Public Works Minister Scott Brison defended Sunday the scandal-ridden Liberal sponsorship program as Canada's war effort against Quebec separatists, dismissing those who used it for personal or political financial gain as a "few war profiteers" who should be severely punished.

"There were profiteers in Canada's war effort," he said on CTV's Question Period. "That doesn't mean the war effort of Canadians was bad.

They call it war - I call it good money after bad. War? That's rich. Like the war on drugs? The war on terror, even? We were fighting a province with a bunch of people who don't want to be here, and who are costing us a fortune by staying within the country (not counting the Adscam money). Wouldn't it be better all around if we just let them go? Okay, maybe not an option, given that they own most of the hydroelectricity on the eastern seabord, but were billboards and concerts really going to save our country? That's hardly what I'd call a war. More like a carnival gone very, very wrong.

Brison also promised that if the Liberal party "inappropriately" received any funds from the program, as has been alleged in testimony to the Gomery inquiry, the money will be repaid to Canadians and those involved will be punished.

Let me break that one down into a couple of key points. It will be tough to prove that the Liberals received any money, seeing as they did everything in cash, like a bunch of cheap prohibition-era gangsters. So he's making promises the Liberals likely won't have to keep. It's a nice political bluff that makes them look honorable. And as for punishing those involved... how high are they willing to go? It seems that the current government would be more than happy to make Jean Chretien the scapegoat, but are they willing to risk their current leader, the ex-Finance Minister?

Well, they may not have to bother.

Canada's minority Liberal government is heading for defeat at the hands of the Conservatives after more than 11 years in power, according to a new poll released on Monday.

The EKOS poll, taken after revelations last week of kickbacks to the Liberal Party, showed support for the Conservatives at 36.2 percent, compared with 25 percent for the Liberals -- their lowest showing since taking office in 1993.

The Toronto Star, which commissioned the poll, said this suggested a late June election. The Liberals lost their majority in Parliament in the last election, in June 2004. [I am inclined to trust this poll, if for no other reason than Torstar is generally in support of the Liberal government, and I commend them for reporting news that they really didn't want to hear in the first place - RG]

The newspaper, which commissioned the survey, quoted EKOS pollster Frank Graves as describing "a breathtaking shift in what had been a stagnant and listless political landscape."

Breathtaking. According to some of the reports I read this morning on my way to work, the Liberals have lost the confidence of the Ontario voters, which has always been their sure-fire powerhouse. If they lose Ontario, the lose the "war". We may not have to prove that money went astray. All we have to do is keep the thought in mind as we're walking to the ballot box. And we could be walking there as early as June or July.

Cross Posted to The Shotgun.