Last fall, it was the Torries that made completely baseless allegations against David Dingwall and the Vancouver Sun reported them as fact. Reporter Paul Samyn Vancouver Sun September 29th 2005

“Mint documents show Dingwall and top aides racked up $846,464 in expenses in 2004, including $1,235 for his annual golf membership, $13,228 in one day of foreign travel, and a $5,728 meal at an Ottawa restaurant. While Dingwall has a leased car courtesy of the Crown corporation, his office also ran up a $2,500 tab on limousines in 2003.”

Why the Vancouver Sun bought into the Conservatives tails of how, for one, a two day seminar for 24 mint personal was really $5800 dinner for two and how, for another, a 11 day business trip was really a one day travel charge is an open question.   

Give the Vancouver Sun points for consistency though. http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/ 2005/10/26/dingwall051026 .html" title="http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/ 2005/10/26/dingwall051026 .html" target="_blank"http://www.cbc.ca/story/canad...

When an audit cleared Dingwall of all aforementioned charges, the Sun naturally led with this headline: “Mint president billed improperly, review finds”. Needless to say, such a headline was entirely consistent with what Canwest columnist Don Martin had to say in a Vancouver Sun column on October 22 2005.

“OTTAWA - So he was fired. Or, in the curious and evasive language of former Royal Canadian Mint president David Dingwall, ‘compelled to resign because of the situation.’

Okay, did somebody compel him to resign after newspaper front pages were filled with details of his wacky expense claims?”

Fast forward to 2006. The Vancouver Sun has changed it tune. Vancouver Sun editorial Feb 7 

“the auditor found that the 747,000 Dingwall had racked up in expenses was fully in accordance with the Mint’s rules. Dingwall always maintained that he would be exonerated and he was right. Sure, he was living the lavish life of a coddled CEO, but he did nothing improper. In fact, in his 23 months at the helm of the Mint, he introduced management practices and cost controls that helped turn its financial fortunes around from a $3 million in 2003 to an $11 million profit in 2004.”

It is now poor Dingwall.

“It turns out that David Dingwall’s defiance was really an honest effort by the former chief executive of the Royal Canadian mint to be paid severance legally owed to him. An independent arbitrator’s ruling has confirmed what had long been suspected: Dingwall’s departure from the Mint last fall was involuntary. People fired without just cause are entitled to severance.”

Dingwall was indeed entitled to his entitlements!

Reading the Sun one gets the feeling that Dingwall’s firing had nothing whatsoever to do with “wacky expense claims” the Conservatives made and printed in Canwest papers across the land. No sir. In fact the Vancouver Sun writes as if the Conservatives “wacky expense claims” ever had a chance to be validated by Price water House Coopers and by impliction that the Conservatives claims were anything other than complete BS. 

“Much to the chagrin of the Conservatives, the auditor found that the 747,000 Dingwall had racked up in expenses was fully in accordance with the Mint’s rules.”

No Sun editorial, guest or otherwise, has ever condemned Conservatives and Pallister of any wrong doing during the whole affair. The Liberals are held to a different standard. The Sun rightly points out that not only did the Liberals fire a competent fellow and in the process cost the Canadian tax payers $420,000, they also lied about doing so. The Sun calls the later an “affront” to “democratic principles”

“One of those principles is telling the truth in parliament. We expect spin, but not lies.”

I guess calling a 2 day conference for 24 a romantic dinner for two is best characterized as spin.