should have been dumped due to some ministers who have found themselves in less fortunate situations.?Nevermind the inherent bias in that article and the ignorance of your statements about how "inept" the liberals are, it seems as though this minister did the correct this by reisgnning immediately to fight off the changes. we are, after all, innocent until proven guilty.

But lets go for a conservative format, since they're "always right". Want proof of how "right" they are? They would have made us go to war in iraq. They would oppose gay unions. In fact, lets put a man from alberta in power, who has documentedly spoken down about the economics of the east, and would rather take apart what canada prides itself on in hopes to become a more capatalist society than stant up for the canadian identity; An identity of peace and tolerance, whcih in the end protects from the tyranny of the majority.

The liberals are not inept. They've made a constitution, they made nafta work, they've paid down canada's debt, made amazing relations with other countries, taken our state's laws to new levels of civil liberties, had our economic status praised by the g-7 leaders, and formed what is the Canadian identity that we pride ourselves in.

Scandals are completely unacceptable, but the conservative view of minimizing human rights is more appropriate?

AND DOn't get me started on stephen harper's haircut!

You cannot give the Liberals credit for NAFTA. Go read some history books on that one.

[Roy-at-tth]

not nafta, making it work.

When it was implemented, it caused a 13% unemployment rate. Then the liberals came to power.

I'm not the one who needs a textbook.

[prz]

not nafta, making it work.

When it was implemented, it caused a 13% unemployment rate. Then the liberals came to power.

I'm not the one who needs a textbook.

Roy,

So it was implemented before the Liberals came to power? Thats quite interesting since when NAFTA came into effect, the Liberals were the governing party of Canada. The date was January 1, 1994.

Pardon me, but who needs a textbook again?

[Roy-at-tth]

Oh jesus christ, you need an economics textbook.

I'm not going to explain this, there univeristy courses on it.

[Roy-at-tth]

random aside question: is your picture bono at ottawa?

[prz]

random aside question: is your picture bono at ottawa?

Yes it is.

[j-monster]

long ago the liberal party should have been dumped due to some ministers who have found themselves in less fortunate situations.?Nevermind the inherent bias in that article and the ignorance of your statements about how "inept" the liberals are, it seems as though this minister did the correct this by reisgnning immediately to fight off the changes. we are, after all, innocent until proven guilty.

But lets go for a conservative format, since they're "always right". Want proof of how "right" they are? They would have made us go to war in iraq. They would oppose gay unions. In fact, lets put a man from alberta in power, who has documentedly spoken down about the economics of the east, and would rather take apart what canada prides itself on in hopes to become a more capatalist society than stant up for the canadian identity; An identity of peace and tolerance, whcih in the end protects from the tyranny of the majority.

The liberals are not inept. They've made a constitution, they made nafta work, they've paid down canada's debt, made amazing relations with other countries, taken our state's laws to new levels of civil liberties, had our economic status praised by the g-7 leaders, and formed what is the Canadian identity that we pride ourselves in.

Scandals are completely unacceptable, but the conservative view of minimizing human rights is more appropriate?

AND DOn't get me started on stephen harper's haircut!

Uh... did I say that conservatives are always right? I don't remember saying that.

Anyway... I don't recall the Conservatives saying they would oppose gay unions... Harper distinctly said he would let it be a free vote in the Commons... what's wrong with that? And just how would the Conservatives take away from Canada's values of peace and tolerance? Too many people with "liberal" values paint all of conservatives with that brush of heartlessness, war-mongering and capitalist greed. Remember that conservatives here are not like those in the US... we believe in our Canadian values and what makes us Canadian, but we are disappointed that the Liberals have failed Canadians in many ways with their poor policies, lack of a coherent plan to govern the country, lack of doing ANYTHING sometimes, their constant scandals, and their willingness to slander anyone who disagrees with them as racist or anti-Canadian in some way. Maybe the Conservatives just think they can maintain and strenghten Canadian values while governing the country better than the Liberals... wow, what a concept! :roll:

