It's perhaps time to look in the mirror.

Generally, I try not to rant more than once a quarter. It is bad for business and bad for my health. I break the rule this month! We are living in extraordinary political times.

I am grumpy because I am really, really sick of dishonest, self-dealing, mealy mouthed politicians and their hangers on who are slowly bit by bit bringing this country down. I don't like being put in this position. Politics is a noble calling. What the hell is going on?

Last month I talked about Paul Martin, and his politics of achievement and tax avoidance.

This month we learn about the fabulous Common Sense Revolution and how it worked for senior players in our last provincial Tory government.

As they laid off workers from natural resources and the Ministry of the Environment, there was another set of rules for Tory insiders who found ways to raid the almost bankrupt Ontario Power Generation. They didn't think they would get caught because they were on their way to privatizing it.

There is Paul Rhodes, former spokesman for Mike Harris and communication director of the last Tory campaign, collecting $335,237 in an untendered $15,000-a-month consulting agreement that, to be charitable, got them little to no advice worth paying for. There's Michael Gourley, advisor to Ernie Eves and former deputy finance minister, earning $105,000 in an untendered contract ($40,000 in the first month) to provide a note on the importance of privatization. Companies he was associated with earned (I use the term lightly) $3.7 million of fees. There's Leslie Noble, co-chair of the conservative election campaign, clocking in at a quarter of a million and then of course the wonderful Tom Long, politely known as a senior Conservative strategist, pulling down (or at least his companies) $1.3 million.

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Federally, before we even talk about the missing hundred million, we have Jean Chretien's hotel and golf courses in Shawinigan, Paul Martin's, oops I guess I did do more than $160 million worth of business with the government after all and Brian Mulroney's $300,000 consulting contract, which took place after the PM retired, with Karlheinz Schreiber, the controversial German-Canadian lobbyist. After the former PM said he hardly ever met the guy, Mike Harris and his cohorts raiding OPG and let's not forget Mel Lastman's City of Toronto leasing policies into which there continues to be a year long judicial inquiry.

The three largest governments that happen to do business in this province, (the federal, the provincial and the City of Toronto governments) have all got some explaining to do.

It's a wonder we don't have to pay bribes at the counter to get a driver's license.

If the ordinary folk in this country took their cue from some of their leaders we'd be in a jurisdiction that would make Nigeria look like student government.

What I don't understand is why do these people think it is all right to skulk around and fix themselves up at public expense. Why do they feel entitled to take what they can get their hands on because they can? How did they get to the top and then fall into the muck. I doubt very much they got into politics to get an untendered contract somewhere. They started with a belief or at minimum a career interest.

Judging from the minimal comment we are getting from them they still think this stuff is just fine.

We could write another 10 books on this material. Just follow the donations to political parties in this province over the last 20 years and it would tell a story that would make the hair rise on the back of your neck. For starters, track who bought land from either the federal or provincial government in the last 10 years.

We must amend the laws of Ontario to restrict donations to political parties in the same way it has been done in Quebec and now the federal government. If we want to reduce corruption we have to pay the price to keep it clean. Dalton McGuinty, when I ask him, (now three times in the last year), says he agrees, but I never hear him talk about it. It is a great policy initiative for a guy with a big deficit. It won't cost much at all.

The reality however is that if our culture is approving this kind of non-sense by looking the other way in disinterest no laws will save us from ourselves.

We have a problem. It is not one level of government. It is not one political party. We have a pervasive abuse of the public trust in this province and this country and it won't stop until the people of this country say they have had enough.

The arrival of a new mayor in Toronto is encouraging.

Let's see what the rest of us have to say.

Michael Atkins is president of Northern Ontario Business Ltd. He can be reached at [e-mail].