The Gomery Commission, formally the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities, is a federal Canadian commission headed by the retired Justice John Gomery for the purpose of investigating the sponsorship scandal, which involves allegations of corruption within the Canadian government. The word federal in a general sense refers to the nature of an agreement between or among two or more states, nations, or other groups to merge into a union in which control of common affairs is held by a central authority created by and with the consent of the... Jump to: navigation, search Justice John Gomery Justice John Howard Gomery, BCL , BA , QC (born August 9, 1932 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian jurist. ... Jump to: navigation, search The sponsorship scandal or AdScam is an ongoing scandal that may lead to the collapse of the current government of Canada. ... System of government Canada is a constitutional monarchy as a Commonwealth Realm (see Monarchy in Canada) with a federal system of parliamentary government, and strong democratic traditions. ...

The Commission was called by Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin in February 2004 soon after the Auditor General of Canada's report found unexplainable irregularities in the Sponsorship Program. The Commission was part of Martin's active campaign to be seen as working to solve the problem. Justice Gomery released his first phase report on the scandal on November 1, 2005. Jump to: navigation, search The Prime Minister of Canada, the head of the Canadian government, is usually the leader of the political party with the most seats in the Canadian House of Commons. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Right Honourable Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , MP , LL.B , BA (born August 28, 1938 in Windsor, Ontario) is the Prime Minister of Canada. ... February is the second month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The role of the Auditor General of Canada is to aid independent audits of federal government operations. ... Jump to: navigation, search November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Mandate

The Commission had a broader mandate, more power and greater resources than the Auditor General, and most importantly could look beyond government to the advertising agencies that had received the Sponsorship dollars. The terms of reference allowed the commissioner to question witnesses, hire experts and adopt any procedures or methods that he considers expedient for the proper conduct of the inquiry. The purpose given was to "investigate and report on questions raised, directly or indirectly" by the Auditor Generals report. However, he was specifically directed not to make any conclusions or recommendations on criminal charges or civil liability.

Proceedings and testimonies

The Commission began in Ottawa, meeting in the Old City Hall. The hearing opened in September 2004. The first to testify was auditor Sheila Fraser who reported the findings of her earlier investigations. The first part of its investigation was of the political direction of the project. Most of the top officials involved were called to testify. Jump to: navigation, search {{Hide = {{{Disable Motto Link}}}}} Motto: {{Unhide = {{{Disable Motto Link}}}}} Advance Ottawa/Ottawa en avant City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada location. ... The International Style 1958 portion of the Old City Hall on Sussex Drive The Safdie addition to the south of the building, the controversial tower can be seen on the right The building today commonly referred to as the Old City Hall was the building that served as Ottawas... 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December See also: September 2004 in sports Deaths in September • 27 Tsai Wan-lin • 24 Françoise Sagan • 20 Brian Clough • 18 Russ Meyer • 15 Johnny Ramone • 12 Fred Ebb • 11 Peter VII of Alexandria • 8 Richard Girnt... Categories: Canadian people stubs | 1950 births ...

In an unprecedented event the inquiry saw the testimony of two Prime Ministers in February 2005: Paul Martin and Jean Chrétien. The testimony of Chrétien was much anticipated. In December 2004 Chrétien's lawyers had moved to expel Justice Gomery due to comments he had made to a National Post reporter that the lawyers argued showed that Gomery was biased against Chrétien. These included Gomery commenting that golf balls marked with Chrétien's name, which had been paid for by the sponsorship program, were "small town cheap." Gomery rejected the calls to recuse himself setting up a confrontation between him and Chrétien. At the end of his day of testimony Chrétien closed his statement by pulling out a series of golf balls bearing the name of American presidents and asking whether each of them was "small town cheap." The stunt was the focus of all the media reports. 2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Ongoing events • Iraqi legislative election • Bill C-38 (Canada gay marriage) • Tsunami relief Upcoming events • March 11: Red Nose Day 2005 in the UK. Deaths in February • 26 – Jef Raskin • 25 – Hugh Nibley • 25 – Peter Benenson • 21... Jump to: navigation, search The Right Honourable Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien, PC , LL.D (born January 11, 1934) was the twentieth Prime Minister of Canada, serving from November 4, 1993, to December 12, 2003. ... Jump to: navigation, search ← - 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Deaths in December • 30 Artie Shaw • 29 Julius Axelrod • 28 Jacques Dupuis • 28 Jerry Orbach • 28 Susan Sontag • 26 Reggie White • 26 Sir Angus Ogilvy • 23 P. V. Narasimha Rao • 23 Doug Ault... The National Post is a large Canadian English language national newspaper based in Toronto. ...

