(Agence France Presse distributed the following article on March 1.)
OTTAWA — The chairman of Canada’s state-owned passenger rail network, Jean Pelletier, was fired in the wake of controversial comments he made about a former employee who claimed she was victimized for questioning scandal-linked sponsorship deals.
Transport Minister Tony Valeri said Pelletier, a former chief of staff to ex-prime minister Jean Chretien, had been dismissed from his job at Via Rail.
“The termination is effective immediately,” said Valeri. “The comments made by Mr. Pelletier regarding Myriam Bedard were totally unacceptable.”
Pelletier’s comments about Bedard made front-page news because the former biathlete won three medals for Canada, including two golds, at the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics (news – web sites).
Bedard’s case is the latest twist of a scandal in which the federal government has been accused of mishandling hundreds of millions of dollars in a sponsorship and advertising programme designed to boost the federal image in French-speaking Quebec province.
Auditor General Sheila Fraser has accused the government of channelling funds through advertising agencies known to be friendly to the ruling Liberal Party, with questionable contracts and little financial control.
Bedard said last week that she was forced to quit her job as a spokeswoman for Via Rail in January 2002 after she queried transactions involving a Montreal advertising firm, Groupaction, one of the key players in the scandal.
In reply to Bedard’s claim, Pelletier caused uproar when he said:”I don’t want to be mean, but this is a poor, single woman. She’s feeling the tension of being a single mother who has financial responsibilities. She’s essentially looking for pity.”
The contracts highlighted by the auditor general are being probed by Parliament and are also the subject of a judicial inquiry.
Via Rail President Marc LeFrancois is due to hear later Monday whether he will be retained or fired in connection with the scandal. LeFrancois has been suspended without pay.