The Harper Conservatives have more to answer for following the revelation that $15.3 million in missing gold and other precious metals from the Royal Canadian Mint points increasingly towards a heist, Liberal critic for crown corporations Joe Volpe said today.
“The Harper government has lost more than just $15 million in precious gold bullion,” said Mr. Volpe. “They’ve lost precious time. Why did the government wait ten full weeks from the time they learned of the lost gold before calling in the RCMP?”
Mr. Volpe was responding to a report released today by the accounting firm Deloitte and Touche that concluded sloppy record keeping is not to blame for the discrepancy between the Mint’s financial records and their physical stockpile of gold and other precious metals.
“All along the Mint has left open the possibility that gold has been stolen – a startling admission that seems more likely given this report,” said Mr. Volpe. “Instead of immediately chasing down all possible leads, the government may have given those responsible the equivalent of a head-start for their get-away.”
The government waited until June 9th to order the Mint to contact the RCMP, ten weeks after the Mint first informed Minister of State Rob Merrifield of the missing metals on March 23rd – and a week after it became public.
“This Conservative government is continuing its record of mismanagement and incompetence,” said Mr. Volpe. “Instead of taking immediate action, they sat around playing keystone cops, while more gold was potentially exiting the building.”
The Mint still can’t determine whether any precious metals are physically missing from their inventory, and have called in outside experts to determine if the gold was lost through the refining process.
“Rob Merrifield can’t hide his stunning incompetence behind an arm’s length crown corporation, because the Mint’s board is stacked with the Prime Minister’s handpicked Conservative appointments,” said Mr. Volpe.