As for the war in Iraq... for one thing we couldn't have done much anyway because our military is a joke thanks to the Liberals. Anyway I freely admit it's obvious there was no WMD there, and that Bush and co. were horribly wrong for their reasoning for going to war in the first place. They did remove Saddam from power, which is a good thing, but it won't mean much if they don't ensure the peace is won as well, and it's looking pretty dicey right now. In hindsight the right decision was made by Canada to stay out of Iraq, so the Liberals should get credit for that... but it was deplorable the way Chretien handled it, essentially waiting until the last minute because he didn't have the guts to stand up for his beliefs like France and others did. No wonder Bush so routinely downplays or ignores Canada... through Chretien we made ourselves appear like craven cowards!

As for you touting the achievement of the Liberals...

1. They never finished the job with the Constitution, Quebec never signed it and we've had this separatist drama always playing out in the background (and don't get ME started on how Chretien almost helped to lose the country in the referendum of a few years ago).
2. I'm not sure how much they've made NAFTA work... the Conservatives laid the foundation for it even thought the Liberals were in power once it came into effect. Besides, once it came into being, it's more about companies in the countries trading with each other and doing business to make it work.
3. Anything the Liberals did to pay down the debt was as a result of their overtaxing us and running up HUGE surpluses in their years in power. Remember how they went from a deficit to a surplus in the first place? They slashed transfer payments to the provinces... so they PASSED THE BUCK to the provincial level, making them look bad, while claiming they were financial geniuses for being "fiscally responsible" and ending the deficit. :roll: If anything, with those surpluses they should have either cut taxes or paid MORE of the debt down, instead of wasting our money on ridiculous projects like the gun registry, sponsorship scandals or other boondoggles (remember the HR ministry losing about a $1 billion or so?).
4. Amazing relations with other countries? I don't think the last couple of Liberal governments have done anything special on that front. We've had amazing relations with other countries for decades, when Conservative governments and much better Liberal governments (i.e. Pearson, Trudeau) were in power.
5. "Taken our state's laws to new levels of civil liberties"... if you're meaning gay marriages... OK, a true sign of progress and tolerance, a point in their favour, although in some ways that was forced by the Supreme Court, not by any magnanimous move on their part. However, I can't honestly think of what else they've done to reach these lofty new levels.
6. How do the Liberals get to take credit for having Canada's economy praised by other leaders? It's not like the Liberals did that much to boost it... in fact their oppressively high taxes usually work against business and the economy prospering.
7. So the Liberals of Chretien and Martin FORMED our Canadian identity that we pride ourselves in? So John A. MacDonald, Laurier et al. had nothing to do with that?? Man that's funny... you've COMPLETELY lost any credibility you had with that line! :lol:

I just think it's high time the Liberals were removed from office... their accomplishments are relatively few, their scandals too numerous to mention. Remember, they've had close to absolute power with their past electoral wins... and absolute power corrupts absolutely!

[Roy-at-tth]

okay I don't have all day to write a novel like you, but lets quickly shoot down your weak arguements.

1. Have you heard of meech lake and Charletown accords? Look into those two...and develope a better understanding of quebec politics before you hold the liberal party accountable.

2. They did make nafta work, as the unemployment rate was double what it is now, but, under the liberal government, it has gotten to be less. If youre right about one thing here its that "you're not sure how much they've made it work".

3. Have you heard of stagflation?

4. Pearson and Trudeau are liberals, dumbass. And what conservative governments. Watch the news more.

5. Forced by the supreme court? Okay, supreme court interprets laws, laws made by who? The government!

6. High taxes are actually ranked number 6 out of 8 on most CEO's lists of important things to consider, so taxes doesn't really have an affect. Economics, in large part, has alot to do with stability of government. Consider looking up more info about this.

7. No, I never said such a thing, nice try though. The Canadian identity was formed, in large part, throughout the 20th century. Now, who was in power for the majority of the 20th century.

