CBC OTTAWA - Chuck Guité, the former bureaucrat who ran the federal sponsorship program, told a parliamentary committee on Thursday that he did nothing wrong as he spent millions to raise Ottawa's profile in Quebec.
And he sent a ripple through the hearing room when he said then-finance minister Paul Martin's office had called "on several occasions" in connection with the program, asking that agencies be added to the list of accepted companies able to carry out sponsorship work.
Martin's former executive assistant Terrie O'Leary at one point used the phrase "Paul would prefer" when making a request, Guité said.
Note: Committee says Guité 'a...
Guité testifies he brok...
Stumble It!
Guite is covering Chretien's butt. His attack on Martin is an act of revenge for whatever reason.
If files are missing, then someone has to be charged. That will be the day.
I am no fan of Paul Martin, but these hearings are a farce.
If they swear an oath, and everyone says something different, and accuse different people, or change their story, then they should all be charged with perjury.
It's like 4 guys in a car. They get stopped for speeding, the cop sees a gun on the front seat, and if nobody claims ownership, they should all be charged with possession. No ifs ands or buts, they should all be charged.
Same with conflicting evidence while under oath, they should all be charged if they can't prove which one is telling the truth.
I'd make a lousy judge, I would fill the prisons in no time.
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"Arrogance in Politics is unacceptable"
Jim Callaghan
Minden, Ontario
705-286-1860
www.misterc.ca
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"Arrogance in Politics is unacceptable"
Jim Callaghan
Minden, Ontario
705-286-1860
www.misterc.ca
-KY
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Kory Yamashita
"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." - Oliver Wendell Holmes
Mr. Guite suggested that if he paid the actual company to run the advertising for Canada, then they would be considered grants. His comment that he had to pay the companies through these other agencies was the only correct way to do this.
Mr. Williams pointed out, since he was an accountant in another life, that Mr. Guite could have paid the companies directly, without the expensive middlemen, since these were not grants, because the government got value for its money. A grant is something like a pension, you pay the money out and get nothing back.
Also, Mr. Williams pointed out that when Mr. Guite said it is not uncommon and does not break any rules to back date a contract, that this is in fact illegal.
Mr. Guite also testified that he shredded an invoice, because it was addressed to Mr. Pelletier. That is illegal, since invoices are numbered and every number has to be accounted for. He showed very poor judgment in some cases, whether by design or not.
We may never know the answer, but I'm of the opinion that rules have to be changed, and may already have been changed, in order for auditors to be able to follow the paper trail.
Anyone shredding documents should have the documents cleared prior to doing so, and shredders should be kept under supervision at all times. Lock and key would be even better.
Even files should be under lock and key, with each worker having their own file cabinet.
No getting around it, this is a mess, but in the final analysis, not a great deal of money in the grand scheme of things.
Even Chretien said, on television, that "So somebody stole a few million dollars, so what ??" or something to that effect. That says it all.
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"Arrogance in Politics is unacceptable"
Jim Callaghan
Minden, Ontario
705-286-1860
www.misterc.ca