Former general Andrew Leslie accuses Tories of smear
2Cdo @ Tue Feb 18, 2014 6:03 pm
Gunnair Gunnair:
Guy_Fawkes Guy_Fawkes:
I like Leslie, he did a decent job after Hillier. As for military moves, you have some control over how much money you spend but to say he some how scammed the system for massive amounts of money is false. Unless the conservatives change their act in the next year I'm going to vote liberal. What the conservatives have done to vets and the military in general, has caused me to loose all faith in them.
I don"t. For a guy making lots of recommendations on how to hack and slash on personnel, he did well in the end. His moving expenses could have paid someone's salary for a year.
Exactly.
Jabberwalker @ Tue Feb 18, 2014 9:23 pm
andyt andyt:
Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:
Yeah. Moving from one subdivision in Ottawa to another doesn't cost 72 grand ... more like $7200 if you happen to own a couple of pianos. $72,000 is far more than you need to move to another subdivision in New Zealand.
60k of that is for legal and real estate fees. Maybe nobody claimed those before him, or he had a much more expensive house or who knows. It was approved by the same department that's now investigating him.
... which is supposed to be non-partisan.
(What am I thinking! How silly of me! The PMO runs everything!)
Curtman @ Tue Feb 18, 2014 10:59 pm
andyt andyt:
Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:
Yeah. Moving from one subdivision in Ottawa to another doesn't cost 72 grand ... more like $7200 if you happen to own a couple of pianos. $72,000 is far more than you need to move to another subdivision in New Zealand.
60k of that is for legal and real estate fees. Maybe nobody claimed those before him, or he had a much more expensive house or who knows. It was approved by the same department that's now investigating him.
It doesn't matter. If the CBC reported, it's a left wing conspiracy regardless of how many right wingers had their real estate fees paid.
andyt @ Wed Feb 19, 2014 12:58 am
That doesn't make sense. The CBC is a left wing conspiracy, surely they wouldn't report on a leftwing Lieberal conspiracy, would they? That's the Sun's job. Maybe I'm getting my left wing conspiracies mixed up. It's hard when your fellow comrades don't send you a program to keep the conspiracies we're into straight.
DrCaleb @ Wed Feb 19, 2014 7:16 am
Xort Xort:
DrCaleb DrCaleb:
It's drivel because everyone serving in the CF is entitled to have moving expenses reimbursed (or be moved by the CF through contractors) when they are posted to a new assignment and have to move; and are entitled to one final move on retirement.
$72,000 to move in city is a bit much.
I don't think many CF members are getting a years pay to move 'down the street'.
I agree. I wouldn't pay that. But CF personnel are given 2 options; get an allowance to move themselves, or have the CF contract a company to move them. He chose (B), and had no control over costs. Same as any other serving soldier.
Just another tempest in a teacup.
Xort @ Wed Feb 19, 2014 8:38 am
andyt andyt:
60k of that is for legal and real estate fees. Maybe nobody claimed those before him, or he had a much more expensive house or who knows. It was approved by the same department that's now investigating him.
60k seems a bit much to sell a house. It seems way too much for the government to cover.
I think this could very much be a case, of the #2 man in the CF not getting told no. I could be wrong, I hope I'm wrong, but with the same breath as you would claim the government smearing you, you can also suggest than the Chief of the Land Staff might not get told that he can't claim all of that.
Headstrong @ Wed Feb 19, 2014 8:43 am
Seems to me that the Conservatives are putting a fair amount of political capital into this for there to not be anything behind it.
$1:
Yet for Mr. Nicholson, this is the only event of note to have prompted a ministerial statement to the press in recent times. It has at least diverted public attention from a new report that excoriates the government’s handling of the defence file post-Afghanistan.
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/201 ... gn-policy/
bootlegga @ Wed Feb 19, 2014 8:53 am
DrCaleb DrCaleb:
It's drivel because everyone serving in the CF is entitled to have moving expenses reimbursed (or be moved by the CF through contractors) when they are posted to a new assignment and have to move; and are entitled to one final move on retirement.
