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   From: gregcarrsober@gmail.com   
      
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   Former federal Liberal organizer faces charges from sponsorship scandal   
      
      
   BY MIKE DE SOUZA, POSTMEDIA NEWSDECEMBER 13, 2013 3:19 PM   
      
      
   A former Liberal Party of Canada organizer has been charged with fraud,   
   forgery and laundering the proceeds of crime as part of a “far-reaching   
   investigation” into the former federal sponsorship program, the RCMP   
   said Friday.   
      
   In a statement, the RCMP said Jacques Corriveau – described in Justice   
   John Gomery’s report on the scandal as a “close personal friend” of   
   former prime minister Jean Chretien – was served with the summons to   
   appear in court.   
      
   “It is alleged that the accused set up a kickback system on the   
   contracts that were awarded in the Sponsorship Program,” the police   
   force said in the statement. “Mr. Corriveau allegedly claimed that he   
   could exercise influence on the federal government to facilitate the   
   awarding of contracts to certain Quebec-based communication firms in   
   return for several million dollars’ worth of advantages and/or benefits   
   for himself and other persons.”   
      
   The RCMP also alleged that Corriveau had deposited some of the proceeds   
   he “obtained through fraudulent activities” in “the coffers of the   
   Liberal Party of Canada,” and that he kept the rest for his personal   
   benefit.   
      
   Corriveau’s initial claim to fame in the political world was his role as   
   an organizer of former prime minister Jean Chretien’s leadership   
   campaign in 1990. But at the Gomery commission, the focus shifted to the   
   huge number of untendered contracts Corriveau obtained from the   
   $250-million sponsorship program from 1998-2002.   
      
   Corriveau was a key member of Chretien’s 1984 and 1990 leadership campaigns.   
      
   As a party vice-president for Quebec, one of his tasks was spearheading   
   the campaign for a review of then leader John Turner so Chretien could   
   take over.   
      
   “He was one of my organizers the two times I ran for the party   
   leadership and he was very active. He was a very good supporter who   
   thought that I had certain qualities to be leader of my party,” Chretien   
   testified before Justice John Gomery during the Gomery probe.   
      
   The federal Conservatives were quick to issue a statement Friday about   
   the latest charges. Infrastructure Minister Denis Lebel said in a press   
   release:  “This serves as a reminder to Quebecers and Canadians of the   
   role played by the Liberal Party of Canada now led by Justin Trudeau in   
   the sponsorship scandal. The Liberals still owe the Canadian taxpayers   
   over $40M. When will we see the repayment?”   
      
   2003   
      
   Dec. 12 – Former finance minister Paul Martin, who a month earlier was   
   crowned Liberal leader, takes over as prime minister. He replaces Jean   
   Chretien, who was prime minister for 10 years.   
      
   Chretien created the sponsorship fund to pump up Canada at sports and   
   cultural events after Quebec almost voted to separate in 1995.   
      
   2004   
      
   Feb. 10 – Then auditor general Sheila Fraser presents a scathing report   
   that finds $100 million of the $250-million sponsorship fund went to ad   
   firms with close ties to the Liberals, often for little or no work.   
      
   Martin fires Alfonso Gagliano as Canada’s ambassador to Denmark. As   
   public works minister, Gagliano had been responsible for the sponsorship   
   program.   
      
   Martin announces Quebec Superior Court Justice John Gomery will hold a   
   public inquiry into the sponsorship fund.   
      
   March 11 – Whistle-blowing bureaucrat Allan Cutler tells a House   
   committee that even before the sponsorship fund, there were payments for   
   work not performed involving Liberal-friendly firms. He says Charles   
   Guite, a high-level bureaucrat who eventually ran the sponsorship   
   program, was responsible for many irregularities.   
      
   May 10 – The RCMP lays six fraud-related charges each against Guite and   
   Jean Brault, former head of Groupaction, a Liberal-connected ad firm   
   that got millions in sponsorship deals.   
      
   June 28 – Canadians re-elect the federal Liberal government but voters   
   are angered by the scandal. They give Martin a slim minority.   
      
   Sept. 7 – Testimony begins at the Gomery inquiry in Ottawa. Within days,   
   it hears that top bureaucrats ignored a 1996 internal sponsorship audit   
   that could have saved millions. Long before the scandal broke,   
   bureaucrats had complained about Groupaction’s high fees and shoddy work.   
      
   Nov. 3 – Guite tells the inquiry Chretien aides helped choose events to   
   sponsor, how much cash they got and which ad firms were hired. Guite   
   says he met at least once a week with Gagliano to discuss sponsorships.   
      
   2005   
      
   Feb. 8 – Chretien testifies. He defends the sponsorship program and   
   belittles Gomery, who had described as “small-town cheap” the signed   
   golf balls Chretien used to hand out.   
      
   Chretien testifies that as finance minister, Martin knew of a secret   
   $50-million-a-year unity fund at the PM’s disposition, and says cabinet   
   members knew sponsorship money flow if they read their Treasury Board   
   minutes.   
      
   Feb. 10 – Martin testifies. He was finance minister when sponsorship   
   cash was handed out. He tells the inquiry it was only in 2000 or   
   afterwards that he became aware of the sponsorship program. Even then,   
   he says, he was out of the loop and unaware of how the money was spent.   
      
   Feb. 28 – The inquiry moves to Montreal. During testimony by Alex   
   Himelfarb, clerk of the Privy Council, Gomery accuses Chretien of being   
   involved in a “conspiracy of silence.” The comment came as Himelfarb   
   testifies Chretien had a policy of not being briefed on draft audits   
   including Sheila Fraser’s on the sponsorship program to avoid   
   accusations of meddling.   
      
   March 7 – Jean Lafleur, former head of Lafleur Communications, is on the   
   Gomery stand for six days. During the sponsorship heyday, when his firm   
   raked in millions from the program, Lafleur hobnobbed with senior   
   Liberals, including ministers. Lafleur can’t answer many questions,   
   blaming a faulty memory.   
      
   March 11 – The federal government goes after ad agencies involved in the   
   sponsorship program, launching a $40-million lawsuit for services it   
   says were not rendered, doubly paid, or of no value. Eleven companies   
   and eight people are defendants, including Guite and Brault.   
      
   March 14 – Gilles-Andre Gosselin, head of Gosselin Communications   
   Strategiques, testifies his firm started losing sponsorship contracts   
   around the time he wouldn’t buckle to pressure to donate to Liberals.   
      
   March 17 – Bernard Thiboutot, a former Groupaction executive, testifies   
   the firm secretly funnelled tens of thousands of dollars to the Liberal   
   party and to several Liberal organizers, including a former Gagliano   
   assistant.   
      
   April 7 – A firestorm erupts after Gomery lifts his publication ban on   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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