After the prime ministers testified, the hearings moved to Montreal to investigate where the money had gone. The hearings in Ottawa had uncovered little more than what was in the Auditor General's report. The AG did not have the authority to investigate outside of the government, and the look into the advertising companies in Montreal uncovered a great deal of new and explosive allegations. The most important of these were by Groupaction executive Jean Brault who recounted a series of crimes committed to direct government money to Liberal party supporters. These caused a sharp fall in the support for the governing Liberals and has put their government in jeopardy. Jump to: navigation, search City motto: Concordia Salus (Latin: Well-being through harmony) Province Quebec Mayor Gérald Tremblay Area  - % water 500. ... Groupaction Inc. ... Jean Brault was the president of Groupaction, a Montreal advertising firm implicated in the Canadian sponsorship scandal. ...

First phase report

On November 1, 2005, Gomery released the first part of his report. Gomery criticized Chrétien, his chief of staff Jean Pelletier, and his former public works minister Alfonso Gagliano, saying that Chrétien and Pelletier must be held responsible. While people such as Gagliano, Chuck Guité and Jacques Corriveau took advantage of the programme, Gomery observed that such abuses would not have been possible had Chrétien not set the programme up without safeguards in the first place. Jump to: navigation, search November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jean Pelletier (born February 21, 1935 in Chicoutimi, Quebec) is a Canadian political operative and former head of VIA Rail. ... Alfonso Gagliano The Dishonourable Alfonso Gagliano, PC (born January 25, 1942) is a Canadian accountant and Liberal Party politician. ... J. Charles (Chuck) Guité is a Canadian civil servant who was in charge of the federal sponsorship program, and is one of the main figures in the sponsorship scandal. ... Jacques Corriveau is a Quebec businessperson and owner of the graphic design firm Pluri Design Canada Inc. ...

Gomery said that Pelletier "failed to take the most elementary precautions against mismanagement – and Mr. Chrétien was responsible for him." Gomery also exonerated prime minister Paul Martin, the former minister of finance during most of the sponsorship programme. Gomery specifically said that Martin "is entitled, like other ministers from the Quebec caucus, to be exonerated from any blame for carelessness or misconduct", as the Department of Finance's role was not oversight, but setting the "fiscal framework".

Jean Chrétien, on the day the report was tabled in the House of Commons, objected to the findings of the Commission, commenting that Gomery believed the wrong witnesses. "Personally, I believe Jean Pelletier, a man who dedicated his life to the service of his city, his province and his country," said the former Prime Minister, dismissing's Chuck Guité's testimony.

Gomery's final report is due around the second anniversary of his appointment in February 2006. Paul Martin has promised that an election will be called within thirty days of the final report. While some speculated that the government would be forced into a snap election by the opposition Conservatives and Bloc Québécois before then, the Liberals narrowly avoided it on 19 May 2005, and it seems unlikely they will fall before Gomery publishes his findings. Jump to: navigation, search 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In the Westminster parliamentary system a snap election is an early election called when the Prime Minister (or Premier) dissolves the legislature mid-way in a governments mandate. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Conservative Party of Canada (French: Parti conservateur du Canada) is a right wing political party in Canada, formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in December 2003. ... The Bloc Québécois is a left-wing federal political party in Canada that is devoted to the promotion of sovereignty for Quebec. ...

External links

• The Gomery Commission