Gomery Sponsorship/Slush Fund Inquiry, Canada Post, Andre Ouellet and "Friends"
List of Articles:
* Canada Post unable to locate $275,000 -- Records fail to show Crown corporation received federal cash -- Government grant obtained by agency in sponsorship affair -- Andre Ouellet
* Ouellet testifies at sponsorship inquiry, defends friendships with contractors
* Friend's firm did good job, Ouellet tells Gomery
Canada Post unable to locate $275,000 -- Records fail to show Crown corporation received federal cash -- Government grant obtained by agency in sponsorship affair -- Andre Ouellet
Ah, gee, I just mislaid . . .
And Ouellet warned that Canada Post, which has to compete against massive international courier companies, would wind up in financial trouble if it is forced to operate with the strict bureaucratic controls of a government department
[. . . . ] At issue was a $275,000 grant obtained from the federal government for Canada Post by Jean Lafleur, who ran one of the advertising agencies that figured prominently in the sponsorship affair. The money was for the launch of a stamp commemorating the 1972 Canada-USSR hockey series.
But former Canada Post chairman André Ouellet testified Wednesday that he didn't think the funds were ever delivered and representatives of Canada Post agreed to search their records.
"We didn't find anything," Holland reported to Justice John Gomery. [. . . . ]
Concerning Lafleur, "His company was among a handful of Liberal-connected ad agencies that received a total of $100 million in fees and commissions for administering grants to community and sports events sponsored by Ottawa between 1996 and 2002."
Have all the shredders in Ottawa been sold out? -- Long ago.
Ouellet testifies at sponsorship inquiry, defends friendships with contractors
[. . . . ] For two days, the former Cabinet minister in both the Chretien and Trudeau governments fended off questions about his close-knit relationships with firms and key players at the centre of the sponsorship scandal while trying to distance himself from the tangled web of business dealings. Mr. Ouellet earlier acknowledged a close friendship with Jean Lafleur, the Montreal businessman who headed Lafleur Communications, but the inquiry learned yesterday that his son, Eric Lafleur, accompanied Mr. Ouellet to Hong Kong to launch a stamp to mark the Chinese New Year. On his resume, the younger Mr. Lafleur describes himself as Mr. Ouellet's "strategic advisor" for the stamp launch -- a title he described as exaggerated and somewhat "pompous." [. . . . ]
If I remember correctly, Mr. Ouellet's salary was higher than the Prime Minister's -- and heading Canada Post was quite a perq -- "friendship".
Ottawa — Former Canada Post president André Ouellet fended off more charges of favouritism Thursday, insisting that a friend's public-relations company [Tremblay Guittet ] earned every penny of the $2-million it received for work done for the post office.
Testifying for a second day at the federal sponsorship inquiry, Mr. Ouellet defended his dealings with Michèle Tremblay, founder of Tremblay Guittet Communications.
[. . . . ] Ms. Tremblay, a former journalist, is a longtime friend of Mr. Ouellet and is also close to Alfonso Gagliano, the former public works minister who at one time was politically responsible for Canada Post. [. . . . ]
