w w w .w e sterngazette.c a • @uw ogazette
Don’t cross Alex… Check out our review of Alex Cross >> pg. 5
thegazette
today high 15 low 10
Decorating for Halloween since 1906
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
tomorrow high 20 low 12
canada’s only Daily Student Newspaper • founded 1906
Volume 106, Issue 27
Fontana faces flak for Canada develops flagrant fiscal frivolity new lunar rovers Justin Sahota Contributor
file photo
Aaron Zaltzman News Editor London Mayor Joe Fontana has some explaining to do, after allegations recently came to light that he used public funds for personal use in 2005, while serving as an MP. The allegations came last Thursday from the London Free Press, which claimed Fontana paid for his son Michael’s wedding using two cheques issued by the Government of Canada. The claim is backed by Joe DiPietro, the then-manager of the Marconi Club where the reception was held. The LFP also obtained a cheque stub of Fontana’s with an invoice number that matches the one used for the wedding contract. Fontana initially acknowledged the allegations, but responded dismissively. “The documentation relating to the story has not been shared with me. I have not been contacted by anyone regarding these accusations (except the LFP),” Fontana wrote in a statement on his website. “Londoners should know I will get to the bottom of this and I have started to obtain and review available documentation from 2005.” “I am confident a thorough and fair review will clearly demonstrate all transactions were proper and valid.” However, Fontana later admit-
ted a review of the documents in question “clearly indicates a personal payment made to the Marconi Club during the time frame in question.” The allegations became even more serious yesterday, when Fontana confirmed the matter had been referred to the RCMP. In another press release, the mayor stated he had retained the services of an attorney and would cooperate with any review.
I am confident a thorough and fair review will clearly demonstrate all transactions were proper and valid. —Joe Fontana
London mayor
Timothy Cobban, a political science professor at Western specializing in local government, said the allegations look bad for Fontana. “It depends on the details, but if he paid by government cheque and didn’t reimburse his office, then that seems criminal to me. If he did reimburse it, it seems very incompetent,” Cobban said. “It reflects badly on his administrative
capacity, one way or the other.” However, Christine de Clercy, a political science professor with a specialization in Canadian politics, cautioned against early speculation based on the LFP’s contentions. “Mr. Fontana has been fair in pointing out that, to date, nobody has substantiated these allegations against him or served him with a formal copy of the papers in question,” de Clercy said. “Judging from the LFP story, where some of receipts were covered in obstructions and had obviously been amended, there is some reason to suspect the veracity of these allegations.” Though the allegations are serious, even a criminal conviction would not automatically spell an end to his tenure as mayor. “If there is a criminal proceeding and Mr. Fontana was convicted, he still wouldn’t be prevented from holding municipal office,” Cobban explained. “The only circumstances under which he would directly lose his position would be if he missed too many council meetings because he was incarcerated—in that case, council could vote to have him removed from office.” According to Cobban, if that should happen, or if Fontana were to resign, council would have to either appoint a replacement mayor or hold a by-election.
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA), in collaboration with Canadian space industry and universities, is reaffirming Canada’s reputation in space exploration technology. About half a dozen prototype rovers have been developed that may one day be used in lunar exploration. “We started [development] five years ago in 2007 with some of the earliest prototypes,” JeanClaude Piedboeuf, director of space exploration development at the CSA, said. “And then, in 2009, we received additional funding from the federal government [through] Canada’s Economic Action Plan that increased the speed of development.” Gordon Osinski, CSA industrial research chair of planetary geology, who was involved in the development of two of the rovers, said, “[Approximately] $110 million [was given] to the CSA [from Canada’s Economic Action Plan], and a third went to the prototypes.” Canada is well-recognized in the field of space exploration technology based on its past expertise in the development of the Canadarm and the space station. The exploration plan was developed in hopes of extending this expertise into developing the rovers, which are essentially mobile robots. By 2020, Piedboeuf thinks there may be several opportunities for Canada to contribute to a Moon landing mission. However, the lunar rover missions remain an indefinite possibility, with budget cuts being a major detriment.
“If you were to ask that before the most recent budget, the answer would have been yes, definitely within the next 10 years Canada would be partnering with either NASA or the European Space Agency. Now that the CSA’s budget has been reduced, there is some question as to when that will take place,” Mathew Cross, PhD student at Western, and part of the team which developed a rover prototype, said. “For now, there is no mission where any of these rovers will fly,” Osinski added. The prototypes were not solely developed by CSA, but are the result of a solidly Canadian effort involving Canadian universities and industry. “The field of space exploration is not as narrow as some people might think,” Cross said. “Also, the science that goes behind it— [you] need to have a reason to go to Mars or the Moon in the first place. Western [has] the Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration, which [is a] national leader in developing the science to really drive these missions.” According to Cross, research into the rovers will have useful purposes besides their intended mission. “Technology that goes into space robots can have domestic applications. The challenges of operating a rover on Mars, for example, are not that different from operating a rover underground in a mine. And so, of course, since Canada is a leader in mining technology, there were a lot of mining companies that were partnered in this program,” Cross concluded.
Courtesy of Melanie Beauchesne