Clarkson’s expenses

Re: Former GG spent more than revealed; and Clarkson’s spending, Letter to the Editor, Nov. 6

Why can’t Adrienne Clarkson raise some of the required costs on her own? Former president Bill Clinton raises gobs of money with his speaking engagements, and he’s not too proud to do so. Why can’t our former GGs do a bit of the same? It seems not only an Adrienne Clarkson problem, but a problem around the culture at Rideau Hall. As a Canadian and a taxpayer, it’s embarrassing and irresponsible. Ian Robertson, Armstrong, B.C.

While I abhor the excesses past GGs have wrought upon Canadians, it doesn’t necessarily follow that it be the catalyst for breaking our constitutional mould as letter writer Selby Martin suggests.

Rather, if we appointed properly qualified people, eg David Johnston (no relation), rather than apply the idiocy of political correctness, our success rate would be considerably higher and the handwringing a deal less. Alistair Johnston, Langley, B.C.

So as I struggle to pay my bills while raising a family, I now realize what I have been doing wrong all these years. It is almost a decade since I departed the company that employed me for over 20 years, but under the “Adrienne Clarkson rule” I should still be billing my former employer for six-figure expense claims every year. Silly me.

Surely nothing better illustrates the gaping chasm between the governing elites and those whom they govern than the obscenity of hardworking, financially distressed Canadian taxpayers having to fund this rich, entitled woman’s extravagant lifestyle. And what makes it even more galling is the fact that lefties like her persist in the belief that they are morally superior to those of us who advocate lower taxes and smaller, less wasteful government. Paul Higgins, North Vancouver