General

10 thoughts on Bev Oda

No. 4: “She is the poster girl for misspending”

Who’s saying what about Bev Oda in the morning’s papers:

1. “Under Bev’s guidance, Canada has led a significant initiative to save the lives of mothers, children and newborns in the developing world. Through Bev’s leadership, Canada has also met, ahead of schedule, its commitment to double aid to Africa. This is a record of which to be proud.”
— Prime Minister Stephen Harper

2. “Oda is leaving politics after having struck a serious blow to Stephen Harper’s credibility as a careful caretaker of public funds.The Prime Minister’s challenge now is to undo the damage, starting with a cabinet shuffle, but by no means ending there.”
—  John Ibbitson, the Globe and Mail

3. “The departure of Bev Oda from the federal cabinet should have happened months ago. Nevertheless, her resignation — effective July 31, apparently prompted by the knowledge or belief that she would be shuffled out later this summer — is a much-needed signal that Prime Miniter Stephen Harper holds his ministers accountable.
— The Globe and Mail, editorial

4. “The departing Oda will become the poster girl for misspending by Tory cabinet ministers. When taxpayers’ angry questions about a $600,000 overtime bill for idle limousine drivers who serve cabinet ministers comes up, the Conservatives will conveniently point at Oda. She is the one, after all, who had to pay back expenses related to a London trip that included limo services, an overnight stay at the luxurious Savoy Hotel and that $16 glass of orange juice. Having paid the political price of embarrassing the government, she will carry this burden.”
— Marilla Stephenson, the Chronicle Herald

5. “Bev Oda’s lifetime pension should cover about 43,841 glasses of $16 orange juice.”
— Derek Fildebrandt, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

6. “It seems apparent that a shuffle is coming — that Oda’s announcement was part of a deck-clearing in advance. What remains to be seen is whether other charter members of Harper’s cabinet team are also heading to the exit doors, voluntarily or involuntarily.”
— Susan Delacourt, the Toronto Star

7. “We don’t feel she has left a mark. There was a lack of performance, lack of transparency, there was very little involvement of key players in the decision-making process and she seemed to be more accountable to Canadian taxpayers than to developing countries—making sure they were really benefiting from Canadian aid.”
— Chantal Havard, head of government relations and communications at the Canadian Council for International Co-operation

8. “It remains to be seen whether this will be an exchange for an appointment to the Senate or something,”
— Stephen Brown, associate professor at the University of Ottawa’s school of political studies

9. “Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Tuesday afternoon issued a glowing news release about Oda. It can only be assumed his gesture was in the interest of saving his own face, since it was he who elevated Oda to two Cabinet positions during her tenure as a Conservative MP.”
—Barbara Yaffe, Vancouver Sun

10. “Here in Durham Region, Ms. Oda’s decision should be welcomed as an opportunity to start anew. As an MP, Ms. Oda’s high-spending ways as a cabinet minister were both a source of frustration and cause for embarrassment among constituents.”
— Editorial, Durhamregion.com

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