April 06, 2005
Cat released from bag
Testimony at the Gomery inquiry might be subject to a publication ban, but Sun Media's Greg Weston has been speaking to Groupaction executives outside of the hearing - and they say massive kickbacks were paid not only to the federal Liberals, but also the Parti Quebecois:
A Montreal advertising firm that received more than $40 million in federal sponsorship contracts paid huge kickbacks to both the federal Liberal party and Quebec separatists, senior executives of the company have told Sun Media Newspapers. "I remember seeing the cheques," one former Group-action executive said of payments to the federal Liberal party in Quebec.
The man spoke on condition that he not be identified until he testifies at the Gomery inquiry in the coming weeks.
The executive said the president of Groupaction, Jean Brault, made no secret around the company about where the kickback cash was going and for what.
"He spoke to me about it . . . having to pay money back to the Liberal Party" in return for contracts.
The $250 million in sponsorships that the previous Liberal government pumped into Quebec was supposed to help fight the separatists after the near-miss referendum in 1995.
But another former Groupaction executive, Alain Renaud, said that while the firm was getting million of dollars in federal sponsorship money, it was secretly cutting cheques to the separatist Parti Quebecois.
Renaud said that in one transaction, a total of about $90,000 was given to the PQ as part of Groupaction's getting a $4.5-million advertising contract for the Quebec liquor board, called the SAQ.
Groupaction apparently won the contract in a competition when a bagman for the Parti Quebecois had a meeting with the firm's top executives.
One of those executives told Sun Media: "The bagman came by and said: 'Well, you won the bid and all that's needed now is a signature, and the documents are on the minister's desk to be signed, and it's going to cost you fifty grand.' "
Renaud recalled about $45,000 a year in donations were to be paid to the PQ for two years.
The money was funnelled through individual Groupaction employees to circumvent Quebec law, which prohibits corporate political contributions.
If this is true, it's bad news for the Bloc Quebecois, which until now believed it could sweep Quebec because of anger over Adscam. The PQ is technically a separate party, but I doubt Quebec voters make much distinction between the two. I certainly don't.
Posted by damian at April 6, 2005 07:53 AM | TrackBack