PACP Committee News Release
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Standing Committee on Public Accounts |
HOUSE OF COMMONS CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES OTTAWA, CANADA K1A 0A6 |
Comité permanent des comptes publics |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
COMMITTEE RELEASES TRANSCRIPT OF IN CAMERA MEETING WITH FORMER HEAD OF THE SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM HELD ON JULY 9, 2002
Ottawa, July 11, 2005 -
OTTAWA: Today, Mr. John Williams, MP, and Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts, released the transcript of an in camera meeting with the former acting executive director of the Communications Coordination Services Branch (CCSB) of Public Works and Government Services Canada, Mr. Pierre Tremblay. The CCSB managed the Sponsorship Program for the government of Canada.
Mr. Tremblay (recently deceased) met with the Committee to discuss his role in the awarding of three contracts with Groupaction Inc. that were subsequently audited by the Auditor General of Canada. The Auditor General’s findings based on that audit were published in a special report to the then Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, Mr. Don Boudria, in May 2002.
The transcript shows that Mr. Tremblay, formerly Chief of Staff to former Minister of Public Works and Government Services Alfonso Gagliano, was unfamiliar with government contracting rules when he assumed his position. Although he authorized the $375,000 payment for the third contract, Mr. Tremblay did not verify that the contracted services had been delivered, as called for by the Financial Administration Act. The Auditor General reported that she found “very little evidence … that all significant contract requirements were met” with regard to this third contract.
The Standing Committee on Public Accounts had agreed to hold the transcript of the meeting in confidence for three years. Today marks the third anniversary of the in camera meeting, held on 9 July 2002.
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