More juice for the lawyers:
cbc.ca
Federal government sues sponsorship ad agencies
Last Updated Fri, 11 Mar 2005 22:06:13 EST
CBC News
MONTREAL - The federal government has launched a $39-million lawsuit against Quebec advertising firms, seeking to recover funds allegedly misspent in the sponsorship program.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in Quebec Superior Court in Montreal, names 19 companies including Lafleur Communications, Groupaction, Everest and Polygone.
Jean Lafleur (CP file)
A number of individuals are also named in the lawsuit, including Chuck Guité, the bureaucrat that ran the $250 million sponsorship program, former head of Lafleur Communication Marketing Jean Lafleur and advertising executives Jacques Paradis, Paul Coffin and Jean Brault.
Guité, Brault, Coffin and Paradis already face criminal fraud charges in relation to the scandal.
The lawsuit alleges some of the executives never provided services the government paid for, provided services that had no value, or double-billied for the services that were provided.
A public inquiry into the sponsorship scandal is currently being led by Justice John Gomery. The inquiry, called by Prime Minister Paul Martin, is investigating how $100 million in advertising fees and commissions went to Liberal-friendly ad agencies for little or no work.
The sponsorship program was set up to promote unity in the wake of the 1995 referendum in Quebec. |
