Years after since his involvement in the sponsorship scandal, Jacques Corriveau was set to stand trial just a few weeks ago. He was arrested back in 2013 on accusations of counterfeiting documents, fraud, and laundering the money begotten from the crime.
Jacques Corriveau is a friend of former prime minister Jean Chr?tien. He?s facing charges related to his orchestration of a kickback scheme in the 1990s that was a part of the sponsorship scandal.
Years in the Making
The Gomery Commission released its final report on the matter of the sponsorship scandal 11 long years ago, and just now reaching a resolution through the court trial of Jacques Corriveau. His trial is expected to last for 6 weeks and will feature about 20 witnesses. It should be noted that proceedings against Corriveau have been postponed several times since he was charged, making him likely to be the last person to be charged with anything in connection with the sponsorship scandal.
Some high-profile advertising personas were found guilty for their role in the sponsorship scandal. They include Gilles-Andre Gosselin, Paul Coffin, Jean Lafleur, and Jean Brault. Together with them, Chuck Guite, a federal bureaucrat was also found guilty of committing fraud against the federal government to the tune of $2 million.
83 years old Jacques Corriveau is a one-time close ally of former prime minister Jean Chretien and a longtime federal Liberal organizer in the past. The charges for which he will be tried for were filed back in 2013 and include laundering the proceeds of fraud, forgery, and committing fraud against the government.
Corriveau allegedly set up a kickback system from contracts that were awarded during the sponsorship program and then defrauded the federal government using his Pluri Design Canada Inc. firm. The sponsorship program was geared to improve the presence of the federal government in Quebec around the time of the 1995 sovereignty referendum.
In Pursuit of Justice
The Gomery Commission looked into the program and discovered that certain firms are winning contracts with little to no effort and looking like they were being favoured based on donations to federal Liberals.
In 2005, Corriveau testified at an inquiry that led to the end of the Liberals? control of power. He was at the heart of a kickback scheme in which he helped hand over federal government contracts to some communication firms. In return, he received millions in benefits for his allies and himself, according to the RCMP. A commission led by retired justice John Gomery was created to examine the management of the sponsorship program. The Gomery Commission found out in their reports that Corriveau was one of the orchestrating figures in the kickback scheme.
No other related cases to the sponsorship scandal are being actively pursued by the RCMP at this time.
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