The provincial Liberal party can鈥檛 catch a break. It鈥檚 been a while since the start of the work-week didn鈥檛 begin with the Liberals finding themselves at the centre of a fresh controversy.

Among the most recent: back-tracking on forest-tenure reform, controversy surrounding the proposed Wood Innovation and Design Centre in Prince George, the ethnic vote debacle, and most recently, the province鈥檚 auditor general report into the Pacific Carbon Trust and the carbon credit scheme.

Without trying to defend the province, it does seem fair to say that some of the recent 鈥榮candals鈥� are the result of being the governing party. As the expression goes, you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette, so the governing Liberals are going to make enemies and face criticism no matter where they fall on an issue or what decision they might make.

The NDP, B.C. Conservatives, and independent MLAs have the luxury of not having to worry about how their own policy implications would play out in the real world.

But last week鈥檚 furor surrounding carbon credits took things to a new level.

There was a palpable build-up of tension before the release of the report as the province first announced that the report would arrive, and then delayed its release despite early leaks of the document.

It appeared that there was something in the report that either the province or the Pacific Carbon Trust wasn鈥檛 ready to handle. Well, there was and they weren鈥檛 ready to handle it. In unequivocal terms, auditor general John Doyle described the provincial carbon credit program as lacking fundamental credibility.

Minister Terry Lake, speaking to media after the release of the report, was forced into the position of completely rejecting the findings of the auditor general. Citing eight independent auditing bodies (without naming them), he could only call into question Doyle鈥檚 expertise in the area.

鈥淲ho audits the auditor general?鈥� Lake asked.

That was a real low point for the province. It was a flippant comment suggesting that Doyle lacks the ability and resources to examine the carbon credit program.

Saying that the province鈥檚 office of the auditor general is unable to cast a critical eye over the Pacific Carbon Trust because it lacks the expertise to understand it, is insulting.

Doyle wasn鈥檛 commenting on outlying theories of particle physics. He was commenting on a business model funded, essentially, by provincial, municipal and regional dollars. That is exactly his job and his expertise.

If Doyle and his office are not qualified to reach critical conclusions regarding the Pacific Carbon Trust, then where does that leave us? Lake is suggesting that we should just take 鈥榠nternational鈥� audit experts at their word.

No thanks.

So who audits the auditor general? That鈥檚 a fair question. We all audit his findings, but it comes in the form of a vote, not in the form of a churlish rhetorical question that slanders a perfectly capable and highly respected civil servant.