Spector on Oliphant

Norman Spector makes some interesting observations about the Oliphant inquiry into Karlheinz Schreiber's dealings with Mulroney and his government.

Under Jean Chrétien's Liberals, the project was put to death in less than two years; during the Conservative era, it proved impossible to kill. How can one explain the differing response to Mr. Schreiber's aggressive lobbying?

It was certainly not due to any change in his modus operandi: To counter the consistent opposition of the public service, Mr. Schreiber spent freely, engaging well-connected lobbyists of both political stripes. And their advice to Mr. Schreiber was consistent: Get the project out of the hands of the public service and raise it to the political level.

The rest makes an interesting contrast between the way Chretien's and Mulroney's governments handled similar pressures.