The Retired General who is still in an Afghan jail got $40k to to move to the UAE. Anyone care about that? Gen. Leslie got no different treatment than any other soldier, but the CPC is making it an issue because he's a Liberal adviser. Want to bet Laurie Hawn also got this benefit when he retired from the RCAF?
The Retired General who is still in an Afghan jail got $40k to to move to the UAE. Anyone care about that? Gen. Leslie got no different treatment than any other soldier, but the CPC is making it an issue because he's a Liberal adviser. Want to bet Laurie Hawn also got this benefit when he retired from the RCAF?
I'd really like to see an access to information request on Hawn's or Gordon Connor benefit payout...but I'm willing to bet they would come back negative because they are "too far in the past" and the records have mysteriously disappeared.
This is blatantly a drive-by smear campaign because Leslie had the nerve to go to work for JT and the Liberals.
I don't care for Leslie very much - given the reasons Gunnair cited - but he's still entitled to a fair shake.
andyt @ Wed Feb 19, 2014 8:56 am
Absolutely to your last sentence.
If I understand right, this "benefit" is accorded all serving soldiers each time they have to move for work, and one last time when they retire. So does that mean Leslie charged 70k for the, I believe he said, dozens of moves during his service? What about every other member of the forces. This sounds pretty expensive.
It does sound like his costs were pretty excessive.
Regina @ Wed Feb 19, 2014 9:06 am
I don't see the big deal. Most large companies have a moving policy when relocating employees. It covers all moving expenses up to a certain amount, realtor fees and limited housing cost adjustments if transferring to a city with higher housing costs.
When I bought this house 4 years ago it was from a CP Rail engineer (not a train driver) who got transferred out west. CP Rail hired a realtor to evaluate the property value which the employee is guaranteed to get no matter what it actually sells for. I got the house for $10,000 less than asking even though there was a full offer made. I had no conditions and a quick closing date, which suited them. The owners didn't lose a penny and the CP wasn't babysitting a house.
Someone is just trying to stir up shit with the people who don't know this is available to employees in the real world.
DrCaleb @ Wed Feb 19, 2014 9:12 am
andyt andyt:
If I understand right, this "benefit" is accorded all serving soldiers each time they have to move for work, and one last time when they retire. So does that mean Leslie charged 70k for the, I believe he said, dozens of moves during his service? What about every other member of the forces. This sounds pretty expensive.
It does sound like his costs were pretty excessive.
It does sound like his costs were pretty excessive.
He didn't charge $70k, the contractors hired billed the CF $70k for their services. He wasn't involved. If he were to take the payout option and move himself, he might get $2k per move. I think it's prorated based on where they move to and from.
I know one person who moved from CFS Bermuda to CFS Masset, and simply sold all their big stuff, took their personal stuff on a flight to Miami and bought a cheap car, and pocketed the moving allowance.
andyt @ Wed Feb 19, 2014 9:28 am
60k of that was real estate fees - doubt if there was a contractor involved there.
Since other examples given were for far less for a much longer move, it still sounds excessive to me.
Regina @ Wed Feb 19, 2014 9:30 am
andyt andyt:
60k of that was real estate fees - doubt if there was a contractor involved there.
Since other examples given were for far less for a much longer move, it still sounds excessive to me.
Since other examples given were for far less for a much longer move, it still sounds excessive to me.
Big surprise............. since $0.99 is excessive to you.
DrCaleb @ Wed Feb 19, 2014 9:32 am
andyt andyt:
60k of that was real estate fees - doubt if there was a contractor involved there.
A Realtor can be contracted to sell the house. Happens, as Regina said, all the time in the private sector. Company wants employee to move to Hong Kong for next week, so they buy the employees' house and sell it themselves.
Zipperfish @ Wed Feb 19, 2014 9:38 am
Regina Regina:
I don't see the big deal. Most large companies have a moving policy when relocating employees.
I've seen some of those moving costs--and been floored by them.
$72,000K is a lot but realtor fees are--what?--5%. That's $50K on a $1,000,000 home which would be a pretty modest accommodation here in Vancouver.