[j-monster]

okay I don't have all day to write a novel like you, but lets quickly shoot down your weak arguements.

1. Have you heard of meech lake and Charletown accords? Look into those two...and develope a better understanding of quebec politics before you hold the liberal party accountable.

2. They did make nafta work, as the unemployment rate was double what it is now, but, under the liberal government, it has gotten to be less. If youre right about one thing here its that "you're not sure how much they've made it work".

3. Have you heard of stagflation?

4. Pearson and Trudeau are liberals, dumbass.

5. Forced by the supreme court? Okay, supreme court interprets laws, laws made by who? The government!

6. High taxes are actually ranked number 6 out of 8 on most CEO's lists of important things to consider, so taxes doesn't really have an affect. Economics, in large part, has alot to do with stability of government. Consider looking up more info about this.

7. No, I never said such a thing, nice try though. The Canadian identity was formed, in large part, throughout the 20th century. Now, who was in power for the majority of the 20th century.

1. I know enough about Quebec politics to know that they play a huge role, but I think the Liberals haven't always backed up their knowledge of this with effective action. Maybe the Conservatives of Mulroney didn't figure it out either... but can you honestly tell me the Liberals have dealt with Quebec any better?

2. Other than insulting me, you didn't prove how the liberals reduced unemployment and made NAFTA work. The government only passed NAFTA into law... from there it is up to business to make it work... so credit them for developing more business, hiring more people to reduce unemployment, and making NAFTA work. Besides, under Turner the Liberals wanted NAFTA scrapped... now they want to take credit for making it work... can't have it both ways!

3. What does stagflation have to do with how the Liberals chose to deal with the deficit and how much debt to pay down... never mind the question of what it has to do with them wasting our tax dollars on boondoggles?

4. I'm quite aware that Pearson and Trudeau were Liberals... I said so in my post. My point is they were much better leaders and governments than the Chretien-Martin brand of Liberals, which is what I'm concentrating my criticism on.

5. The Supreme Court interpreted other laws passed that virtually forced the Liberals' hand to pass gay marriage laws. They showed little appetite to do this on their own. It shouldn't be up to judges to practically create law in this manner... but that's another argument entirely.

6. You can't say tax levels don't have an affect, even though there are other factors CEO's consider in addition, maybe even moreso, than taxes. And if you interpret government stability to mean sitting on their hands and not doing enough to address Canada's issues and make it even better, then the Liberals have got that nailed! :lol:

7. Again, I'm focusing my points on the recent liberal governments, not those of the entire 20th century. But the development of the Canadian identity was as a result of many factors, which the governments at the time, whether Liberal or Conservative, played a role, but not necessarily any bigger than any of the others.

Oh, before I finish... thank you for calling me a dumbass, insulting me and generally pretending I know nothing. Those are quite obviously excellent rhetorical skills, and a great way to debate issues in a mature fashion. I REALLY appreciate it. :roll:

[Roy-at-tth]

riight..okay.
You say dumbass things, you'll be called a dumbass. This isn't parliament.

We're going to have to agree to disagree....I do respect your opinion. Democracy is great isn't it?

[j-monster]

riight..okay.
You say dumbass things, you'll be called a dumbass. This isn't parliament.

We're going to have to agree to disagree....I do respect your opinion. Democracy is great isn't it?

Just because I say things that differ from your opinion, doesn't mean they are dumbass. That's an unfair statement.

If you believe I am genuinely mistaken, then please point me to where you think I should find more information. I don't mind being told if I am wrong if it's done in a constructive way... believe me, I can handle it, it wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong and it won't be the last! :lol:

I do agree to agree to disagree with you. And no matter what, democracy is a wonderful thing. To paraphrase a saying, democracy is "the worst system available... except for all the rest of them!"

Cheers. :thumb:

[Roy-at-tth]

"the worst system available... except for all the rest of them!"

lol.

Sorry bout being a dickface.