The million dollars spent to send the prime minister's car to India was, according to executive director of the Institute for Conflict Management in Delhi and a leading expert on terrorism in South Asia, a "just plain stupid" act and "money down the toilet."
In view of Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard having recently used an Indian armoured vehicle while visiting and the expectation that British and Dutch leaders will do the same, why is it that our prime minister thought it a good idea to spend $1 million of taxpayers' money to do something different?
Also, we learned it was another waste of money that the government-funded Truth and Reconciliation Commission was forced to sue the government for access to public documents held by Library and Archives Canada, insofar as the language of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement was absolutely "plain" - the government is obligated to provide all relevant documents to the TRC.
I think all Canadians should ask why the government wouldn't want to provide all relevant documents, never mind why it thought it didn't have to. 
Why would it not want the government-funded TRC to have the documented truth that's held by the government?
I feel quite strongly that the calibre of decision-making shown in these instances would result in job termination if the prime minister were employed in the private sector rather than the public sector.
Canadians ought to ask the government what checks and balances it plans on putting in place to ensure that its decision-making processes stop resulting in taxpayer monies being flushed away.
Dianne Varga,
Kelowna