When it comes to cost overruns with the gun registry, the so-called HRDC billion-dollar boondoggle, and revelations radiating from the sponsorship inquiry that strongly suggest political influence and bureaucratic compliance in awarding contracts for work of little value, nothing infuriates the taxpayer more than an absence of responsibility or sanction through resignation or imposed job loss. In very telling testimony before Justice Gomery, Stephen Wallace, a top official from Treasury Board stated, "Managers, in fact, have the power to suspend, demote or fire...." However he, acknowledged, "That power isn't always exercised," and also confirmed that, "Consistent understanding and ability to use these tools is not evident across the system."

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