Leadership By Example

[TCBF]

I was given a clipping from a rural Alberta paper which claims to have taken the following material from the Ottawa Citizen:

of 301 Members of Parliament-

30 have been accused of spousal abuse
9 have been arrested for fraud
14 have been accused of writing bad cheques
95 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least two businesses
4 have done time for assault
55 cannot get a credit card due to bad debt
12 have been arrested on drug related charges
4 have been arrested for shoplifting
16 are currently defendents in lawsuits
62 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year

Does anyone have a copy of the original paper - The Vermilion Standard? - or a copy of the Ottawa Citizen from which this data was allegedly taken?  Both search engines are useless.

Tom

 

[Marty]

Hit sound like hit might be hin the bes hintres hof da country to disband dis group of people .......lol

Wasnt something like this said when a certain group of Maroon Beret wearing  folks had a few bad apples ?

 

[Infanteer]

I find these stats highly unlikely - we would be hearing about it more.  Considering that the BC Premier is still hounded for getting picked up on a DUI in Hawaii, I doubt the press would let 62 Parliamentarians get away with it....

 

[Gunner]

Infanteer - I agree with you.  Certainly the 62 arrested in the last year for drunk driving would have made more headlines...I have seen this list somewhere before and I believe it was discredited at the time.

 

[Duke]

See this link:

http://www.senioryears.com/company.html Seems Canadian, eh?

And then there's this one: http://www.samachar.com/features/300801-fpj.html Similar numbers but in India?

But wait, there's more: http://www.megamarine.com/opinions.htm Ireland!

Conclusion? Probably urban legend/netlore.

Duke

 

[Infanteer]

Like I said, lets see some names and articles (official or otherwise) on specific cases.   All I see is numbers and criminal acts being lobbed about - the obviously politically biased article Duke provides doesn't even bother to dig into the matter, only citing "The Ottawa Citizen".

I wish there was a Snopes.com for Canadian Urban Legends....

 

[Duke]

Sorry Infanteer, I was editing when you responded.

Duke

 

[Infanteer]

Wonder of wonders, Snopes has covered this and it is indeed Bullshit:

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/congress.htm

The Ottawa citizen never printed an article on this.  People, including the author of the article Duke provided, should use caution and use basic claim/source verification, lest they wear the pie they're throwing....

 

[Gunner]

Confirmed as a hoax:

http://www.canstats.org/readdetail.asp?id=396

 

[Canuck_25]

Gordon Cambell's drinking and driving was a bad move for him politicaly, he almost was forced to resign

"If gold rust, what will iron do?"-- Geoffrey Chaucer

 

[TCBF]

Well done , Troops.  I will now follow this up the other chain from whence it came.  Too good to be true, eh?

Tom